Den of Geeks Doctor Who experts pick the best jumping-on points.
Right at the very beginning!
answered nobody, ever to the question of where a newcomer toDoctor Whoshould start watching.
Youd need a TARDIS.
So where to jump in?
Thats why we asked it to our writhing nest ofDoctor Whoexperts.
If you bought all the novels published in the Nineties, this was for you.
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So this is why Rose is a great place to start.
Thats what it is for, and it achieves so many of its aims.
Feel like they could be more uncanny and terrifying?
WELL GOOD NEWS.).
Alsothe Wheelie Bin bitreminds you not to take this too seriously.
Well, I reckon Blink serves to distil what made noughtiesDoctor Whowork.
The Doctor can help us because he knows more than us.
And then, of course, there arethe Weeping Angels.
Clearly it doesnt take a genius to greenlight a motion picture.
and the titular hero more of an afterthought.
A ludicrous place to start with the franchise, surely?
But its also the first piece ofWhothat I ever consumed as a child.
I had no concept of canon.
I was simply, in some unquantifiable, alchemical way, hooked.
And 30 years later, I still am.
And honestly,Whocontinuity has always been a malleable, contested thing.
So really, its as good a place to start as any.
Theyre surely exclaiming as they read this.
The plot is hopelessly outdated!
The Doctor cant even get his own family history right!
But those are the objections of long-time fans who know the show inside and out.
Were looking for something to pull in new viewers.
The first episode of Spearhead from Space manages to be in colour but has similar issues.
But the TV movie is an even better choice.
Its longer, allowing the viewer to really get to know the Doctor.
are enough to bring down a prime minister (well, they were in those days, anyway).
You cant argue with those numbers and who doesnt love a Christmas special?
Laura Vickers-Green
The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (2005)
Everybody lives, Rose.
Just this once, everybody lives!
Those are the lines that made me fall in love withDoctor Who.
And then the Doctor danced.
But its neither the horror conceit nor the episodes World War II setting that makes it special.
Around the same time, US Netflix began showing Matt Smiths seasons and also made David Tennants episodes available.
The Eleventh Doctor was an ancient man who looked like a quirky professor but also was struggling with adulthood.
This fairy tale-esque story was primed to get new American viewers hooked.
Series fives plot lines were also not reliant on having a previous understanding ofDoctor Wholore to understand.
Recurring monsters were given new context unique to Moffats storylines.
River Songs reintroduction was also written in a way that fans who didnt watch the earlier episodes could follow.
The show has been on air for 60 years.
It deserves a victory lap and all the fan service you’re able to eat.
And nobody knows how to attract and hook aDoctor Whoaudience like Davies.
So, this Christmas special is going to be the one to start with.
Not as a place to catch up from, but as the start of a whole new wild ride.
Chris Farnell
Doctor Who returns on November 25 to BBC One, BBC iPlayer and Disney+.
