I want to get into Doctor Who, where do I start?

[captaincabbage]

Start with the first episode of the modern series and go on from there.

I'll second this.
If you're anything like me, you won't have any patience for the old series. Start out with Chris Eccleston and go on from there.

Personally if I were you, I'd stop after the last of the David Tennant episodes, since Matt Smith just can't cut it after David. It's one of those things, that if Matt Smith was the doctor before David Tennant, it would have been a gradual progression of goodness, but as is David Tennant was just outstanding as The Doctor.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Tom Baker is probably the best Doctor.

 

[Deathninja19]

I've been thinking about getting into Doctor Who, can anyone tell me where to start?(other than series 1, episode 1)

I've been thinking about starting with The Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison, 1982-1984.

Basically, all I want to know is which Doctor was the most awesome, and which series has the least amount of suck. I say that because I've heard that the current series of Doctor Who has had some REALLY bad episodes. Give me your best of the best, CONVERT ME!

Honestly New Who then once you're settled in to the concepts and the Doctor himself buy a few DVD collections of the different Doctors and see which one you like the best.

Davidson is good but he can be confusing to newbies due to him starting with already established companions with him. To start fresh your best bet is Jon Pertwee the third (and probably my favourite if I think about it) who starts his run with a new status quo and new companions, the only drawback is due to the status quo he is stuck on Earth for the begining of his run. However he is more physical than most Doctors (Venution akido is awesome)and his feud/friendship with the Master is great.

Tom Baker is good too there is a reason why his run is the most iconic with his run featuring the best Dalek serial and includes stories/companions/aliens that are still referenced in New Who plus it's Tom motherfucking Baker.

As you can see this is just a small hint of Who's history and really it's too big for there to be a best jumping on point. Your best bet is to start with Eccleston's run (it's only about 12 eps and the majority are great) then decide what intrigues you the most and go from the.

Besides if you ever get confused when they reference an event or a character this can fill in the blanks;

http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Doctor_Who_Wiki

 

[Manatee Slayer]

There are small nods towards the previous incarnations of the previous Doctors but you have to remember that the new series' from 2005 were made for an entirely new generation, that may have never even heard of Doctor Who.

I realise there are those who watch the new series' that were around for some of the old ones but at it's heart, Doctor Who is a show for children, so they needed to lay the ground work again for them.

 

[Will Holmes]

My advice? Stick with Eccleston onwards, then feel free to have a look at classic episodes if any references to previous events take your interest.

You will get a lot of "Doctor X is better than Doctor Y", but it's really not a good idea to follow that. For example, you really don't want to start with Tennant, one of the more highly praised Doctors, because Eccleston provides a lot of the background, especially revolving around Rose. Since the "reboot" gives us a new Doctor and a new companion at the same time, nothing can really go badly wrong.

Also, I laugh at people who say that modern Doctor Who isn't "real" Doctor who. They're like the same people who think we should stop making new words in the English language. They're purists that don't understand that what they're trying to protect needs to evolve to keep its purpose.

 

[Tentickles]

Honestly no matter WHERE you start in any of the series youre going to be utterly confused for a long time.

It's like not knowing what Star Trek is but watching it anyway.

WATCH IT
WATCH IT
WATCH IT

 

[Nackl of Gilmed]

The 2005 reboot (Eccleston's season) is basically written to cater pretty well to people who never saw the old series. From there on it all ties in pretty closely, so unless you want to start from the 1950's or so, 2005 is a good way to go.

 

[maninahat]

I wouldn't. Personally I think most of Doctor Who is crap. But I will comment here because there are some excellent episodes that stand out from the bunch. Blink is easily the best Doctor Who episode I have ever seen, mainly because it lacks many of the issues most episodes have:

1) Instead of providing a sensible solution to a crisis, the tv show relies almost exclusively on ass pulls or deus ex machina. Often the Doctor will just babble some sci-fi gibberish that will justify any such solution. If you're going to deal with a problem that way, why go to all the trouble of setting it up in the first place? Blink solves its crisis using rules established throughout the series and the episode. There are no hidden aces or anything that

2) The Doctor gets on my nerves. He won't shut up, he always has an answer, he is always right. I take him to be something of a space fascist in that regard. Blink avoids this by limiting the role of the doctor (putting him in a situation where he can't directly control events).

3) The female assistants get on my nerves. Always gurning or fawning, always there to provide titillation or angst. Some assistants are better than others, but even they aren't remarkable. Attempts to make them into strong or independant females doesn't work when the Doctor (read: Space Messiah) will inevitably have to rescue them or cart them around. Blink avoids this by making the female the lead, self-reliant, and unable to just fall back on the doctor whenever she likes.

4) I don't like most the monsters, who just want to talk the Doctor to death or repeat the same catch phrases. As a kid, I loved the Daleks. But they only appeared infrequently throughout the 30 years of episodes. These new episodes feature Daleks and Cybermen practically every other episode. That annoys me. The best enemies have got old real fast. Blink avoids this by having new, silent enemies that will scare the shit out of people.

As you can tell, I fucking love Blink. Unfortunately it is a diamond in a huge stack of rough. There are a few other good episodes, but they are few and far between.

 

[Alpha Maeko]

Start with the first season of the reboot. The one with Rose O:

 

[GrimmjowPantera]

http://blip.tv/sf-debris-opinionated-reviews/doctor-who-101-5123833

this gives you everything you need to know.

i'd say the tom baker era, christopher eccleston, or if you're feeling adventurous, the first episode of Matt Smith's run, cuz that is a major improvement on the rest of the 2005 revival (not a reboot, reboots start from the beginning again)

 

[timb69]

2005 Ecclestone as "The Doctor" through til current it's badass and will lead you to investigate previous incarnations if you like. Personally I watched very little before this point.

 

[Larmo]

May I recommended this video it answers your question and more.

http://blip.tv/sf-debris-opinionated-reviews/doctor-who-101-5123833

 

[Larmo]

http://blip.tv/sf-debris-opinionated-reviews/doctor-who-101-5123833

this gives you everything you need to know.

i'd say the tom baker era, christopher eccleston, or if you're feeling adventurous, the first episode of Matt Smith's run, cuz that is a major improvement on the rest of the 2005 revival (not a reboot, reboots start from the beginning again)

dam ninjed

 

[SextusMaximus]

I started watching Matt Smith. He's one of my favourite actors because of it, and I don't have to watch them in order, cause I just like watching his acting. (and whoever plays Pond is hot).

 

[CiB42]

I'd say look out one story from each Doctor. Mainly because David Tennant is a crap starting place (he's very undoctorish compared to the others), and Patrick Troughton is awesome. Wathcing these in order of Doctor is what I'd recoment as a good "whirlwind tour" of the past 48 years.

In the classic series stories were multiple part affairs, each episode lasting 20-25 minutes. The ones I'd recomend (having seen everything, or reconstructions thereof in the case of the 108 missing episodes) are

William Hartnell: The Time Meddler
Patrick Troughton: The Tomb of the Cybermen
Jon Pertwee: Terror Of The Autons
Tom Baker: Genesis of the Daleks
Peter Davison: Mawdryn Undead
Colin Baker: Vengeance of Varos*
Sylvester McCoy: Rememberance of the Daleks***
Paul McGann: The TV Movie**
Christopher Eccleston: The Empty Child/the Doctor Dances
David Tennant: Blink
Matt Smith: The Eleventh Hour (his first- Smitsh tenure is very "watch in order" though, more so than the others)

* If you're ok with audio plays, go with Jubilee instead. An episode of the revival (Dalek) was based on this one, but the adaption wasn't nearly as good as the original. Colin Bakers TV tenure is pretty dire, but his audios are really good.

** If you're ok with audios, go with Storm Warning, the Chimes of Midnight or the new eigth doctor adventures. Another actor who lost out on telly due to bad writing.

 

[William MacKay]

start with the modern ones (chris eccleston) and keep going. some of the old ones are good, but the new ones are as well, plus theyre easier to get hold of.