Where to start with Classic Who?

[Seven of Five]

I've just recently started watching nu-Who, and I've become slightly addicted. I didn't think I'd like the show as much as I have done, which is a nice surprise.

I'll have caught up to series 5 before long, and have decided that I want to start watching some of the older series. I have no idea where to start though, as usually I just like going through things chronologically. I can't really with Doctor Who as a) a lot of episodes have been lost in time, and b) not all episodes are available to buy yet.

So I'm after some recommendations for which stories to look at first that are available now. I think if I get pulled into the show I can always go back and start in whatever order is available, but I think I want to try a taste of all the different takes on the show.

 

[Lonemagpie]

I'd recommend Talons of Weng Chiang, however, other decent jumping-on points would be The Beginning box set (which, seeing that it includes the first episode, is obvious as a jumping-on point) or Spearhead From Space, which was intended to introduce the show to colour. Maybe Genesis Of The Daleks if you already saw Journey's End.

 

[Mr. Sin]

Here's my recommendations:

FIRST DOCTOR

The Aztecs-A good 'historical' story that has no sci-fi trappings apart from the Doctor and co himself. A companion gets mistaken for an Aztec goddess and there is a moral quandry about changing time.

The Time Meddler-The Doctor first encounters another time lord in 1066. Lots of fun.

The Romans-Doctor Who does the historical again, but this time with a comic touch.


SECOND DOCTOR

Not much exists of the second Doctor, unfortunately, but check out TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN (A fun, if low-budget looking story) and THE WAR GAMES (Which introduced the time lords proper, gave an origin story for the Doctor, and is an epic story in it's own right). The Mind Robber, similar in some ways to Star Trek TOS's Shore Leave, is also good fun.


THIRD DOCTOR

SPEARHEAD FROM SPACE-The only classic series story shot entirely on film (and the very first in color), this is the first appearence of the Autons/Nestenes, The Third Doctor, and is overall a good introduction to UNIT in the classic series (Although they appear first in THE INVASION).


INFERNO-Doctor Who does the Mirror, Mirror concept when the Doctor accidentally winds up in an alternate universe.

THE DAEMONS-Probably the best of the stories featuring the original Master, Roger Delgado. The Master basically summons an alien 'devil' and the Doctor and UNIT must deal with it.

THE GREEN DEATH-A literally 'green' Doctor Who where the Doctor must stop a corporation from pollution that creates nasty mutant maggots which turn into cheap-looking flys .

THE TIME WARRIOR-The first appearence of Sarah Jane Smith and the Sontarans, also one of the better-looking stories production wise.


FOURTH DOCTOR

Genesis of the Daleks-The origin story of the Daleks, and the first appearence of their creator, Davros. The Doctor also confronts several moral dillemas in this episode.

Pyramid Of Mars-The Doctor battles an alien that inspired the ancient Egyptians. A creepy gothic story.

City of Death-A fun romp through Paris as the Doctor and fellow time lord/lady Romana try to stop an alien from erasing human existence.

FIFTH DOCTOR

Kinda-A sort of metaphysical WHO where the Doctor confronts a nasty monster who possess people and that physically manifests itself as a huge fake looking snake

Earthshock-The Cybermen return in force in this story, which sees the tragic fate of a companion.

Mawdryn Undead-Sort of the 'relics' of Doctor Who as the Doctor meets his old friend Brigidiar Lethbridge Stewart who is now retired and amnesiac.

Caves of Androzani-One of the best DW stories, this story is pretty much the core of what the Doctor is all about.

SIXTH DOCTOR

Vengeance on Varos-The Doctor finds himself in a nightmarish dome of horrors as several people watch him on TV.

Revelation of the Daleks-An oddball but well-directed Dalek story.

SEVENTH DOCTOR

Rememberance of the Daleks-The Doctor returns to London in 1963 where it all started in a deadly gambit with two Dalek factions.

Ghost Light-A fun if confusing story partially about creation vs. Evolution.

Curse of Fenric-The Doctor plays a deadly game of chess with an entity as old as time itself in the midst of World War II. Plus we learn a lot of a companion's backstory, and the climax is quite shocking.

 

[Starkers]

Vengeance on Varos-The Doctor finds himself in a nightmarish dome of horrors as several people watch him on TV.

Oh come on, the Sixth Doctor's ratings weren't that bad were they

Anyway- I've chosen one from each...

First Doctor: The Dalek Invasion of Earth

Second Doctor: The Invasion

Third Doctor: The Time Warrior

Fourth Doctor: Robots of Death

Fifth Doctor: Earthshock

Sixth Doctor: Vengence on Varos

Seventh Doctor: Curse of Fenric

 

[OmahaStar]

I won't be as thorough as Mr. Sin, but that's because you asked about episodes that are on dvd. Only one Doctor (Six) has been completely released.

You may know this or not, but the first two Doctors are incomplete, as many of their episodes were destroyed by the BBC. We are lucky to have as many complete stories as we do, and they are all in black and white, if that means anything to you.

First Doctor

1 - An Unearthly Child 1 - Pilot episode only. This introduces the Doctor, his granddaughter Susan, and the concept of the Tardis. Skip the next three episodes, just watch the one episode.

2 - The Rescue 11 / The Romans 12 - The Rescue is a two-part story which reintroduces the character and concept, along with introducing a new companion. The Romans is a four-part comedy set in the past, with the Tardis slightly out of commission.

Second Doctor

3 - Tomb of the Cybermen 37 - This is my favorite story of the first two Doctors, and it's all about the Cybermen.

4 - The War Games 50 - This is a ten-episode epic story, during which we finally get a boatload of information on the Doctor's people, including the first ever trip to Gallifrey.

Third Doctor

5 - Spearhead From Space 51 - Set immediately after the Doctor has regenerated, the first story in color, this is a re-introduction of the character and concept, with the Doctor now trapped on Earth and working with UNIT.

6 - The Time Warrior 70 - Introduces companion Sarah Jane Smith, arguably the most popular companion of the series, popular enough to get her own spin-off ... twice. Also introduces the Sontarans.

Fourth Doctor

7 - Planet of Evil 81 - In short, it's a mysterious, creepy planet full of hidden evils, and one of my favorites.

8 - City of Death 105 - Towards the end of this Doctor's reign, it's a comedy set (mostly) in France, with a lot of location filming. Huge cameo towards the end, and gives a whole new look at the Mona Lisa.

Fifth Doctor (it's been a LONG time since I've seen anything from this Doctor, so don't blame me if they suck)

9 - Four to Doomsday 118 - Various people stolen from different points in time live on one ship together.

10 - The Five Doctors 130 - The plot is secondary. This is the biggest multi-Doctor story (no, we're not counting that Eastenders crossover, don't ask), with the first five Doctors and a massive amount of companions and bad guys coming together to wish us all a happy twentieth anniversary.

11 - The Caves of Androzani 136 - Repeatedly voted the best story of the original series, probably because it's when Five regenerates into Six, the best Doctor of the whole series.

Sixth Doctor

12 - The Mark of the Rani 140 - This is the first time we see a female bad guy from the Doctor's people, and her name is the Rani. She is a mad scientist like you wouldn't believe, and makes the Master quake in his boots (seriously, it happens). She is every bit the Doctor's equal, and this may be his toughest fight yet.

13 - Revelation of the Daleks 143 - The Sixth Doctor finally gets a new costume, he faces off against Davros, and Peri behaves herself (mostly). Oh, and Richard Bucket is a guest star.

Seventh Doctor

14 - Remembrance of the Daleks 152 - Sorry, what I've seen of this Doctor on dvd has sucked donkey balls. This is the only story that is tolerable, and marks a HUGE change in the Daleks. It takes place at the same time, and in the same place, as the story An Unearthly Child (the pilot of the series)

 

[Valin]

Here's my list (one for each Doctor):

1st Doc--The Dalek Invasion of Earth--one of the best Dalek stories (which was also, btw, remade as a film starring Peter Cushing as a human Doctor).

2nd --The Invasion --great sixties story; cybermen, UNIT, and a Bondian villian.

3rd -- Inferno --my favorite Doctor story and the one that made me a fan.

4th -- The Deadly Assasin --great Gallifrey story and some good action sequences.

5th --Caves of Androzani--The 5th Doctor's best.

6th --Mark of the Rani -- part historical with two rival Timelords

7th -- Curse of Fenric --the dark side of the Doctor

8th --TVM (not on DVD in US--unfortunately)--some fans malign it, but McGann does a great job as the Doctor

 

[Demonland]

It should also be noted that the Classic Series employs a different type of story telling than the New Series. The New Series generally is fast paced and wraps the story within 42 minutes or an hour and 20 mins if it is a double, whereas the classic series are serialised stories which run over 4 or sometimes 6 or more episodes of about 22 to 25 mins and can be very slow at times. For me this isn't an issue because I grew up with that type of story telling but for others who are used to the new series the classic might seem tedious and drawn out.

Other than that any of the stories that the others have mentioned are good starting points.

Have fun and let us know what you think.

 

[Geckothan]

My introduction to classic Who was Genesis of the Daleks and it got me hooked. I'd also recommend The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The War Games, Spearhead from Space, The Talons of Weng-Chiang and The Caves of Androzani. I haven't seen any C. Baker or McCoy serials so I can't recommend any.

 

[The Sonic Mole]

I think you can't go wrong with any of the stories mentioned above.

For the record here's my post from another thread re the same thing:

The Dalek Invasion Of Earth – For me the best of the early Dalek stories. Also, the fact that they choose Bedfordshire (my home county) of all places to base some of the story is very Doctor Who!

2.Tomb Of The Cybermen – Arguably not the greatest Cybermen story but this is a firm favourite of mine due to the exceptional art direction and off the wall soundtrack.

3.Spearhead From Space – The story that kicked off what may have been the strongest season in the show’s history. The scenes with the Autons are still chilling to this day.

4.Inferno – I love the sense of tension in this story and the idea of the parallel universe is nifty. Not sure about the “Teenwolf” monsters though!

5.The Ark In Space – One of the first Tom Baker Who adventures I saw. Contains the amazing “homo sapiens” monologue.

6.Genesis Of The Daleks – The first Davros story. For me Michael Wisher’s performance is definitive.

7.The Talons Of Weng Chiang – Brilliant Who-does-Sherlock Holmes epic and the supporting cast is fantastic.

8.The Caves Of Androzani – Davison’s final story and an excellent one at that. Genuinely moving at the end.

9.Vengeance On Varos – An infamous story. This is possibly Colin Baker’s finest adventure and an excellent satire on video nasties, etc.

10.Ghost Light – A good example of why the demise of the original series was so tragic. McCoy’s final season was full of strong, intelligent and mysterious stories, with this being my favourite.

 

[Silent_Bob]

Whilst they arent DVD's, since you are in the UK might i recommend checking out http://www.youtube.com/show/drwho?pl=3FBFF908133F4A65
The BBC have stuck a bunch of the classic episodes onto youtube, it may be worth checking out a few prior to spending any money, just in case the classic series dont appeal to you.

 

[Anji]

I've gotta go with what made me a fan: "The Sea Devils" (Pertwee). Great story, I love the guys from UNIT and The Master (Delgado), you just can't go wrong.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

It should also be noted that the Classic Series employs a different type of story telling than the New Series. The New Series generally is fast paced and wraps the story within 42 minutes or an hour and 20 mins if it is a double, whereas the classic series are serialised stories which run over 4 or sometimes 6 or more episodes of about 22 to 25 mins and can be very slow at times. For me this isn't an issue because I grew up with that type of story telling but for others who are used to the new series the classic might seem tedious and drawn out.

Yeah. It's certainly a different style of story telling and takes a lot of getting used to. But once you do, it's a lot of fun, especially since there were some truly spectacular actors who played the Doctor in some of the previous seasons.

A few of my favorite stories:

"The Invasion." A great Patrick Troughton story with the Cybermen, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, and the introduction of UNIT. Patrick Troughton is quite possibly my all-time favorite Doctor (although right now Tom Baker & Paul McGann are right in the thick of it too). In addition to the Cybermen, "The Invasion" also has one of Doctor Who's best human villains, Tobias Vaughn, the International Electromatics CEO who collaborates with the Cybermen in the hopes of later betraying them and conquering the world for himself. Parts 1 & 4 of the story are missing but have been replaced with very well done animated episodes using fan-made off-air audio recordings of the original episodes as the audio track. Here's hoping that BBC Video will provide us with more animated replacement episodes!

"The Seeds of Death." Another great Patrick Troughton story, this time fighting against the Ice Warriors (briefly name-dropped in "Waters of Mars"). Part of the reason why I like this story so much is because there are moments where Troughton really sells the idea of the Doctor in actual mortal jeopardy. I think the show is much more effective when the dangers that the Doctor faces are real to him.

"The Three Doctors." The 10th aniversary story. Patrick Troughton & Jon Pertwee team up with UNIT to defeat the rogue Time Lord Omega while William Hartnell provides advice while trapped in the time vortex.

"Genesis of the Daleks." The introduction of Davros and the greatest classic Dalek story ever!

"The Five Doctors." The 20th aniversary special. This special has everything-- Cybermen, Daleks, Yeti, the Master, Time Lords, the Raston Robot, the perils of a gently sloping hill. It's also chock-full of companions--Susan, the Brigadier, Sarah Jane, Romana II, K-9, Tegan, Turlough, Jamie, Zoe, Liz Shaw, Mike Yates--and, of course, 5 Doctors. Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, & Peter Davison team up with the 1st Doctor (Richard Hurdnall replacing the late William Hartnell) while Tom Baker gets trapped in the time vortex and only appears via stock footage. While it may seem like an indulgent exercise in nostalgia, it's also great for the new Doctor Who fans because it provides a robust sampler of all the different classic Doctors you can try.

"The Two Doctors." Another fun multi-Doctor team-up between Patrick Troughton & Colin Baker. Any new Troughton stories are always fine by me.

 

[GabeHimself]

I'd watch Genesis of the Daleks first. If you like it, then you will like Classic Who. It's the best bridge between New and Classic.

If you don't like it, then you will not like Classic Who.

 

[Lonemagpie]

I'd watch Genesis of the Daleks first. If you like it, then you will like Classic Who. It's the best bridge between New and Classic.

If you don't like it, then you will not like Classic Who.

It also has the advantage of directly tying in to Journey's End.

 

[Fenric]

if you are starting watching classic who perhaps looking at the five doctors maybe a good as it will give you an idea of what the first 5 doctors are like and if one of them appeals to you then perhaps watching some episodes about them and see were it leads you. also perhaps look at some of the top rated classic stories to see were they can lead you maybe it would be easier for a first time fan to find it easier with some of the later who from the 1980's such as

Curse of Fenric
Caves of Andronzi

to watch first of all and then move on to some of the earlier who classics like genesis of the daleks

 

[Bones2]

Right, I'll have a go. I'll try to go for two apiece, unless there are special ones.

FIRST: An Unearthly Child (first episode), The Daleks, The Tenth Planet
SECOND: Tomb of the Cybermen, The War Games
THIRD: The Three Doctors, Carnival of Monsters
FOURTH: Genesis of the Daleks, City of Death
FIFTH: Earthshock, The Five Doctors, The Caves of Androzani
SIXTH: Attack of the Cybermen, Vengeance on Varos, Revelation of the Daleks SEVENTH: Remembrance of the Daleks, The Curse of Fenric
EIGHTH: Doctor Who

Yeah, I know, I named three Sixth Doctor episodes. But he's so wonderful.

 

[The Sonic Mole]

Attack Of The Cybermen is an interesting choice. I suppose it has a lot of references to past serials...

 

[Bones2]

It's a good story. Probably prefer it to Earthshock. And, well, it's the Sixth Doctor.

 

[The]

Hmmm...except for Lytton's awesome self, I can't go with you on AotC. It's far, FAR too continuity-heavy for newbies...

 

[Bones2]

Well, if a person new to the show watched my suggested episodes in order...

Spoiler: continuity and that

...they'd know Totter's Lane from An Unearthly Child, Cybermen stuff from The Tenth Planet, Tomb, and Earthshock (and so Telos, Mondas, Cyber-conversion...), and Susan, Jamie, Zoe, and Tegan who all get namechecked. They wouldn't know Lytton, but I wouldn't wish Resurrection of the Daleks on a new fan. All in all, I think it would make for a rewarding watch after seeing my previous suggested episodes.