In this post, you can use a couple of guides to either dip your toes (or a friend's) in to test the show,
or to help you decide where to just plunge right in.
If you've already decided you are going to watch the show, that's where I come in! Let me recommend some great places to cannon ball in.
The Ideal SpotEpisode 1, Series 1, 2005
Ideally, the best place to start is at the beginning of the adventure so that you can emotionally connect with all the ups and downs that the Doctor goes through. It's a deep part of the show. Not only do you travel time and space with him, but you grow to appreciate all of his personal experiences and how they become a part of who he is and who he becomes in each regeneration. Additionally, the varying adventures become smarter and the time travel more complex, so it's easier to keep up with everything when you've started from...well, the start! That would be Episode 1 of Series 1 of the revived Doctor Who show. ie not "Classic Who". If you start here, you'll enjoy the continuity of the show and all of it's nuances. It only gets better and better.
However, some find the slightly smaller budget effects and alien costumes from the earlier seasons difficult to adjust to. It's not that they're rubbish; on the contrary, they are pretty great since it's actually costume instead of CGI, it's that they are just a little... different. The pacing of the show is also a tad slower. If sci-fi shows are not your number one favorite thing in the universe, then you may find this is not the right place for you to start; it could come off as cheesy before being able to connect with the show. Some of the fans of the older series also found this incarnation of the Doctor difficult to embrace as he was so different to the Doctor from the classic series. Thus, the pickier classic Doctor Who fans may not find this the best place to start either.
The Current StoryEpisodes 8 & 9, Series 4 2008
Episode 1, Series 5, 2010
Right now, we are on the Eleventh Doctor. By now, the budget has grown and the show is filmed in High Definition and has a movie quality tone to each episode. So, if the first option wasn't right for you, maybe this spot is a better place to plunge in.
While his regeneration and introduction is at the start of Series 5, his story arc actually begins while he was still the Tenth Doctor in Series 4. I won't say why, I'll just state that the episodes 8 & 9, Silence In The Library & Forest of the Dead, are where his story really begins. NOW, please remember that the Tenth Doctor and the Eleventh Doctor are the same person; they are just slightly different externally due to regeneration. That is where you could begin the current saga of the Eleventh Doctor. There is so much to each Doctor, that it would be great to begin from the start of at least one Doctor's story lines. In other words, if starting from the very beginning of Series 1 isn't for you, perhaps try to start from the beginning of our current incarnation of the Doctor. Get to know this whole adventure first. You might fall so in love with the show that'll you go right back to the beginning like I did.
The downside is that you'll still miss quite a few nuances related to how he adapts emotionally from not knowing his entire tale as the Ninth and Tenth Doctor. There's a lot of depth established in the prior seasons along with some concepts of time that may not be as well understood without viewing those episodes. Otherwise, this is a really great place to start if the beginning just wasn't the right fit. A lot of fans of the Third and Fourth Doctor from the classic series found this Doctor to be very much like the classic Doctor Who show of their youth; thus classic Who fans may find this to be an excellent place to transition from the older show to the new.
Right NowEpisode 1, Series 7, 2012
OR
Episode 6, Series 7, 2010 (Christmas Special: The Snowmen)
Right now, the Eleventh Doctor has just taken on a brand new companion. If you are highly impatient and want to jump in like NOW, this is the time to do it! You have just enough time before the series resumes on the 30th of March to watch the introduction of our newest companion, Clara. Her "official" introduction was in the Christmas Special, The Snowmen. That is the perfect spot for the impatient newbie to start as there aren't any older story lines to interfere too much as you embark on your new journey with the Doctor. You'll meet the Doctor yourself through Clara as she comes to meet him for the first time. Alternatively, if you want to know a little more about her through the Doctor's perspective, then you can watch Episode 1 of Series 7. This is when the Doctor first meets Clara....without her knowing it. The only thing is, the Doctor's previous companions are still with him and that may or may not be something you want to navigate as a new viewer. You could then go on to watch Clara meet the Doctor in the Christmas Special in Episode 6.
However, you will eventually come across a very important character in the Eleventh Doctor's timeline. I won't name who this character is. Just know that there will be someone who's interaction with the Doctor may leave you scratching your head. It's possible that there may be spoilers as a result for when you inevitably *do* go back to watch all of the Eleventh Doctor's saga or back to Series 1.
There you have it, my friends! Between these two guides, you should be able to decide where to sample the show or splash into the deep end! I hope this helps bring you into the Whovian ranks!
I want to keep writing more and more, but if I do, you'll never get the chance to get started!! As the Tenth Doctor liked to say, Allons-y!!!
Yours through all Space and Time,
Heather
The Incredible Dork