Hey, I’m a huge Star Trek fan and have seen all of that stuff endlessly.
I love the Star Trek community, and it seems Doctor who has a similar thing.
So, I want to check out this show. Can someone recommend a good place to start?
Can I just pick a series based on the actor? I was considering the series with Matt Smith. Just because I saw a few clips with him.
Can I just pick a series based on the actor?
Yeah. That’s the deal with Doctor Who. Some episodes from the earliest actors to play The Doctor are lost anyway.
The first episode with each new actor is meant to be a starting point for new fans.
Matt Smith’s Doctor is a great choice.
Be aware though, that much like different series of Star Trek have different vibes, different seasons of Doctor Who do, as well.
Matt Smith’s Doctor Who is as often borderline fairytale fantasy as science fiction. (Though with enough extreme patience, and a little bit of generosity, one could argue that most unexplained bits get plausibly explained later.)
- Eccleston’a era is more distopian.
- Tennant’s era has more retro futuristic adventure.
- Smith: Fairy tales in space and time
- Capaldi’s era is rock and roll scifi.
- Whitaker’s era returns to the shows roots of exploring history.
- Gatwa: Fairy tales, again, but sexier
And, because I’m old:
- Peter Cushing (yes. That one.): Scifi Horror
- Hartnell: Exploring history.
- Troughton: Morality Tales in Space and Time.
- Pertwee: Scifi Horror
- Tom Baker: Shakespeare in Space and Time
- Atkinson: Dark Comedy in Space and Time
- Davidson: Hardy Boys Mysteries in Space and Time
- Colin Baker: Rock Opera in Space and Time
- McCoy: The Twilight Zone
- McGann: Shakespeare in Space and Time, revisited, with a touch of rock opera.
Have fun!
Thanks for the write-up. I am really happy to see the breakdown of genre by doctor. I might actually like Eccleston’s the most. Luckily, I decided to just start with him as I also like tennant as an actor. I’m just 2.5 episodes in so far, but I am enjoying it and looking forward to watching more episodes tonight.
Yeah I think Eccleston is the best place to start personally, that’s the beginning of the revival and they kind of ‘reset’ a lot of stuff and gradually reintroduce the key ideas of the show from there.
It’s a bit cheese in places and some parts haven’t aged well at all (some of it looked shit even in 2005 lol) but also that’s just part of the show. It’s a bonkers mess that sometimes doesn’t work at all and sometimes is the best thing ever.
just start with the beginning of the reboot, the first season does a wonderful job of onboarding new viewers
Thanks, I did decide to start with the first season of the reboot. I have really like the little bit that I have watched so far.
Which is to say with the ninth Doctor, Christopher Eccelston. And I agree.
Tl;dr starting with matt smith’s first series is fine. So is starting with Cristopher Ecclestons’s or Ncuti Gatwa’s, but you can start pretty much anywhere really.
I don’t know if you know this but doctor who is separated into two shows, “classic who” which was the original one and “nuWho” which is the current one. classic who is separated in 26 seasons, each one is divided in episodes, which are themselves separated into ~2-10 20 minutes parts. NuWho follows a more normal structure of series (and not seasons) divided into 45 min episodes. Finally the latest series (14) has technically been renamed to season 1 (because Disney got rights to the diffusion and wanted to rename it for newer audiences) but that’s confusing since classic who already used seasons so some people (including me) still call it series 14.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend starting with classic who as the episodes are slower and longer (although if you like the older star trek shows it might be a similar rhythm (not sure as I’ve never watched star trek)) also a few of the episodes are missing.
If you’re starting with nuWho, I would recommend starting with series 1 with Christopher Eccleston, as this will allow you to learn the lore of the show without problems. Both Matt Smith’s Series 5 and Ncuti Gatwa’s Series 14 are also good starting points. Note that the latter is also the newest season and is meant to be a jumping point to the show.
With all that said you can still watch most episodes without any prior context, so start with whichever one you want, I would personally recommend “Vincent and the doctor”. Finally don’t listen to the fans too much when they tell you X doctor is bad and you shouldn’t watch them. Try watching what you want and try something else if you didn’t like it.
Thanks! I had a hard time getting through the trek series from the 60s. The pacing was a bit too slow.
I had to grind through it to finish that series.
I might actually go with the newest doctor at this point. Maybe the more modern show will help me get into it more easily.
Thank you for all your information 🙏
Glad I could help. Keep us updated on whether or not you like it
After reading a few comments, I decided to start with the first episode of Nuwho.
I remember watching the first episode of a different doctor and feeling like I fell into the middle of a story. It was an episode where Christmas trees attacked or something like that.
So, starting with the first doctor of the new series is probably best. The episode was OK. But it was good enough to keep watching. In fact I’m kind of looking forward to it.
It was a bit silly, I wonder if the series becomes more serious over time.
Once I watch a few more episodes I’ll make a new post with my mini review. Just wanted to share my experience so far.
The show does have some darker and more serious parts but it does overall stay pretty silly yeah
Thanks, I think it will serve as a good show. I had to stop watching “The Boys” because it was so depressingly dark.
I’d say go with your impulse and start with Matt Smith’s first season. It’s a great jumping on point, while very much being season 5 of an ongoing show. Viewers were introduced to the new Doctor through a child’s eyes (I’m simplifying here to avoid spoilers), and it gives a new sense of wonder to the drip fed lore references throughout.
Because of the show’s history you could more or less start with any new Doctor, but for new viewers in 2025 I believe the Smith years* are a good starting point.
Others will recommend you begin with the 2005 revival but IMO those first seasons can look a little janky by current standards. There are seminal stories there that you absolutely must watch, but the visuals level up a bit when showrunner Steven Moffat take over and Matt Smith becomes the Doctor.
* or “era” as Who fans somewhat arbitrarily call any actor, writer, and/or producer’s run on the show. Some fans get very uptight about terminology (like insisting that only classic Who has “seasons” and everything post-1989 must be called “series” instead) but don’t pay any serious attention to them 😆
Thanks for sharing some of the culture. I decided to start with the first “series”. I’ve watched 2.5 episodes so far and I have found it to be a bit silly, but not too much. I am interested in the doctor’s backstory as a time lord, but please do not spoil it. I am looking forward to finding out more about him over time.
Don’t worry, the show will elaborate. The 2005 revival takes great care to phase new viewers in 🙂 Can’t argue with your starting at Eccleston!
And yes, Doctor Who is a lighthearted show that can be goofy in one episode but veer into horror in the next… enjoy the ride!
Thanks! I was worried they would never elaborate on the Doctor’s origin.
In Trek, they always reference the Romulans as the enemies, but there are hardly any episodes about them.
There will be some delicious Time Lord lore dumps, and more… plus, if you really get bit by the Who bug, there are several cool, classic episodes to dive into 🙂
I would also suggest starting at the beginning of nuwho to get the story in the right order, even if it’s indeed possible to jump in pretty much anywhere. If you feel you can’t handle the slow-ish start or think you might need to see some of the best it has to offer before jumping in there are a few “star” episodes that you can watch independently, these are usually recommended when you’re trying to get someone into it. Some options:
- blink
- Vincent and the doctor
- eleventh hour
- family of blood
- Smith and Jones
- The shakespeare code
- the empty child
- the girl in the fireplace
There’s way more but that’s more than enough.
Thank you, I didn’t know it was split like that. I just thought each doctor was its own self contained series.
I did try to watch one episode and I think it was one of the doctors first episodes of their series and I felt confused about what was going on. It seemed to just pick up in the middle of a story. It was an episode where Christmas trees came alive and attacked people or something I didn’t finish the episode.
So I decided to start at the beginning of nuwho.
Thanks for your help.
Yeah it’s only some specific episodes that work as “teasers” like this, usually picked because they don’t talk much about the main storylines, blink for example is entirely from the point of view of someone that doesn’t know who the doctor is, so as a new viewer you share that with them.
But starting at eccleston is the best, do be warned it’s definitely a bit campy/cheesy at the start, just try to look past that.
Yeah, it really is. But I watched the second episode last night and when I woke up, I found that I was looking forward to watching another episode. I think I am going to stick with it and just watch it slowly. I am a bit excited for the next two doctors as I like those actors.
Enjoy the ride!
If you decide to jump back to the original series, also keep in mind the time at which they were filmed. I tried watching the original 1963 run and was just disgusted by how the female actors were treated… The whole “you need a strong man to save you”, and the constant “woman screams every time an alien shows up”. I know we’ve come a long way since then, but it’s really a slap in the face considering how relatively recent that is within our history.
Then again, cartoons from the 1930’s? Hoo boy the massive amount of open racism.
But if you really get interested in Doctor Who and want to see the history of the many story lines, then you just have to bite down and blast through them.
No matter what, I’m not watching the old stuff. I’m a decently huge Trekkie, like I’ve seen it all and have started reading the books.
Even then, I had trouble with the original Star Trek series. Mostly due to pacing of the story.
I might watch a random old episode just to see how things have changed or like the best of episodes. But old TV is hard for me to digest.
Women ofte get the short end of the stick in early classic Who, but the same goes for people of colour. This is why I call it my “anthropological studies” when I watch classic episodes…
Rarely do coloured people appear, and even rarer in speaking parts — Toberman, we hardly knew you! There is one or two instances of yellowface in the first couple of decades of the show, and …well, you can imagine how poorly that has aged.
Since OP has watched Star Trek, I’d say the implicit racism is on par with the TNG episode “Code of honor” — that is, skippable for the most part or, if you’re in a forgiving mood, watch them for the picture they paint of the time they were produced.
I guess it bugs me more because I’ve watched ST:TOS and never had such a horrid feeling from those episodes. Someone once told me the early episodes showed how much the Doctor grew over time, from an elitist to someone who truly cared for everyone, but I have to wonder how much of that was simply the writers themselves realizing they could do better?
Oh, there is growth in the Doctor over his first incarnation — but that’s a redemption arc afforded the white hero since before Ebenezer Scrooge.
I don’t want to make Doctor who sound like some misogynist, colonial trope — if it were I doubt we would still be talking about it with any fondness — though I do think it’s fair to judge any age by its popular narratives. Even the nominally more progressive ones like DW.
Just be aware that as far as Nu Who goes (god, I hate the word ‘nu’), some of the actors runs have better reputations than others. I don’t necessarily agree with them, but I wouldn’t start with Peter Capaldi or Jodie Whittaker. They’re both great actors, and play great doctors, but they’re the weaker of the new runs.
I’d be tempted to either start at the beginning of modern Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston, and watch them all in order, or jump to the newest doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, and see how you like it.
Either way, have fun 😁
The reboot has a sort of coherence which makes it better to watch in order, but I don’t think it’s a big deal.
I would just say that Doctor Who is much more on the psychological thriller/horror side of science fiction than Star Trek.
I mean, it obviously depends on which star trek you like since the recent ones have been much much more into the horror/action/gore side than the older ones, if you liked the torture rape scenes of Discovery and the Alien plagiarism of SNW then Doctor Who might even seem mild in comparison, so I guess it depends on what you see Star Trek as.
My favorite trek are the ones from the 90s. I basically watch them on repeat. I decided to start with the first season of the reboot and have liked it so far. I’ve only watched 2.5 episodes so far.
Eleven (Matt Smith) is a great starting point, as is Nine (Christopher Eccleston), but honestly it’s your choice.
Hope you enjoy the show!
Thanks, I decided to start with Christopher Eccleston. So far I have been enjoying it. I am 2.5 episodes in and looking forward to watching more of it tonight.
