I have some questions, and I'm trying to avoid spoilers. I've watched the first 3 seasons of 'NuWho', and the premiere episode of Torchwood. I liked that Christopher Eccleston guy in the first season. It's kind of lame that he disappeared after what, 13 episodes? Is there some consensus on why he left? I read that he was always planned to go for one season, but I've also seen people saying that there was some sort of bad blood, which is why he didn't return. I don't know much about Dr Who, but I liked him, even though he didn't see that Dr Whoian, if that makes sense. David Tennant or whatever his name is seems really good. Very Dr Whoian (once again coming from someone who doesn't really watch Dr Who). I'm looking forward to one more season of him, and then I'll be caught up on the revival at the very least. That brings me to my actual main question. Is it worth going way back into the original run of Who and watching episodes? Should I just try to dig up the episodes for specific Doctors? I hear Tom Baker is as classic as it gets. I also hear there are some dark times for the franchise, and given them number of seasons aired, I don't think I need to be my usual completist self when it comes to watching a show. Also, does this crazy time war that leaves The Doctor as the only survivor of his race happen during the original show, or has 'last of his kind' always been his backstory? As I mentioned, I watched the first episode of Torchwood, and I thought it was terrible. Does it get better? I actually really didn't like the first episode of NuWho, but I pressed on and was eventually rewarded. I don't know, I really like Captain Jack from what I've seen of him in Dr Who, but I just thought the actor and character was terrible in Torchwood. As in, Captain Jack really can't carry a show. And the woman who finds and joins Torchwood was very bland. Is there much point in carrying on? It seems when Captain Jack showed up at the end of Season 3, I really didn't miss out by not knowing any plot points about Torchwood, save for the fact that for some reason Captain Jack was running it. Also, wtf is Sarah Jane Adventures, and should I care? Any other spinoffs lurking about?
The Time War is unique to the new series (Although it is sort of inspired by the novels, which are not required reading but fun). In the original series, Gallifrey and the Dalek empire are both intact (Although the Daleks suffer many setbacks). Although the term "Time War" is never mentioned in the original series, Russel T. Davies has said many events in the classic series either lead up to it or are directly part of it. The Doctor is often at odds with his people in the OS, and instead of being the last of his kind is more of a tolerated renegade/exile. As for classic WHO, it's important to realize that it's very low-budget, even by Star Trek TOS standards. It's shot on video and in somewhat grainy film, for the most part, and the special effects/props/etc. are sometimes laughable. Still, there are some episodes that are visually well done, even with the limited budget. As for the serials themselves, the 60s (When the show was in black and white) is where it all started, and good for catching up on the initial background of the show. But don't feel you need to necesarilly jump in at the very beginning. The Hartnell and Troughton stuff is extremely dated, but still entertaining. There were also two Doctor Who films during this era, although they are adaptations starring Peter Cushing and not canon in any sense. The 70's is considered by many to be Doctor Who's Golden age, with Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker in the role. This was also the first decade in color. Pertwee's era mainly confined the Doctor to earth, where he joined a military organization (UNIT, mentioned in the new series but not truely seen in action until Season 4). Pertwee was sort of a "Dandy" with a touch of James Bond. Pertwee's era also introduced the Master. Tom Baker's era was the most popular of the classic series. Once again the series focused on time and space travel. Tom's Doctor was more eccentric than previous incarnations. The first three seasons of Tom's run dealt mainly with sci-fi takes on horror films, while the later seasons focused on a more comic approach. In the 80s, John Nathan Turner took over as producer and his decade is the most turbulent. Tom Baker left, and the show started to adapt a more sci-fi/continuity-oriented approach. Peter Davison took the role, and was the most sucessful of the 80's Doctors, his sucessors, Colin Baker and Sylvestor McCoy, however, did not become very popular with the public (Due to a number of factors-Colin's Doctor was initially unlikeable and the scripts at this time were not that great). Despite a few minor gems in the final years (Mainly during McCoy's last two seasons) WHO was cancelled in 1989. Apart from books, audio dramas, and the ocassional direct-to-video production featuring WHO monsters or companions, WHO remained dormant. A 1996 TV movie was made with Paul Mcgann as the Eighth Doctor, but while sucessful in Britain it flopped in the USA. The TV movie remains controversial among fans, and has never had a US release on video or DVD. Sarah Jane Adventures is a spin-off featuring Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane, as you might recall, appeared in "School Reunion". Sarah Jane was Tom Baker's companion (and to a lesser degree Jon Pertwee's) for his first few seasons. She was very popular and also appeared in "K-9 and Company" (A failed attempt at a spinoff in the 80's) and "The Five Doctors" (1983's 20th anniversary special). "Sarah Jane Adventures" is mainly aimed at a younger audience, but it's been mostly well-received by Who fans. There is one other spin-off, although this one is mainly independent of the others: K-9 Adventures, set to appear on Jetix. K-9 is the "tin dog" seen in School Reunion, and like Sarah, was a Tom Baker-era companion (Although there are four seperate K-9s over the course of the show's history )
BTW, apart from the events in the classic series which are suppossed to lead up to it (Mainly in Genesis of the Daleks and Rememberance of the Daleks) The Time War has never been shown on screen and is mainly considered off-limits for the novels/comics/audios etc. (However, Gallifrey is destroyed in the books but in a totally different context, and perhaps one that might not fit with 'canon'). Hasn't stopped a lot of Youtube videos being made (Using clips from both series), this one probably the best (Some spoilers for season 4): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afBkMIgj-Rc
Hope you're enjoying Who so far. If you want to get a taste of the first five Doctors, my suggestion is to get "The Five Doctors" (though the fourth only really makes a cameo appearance). It's not a great story, but the Doctor's are pretty much in character so it should give you some idea what to expect. Tom Baker's Doctor is good and I suppose could be considered the definitive face of classic Who. Out of the first seven Doctor's his is perhaps the closest to Tennants version. More so than the new series, the classic series stories can be watched out of order without any feeling like you've missed something. So my advice is simply to get a story that peeks you're interest. One word of warning, Doctor Who back then was made on a shoe string budget. The time war is an unseen event that happened between the 1996 TV movie and the new series. That said, RTD has hinted that some events in the classic series are related in some way to the Time War. For instance in "Genesis of the Daleks" the Time Lord's send the Doctor on a mission to alter the history of the Daleks and in "Rememberance of the Daleks" the Doctor does something that might annoy them <note sarcasm>. If anything it gets worse. Season two was a massive improvement, but still not all that good. Never seen it so I wouldn't know.
Most likely he was only cast for a single season. The Ninth Doctor has a very clear story arc over the first season, which is wrapped up pretty cleanly at the end of "The Parting of the Ways". This suggests that his early departure was planned, as the powers-that-be have always maintained. I wouldn't really suggest trying to go through the entire series from start to finish unless you're obsessive. Just handpick whatever seems interesting. Start with some of Tom Baker's episodes, and you can't go wrong. (Mostly.) Hell no. (Your mileage may vary. ) If you liked the character of Sarah Jane Smith from Season 2's "School Reunion", then you'll probably like this. Just catch it on Sci-Fi if you see it. It's a kid's show, but it's better written and less juvenile than Torchwood.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I think I'll bail on Torchwood, and try to dig up Tom Baker era, the five doctors (or maybe that will influence if I look up Tom Baker or something else, who knows). I can accept old Who episodes not being that well budgeted so long as they have some of the same qualities that keep me watching the revival series. One more question... the movie from the 90s? Worth watching, or is that the sort of thing I shouldn't bother with until I'm shorter on episodes to watch?
Me, too. I'm not sure. They're debating it over in the Eccleston/Old Vic thread, though. I remember seeing him in a couple of instances while the first season was still running. One was on Blue Peter, the other some back stage thing. In both instances when he was introduced as the Doctor, he said, "For now". I suspected then that he wouldn't be going longer than one season. Why, though, I don't know. My personal take on it is that he only intended to do one season but the BBC failed to make this clear to the public, and if there is any hard feelings, that's where it's from. I don't really know, to be honest. I just know I love 9 a great deal and wish he'd stayed a bit longer.
The movie is sort of 'meh'. Watch it if you want, and can find it. (It's never had a legal release in North America.) McGann's Doctor is much more interesting in the audios. Tom Baker is barely in "The Five Doctors". He cameos courtesy of some cleverly utilized footage from an episode that was never completed. If you're looking to start out on his Doctor, that's probably the wrong story to start with.
Try The City of Death. A fan favourite, written by Douglas Adams of Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame, so has an element of humour; and the SFX are pretty minimal.
As someone who's relatively new to Doctor Who (I just came aboard about 15 months ago myself) my advice would be to read up a bit on the various Doctors and which stories are considered the classics, and try the ones that strike your fancy. To date, I've only seen about two dozen stories from the classic series, but I've tried all the Doctors and found different things I like about all of them. As this thread attests, you will often be recommended Tom Baker, who I like, but personally find to be in the middle of the pack as far as my favorite Doctors go. Personally, I prefer Pertwee and Hartnell from the original series, so my advice is to be open to exploring whatever looks interesting to you. In some ways I can see that, although to my mind Christopher Eccleston has more in common with Tom Baker. If I were to compare Tennant to the previous Doctors, I'd say he's a blend of Pertwee, T.Baker and Davison with his own twist thrown in.
Read The Doctor Who Primer. Like you, I didn't get into Who until the last few years. I always remember seeing it on PBS, in the 70's, thinking it was "some goofy British Sci-Fi show". Some of the old-Who episodes are really good.