I wanna get into Dr. Who. How do I start?

Moderated

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May 12, 2012
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The epic rap battle really made that guy look really likable, the first one.
I'll probably start with that one, but is there a better doctor to start with, and also, what episode starts the show that guy?
 

Shinsei-J

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Apr 28, 2011
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Well I'd start with season one of the reboot.
You just get more back story due to the whole "reboot" thing.
Plus you get the worlds greatest northern accent.
 

Phasmal

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Jun 10, 2011
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Yep, season 1 of the reboot is a great place to start.
But if you specifically wanna start with David Tennant he started on season 2 of the reboot, right from the start.
 

Owyn_Merrilin

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May 22, 2010
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Phasmal said:
Yep, season 1 of the reboot is a great place to start.
But if you specifically wanna start with David Tennant he started on season 2 of the reboot, right from the start.
But seriously, start on season 1 of the re-boot. There's a lot of stuff in Tennant's run that relies on knowledge of what happened in Eccleston's run, which was still very good television by the way -- Tennant is a fan favorite, but Eccleston's run was hardly bad. And since it's only one season of 12 or 13 episodes, it's really not /that/ big of a deal to watch it first.

The other good point to start is the first episode of Mat Smith's run. It's not as good a place to start as the first episode of Eccleston's run, but it was meant to be /a/ place to start, as it starts over almost completely on the companions and side characters. The old head writer stepped down and was replaced by one of the other writers, who decided to focus on a different crop of characters, most of whom were introduced from that season on. But I really wouldn't recommend starting there, either, since you miss out on all the awesome Tennant episodes. I think they mainly did it for the benefit of new viewers on the initial run on TV, to avoid it becoming an impenetrable mess of continuity.
 

FalloutJack

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Nov 20, 2008
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Moderated said:
The epic rap battle really made that guy look really likable, the first one.
I'll probably start with that one, but is there a better doctor to start with, and also, what episode starts the show that guy?
It really depends on whether or not you want to get into the classic series or not. If you do, don't worry about getting things all in order, as it barely matters. However, if you do...give Tom Baker his due and start with the Fourth Doctor, then branch out. If you're in preference to the new series, start with Christohper Eccleston (9th Doctor) and work your way up.
 

Yukichin

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Mar 26, 2009
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You could do season 1 of the reboot--2005, with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper (although frankly, stick with it; the first half of the season is mediocre--or you could do season 5 of the reboot, with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan.

I'd recommend season 1 and watching it all the way through, including the specials (although only around two of them are plot-relevant).
 

BreakfastMan

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Jul 22, 2010
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Start with John Pertwee (one of the best doctors) and work your way up from there. Classic Who is still best Who, imo. :p
 

Tanis

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Aug 30, 2010
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Star with SE1 of the 'IT'S NOT A DAMN REBOOT BECAUSE IT'S STILL FOLLOWING (most) of the continuity of the 'Classic Series' 2005 re-launch.


I'm a fan of the 'Classic Who', but I know it's hard for some folks.

Still, there ARE stories that are better than anything the 2005 relaunch has done.
 

EscapeGoat_v1legacy

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I'm going to echo the majority here, because they're right. Start with Christopher Eccleston's Doctor, the Ninth. That's the 2005 series. Although it follows the continuity of the other Doctors, it's mostly in the form of allusions and a slowly revealed backstory, so you don't need to have watched Classic Who to enjoy it. While starting at the actual Season One might be recommended by some, Classic Who's rather tough to get into now - it's very, very dated. It's still brilliant, but a bit more difficult to get into it.

But yeah. Start with the 2005 series, and Eccleston's Doctor. He's fantastic.
 

Woodsey

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Aug 9, 2009
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You'd only need to go from the reboot in 2005, although I'd say don't bother with the programme at all, the writing's crap.
 

Jason Rayes

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As everyone has said, start with the reboot. I'm a long time fan and even I admit some of the originals can look a bit hokey now. That said, if you find you love the series, don't be afraid to check out the old ones. The production values are terrible but the stories and the performances are well worth tuning in for. Just imagine you have traveled back in time to when the BBC had a lower budget ;)

Edit: I loved the older ones as a kid, it turns out your imagination can make some pretty amazing special effects.
 

smithy_2045

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Start with Eccelstone and move forward from there. Older Doctor Who isn't necessary, but you miss a fair bit if you start with Tennant or Smith.
 

CrazyGirl17

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Sep 11, 2009
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Depends, do you wanna start with the newer series? Then "Rose" is a good place to start.

But if you want to try the older series...
You can try to start with the beginning and "An Unearthly Child" and go from there... just be warned there are a lot of missing episodes.
Or you could skip that problem and start with the Third Doctor's run.
Hell, you could even begin with the Fourth Doctor!

Happy watching!
 

Popadoo

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smithy_2045 said:
Start with Eccelstone and move forward from there. Older Doctor Who isn't necessary, but you miss a fair bit if you start with Tennant or Smith.
Pretty much this.
Start with Eccelstone, I do like older who now and again but it definitely isn't for everyone.
 

saintdane05

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Actually, the Christmas special with new companion is coming up. Start there. Or with the beginning with Season 5. Then go back and watch Tom Baker.
 

Thaluikhain

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Jan 16, 2010
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Although there aren't exactly reboots, Dr Who did change lots over time, different era have very different feels to it.

Now, personally I feel that New Who would be woeful even if it wasn't trying to play around with an established continuity, and that Moffat is trying to preserve RTD's legacy by showing how much worse it could have be.

However, I'm not so much in the majority here.

[small](Oh, and you might want to use the search function, this came up a while ago and there were pages of suggestions, though I don't know how useful they were).[/small]

I might suggest starting with Tom Baker (4), he's very popular and got off to a very strong start, though after a few years his stories sorta went downhill a bit, and Dr Who never really recovered. The beginning of John Pertwee (3) was also very good, but bleak...they weren't sure what direction to take the stories in. When they did, IMHO, they went for a fairly safe, but not brilliant approach, trying to avoid disasters rather than create masterpieces.

Likewise, William Hartnell's (1) early stories are very different to later Dr who, because the writers had no idea what they were doing with the show until a few stories in.
 

Johnny Impact

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EscapeGoat said:
I'm going to echo the majority here, because they're right. Start with Christopher Eccleston's Doctor, the Ninth. That's the 2005 series. Although it follows the continuity of the other Doctors, it's mostly in the form of allusions and a slowly revealed backstory, so you don't need to have watched Classic Who to enjoy it. While starting at the actual Season One might be recommended by some, Classic Who's rather tough to get into now - it's very, very dated. It's still brilliant, but a bit more difficult to get into it.

But yeah. Start with the 2005 series, and Eccleston's Doctor. He's fantastic.
Covers it.

I like the hokey atmosphere of the old show but that's because I grew up watching it. Most people nowadays are seriously turned off by 1950s-era special effects. Sometimes it even bugs me.

Much of the older series are not worth bothering with. The staggering number of episodes, coupled with the 90 minute program length, meant the writers were.....let's be charitable and say a bit stretched.

There are certainly gems among the dross -- the Key to Time series, some of the Dalek episodes -- I'd make you a list but I'm feeling lazy this morning. Tom Baker was the best Doctor, and probably still the most iconic to fans, having played the part for nine years or more.