so, as some of you may know, doctor who is coming back this week, and it's all very exciting. my favorite doctor is back, the best showrunner in the show's history is back, and some plot lines that made me Very Upset back in the day (in the best way possible) are seemingly getting some closure. now that the thing is coming back, and your friends are likely going to start talking about it, you may start to actually wonder:
"How the heck do I watch this thing? It's like 70 seasons long, there's like 16 different people who play this one character, I'm confused."
lucky your good friend kat is here to answer just that question. here's my doctor who skip list. at least, for all of 9 and 10 and then a bit of 11, i fell off during 11's run and am only just recently getting back on the horse, so uh, don't expect anything after the angels take manhattan because that was my fed up point.
first off, just ignore the old stuff, for the most part. is a lot of it good? yes! the fourth doctor is exactly as charming as you've probably heard, it's genuinely some of the best sci-fi of the 60s and 70s, but like Star Trek: TOS, watching the old stuff is not essential to enjoying the new stuff, and for the most part they're separate entities. usually. start with the new stuff, then go back and watch the old stuff if you like it.
second, i recommend starting with the Ninth Doctor, christopher eccleston. this means starting basically from scratch at the very beginning of the new run of the show in 2005. is that a lot of television? yeah. but you can skip around, you can watch the bits that you like, and ultimately, if you're really inclined to just skip forward, and watch a particular doctor instead, every doctor has a healthy entry point for newcomers. i just really like eccleston and tenant, and think that starting early is a good way to get emotionally attached to this madness.
third, the show from 2005-2022 is all on max aka hbo max, but the new stuff from 2023 onwards will be on disney+ instead. it's confusing, and it probably won't be all on the same service until like 2025. until then, there's always the high seas.
let's get started, shall we?
Ninth Doctor
This is one season, and thus is a pretty brisk watch.
Rose - Essential. This is everything you need to know about the Doctor, about the tone of the modern era, about his first companion, and about what you're about to commit to. It's certainly not the best episode of the show, but if this hits for you then oh boy strap in because you're about to have a very good time.
The End of the World - This is also relatively essential, even if it's cheesy as all get out. Again, does a great deal to sort of introduce the tone and the stakes, and also you learn some pretty big stuff about the Doctor's recent past. It also sets up something for our next episode, that being
Dalek - This is the episode. It introduces the show's defining villain, it introduces the real mythos of what's going on with this broken little alien and his broken little box, and it's just damn good.
Father's Day - Do you like Rose Tyler so far? Are you ready for her tragic backstory? Cool, here's that, this episode's sad, strap in.
The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances - Are you my mummy? This is the first "scary/horror" episode you're getting in this watch list, one of many, and it's iconic for a reason.
Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways - An hour full of pain! Oh boy! Goodie!! This is one of my absolute favorite stories in the show, and if you have cared at all so far then it'll probably make you cry!!
[the rest of this season is also pretty good, and the Aliens of London two parter in particular ends up getting referenced again several times later. non-essential, but worth a watch if you have the time]
Tenth Doctor
This is my Doctor, the one who dragged me into this whole thing. I actually did not get into the show until Tenth's fourth and final season on the show, so take that as a lesson that anything in here can be a starting point. There are four seasons of this, they are all wonderful and heartbreaking and gorgeous and fantastic, and sure a lot of it is corny as hell but that's what makes it great.
Series 2 -- Ten and Rose
The Christmas Invasion - Essential. The first of the traditional "Christmas specials," this is a double length episode that introduces regeneration (aka "the reason why there are so many actors playing this guy"). Come for the exposition and Rose playing the hero for a bit, stay for the goofy ass David Tenant monologue near the end. And yes, the hand comes back later, it's important.
School Reunion - This one's just very very good. It's not technically essential, but it's one of my favorites. It's also the one that relies the most on the old shit, given that it reintroduces a companion from the 60s, but you really don't need to have watched the stuff from the 60s to get it, I promise.
The Girl in the Fireplace - One of my absolute favorite episodes of the show, one of the best "weird historical time travel shenanigans" episodes the show has to offer, and just an overall delight. Great villains, cool suits, good premise, Ten getting to be a cute lovable doofus, what's not to like here
The Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel - Introduces the other most iconic villain in the show and is just damn good sci-fi otherwise! Absolutely essential.
The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit - Non-essential for plot reasons, but if you like it when Star Trek goes on about the nature of religion and the indescribable divide between faith and reality, this is that but for Doctor Who!!
Army of Ghosts / Doomsday - 1000% essential, an absolute gut punch of an episode, Rose Tyler's best episode ever, and the namesake of one of my favorite pieces of music from the show. You can skip every other episode from this season, but watch this one.
Series 3 -- Ten and Martha
The Runaway Bride - This season's Christmas special! It's not technically necessary because it'll get recapped for you when it becomes necessary, but this actually introduces you to next season's companion, Donna Noble! She's my favorite, so basically anything with her in it is essential to me.
Smith and Jones - This introduces this season's companion, Martha Jones! It's sort of a weird episode plot-wise, Judoon on the moon and all that, but it's cute and fun and Martha's criminally underrated as a companion so watch this one!
The Shakespeare Code - Fun and goofy time travel shenanigans, really wacky stuff here. Not a classic, not a plot essential, just dumb and fun antics featuring William Shakespeare being very flirty with Martha Jones.
Human Nature / The Family of Blood - This is a strange one. It's on here because of Tennant's acting and because it introduces a concept that's important to the finale, but it's also... strangely non-essential? It also sidelines Martha in a really weird way that I've never been on board with so... yeah? Great acting from Ten though.
Blink - There is a reason this is the episode I usually tell people to watch, if they only have time to watch one. This is also a horror episode, and the villains introduced here are important later--which I actually think is unfortunate, because this episode is where they're at their best.
Utopia / The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords - Introduces a key villain, is important to next season's finale, and is Martha's send off. It's not necessarily a good three parter, but it is important, and again has some great acting from pretty much everyone involved. Fair warning, it's got one of the worst CG effects in the show's run in it, so uh, be prepared for that.
Series 4 -- Ten and Donna
You could literally just watch this whole thing and not regret it because every single episode in this season is a banger.
Voyage of the Damned - Another Christmas special and boy howdy this one's cheesy as fuck! And as much as folks seem to not like it, I do, and I like it because it's cheesy, and also it introduces Wilfred Mott, who is one of the best characters in the whole damn series, so. Cornball writing be damned, watch this one.
Partners in Crime - Remember The Runaway Bride? I hope you do because she's back! This episode is just... extremely screwball shit, one of the weirdest villain plots in the show's history, but Donna is such a good companion that it's good anyway!
The Fires of Pompeii - Once again one of the show's best time travel episodes!!! This is one of those "this is everything this show is about and if you only have time to watch one watch this one" type episodes. You don't have to save everyone, you just have to save someone.
Planet of the Ood - The kind of sci-fi ethics bullshit that the show shines during, and essential to understanding some bits of a later episode. Also, fantastic music.
The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky - Did you like Martha? Good, you'll want to watch this!!
The Unicorn and the Wasp - Okay. This episode sucks. But like, in the best way possible? I mean it. This episode doesn't matter for any plot reason, it's arguably very stupid, but like. It's an episode about The Doctor and Donna helping Agatha Christie escape a giant alien wasp. Of course I'm telling you to watch it.
Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead - This episode is going to make you feel pain for a character that you just met. You're going to feel like you've known this character for a very long time even though you don't. You will know her again if you keep watching.
Midnight - Do you like the scary episodes? Good, you'll want to watch this!
Turn Left - Donna's key character piece, and key to understanding the finale. Definitely watch this one.
The Stolen Earth / Journey's End - OH BOY PAIN AND SUFFERING. This is one of THOSE finales. It concludes the majority of the arcs you've seen over the last four seasons, it has some of the best writing and acting in the entire damn run of the show, and it sets up a tragic arc that to this day has not been rectified. Remember how I mentioned that the episodes airing this week are providing closure to shit that made me very upset back in the day? Welcome to pain!!!!
Post-Donna Specials
So Ten's run is about to come to an end here, but he's got some chores to do first.
The Next Doctor - Did you like the Cybermen? Good, you'll want to watch this!
The Waters of Mars - Do you like the scary episodes? Good, you'll want to wa--I mean, watch this one anyway, it's literally essential for understanding where Ten is at in his final hours, and it's also just fucking good. Time Lord Victorious.
The End of Time Part 1 and 2 - This is everything you've come to love and hate about this show. Cheesy villains, weird CGI, tremendous acting, heart wrenching moments, time travel bullshit, the power of friendship, insanely good music. It's all here. This episode makes me cry every single time, RIP Bernard Cribbins, this is why you watched everything else first, and unfortunately it's sort of the end of an era.
Eleventh Doctor
I'm... less enthusiastic about this. There will be less on this part of the list, and less as time goes on. I'm still gonna list some of my favorites from this era, but uh, don't expect glowing recommendations. The show's writing and showrunning gets worse from here on out, and I'm just... kind of a hater. But Eleven is a lot of peoples' favorite, and he might be yours too, so give it a shot, you might like it more than I do!
The Eleventh Hour
The Time of Angels / Flesh and Stone
The Vampires of Venice
Amy's Choice
The last 5 minutes of Cold Blood
Vincent and the Doctor - Okay, me being a hater aside, this is far and away one of the best episodes of the show and one of my favorite episodes of television at all period. Have tissues out.
The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang - You need to watch this to understand everything else about this era. That's both a bad thing and a good thing. If any one thing annoys me about this entire era of the show, it's that it's nothing but convoluted twist after convoluted twist. If you watch this and you're like "hey shit that was cool," you're going to have a better time than I did with the rest of it.
A Christmas Carol
The Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon - It has been like 10 years and I am still trying to wrap my head around what the fuck was going on here. That's not a good thing, and it's why I stopped watching the show. But, again, this might be your shit!
The Doctor's Wife - Hey! Neil Gaiman wrote this one! It's very good, that shouldn't surprise you!!
The Rebel Flesh / The Almost People
A Good Man Goes to War / Let's Kill Hitler - And this is what finally made me be like "eh I don't think this is for me". This is absolutely going to hit for someone, and it hit for many, many people. It just didn't hit for me.
The Girl Who Waited
The Wedding of River Song - If the big confusing connective plot in all the big two parters has been hitting for you thus far, this is sort of what it all leads up to. As much as I am very much a hater of a lot of this, god damn if I do not love River Song.
The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe
Asylum of the Daleks
Dinosaurs on a Spaceship - this one is so stupid. just so, so stupid. affectionately, by the way, if you can't tell by now i love when the show is just unabashedly stupid.
The Angels Take Manhattan - Remember how I said "Blink" was the best episode for a certain class of villains and it just got progressively worse? Unfortunately this episode is plot essential even if it's... this.... I guess....
This was legitimately my last episode of the show, when I was originally watching it. I have not seen any of Twelve or Thirteen, so I have no recommendations beyond this. I'm just going to direct you to other peoples' lists for that.
So that's my big fuckin list. If you want to watch what you need to watch to understand the stuff that's airing this week in full, really everything up to the end of 10's run will do just fine. Davies's era of Doctor Who is some of my favorite TV ever, and his return to the show is why i'm back on my bullshit.
if you have recommendations for me from 12 and 13's runs, hit me up, happy to give em a shot.
