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Over the years, many of my friends have told me that I absolutely must start watching the Dr. I've hesitated, but it's gotten to the point that so many of them tell me this that I feel I must listen. However, God only knows how many episodes there are; which brings me to my real question: where should I start? (And, is there somewhere I can get them on the cheap--or free?)

Anyway, thank you in advance.

Well, there a good thing about Dr. Who: it's not a show you have to watch from the beginning. Do as I did: pick a random episode and follow it from there. Sure, there's a million things a don't know about the show, but I really enjoy it, and you should as well.

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Snooping as usual, I see?

you can pick and choose an episode to start watching from, but i started after christopher eccleston was the doctor. there is a site that has every episode from its start up until the new one from last night for free, you can just stream it to your computer. seeing as i dont think i can post it, just pm me and ill give you the link.

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Aujourdhui a commence avec toi.

Dr Who (the programme not usually the Doctor) is great at scaring kids, and they love it for that. Thing is, the modern revival is usually better at doing this because the special effects are better than in the past, and it does make a difference. I would start with the David Tennant years for his entertainment value. And while you're watching it think about whether or not he would make the best damn Riddler ever in a Batman film.

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

It's such a long running television series that they had to design it in such a way so that when the interest of old viewers feigned, new viewers could easily pick it back up so it's not too vital to the plot. The most important thing is not to start in the middle of an episodic arch because you'll miss some of the setup. I mention it because the series is composed almost entirely of them but since you're seeking it out actively as opposed to waiting for them on T.V. this probably won't be much of a problem.

The most important bit you could probably ask yourself is which Doctor you want to start with though. It's not a manner of plot here so much as it is a manner of characterization. Each actor portrays him in a potently different way. For the old series I'd say that Tom Baker, who played the fourth portrayal of The Doctor seems to be the most popular as he's the only one whose name I've heard often enough to memorize.

You'll also want to ask yourself which series you want to watch. The new series and the original runs are quite two entirely different cups of tea:

The original Dr. Who series has a very close analogue to a Sherlock Holmes story; the circumstances present themselves in a way that needs the finite touch of a discretionary master logician with mere touches of action and close to no romance. The newer stories are a bit edgier and on the whole a bit more action oriented and the Doctor himself is a bit more of an emotionally biased bloke with a several derivative quirks. Also, both can be considered campy but in different ways. The first series old one was one of those classic low budget science fiction pieces that helped to shape the genre. The new one tries to take on purposely witty comedic bent.

Personally, I'd suggest looking into some episodes with some of the on-off recurring characters, such as The Master and The Brigadeer because they present some the series' highlights. The Five Doctors is perhaps my favorite episode of the old series but a newcomer won't appreciate that or any other similarly titled episodes without a bit of background. This is because they're quite the most referential ones of the bunch and cram in so much plot in, that there's not as much leftover time to explain what the existing fans can assume. I have no suggestions if you're only looking into the new series though. I haven't watched all too much of it and even though it stands up quite well on its own, I prefer the original flavor quite a bit more.

This post has been edited by Tonepoet on 28th May 2010 19:22

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Role reversal at its finest.

The beginning of the currently airing season would actually be a pretty good place to start. It's not quite a reboot, but the transition to a new showrunner, production team, Doctor and companion mean you can get into the current stories without much background. Plus, on balance I think this series is working better than some of the recent ones.

Other than that - or if you find you like the current series and want more - start with the ninth doctor (Ecclestone) and the beginning of the current incarnation of the show in 2005. You could start with the tenth (Tennant), but in doing so you only skip one season, and it's perhaps the most consistently well constructed one of the modern series. That gives you a bit more background for some current season stuff, but nothing you'd really miss.

As TonePoet says, the old series is quite a different animal, though good enough in its own right. I assume what your friends are recommending is the modern series, but if you run out and want more, you could certainly do a lot worse than trying out some of the classic serials.

Thanks all! (especially regarding the swift responses)

Based on what I've heard I think I'll end up starting out with the 9th Doctor.