Which Classical Who Era Would You Recommend?

[The Wormhole]

and the more ambitious SF stories tend to have dated worst

That reminds me of The Sensorrites, with the futuristic technology of a watch that keeps itself wound provided its wearer has a pulse. I guess no one thought watches would ever stop needing winding?

 

[diankra]

Actually, I think the Sensorites holds up OK - because it's a bit staid. In 1964, it probably felt as if it had been made in 1958 and left on the shelf till they made the rest of the series, and now it still feels as if it was made in the 1950s.

 

[Candlelight]

Funny how NOBODY recommended the Hurtnell era yet.

Just saying.

I love Hartnell, but, it's black and white, it's incomplete, some stories are only science fiction in the sense that the Doctor and his crew are time travellers intervening in the historical events, and the more ambitious SF stories tend to have dated worst.
It's a jump in the deep end. You'll either love it or hate it, so...

I think he's talking about John Hurtnell...

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Yeah, I meant Hartnell - sorry, spell error.

That said, I concur about the missing episodes being an issue. Not claiming to be a Who-vian expert, but the show always seemed to have rather tight continuity, plus to watch a few parts of a serial and then to listen to the rest can be rather distracting.

That said, I have hopes that they will eventually animate most if not all missing episodes. Several episodes from those seasons are now out or upcoming, so there's still hope.

PS: And IMO, the B&W is the least of the detractors, IMO. At the very least, it lends a different feel to it, and IMO adds to its uniqueness.

 

[VDCNI]

Sixties Who didn't really have tight continuity - at most there was a cliffhanger leading into the next story but they were kept pretty vague.

You can jump from story to story, the missing episodes aren't a big deal - it just means you won't be able to watch every story, though all the missing stories are available on audio.

 

[Sindatur]

Sixties Who didn't really have tight continuity - at most there was a cliffhanger leading into the next story but they were kept pretty vague.

You can jump from story to story, the missing episodes aren't a big deal - it just means you won't be able to watch every story, though all the missing stories are available on audio.

Without the missing stories, you have the confusion of Companions changing in those missing stories, which can be distracting, though

 

[VDCNI]

Of the major companions only Dodo & Jamie's intros are missing and we have Dodo's first full story.

Katarina's and Sara Kingdom's are also missing but we only have a handful of episodes for them anyway.

 

[Sindatur]

Of the major companions only Dodo & Jamie's intros are missing and we have Dodo's first full story.

Katarina's and Sara Kingdom's are also missing but we only have a handful of episodes for them anyway.

And Victoria's Introductory story also has missing episodes.

But, overall, what you have, just watching the complete stories (though a few have now been animated or are in the process of being animated, which makes things better) is a string of Barbara/Ian/and for awhile Susan, and then you have Companions coming or going like crazy.