Where the Hell Should I Start With ‘Doctor Who’?

The Big Picture

• Doctor Who
  debuted in 1963 and was a pop culture sensation before relaunching in 2005 to widespread acclaim.
• The newest actor to play the title role, Ncuti Gatwa, continues a 60-year legacy passed down by thirteen previous actors.
• Doctor Who
  is accessible for new viewers despite its expansive canon because every Doctor is a fresh start and an easy entry point for new viewers; key seasons feature standout performances and emotional storylines.

It’s been 60 years and some months’ change since Doctor Who premiered on the BBC. Originally an educational history program for children that evolved time and again, the original series — labeled “Classic Doctor Who” — ran from 1963 to 1989 before the BBC put it on ice. A generation-spanning watershed moment for the United Kingdom, it was another 16 years before Doctor Who fully caught on with viewers across the pond, when showrunner Russell T Davies relaunched the series in 2005. Under his stewardship and broadcast deals with networks like the Sci-Fi Channel (now SYFY), a worldwide phenomenon emerged from something that was already indelible with those in the know. Daleks, Time Lords, the TARDIS, Sonic Screwdrivers — the nomenclature went mainstream. Eventually, Doctor Who became the longest-running science fiction series of all time with the Guinness World Records entry to prove it.

Starting with the anniversary specials in late 2023, all new Doctor Who episodes will air on BBC One and stream on Disney+. Sharing online space with Mickey Mouse, Lucasfilm, and Marvel Studios kickstarted new interest ahead of Ncuti Gatwa’s first season as the eponymous Doctor. Gatwa’s debut might style itself as Season One, but his soft relaunch continues the continuity Russell T Davies established in the first revival, which in turn honors 26 years of story. If you don’t know where to start with Doctor Who, never fear. Despite its expansive canon, the series is accessible by design. There are several ways to begin your universe-hopping journey, especially since the best Who entry point depends on viewer preference.

Why Is ‘Doctor Who’ Season 1 Great?

Before 2005’s Doctor Who premiered, Russell T Davies had to fill eight pairs of big shoes. Davies cast Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, a nameless time-traveling alien who achieves said travel via a spaceship disguised as a police call box. Eccleston, the ninth actor to play the part (the Doctor’s race, the Time Lords, regenerate into new bodies after lethal injuries), was joined by Billie Piper as his new companion, Rose Tyler, a 19-year-old human from then-modern Earth. (The Doctor never travels alone; the companion archetype invites audience identification.)

Davies changes little about the series despite its 16 years off the air. His work retains what makes Classic Doctor Who endearing: the sentimental but not saccharine heart, the giant imagination, the paper-cut sharp gravitas, the Doctor having a wanderluster’s soul, and the low-budget camp. The VFX looks outdated from a 2024 perspective, but if that’s charming enough to be enjoyed or not distracting enough to break the immersion, then Season 1 conducts a crash course in Who‘s unique sensibilities while viewers reap the rewards.

Episode 1, titled “Rose,” introduces the charming dynamics at play (and the Autons, sentient automaton villains made of plastic; it’s a riot). Eccleston and Piper are a wonder together. Their chemistry rings earnest, delicate, and guilelessly electric, with Piper a naturally authentic presence and Eccleston alternating between a grandiose dork boasting dancer-precise comedic timing and an unknowable alien carrying 900 years’ worth of weight on his shoulders. Davies was the first showrunner to canonize a romance between Doctor and companion. From the Doctor and Rose’s first hopeful smiles to the finale’s thematically symbolic kiss (and every hand-holding in between), Eccleston and Piper never stumble at making equals of these opposites.

Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper Are a Perfect Pair

The Doctor-Rose romance is an emotional core still ripple-effecting through Doctor Who two decades later. Although every companion matters (“900 years of time and space,” the Doctor sagely says, “and I’ve never met someone who wasn’t important”), none attracts more lore than Rose Tyler. Emphasizing their star-crossed and ultimately doomed romance is partially why. But for Seasons 1 and 4 especially, Doctor Who doesn’t concern itself with over-mystifying its protagonist at Rose’s expense. One might argue she’s the protagonist. Certainly, her seasons chronicle her Hero’s Journey. The Doctor catalyzes her arc from an aimless lower-middle-class teenager who feels worthless to a woman embracing her extraordinary assets, seizing her destiny, and saving the universe. Seasons 2 and 4 amplify Rose’s significance; Season 1 establishes it.

Even taking Christopher Eccleston’s on-set experiences into account, his testified difficulties don’t reflect in his performance. The revival’s success rests on his shoulders above almost anyone else’s, especially since audience interest waxes and wanes depending on what face the Doctor wears. The Ninth Doctor has witnessed atrocities few can comprehend and carries enough survivor’s guilt from his people’s genocide that he swears off emotional connections. He rediscovers his lifelong tenderness through Rose and spies her exceptional traits long before she does. Eccleston’s silly, absurdist, and tragic in turns as this traumatized, then reborn, man. Meanwhile, Season 1 establishes and recontextualizes legacy enemies who appear like Whack-a-Moles throughout the series.

David Tennant’s ‘Doctor Who’ Is a Fan Favorite

Starting after Season 1 means losing some emotional and narrative context. Still, Doctor Who‘s modus operandi is that every fresh face equals a fresh feel. Season 2 benefits from a budget bump and David Tennant, the biggest Who fan on planet earth, succeeding Eccleston. Frequently cited as many fans’ favorite Doctor, Tennant became the revival’s face through a performance bursting with verve and vivacity. His love for the series bleeds past the camera’s edges. His acting choices synergize previous actors’ physical and verbal idiosyncrasies while manifesting his own infectiously chaotic energy. Ten’s childish glee makes his indulgent dark streaks, carried over from Nine, more disturbing.

With Tennant in the leading man driver’s seat, the Doctor and Rose’s doomed love story morphs into unignorable territory punctuated by Season 2’s devastating conclusion. The finale’s ramifications echo into Season 3 and beyond. The third season hinges on established emotional baggage that’s well worth watching but might leave new viewers too in the dark.

When it comes to consistent writing quality, Season 4 remains the stand-out of Davies’ tenure. The besties-in-crime dynamic between the Doctor and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) thrives on their platonic intimacy, manifested by Tennant and Tate’s banter-filled yet tender chemistry. Their energies match. As evidenced by Davies reuniting the characters for the 60th-anniversary specials, for a Doctor who’s even more burdened in his Fourteenth incarnation, Donna means safety, healing, and coming home. Admittedly, Season 4’s finale unites characters across different seasons and spin-offs. It requires Google’s assistance, but Davies trails enough breadcrumbs to fuse the interlocking stories no matter one’s familiarity.

‘Doctor Who’ Season 5 Is a Great Entry Point

For the cleanest start this side of Season 1, we have Doctor Who Season 5, featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor and Steven Moffat at the helm. Both hit the ground running backed by a sleeker aesthetic and a bigger-budget approach, plus names the larger geek populace might recognize. Over here, it’s Smith, who’s been enjoying moral ambiguity and silver wigs in House of the Dragon. Over there is Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Karen Gillan in her breakout role as Amy Pond, a fiery Scottish redhead with a Peter Pan complex who’s the platonic love of the Eleventh Doctor’s life. ER veteran Alex Kingston, initially a Season 4 guest star, lets loose as the enigmatic, flirty, and soulful River Song, the Doctor’s wife for reasons the series takes seasons to explain.

A 26-year-old relative unknown, Smith was the youngest actor to play the Doctor. One episode is all it takes to eliminate concerns about his lesser experience affecting his capability. Smith balances the captivating and hypnotically boyish energy required from most Doctors with the austerity of an alien being ancient and powerful enough to be a god — and his wrath is Old Testament-worthy. Smith stayed for three seasons, with his first the strongest thanks to a competent plot follow-through, engagingly complex characters, and episodes that deserve a cry warning. (Watch “Vincent and the Doctor.” You’ll thank and curse me.) Season 5 requires little backstory and offers a consistently entertaining experience paired with an emotional throughline.

Tom Baker’s ‘Doctor Who’ Is Legendary

But what about all that Classic Doctor Who? How does one sift through 26 years? Well, Classic Who‘s episodic structure helps. Those 26 years of content don’t lack character development, but it’s more a byproduct than the intention. As long as you know the series’ basic architecture (time travel, alien planets, the Doctor and companion roles), one can pick up any serial without prelude. Having said that, let’s explain the “serial” part. Instead of resolving one plot in one episode, a Classic Who story stretches across four to six 25-minute episodes (sometimes eight to 12, but that’s rare).

As such, there’s no wrong answer to the question “which Classic Doctor Who do I stream first?” For the signature experience, however, we turn to Tom Baker, who led the series for seven years during its creative and cultural height. Baker’s Fourth Doctor is distinctive from the jump, and his singularity seems effortless. He carries the air of a big brother or mischievous uncle. Either way, he’s a countercultural troublemaker. His abrasive quips cut, his gravelly one-liners roll off his droll tongue, and his gleeful anarchy — underlined by a devastatingly toothy smile — merges two essential Doctor traits: curiosity and empathy.

Baker embodies the Doctor’s defining characteristics that Patrick Troughton, the Second Doctor, helped define, then heightens them. His stand-out serials include “City of Death,” which the BBC really wants you to know was filmed in Paris, and has the Doctor outwitting a spaghetti-head alien (Julian Glover, one of the perennial “I know that guy” actors). “Genesis of the Daleks” turns familiar territory on its head by sending the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen, seen in several revival seasons) back in time to prevent the Daleks’ creation. The moral quandary leaves Four indecisive: is committing genocide worth saving the Daleks’ countless victims?

Ncuti Gatwa’s ‘Doctor Who’ Has a Bright Future

Even with that banger of a theme song, in the 1960s, few imagined that a kids’ history series would evolve into the prolific, visionary, and ever-changing juggernaut that is Doctor Who. Even when it’s too silly or contradictory, its world celebrates curiosity, cleverness, kindness, and empathy. The Doctor asks us to view the galaxy with wonder and champion everyone as extraordinary. Who are we to say no? When you’re ready to try Doctor Who, the TARDIS will be waiting.

Doctor Who is available to stream on BritBox and Max in the U.S. The new season premieres May 10 on Disney+ in the U.S.

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