movies/tv Where to begin watching Dr. Who

[Dargent 80]

I've just begun watching Dr.who and I am wondering whether to simply watch new episodes as they arrive, to watch all of the newest season or to continue watching S5 and continue from there.

[Jokuc 8,174]

I've just seen a little bit Dr. Who, but I want to watch some more to know what it's like. Though, since there are like 1000 episodes, I don't know where to start either D:

Edited March 3, 2014 by Jokuc

[Unicorn Coffee 204]

Continuye where you are. It'll be a while before their are any new episodes. So you should be able to catch up before any new episodes air

[Vertigo_95 572]

Do you mean S5 of the classic series or the revived series? It's impossible to watch every episode of the classic because of many missing episodes, but S5 of the classic will be a while to catch up. If you had watched from the revival in 2005 (that's what I did) on Netflix or someplace else, up until S5 with Matt Smith, you should just continue from there. 

[Mightymags 1,053]

You should start with the new series from 2005. While some things won't make sense no matter where you start, it will be difficult to follow if you don't watch them in order. Much of the doctor's new personality is established in the early seasons, especially with the 10th doctor. The show is confusing enough because of how time works, there's no need to make it ever harder to follow. 

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

I just started with the first season of the new show, which is the 2005 season. 

[11th Doctor Whooves 794]

Well my friends started me on Blink and Midnight, and then I went back and watched from the beginning of the 2005 series, so I'd suggest starting there too.

 

If you get the time though, I'd also suggest going back and watching as much of the original series as you can.  I'm trying to do that now, lol.

[The Coffee Pony 1,390]

Start with Patrick Troughten's Era (Second Doctor, 1966-1969) Starting with The Moonbase and Tomb of the Cybermen. Unfortunately a lot of Patrick Troughten's episodes were destroyed so unless you want to see some stories in stills you'll have to skip a few stories.

 

So to make it easier watch these stories in this order:

 

The Moonbase

The Tomb of the Cybermen

The Ice Warriors

The Enemy of the World

The Web of Fear

The Dominators

The Mind Robber

The Invasion

The Krotons

The War Games

 

Then proceed to Jon Pertwee's Era.

Edited March 3, 2014 by TheCoffeeMan

[The Taxman 274]

I've just seen a little bit Dr. Who, but I want to watch some more to know what it's like. Though, since there are like 1000 episodes, I don't know where to start either D:

Actually, there are only 200 episodes and 97 are missing. Just saying....

 

Here's how I watched it.

1.Start with Rose.

2.Watch the new series in order.

3.Go and reaserch about the personalities of the Classic Doctors. Pick one or two you like (I chose 4 and 5) and watch some of their serials (not necessarily in order, though there are a few exceptions).

If you need any help, PM me.

[Gyruss 125]

I started with the revival myself.  It's absolutely critical to watch things in order, as continuity is a big part of "getting it."

[Mlpfan185 1,763]

Something was here. Something was here. Something was here. 

Edited October 10, 2018 by NONAME

[The Coffee Pony 1,390]

Actually, there are only 200 episodes and 97 are missing. Just saying....

 

Here's how I watched it.

1.Start with Rose.

2.Watch the new series in order.

3.Go and reaserch about the personalities of the Classic Doctors. Pick one or two you like (I chose 4 and 5) and watch some of their serials (not necessarily in order, though there are a few exceptions).

If you need any help, PM me.

 

800 episodes actually.

 

The first Doctor Who story I ever watched was Tomb of the Cybermen. After watching it I decided to to watch every single episode episode of Doctor Who starting off with An Unearthly Child and I became a huge Whovian after a few stories.

 

I'd say start off with An Unearthly Child. I admit it's far from one of the best Doctor Who stories, but it's first episode is very VERY good, it really gave me a good impression of the show and it really helped me get into it. The rest of the serial though I have to admit is not that great, in fact there are quite a few that didn't like it but still give it watch. It'll be worth it when you get to the next story, The Daleks, which will be a real treat for you to watch. That's one of my favorite Doctor Who stories.

[Fhaolan 4,484]

I've been watching Doctor Who since I was small, back in the early 70's, so I have a weird perspective on this. Watching the classic series can be difficult for modern viewers because the culture was considerably different back then. The various episodes were made with minimal budget for SFX and sets, because the entire revenue to pay for it was pulled from the BBC licensing fee at that time. There was no 'sell DVDs later' or such like to recoup costs, and the BBC doesn't do advertising. So the budget was truly *pitiful*, and yet they made a series that has endured over 50 years.

 

One of the advantages of Doctor Who is each new 'Doctor' is almost, but not quite, functionally independent of those who came before. There will be references you won't catch, but that shouldn't affect your viewing much. As such, I would recommend starting at the beginning of the new series with Rose, or the near the beginning of David Tennant with New Earth, or Matt Smith with The Eleventh Hour.

 

This video may help if you intend to watch the classic series: How to Watch Classic Doctor Who I don't actually recommend his method of jumping around between Doctors, but his list of 'entry' serials has some reasonable logic behind it. They will introduce the characters and give you a reasonable idea whether you want to try to watch that Doctor's run.

 

If you're interested in being a little bit more dedicated, here's another list of the classic series, with notes on which ones are considered the most likely ones to be watchable: Episodes

 

Now me, I'm crazy. I've actually seen all the episodes that still exist. Thanks to when I started, I've even seen a couple that no longer exist, but my memory of them is quite a bit hazy. My wife has seen them all too, now, and we ground through them all a couple of years back. It took over a year of watching on average of three serials a week, but we did it. The reconstructed episodes are pretty difficult to get through in many cases though. They're working on doing better reconstructions via animation, but it's a slow process to replace all of the missing ones.

[The Taxman 274]

800 episodes actually.

 

The first Doctor Who story I ever watched was Tomb of the Cybermen. After watching it I decided to to watch every single episode episode of Doctor Who starting off with An Unearthly Child and I became a huge Whovian after a few stories.

 

I'd say start off with An Unearthly Child. I admit it's far from one of the best Doctor Who stories, but it's first episode is very VERY good, it really gave me a good impression of the show and it really helped me get into it. The rest of the serial though I have to admit is not that great, in fact there are quite a few that didn't like it but still give it watch. It'll be worth it when you get to the next story, The Daleks, which will be a real treat for you to watch. That's one of my favorite Doctor Who stories.

Actually, there are 121 episodes and about 200 serials /: . Times changing. Wibbly wobbly.