New to Who

[Guy Gardener]

It's believed that she was talking about the mileage not the years.

The overwhelming sadness he wears like a coat, was considerably less whelming at this point in his life.

The Doctor in the library had 14 tons less emotional damage, than the Doctor who she shot in Utah.

 

[Ithekro]

I recommend hitting Utopia and the episodes with it before hitting the 12th Doctor.



Remember....evil Time Lord. (though to some the Doctor is the evil Time Lord)

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

Well I must say I'm relieved! I thought all of you were going to come at me with torches for not absolutely loving Ten.

Yeah I've heard that a lot of people think the Doctor is the villain of the show. Why?

 

[Sindatur]

Well I must say I'm relieved! I thought all of you were going to come at me with torches for not absolutely loving Ten.

There are some folks who loved RTD's Era running, the show and don't like Moffet's style, and Vice Versa.

And then, of there are some who love Tennant so, much, they could never accept Smith and on and on

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

So there's this divide then? Aren't there people who enjoy both?

 

[Nightowl1701]

I recommend hitting Utopia and the episodes with it before hitting the 12th Doctor.

Remember....evil Time Lord. (though to some the Doctor is the evil Time Lord)

^ Agreed. That's the three-parter that finishes Season 3. Other suggested Ten episodes you might want to visit one day soon (esp. if rumors about the upcoming Season 9 prove true)...

The Fires of Pompeii - Ten and Donna visit the tragic Italian city on Volcano Day, and meet a couple of familiar faces (familiar to us, but not to the Doctor - not yet, anyway...)

The Doctor's Daughter - yep, exactly what it says it is. And Ten, with Donna and Martha's help, has to deal with literally instant parenthood. (The titular daughter is played by the real-life daughter of Doctor Five - Peter Davidson - and ends up marrying David Tennant IRL.)

The Stolen Earth/Journey's End - Ten and Donna team up with every one of the supporting characters of the series so far (including Rose!) to defend Earth against an all-out Dalek invasion. Here's where you'll meet a monster even worse than the Daleks - the monster who created them. And Ten has his little 'vanity' issue that Eleven mentioned in his farewell episode...

The End of Time - Ten can't escape his fate. The evil Time Lord from the above-mentioned three-parter won't let him. Plus you'll meet the creator of the Time Lords, a man with the face of James Bond - a man equal parts George Washington and Joseph Stalin.

Yeah I've heard that a lot of people think the Doctor is the villain of the show. Why?

It's a bit like Batman and his Rogues' Gallery. His sheer presence in the universe and utter ability in stopping villains in their tracks drives them to dramatically up their game (or upgrade, in the Cybermen's case) and broaden their ambitions. It can be argued that if the Doctor never visited the planet Skaro in the first place, for instance, the Daleks never would have left that world in their insane quest to exterminate all other life - a quest that led inevitably to the Great Time War.

And I, for one, enjoy all eras of Doctor Who. Not equally, but there's something good to be found in each of them.

 

[Sindatur]

So there's this divide then? Aren't there people who enjoy both?

Oh, no, you heard me wrong, LOL.

I was only speaking of some folks. Most of us, just cruise along with the changes, and find something in each era, though, of course, we all have favorite Doctors, Companions, Writers, Show Runners... and there are of course, Doctors, Companions, Writers, Show Runners that don't work for some us, but, we just wait it out until the next change that brings us something we like better.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

Ah, okay It's kind of nice. Like a rainbow and each one of us has a favourite colour but yet we are all still a part of it.

Oh boy, that sounded way too cheesy!

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

If you don't like it, you don't like it, nothing to be done about that.
I have to admit, still cringe a bit when I read that, cause with the exception of the library two parter you keep bailing before the highlights, which I still think you would enjoy.

 

[Volpone]

I'm not a fan of the few episodes of RTD/Tennant I've seen. They seem to boil down to the Doctor running around frantically, waving his sonic screwdriver at things, and mooning over his companions. YMMV.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

So there's this divide then? Aren't there people who enjoy both?

Basically, I like the six and a half years (5 and a half actually, I count the 2008-2009/10 specials as one series, personally). From Lets Kill Hitler and on, I've found the show to be wildly inconsistent in quality of storytelling and characteriation. Its not all bad, though - the Doctor trilogy in the seventh year was great, and Capaldi's great fun in series 8. But to me, the RTD years and the first year and a half of Moffat is where its at.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

I enjoy all Doctor's I have seen so far.
I am a little worried, that you critizice Ten for being a bit of a jerk to Martha, because you might be in for a shock with Twelve and Clara....

 

[Guy Gardener]

You mean 14.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Don't start this again.
I am going by official naming convention, not in universe actual incarnation number.

 

[Doctorwhovian]

Regarding the Doctor being 'evil', there are times in the series where the Doctor's done some questionable things, or appeared more alien in a moral sense. In fact, it goes right back to the beginning-Hartnell's Doctor is portrayed as somewhat of a sinister individual at first, abducting his first two non-Susan companions so they wouldn't tell anybody about the TARDIS, and later nearly killing a caveman.

Later episodes during the Tom Baker era show the Doctor as a bit detached as well, in Pyramid Of Mars Sarah is upset that the Doctor doesn't seem too broken up about the death of a supporting cast member, but the Doctor clarifies that he's thinking of the big picture.

The Doctor's darkness also becomes a bit of a theme in the last few seasons. Colin Baker's Doctor starts off sort of nuts-even more so than other Doctors-and has sort of a mean, unstable streak that continues through most of his stories. There's also an 'evil Doctor'-similar in a few ways to the Dream Lord-that appears in his final season, called the Valeyard.McCoy's Doctor, at first sort of comedic, later becomes darker and more manipulative, playing people and villains like chess (which is a metaphor used in some of his stories).


And then in the new series, you've got the Time War, the events in Water Of Mars etc.

 

[kirk55555]

For NuWho, I generally enjoy everything from Rose to Deep Breath (with a few stinker episodes here or there, obviously). Series 8 is the first time that I've disliked more than I've liked a NuWho season, and even then I still liked Capaldi as The Doctor. When it comes to the various NuWho Doctors, I've never been able to choose my favorite. I guess it would come down to Tennant and Smith (even though I like 9 and 12 a lot), but I just can't choose between 10 and 11 myself.

 

[NightJim]

Certainly not going to shout, since that's pretty my approach to Classic.

However, I do second these suggestions.

I recommend hitting Utopia and the episodes with it before hitting the 12th Doctor.

Remember....evil Time Lord. (though to some the Doctor is the evil Time Lord)

^ Agreed. That's the three-parter that finishes Season 3. Other suggested Ten episodes you might want to visit one day soon (esp. if rumors about the upcoming Season 9 prove true)...

The Fires of Pompeii - Ten and Donna visit the tragic Italian city on Volcano Day, and meet a couple of familiar faces (familiar to us, but not to the Doctor - not yet, anyway...)

The Doctor's Daughter - yep, exactly what it says it is. And Ten, with Donna and Martha's help, has to deal with literally instant parenthood. (The titular daughter is played by the real-life daughter of Doctor Five - Peter Davidson - and ends up marrying David Tennant IRL.)

The Stolen Earth/Journey's End - Ten and Donna team up with every one of the supporting characters of the series so far (including Rose!) to defend Earth against an all-out Dalek invasion. Here's where you'll meet a monster even worse than the Daleks - the monster who created them. And Ten has his little 'vanity' issue that Eleven mentioned in his farewell episode...

The End of Time - Ten can't escape his fate. The evil Time Lord from the above-mentioned three-parter won't let him. Plus you'll meet the creator of the Time Lords, a man with the face of James Bond - a man equal parts George Washington and Joseph Stalin.

The End of Time wouldn't make my list if it wasn't Tennant's regeneration. But if you're going to watch that I'd say include Waters of Mars to explain some of the Doctor's attitude. And it's probably my favourite of the specials.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

I can always go back at a later time and give those episodes a try. As for the impending jerkiness between Twelve and Clara, well I'll just have to see about that.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

For what it's worth, here is my list of basically "must see" episodes of every season of the Eccleston/Tennant era. Episodes in brackets contain some set up/continuity for the other episodes (like what happens to Adam, what is Satellite 5 and where does the extrapolator thingy come from.), but are not among the real highlights, so skip them if you must.

Season 1
Dalek
(The Long Game)
The Empty Child (Moffat written)
The Doctor Dances (Moffat written)
(Boom Town)
Bad Wolf pt 1
Parting of the Ways pt 2

Season 2
The Christmas Invasion
(Tooth and Claw)
School Reunion
The Girl in the Fireplace (Moffat written)
Rise of the Cybermen pt 1
Age of Steel pt 2
The Impossible Planet pt 1
The Satan Pit pt 2
Army of Ghosts pt 1
Doomsday pt 2

Season 3
The Runaway Bride
Smith and Jones
Human Nature pt 1
Family of Blood pt 2
Blink (Moffat written)
Utopia pt 1
The Sound of Drums pt 2
Last of the Time Lords pt 3

Season 4 (this season on the whole is the closest to the Moffat/Smith era, and easiest to imagine Smith in the role of the Doctor in without significant changes to the scripts imo)
Partners in Crime
Fires of Pompeii
Planet of the Ood
The Sontaran Stratagem pt 1
The Poison Sky pt 2
The Doctor's Daughter
Silence in the Library pt 1 (Moffat written)
Forest of the Dead pt 2 (Moffat written)
Midnight
Turn left
The Stolen Earth pt 1
Journey's End pt 2

The Specials
(Planet of the Dead)
(The Waters of Mars) <-- This is the episode where i got my forum name from
The End of Time pt 1/ pt 2

 

[Iamnotspock]

Season 2
The Christmas Invasion
School Reunion
The Girl in the Fireplace (Moffat written)
Rise of the Cybermen pt 1
Age of Steel pt 2
The Impossible Planet pt 1
The Satan Pit pt 2
Army of Ghosts pt 1
Doomsday pt 2

I would add Tooth and Claw, as not only do I think it's a great episode, it contains relevant set-up for the rest of the series (particularly the finale), and beyond Doctor Who itself...