Brand new to Doctor Who - and unsure what to do...

Poet and didn't know it.

I caught an episode of Doctor Who with David Tennant at a party this past weekend. Enjoyed it, but couldn't quite follow what was going on. I asked the host about the series and, being interested in watching it, whether or not I should start with the old episodes or dive into the newer series. Several other folks joined in and the response devolved into a discussion rivaling the GOP debates... If I pose the question on a forum, I figure I can at least take my time and read / understand all of the responses.

Doctor Who... Okay to skip to the more recent series (unsure of the year) or would it be recommended to start with the "classic" episodes (or a select few of the classic serials)?

In a weird way, I've kind of done both.

I tried getting into the show with the Key to Time season from the Tom Baker era, but it was difficult. Then I watched the 2005 season as it aired (or thereabouts, thanks to the Tivo I had then). After that, I went back and watched as many of the old school stuff as I could, in order.

My take:

The really old stuff is a mix of good and bad. Some episodes are dreadfully slow (e.g. a lot of the early Hartnell stuff), but the ideas behind many of the episodes are really interesting. You need to prepare yourself for the "serial" format of the old episodes, too, where, like, the last 3 minutes of the previous episode are basically re-acted as the first 3 minutes of the new episode, usually to end on a cliffhanger and resolve that cliffhanger at the start of the next one. That said, the old stuff is really enjoyable if you can get your mind into the right place to enjoy them.

The new stuff is way, way different and, perhaps, easier to approach as a newbie. It's structured more like a modern show (no surprise there). The stories are faster-paced. The f/x are...better...but the 2005 era stuff didn't quite age as well as we might've expected. That said, it's a lot of fun. The modern era does have its weaknesses, though. Certain tropes tend to pop up, particularly with companions kind of "falling in love" with the Doctor in the early part of the new series, and then with all of the things that Moffat has done in his tenure as showrunner. I find Moffat's era as showrunner (with Matt Smith and then Peter Capaldi) to be the most uneven. Some episodes are awesome. Others are...pretty weak. And he has a real problem with long-form stories and how he resolves them. It's not, like, Stephen King levels of bad, but he's just not that great a showrunner in my opinion.

Solo and I agree on most everything so I can't really argue with what he said. I personally like the old episodes and I really enjoy them. I sometimes just get a craving for things in black in white and bad effects. As far as modern stuff goes I am not as big of an Eccelstone fan as some. I think that you could start out with Tennet and be just fine as you progress. That being said Eccelstone is only one season and it introduces Rose. So I say start at the beginning but that is just me.

I would start with the 2005 series (the new era). Unfortunately, really old effects (Old Dr. Who, Lost in Space) really takes me out of the show unless it is ironic of course. I'm sure there is plenty of good material from the old show but I'd rather read about that then watch it

drcraig13 said:

I sometimes just get a craving for things in black in white and bad effects.

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Ditto - but I often find myself waiting for Joel, Tom, and Crow to have a seat in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

UnclePat1313 said:

Ditto - but I often find myself waiting for Joel, Tom, and Crow to have a seat in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

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I get what you did there. Well played sir.

I much prefer Classic Who (especially the first four incarnations of the Doctor) to New Who. Though Solo above has pretty much nailed it on the head, some of the serials run way too long than they need to, but I think it's a bit unfair to say that you have to be in a particular mindset to watch them. It'd be like saying "unless you're of a certain mindset, silent black and white films are a bore." New Who has the money and polish the old show didn't have but the new series, I think, severely lacks what the older serials had: an emphasis on story, acting, and taking the time to tell those stories. I'm particularly fond of the early history-based shows that were later all together dropped from the run.

New Who is an easy entry point to Dr. Who because it's essentially a reboot of the series, and beyond a few nudge and winks, only loosely connects to the to the old show. So if you didn't care about Dr. Who before, you may as well watch New Who.

If you're interested in what the show started as and where and how it changed as time progressed, I whole-heatedly recommend watching the classic series.

In a way, it's almost like Star Trek. You don't have to watch TOS to understand TNG or any of the later series. They're essentially their own things each series with minor connections to the other.

For a single episode to start with, I'd actually recommend "The New Doctor," which was a special that aired after Series 4 of the new series. There's a bit of backstory coming into it that you may miss out on, but I feel that it works very well as a standalone episode, giving a good feel for the "vibe" of the series. (That being said, it's far from one of my favorite episodes, and I generally try to skip it when it's on ^^; I enjoyed watching it the first time, but really have no interest in rewatching it).

Dessa said:

For a single episode to start with, I'd actually recommend "The New Doctor," which was a special that aired after Series 4 of the new series. There's a bit of backstory coming into it that you may miss out on, but I feel that it works very well as a standalone episode, giving a good feel for the "vibe" of the series. (That being said, it's far from one of my favorite episodes, and I generally try to skip it when it's on ^^; I enjoyed watching it the first time, but really have no interest in rewatching it).

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Is that the same as The Next Doctor?

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PoopaPapaPalps said:

In a way, it's almost like Star Trek. You don't have to watch TOS to understand TNG or any of the later series. They're essentially their own things each series with minor connections to the other.

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Perfect. That makes sense. Thank you.

PoopaPapaPalps said:

I much prefer Classic Who (especially the first four incarnations of the Doctor) to New Who. Though Solo above has pretty much nailed it on the head, some of the serials run way too long than they need to, but I think it's a bit unfair to say that you have to be in a particular mindset to watch them. It'd be like saying "unless you're of a certain mindset, silent black and white films are a bore." New Who has the money and polish the old show didn't have but the new series, I think, severely lacks what the older serials had: an emphasis on story, acting, and taking the time to tell those stories. I'm particularly fond of the early history-based shows that were later all together dropped from the run.

New Who is an easy entry point to Dr. Who because it's essentially a reboot of the series, and beyond a few nudge and winks, only loosely connects to the to the old show. So if you didn't care about Dr. Who before, you may as well watch New Who.

If you're interested in what the show started as and where and how it changed as time progressed, I whole-heatedly recommend watching the classic series.

In a way, it's almost like Star Trek. You don't have to watch TOS to understand TNG or any of the later series. They're essentially their own things each series with minor connections to the other.

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Just to be clear, my comment is about some of the...less...good...episodes from specifically the Hartnell era.

I had a really, really tough time getting through the first adventure (starting with An Unearthly Child and running through the Cavemen or whatever it was). It's a really....slow....serial. The Gunfight at the OK Corral one is also just...difficult, mostly because of the AWFUL song that runs through it.


Still, I have to say that I don't regret having watched these episodes. In fact, I'm glad I did, mostly because it helps highlight how good many of the later episodes were, even during that era, and it can be kind of fun to see the serious misfires.

I'd say the same about, for example, The King's Demons. It's not a great serial, but it's definitely interesting to watch, particularly because of the use of the Kamelion animatronic and the backstory about using it and what a disaster it was.

I do recommend the old stuff, but you have to actually, you know, appreciate old stuff in general. I actually think the "black and white movies" example is perfect. If you can't handle those, you won't be able to handle Classic Who. If you can, and especially if you can reallly enjoy them, I say dive in and do it in order. Netflix has a ton of stuff on disc. I HIGHLY recommend watching Classic Who on disc specifically for the info track that you can turn on with each episode, and because of many of the extras that appear on the discs. That, for me, was half the fun of running through Classic who.

I would recommend starting with the new era. It's designed to work for people who aren't familiar with classic Who.
Then once you're done with that you can go back and watch the original series. I think you'll appreciate it more if you are already a fan and know where it leads, rather than trying to become a fan through the originals and trying to stick with it. And even though it's backwards, you'll also pick up on a lot of the references in the modern series you missed the first time around.

UnclePat1313 said:

Is that the same as The Next Doctor?

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Oops, yeah. 15+ hour drive is not conducive to thinking straight.

I've done a couple of complete rewatches of classic Who now. (sidebar Pertwee, the 3rd Doctor is where it gets slow going for me)
I think you can comfortably start from the beginning of the 2005 revival, because it gives you all the excitement without needing to know huge amounts of history. Maybe you could see if that gets you hooked and if so start looking at the original run. There's a few clunkers with the first Doc, I mean, feel free to fast forward through the cavemen stuff (shame that it was the only story they had ready to go when the series got to OK) and you'll get to the very first alien/monster story and it's a great one, Daleks! I always try to watch while keeping in mind that it is 'of its time' so I make allowances for the pacing, etc. You may find it slow when the old stories are broken up into several shorter parts, but there's a few times when that (and the limitations of 60's effects) means they have the time to make an effort to create believable 'alien' worlds through the writing, dialogue, music, etc. Something that can be lacking these days when it has to rush through in an hour.
Basically, if you give it a chance, there's something to enjoy from each Doctor, and every period.