How Do You Start Watching Classic Doctor Who?

[@RightTurnClyde]

I was lucky enough to be a kid through the golden age - the Pertwee and Tom Baker years. I recommend the shit out of that.

[@davidscholesphotographer]

The golden age is when you start watching it as a kid. I love the Pertwee & Baker episodes, but McCoy was Dr when I was a kid and nothing ever topped 'Rememberance of the Daleks'

[@jackthefrog80085]

My golden age was Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi. Peter Capaldi in particular is my favourite doctor. I see myself in him. Although I'm seeing a lot of myself in Ncuti Gatawa too

[@highvoltage7797]

I think watching in order is the best way. There is character development for some of the Doctors and companions. Like the 1st Doctor in An unearthly child is not the same then he is in The Tenth planet. You don’t get that when you jump around.

[@cameron9322]

have you seen the tenth planet. i can’t find it

[@Magic12553]

@@cameron9322 you should be able to find most of it on dailymotion but the last episode is missing from the archives so you might have more trouble with that

[@themomentalist]

That only works if you’re already a fan. Most casual viewers wouldn’t make it past the first story if they started from the beginning

[@sebastianesilva398]

Started off with modern Who and then dove into the classic era. Pertwee was my jumping on point and worked my way from there, eventually becoming a big fan of the 3rd and 4th Doctor's eras especially. At first the dated visuals and general wonkiness were a shock but after I adjusted my mindset to thinking of them more as "filmed theatre shows" (rather than as something that a modern person understands about how TV shows are produced) then I got super hooked.

[@gbrogo7139]

That is actually a great mindset

[@agtv1201]

My introduction to classic who was a bit varied - 1st Doctor: The Daleks (Part 7) 2nd Doctor: The Mind Robber (Part 2) 3rd Doctor: Inferno (Part 3) 4th Doctor: Destiny Of The Daleks (Part 1) 5th Doctor: Ressurection Of The Daleks (Part 3) 6th Doctor: Attack Of The Cybermen (Part 1) 7th Doctor: The Happiness Patrol (Part 1) Yeah I caught most of those on the horror channel (remember when that was a thing!) during the 50th anniversary.

[@experi-mentalproductions5358]

'Who on Horror' was my introduction to the classic series aswell. The first bit I caught was the final part of The Brain of Morbius.

[@overtheoverseer]

I'd always suggest starting with Season 12, as Tom Baker's first 3 seasons are easily the most accessible of the classic era. Once you've seen the best Doctor Who has to offer, I feel you're going to be more forgiving going back to the beginning and dealing with the slower paced stories. The same applies with 80s Who, when the quality dipped dramatically.

[@SuperHitman55]

I don't like Tom Baker's Doctor :( I think Pertwee is better

[@LloydEWatson1983]

Genesis of the Daleks was the first classic Doctor Who story I watched, followed by Tomb of the Cybermen and The Daleks. Its fair to say I was hooked after watching those.

[@jayblake682]

Being here in the States, my first intro was Tom Baker. This happened during the end of the Davidson era, so we rolled right into the 5th. Then it was back to Pertwee and Tom. I think had I started with Hartnell or Troughton, I probably wouldn’t have made it to Tom.

[@NPS2204]

I started with Logopolis and Remembrance of the Daleks but I think you should start with: - Choose a Doctor - An Unearthly Child - Spearhead From Space Random episodes to watch: - The War Machines - The Macra Terror - City of Death - Pyramids of Mars - Earthshock - The Happiness Patrol - The Movie

[@emmettpickerel5016]

My first introduction was in 1984: The Pirate Planet. It's towards the end of Tom's time, and in the middle of a season-long arc, and I think that just added to the attraction: realising that I was toeing into the edge of something epic. Written by Douglas Adams, it's also just a fantastic story by itself. I'd also say that if you possibly can, get the older stories in episode format rather than spliced together. The pacing is very much designed for that.

[@petergeyer7584]

I first got into classic Who in the early 80s, watching it late Sunday nights on PBS. In the 90s I started watching more regularly as the local PBS started showing episodes in order from Hartnell through McCoy. What hooked me was receiving a VHS set of “The Invasion of Time” that Amazon had sent to me by mistake. From then on, I started collecting the DVDs, and now I have them all. I love each Doctor as a snapshot of the era in Britain he comes from.

[@petefischer3820]

PBS had Inferno on and followed along with Pertwee with pauses to run "new" episodes from Davidson's first season. That with my well loved Programme Guide and then my thirst for Target Novelizations, I was quick to catch up.

[@DavidFraser007]

It started for me at the beginning, I don't remember the episodes, but just being scared at aged 4 watching Dr Who on a little black and white telly back in 1963. The Doctor was a bossy authority figure and I loved him. There were still still Police boxes around and I dreamed about getting in to one and finding the tardis. It all seemed very real to me.

[@forkinhell3545]

My older brother was a fan and watched it religiously. Just hearing the theme tune was enough to make me scream my head off. Eventually I was brave enough to actually sit and watch it. That was early Pertwee when I started and I watched it all the way till mid Capaldi when it just wasn't for me anymore. Personally I'd pick one story from each doctor and see if you get a gut reaction to one in particular, then go from there.

[@Kenpachi546]

Started with the Aztecs when it was on Netflix in middle school. Was very confused because I knew it wasn't the beginning but Netflix listed it as episode 1. Eventually I sailed the high seas to find the classics and watched them in order from An Unearthly Child to the movie. Now Tom and Troughton went into my top 3 Doctors.

[@thewhitewolf1156]

1. Get the Beginnings Box Set. 2. Take out disc with Unearthly Child and put it into your player. 3. When you reach the Main Menu, hit play. 4. Sit there for 25-100 minutes, watching the show. 5. Repeat with other discs. Done

[@leoj2439]

britbox is an absolute steal, u get all of it and other shows for you to watch. But nothing can beat booting up the dvd and seeing the Tardis doors open into the menu screen

[@AndrewChapman]

Agreed, plus I have a huge set of Classic Who DVDs. Not gonna bother with Blu-ray boxsets of complete seasons.

[@shenysys]

For the 40th anniversary of Dr Who, the ABC in Australia played every (available ) episode from very first one. Also they didn't show the Dalek stories as the BBC were in a copyright dispute with the Terry Nation estate at the time.

[@eelsemaj99]

I did what I personally think is the best way of doing it: starting off by jumping around and getting used to the pacing and style of classic who in each of its different eras before then after only a few stories marathoning the whole thing in order I feel that gets you the best of both worlds: jumping in from An Unearthly Child is a bit of a culture shock and it would have taken a while to adjust, and to get used to the reality of the missing episodes. But as I was already somewhat familiar with the era going in I knew what to expect.

[@darkness3979]

I picked the first option back in 2016, when there was that gap in the modern series. So I'd get the full effect you mentioned there. And it worked out for me quite well. I really liked Hartnell's Doctor and his character journey was really interesting throughout his era. And from Troughton I never stopped until the TV Movie, since I fell in love with the classic series just like you. I finished it in within half a year. Very nice guide btw! I'm sure this will be very useful for a lot of people.

[@billthewhovian]

I love Hartnell's Doctor's journey as you put it, it was good to see how his Doctor evolved!

[@jasonlescalleet5611]

I am old enough, and American enough, that I grew up watching Doctor Who on PBS. Mostly Tom Baker, but others too. When the show started up again, I was in a “no TV” situation, and could only watch the occasional episode at a friend’s place if it happened to be on. I actually didn’t start watching again until the 13th Doctor, when people pointed out that I had TV, including BBC America. I watched it and loved it, and couldn’t understand the hate. I then went back and got all the revived series on dvd/blue ray. Then, I started on the classic series. I have been collecting the various blue ray seasons that have been released recently. I started with Tom Bakers first season, because it has Genesis of the Daleks on it, and I remembered liking that one a lot (I still do). I enjoyed the whole season enough that I have bought all that are currently available. So far, I like all the doctors, old or new (yes even Jodie Whittaker), but Tom Baker will always be THE Doctor for me.

[@gizmodaemocorn6776]

How I got into classic who was my brother wanted to get rid of some games so we went to Cex as a family. Mum and brother sorted the Dvds out and me and dad went looking at what they had. We eventually stumbled across the Doctor Who section and dad said I could buy one: I chose New Beginnings for £7. After that, I would periodically call into Cex after my voulenteering to see what they had and pick up what I wanted. Its been nearly 8 years since then and I'm only a couple dozen away from finishing the classic dvd collection and I've gotten a friend started on the classic Dvds. We decided that him jumping in at the start of Tom was the best option as he wasn't a fan of old looking TV but he was familiar with Sarah Jane and I thought he'd have a good time with it

[@newbienoah9461]

This was back when Netflix used to have Doctor Who, They had a handful of stories from the classic era though none from Colin's era sadly, I remember coming across The Leisure Hive one morning before school and that happened to be my first 4th doctor story as well forging my love for Howell's rendition of the theme, as well as following that story with Spearhead from Space and those are the earliest classic who stories I recall watching.

[@nialldennis309]

i was born when there wasnt a doctor (i was a 2003 baby) so instead of being shown kids shows as a baby i was shown classic doctor who stories, i think they were mainly pertwee and tom baker (as they were my dads favourite) but as soon as i was old enough to choose i watched troughton and mccoy, it seems even as a 4 year old i had good taste!

[@phillipschwoerke8374]

I'm a PBS baby from OKC, so Monty Python came on at 10PM. My brother and I would turn it over to PBS a few minutes before Python started. We would then catch the last few minutes of Doctor Who with Tom Baker. We were hooked! Sarah Jane was the companion- you could not start any better. But if I started from fresh again- I would start with Pertwee. I think starting with all color episodes would be the best place to start for new people.

[@laffyorphan5406]

Growing around the Matt Smith era , I got into classic who. I started off with 7 and Ace with silver nemesis , bc I found it in GameStop. Then a channel on tv was showing reruns of the classics. Mostly Pertwee era and 7s stuff. Only during lockdown I finally did the full marathon of it all. Great video as always 👍

[@rickriffel6246]

Not counting the 1965 Doctor Who and the Daleks starring Peter Cushing, I began with the Tom Baker episode Genesis of the Daleks -- on public TV with all six episodes edited into one long movie. This was over 40 years ago.

[@or8m8]

The first doctor who episode i had on vhs on the mid 90s was Invisible Enemy and went random from there, its a wonder how i ever became a fan really

[@chrischarlesjax]

I started with Classic Who when it used to be on Netflix in the US back in 2011 or 2012. The had a few random stories from each Doctor. Then I got the Key to Time on DVD for my birthday and started buying some off Amazon. Fast forward to 2017 and I got Britbox, but shortly after subscribing I came across an estate sale online that had every DVD that had been produced of the show up to new era Season 10 for $200 US. I go from end to end binging the show somewhat frequently now and it’s great. Inferno is my all time favorite story.

[@scibus4360]

I just subscribed... I think this was a cool video and good advice. I know I'm commenting a bunch of days late, so maybe no one will ever read my comment, oh well. But anyway, I'm like some of the others on here who grew up with Classic Who. It was on every weeknight at 7PM for me, an episode at a time, which is absolutely the best way to watch. My comment is that I think that one of the main things that new Who lost that was so special, was the episodic rhythm of the Classic series. I remember when I saw the new series for the first time about 15 years ago, I was like "wait, what? This was basically a little movie". Besides getting to look forward to Dr Who being on all the time, the other big thing the episodes gave you were.... the cliffhangers. There are rarely cliffhangers in modern Who. That was one of the best parts of Classic Who! I figure lots of people getting the DVDs just watch them thru like movies, because that is natural. And watching all the episodes in a story back-to-back with the credits in between every time can get a little annoying, I understand. But the cliffhangers at the end of each episode mid-story were one of the special things that made watching so fun. Try it. That gave me another idea... Wingy, a possible suggestion (unless you already did it), could be a video on the top Classic Era cliffhangers of all time? I already know my answer without a doubt, but I'll leave that for a comment on a future video. On that note, you could also do one about the worst cliffhangers of all time too... I already had one come to mind. Thanks again for your fun content.

[@Ocsttiac]

I remember trying to start Classic Who in different places, but the run through Classic Who that did it for me was just starting from the very beginning at An Unearthly Child and working my way through the entire classic run up until the movie, watching the occasional reconstruction for missing stories. It took me a year and a half, but it was worth the adventure.

[@kyloren6396]

I'm on my 5th year. Season 13.

[@Megadoomer3]

My introduction to Classic Who was Destiny Of The Daleks. After finishing the 9th and 10th Doctors' runs, I wanted to see what the classic series was like, and I really like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. As a result, I got Tom Baker's sixth season on BluRay, since Douglas Adams was involved in writing that season.

[@andrewhayden9545]

I used to watch random episodes with my mate who had DVDs when I was younger so I watched ‘Logopolis’, ‘Revelation of The Daleks’, ‘Planet of the Spiders’, ‘Robot’ but about two years ago, I decided to watch all of classic who so I watched it all from the beginning to the end and when it came to the 60s stories, I just watched the surviving ones because I didn’t have the animations at the time and the missing ones I didn’t know how to access (I do now). The funny thing is. I wouldn’t suggest listening to people about what is and isn’t good because I’ve seen barely any praise for the 80s and so much praise for the 70s so I went in to the 70s with high expectations and went in dreading the 80s yet I love the 80s but really struggle with the 70s. I personally would suggest watching it from the beginning. It’s more consistent then and you can make sure to watch as much as you can.

[@Darkwintre]

I started around the end of the Tom Baker era and got seriously watching during the Peter Davison era and then after. Watched a bit of the old series mostly via buying dvds not got anywhere near enough of them.

[@Ben-vf5gk]

It's interesting for me cause I've just been marathoning all of Hartnell for the first time. Really would recommend to anyone who hasn't done that, he's become one of my favourite Doctors. I think there are some complications that we don't always talk about. Classic Who fans aren't always the best at identifying what stories newcommers are gonna love. I love Genesis of the Daleks but I don't know if it will hook people (then again the story I've always shown to people who've only seen new who is Ghostlight). Another problem is that being released as dvds rather than as an episode at a time, can hurt stories. The Time Meddler is a big one. It's built of its twists but we already know everything going in.

[@bonedrone9869]

I picked one highly regarded story for each Doctor and watched them in chronological order. That gave me a good impression of each Doctor/era while also getting to see a (condensed version of) the show's evolution.

[@fadeldennawi7133]

I just started classic who with pertwee and I think that's the perfect way to start classic who after finishing New Who.

[@stevensorace4441]

I think I got started watching Classic Who with City of Death and The Five Doctors. Then I worked through individual ones in different eras when I could find them.

[@Mattf121]

I started with the third method. With the missing episode situation, I feel 2 or 3 are the best options. My first story I remember was Planet of the Daleks (Remembrance I was 2 when it was on, but my dad watched it with me apparently), followed by Green Death in 1993/4 BBC repeats, next episode was Ressurection of the Daleks, then Genesis of the Daleks, then I bounced between all the dalek stories, before branching out. Ah, good times. An Unearthly Child (Part 1) is one of the best single episodes ever made I agree.

[@DialecticalMaterialismRocks]

My first episode was blink. The most scary and the most I recommended. Then from 9 onwards.

[@kyleroberts4180]

I started with the keeper of traken, loved the new series first and randomly decided to buy the new beginnings boxset from HMV one day and been hooked since

[@necroscope5064]

I was a casual viewer throughout the Tom Baker era, then tuned in every week for Peter Davison. I didnt become a fan until I started buying the dvds. I started with stories from Davison, Earthshock, Four To Doomsday, The Five Doctors, then added various stories from each doctor. I felt it exciting to mix and match all the various doctors and companions. Once I had every dvd, I went back and watched from start to finish. If I was to advise anyone, just pick a doctor or story you fancy, and just see where it takes you.

[@timshuker1302]

I started at the age of six in 1970 with Pertwee’s first one, “Spearhead From Space”. I was hooked. I watched every era from then in sequence right up to now with two minor exceptions. I didn’t watch Season 22 after seeing the Doctor nearly strangle Peri in “The Twin Dilemma”. I thought Colin Baker’s Doctor was really unpleasant. The contrast with Peter Davison, who I had really liked was too much. I went back out of curiosity for Season 23, which was much better (for me), but my favourite character there was, and remains The Valeyard, who IMO is one of the best Who villains ever. Big Finish has done great service to Colin’s Doctor who is now one of my favourites. How things have changed! The second time I abandoned ship was Season 24. One word. Terrible. I went back again for season 25 for Remembrance of the Daleks and realised McCoy was much better than I thought. I stayed on until the end of Season 26. The TV Movie I loved, and I love Paul McGann’s Big Finish stories which I can’t get enough of and always recommend. As for New Who, I’m not as big a fan of it as the Classic Era although I love Matt Smith the best. I gave Whitaker a chance as I actually approved of the idea of a Female Doctor, but it’s been a disaster IMO mostly because of the writing, and if RTD doesn’t retcon The Timeless Children the show will die and that would not just be a shame, but bordering on charges of criminal damage for Chibnall, whose ego seems to me to have been much larger than his actual writing skill. For me his seasons are much worse than season 24. I’d love you to include Whitaker’s era in your New Who lists. Go on. I dare you. You know you want to…great vid again Alex…❤️👍

[@louisparsons9943]

I maintain the best start is the 5 doctors and work out which doctors era you want to explore from then on

[@yannatoko9898]

Either the un-broadcast Pilot or An Unearthly Child. Use the Loose Cannon reconstructions. Quite simple.

[@dngillikin]

I started in September 1979 when a run of Tom Baker stories from "Robot" to "The Invasion of Time" was syndicated in my market. It wasn't popular and was removed from the schedule by mid-1980. They tried airing the same package again in the Summer of 1983, and it flopped again. Halfway across the country for University, I managed to catch showings of "The Three Doctors" and "The Five Doctors" at a convention. After that, it was what I could see on out of state vacations or could pick up through the snow late night summertime tropospheric long-distance signal skips. Finally, in 1991, I moved to a market where DOCTOR WHO was a fixture on local PBS. They would cycle repeatedly from Pertwee through McCoy. So, I made off-air recordings that I would gradually replace with official VHS, DVD, and now Blu-Rays. For a modern audience, I tend to recommend starting with either "Spearhead" (because it's a soft reboot) or "Robot," run through sequentially, then cycle back to Hartnell and Troughton until you reach the point where you started your journey.

[@jogumby]

A friend of mine and I came back from a night of drinking, flipped on the television and this show called the Arc in Space was on public television. The special effects were bad but the story and actors drew us in anyhow. The next week my friend called and said, "Hey, you know that thing we were watching drunk last week? Turns out it's a series! You gotta see this!". The rest was as we say, history!

[@TheSicstring]

I collected the regenerations. So I got each doctors first and last story so that it would (sort of but not really) make a complete narrative. Now I'm doing the same with the companions, then I'll fill in the gaps as I go.

[@NicholleHills]

I first rented Spearhead From Space & The Five Doctors original dvd releases from my local library sometime in the late 2000s. Hooked ever since! 😎

[@tristannavarro1584]

There used to be a channel on Dailymotion that had every single classic Who episode (including the Loose Cannon reconstructions of the missing episodes) and in the eighth grade I went t through and watched every single one of them between series 6 and 7. This was back in 2012, and the channel has since been taken down

[@nicktallon5263]

My older brother had the McCoy era taped on VHS and in the very early 90s I watched my first ever story, which was...Paradise Towers. That's what got me into Doctor Who, yes Paradise Towers. I loved then, still love it now!! McCoy is also my Doctor. First one I saw.

[@Filmmakinglunatic]

I started with a mix of watching through eras and random stories For example, I just did a 3 watch through which started as a unit watch through and now I'm halfway through a 7 era watch through

[@timaustin2000]

Most of my early experience of classic Who was during the Wilderness Years. I'd watched the Colin and Sylv era as a young child in the 80s and was devastated when it didn't come back. I met fans at high school who introduced me to the earlier classics but there wasn't any joined up thinking to video releases and they didnt have anywhere near everything so I, like you, Wingy, jumped all over the place. One day it would be Daleks Invasion of Earth, the next Earthshock then suddenly it would be a telesnap reconstruction of Evil of the Daleks! It was crazy. It all worked out in the end, though ☺️ Seriously, though, you're right: if you can accept the difference in speed and tone, start from Hartnell and work forward.

[@johnsmih9755]

I struggle to watch the full doctors 1&2 era because of the missing episodes I don't mind watching a reconstruction as a one of but I just get so bored watching them constantly, season 4 literally has no full surviving episodes which sucks because it's my favourite season😩

[@chipperprime]

Yeah. Those stories are so good. (Especially Evil of the Daleks,) but the animation is shit.

[@markorollo.]

I've just started watching 'new' doctor who on iPlayer again, even though I've got all the DVDs, started at the beginning. Just up to series 3 (man the episode Rose left *sniff*), I think from the beginning is best then certain parts are less confusing, although I am still a bit confused with some bits lol. As for 'classic' doctor I'd probably do the same, I've not got those DVDs yet but planning to. Looking forward to seeing Tom Baker episodes, I was born only a couple of months after Tom got the role and I can just about remember him in the role so he's always been my Doctor.

[@douglasjohn7447]

Pertwee is my favourite classic who era With the exception of Douglas Adams' season 17 I would caution people that there's very little time travel in early Pertwee so if you're in it for the time travel it's maybe not the best place to start As for classic who I personally started with the Peter Cushing movies, Then had to bounce about with what dvds I could find or what had a re run on tv

[@davidpo5517]

I love the Hartnell era, it's actually the Pertwee era that put me off a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love 3 as a doctor, but his stories aren't always my thing. So if you don't like Pertwee, try the 4th Doctor, "Planet of Evil" then go on from there. Or bounce around all over the place, which is what I did. The only problem I had doing that was I found myself finding certain eras I wanted more, so I'd focus on those, and then I'd completely ignore other eras that I would've enjoyed if I'd gone in order (for me I basically ignored 3rd, 6th, and 7th for the longest time, even tho now I love them). What got me into the 3rd Doctor for example was "The Time Warrior" because of the first appearance of you-know-who that I actually wasn't aware of going in.

[@deltathetastudios2776]

I had a weird Doctor Who upbringing. My brother is the only reason I like it, and by the time I started to like it, which is as long as I can remember, I would just jump around with him every Saturday morning with both new and classic who. His bedroom was, and still sort of is, Doctor Who heaven for me. The reason this is weird is because I never had, 'my first Doctor Who story, there was just, Doctor Who, these are the ones I've seen. My first favourite Doctor was Jon Pertwee, and my favourite stories were Spearhead from Space, Remembrance of the Daleks and Robots of Death. W e would always start to watch Remembrance, but then have to stop after part 1 for time. I went through a long hiatus of watching it, so much that wen I returned, i could quote part 1 perfectly, but couldn't tell you a single thing apart from seven's confrontation with the Supreme, and his confrontation with Davros. This is just a snippet of what I watched, but it's so nostalgic to me. I distinctly remember going to the local library and picking up the audiobook edition of Invasion of the dinasoars. I just love this and talking about it just makes me want to spout my entire DW history.

[@brodiew5649]

Funnily enough, watching your video on the ‘Top 10 Best Classic Doctor Who Stories’ actually got me interested in the Classic era (Before that I didn’t even think it existed tbh). I mainly did the same as you, I chose at random (using your video as a guide on occasion), so my first Classic who stories where ‘Genesis of the Daleks’ and ‘The Five Doctors’ then went on from there. So thanks for introducing me to this never- ending spiral Wingy👍

[@SuperHitman55]

BritBox - I'd 100% recommend watching from Hartnell

[@alastairreid6486]

As a primer I would suggest. Pilot, spearhead. 3 &5 doctors. And a TB ( robots or talons maybe) what about 2 doctors too and cushing. Then head off on your own. Also there's a fair range on pluto tv on t'interweb. Need a vpn outside the US though

[@shenysys]

My first Dr was Jon Pertwee.

[@docscreations6672]

I started in the 1990’s with Robot. I had a friend who lent me her vhs tape and she gave me a little history so I wouldn’t be too lost. After that I jumped around in Tom’s tenure then picked a story from each of the other Doctors. I kinda wish I watched Tom’s tenure in order, but the video store that sold the tapes didn’t have every story (and at the time not every story was on vhs)

[@williammcnirlan4820]

Coming from an era when classic Who was still on, getting into Doctor Who pretty much meant bingeing all Doctors at that point in a weird mishmash. Usually Target novelizations, in any order that the library could get them or they were being published, or any repeat that the been did. Then the VHSs started appearing. As such you held current Doctor as one strand all previous Doctors as another in a nice random mix of adventures. Not saying that's the way to go, but it worked for me and did not cause any confusion.

[@TheBlackcredo]

My parents watched it from the beginning, so I grew up watching it. The earliest I can remember is Sylvester McCoy. After that I would repeats on BBC2 in the early 90's and regularly get random videos (yes kids, videos) for christmas and birthdays. So like you, most of my experience was bouncing around different stories.

[@Byle1990s]

To be truthful it was only around three to four years ago I started watching classic who on dvds from my CEX which were mostly Tom bakers era of seasons 14 12 13 and a few pertwee and a Colin but I slowly started buying the hartnell dvds where now I’m finished with his and I just started watching troughton with power of the daleks on Saturday but I have watched the war games. Yeah the era is a mind field.

[@TheNorwegianguy.]

I got the 3 first stories ("An unearthly child", "The daleks" and " The edge of destruction") for christmas. My local video shop only sold "The visitation", "Inferno", "The mind of evil" and "The green death", witch I watched in that order. Then I just ordered random stories online. I remember some of the ones I watches first was "Planet of giants" "The mind robber" "Black orchid" "The greatest show in the galaxy" "Shada" "The happiness patrol"

[@Phoenix-bi9bn]

My advice would be go for references. If you liked The Timeless Children, go back to The Deadly Assassin and find out the backstory. If you like Ice Warriors, watch them. Then you have broken the ice. Also you can just buy random episodes from second hand shops and just try different episodes out

[@guygrist4436]

It's probably The Daleks a BBC Four repeat and then I saw Mark of the Rani and Survival on Seesaw which I don't think has those classic stories on it anymore. I mostly just jumped around all over the place.

[@AndrewChapman]

I started a Who marathon a few months back and finished Classic Who the other day. Started NuWho just yesterday. And yes, I managed to include the missing episodes from the Hartnell and Troughton years through telesnap reconstructions and animated recreations. This isn't how I first got into Doctor Who however, Classic or modern. Became a Whovian in 2007. Got into Classic Who after watching the Tennant episodes in NuWho. First Classic Who I saw was Tom Baker's debut story, "Robot". While I liked Tennant, I think Tom became my favourite Doctor. Then saw the first few Hartnell ones as I wanted to see where Doctor Who began. Then saw Pertwee's debut story "Spearhead from Space" and then randomly saw other Classic Whos after that.

[@JarrodCook93]

If you were planning to start with Spearhead from Space then you might just consider watching Web of Fear, Invasion and War Games first. Just to get some context of UNIT and the Timelords.

[@Ben_Hammerclaw]

I got into doctor who, like most Americans, when they put the whole modern era on netflix. They had the classic era too, but only one episode per doctor. I was in my late teens at the time and watched the whole thing. By the end I said "i like this doctor, and this one" and so on. So, I sailed the high seas and started my journey through classic who. Feeling overwhelmed, I began by following "top" or "best" stories lists and worked my way down. It's a good start, but eventually you realize that your favorites stories don't always align with the "top 10".

[@johnlarro6872]

I think B&W, 1960's serial tv IS very daunting particularly for someone used to modern tv. So going back to where it all started - not so easy. My suggestion would be to watch a handful of stories that give a reasonable representation of the show (Time Warrior, Ark in Space, Visitation, off top of my head)... and if there's still interest, probably go back to Hartnell, but don't be afraid to skip forward now and then too if getting a bit lost. I think it's better to find something "easier" to watch, than to stop watching cos Hartnell in particular has sapped your will to go on. (Personally I think how it worked out for me - watching Hartnell one new VHS release at a time during the 1990s - worked well. The idea of doing a WHO marathon, starting from AUC, is pretty daunting, and - I do like Hartnell! Just... it can be very slow!)

[@bahlders]

If watching Doctor Who with someone, keeping attention and entertainment value is everything to me before order… With classic who we are going in order but because I like to have the pluto tv classic who channel on the background 24/7 it kind of sprinkles interest in what is coming up later for us to look forward to… New Who, we watched most of the episodes already so it is just fun to skip around.

[@Avon-Fox]

Pyramids of Mars - not linked to another story line, has Sarah being a bad arse, a cerebral baddie and still a decent body count. If they don't get at least interested to see more with this then maybe Classic 'Who might be a struggle.

[@HopeAuq]

I managed to start classic and modern at the same time both dalek stories too lol I remember picking 2 random DVD files and they were Remembrance and Evolution of the Daleks and loved both from the start

[@HopeAuq]

As for why I just knew my dad and grandad liked it so was like eh why not XD

[@joer.g8568]

I’m currently on the first Throughton story after finishing Hartnells era, (doing it through britbox). Have already a fair few stories from the classic era. Tomb of the cybermen being my favourite. But I’m loving the idea of watching it all the way through. One major positive is that I now know what stories are in what series/seasons. I often hear fan channels talking about how series so and so is really good and me having no idea which one that is

[@strandedfoxnation1.145]

My nan bought the DVDs as soon as they came out which was before the revival in 2005 and the first story I watched was inferno

[@joebrady1694]

Spearhead in space is probably the best place honestly. As much as I love the first and second doctors era, they're just so messy and difficult to watch because of how much is missing. From the pertwee era onwards you just have everything available and in colour.

[@IronSalamander8]

When the show came over here to the states in the 70s and 80s thanks to PBS, I saw it as a kid and loved it. It was all Tom Baker at first, which is a great way to start the show for sure, and I've been a fan for many years. I ended up buying a lot of DVDs and Blu-Rays and sat down to watch the show from Unearthly Child to Capaldi's last season (Jodie was just starting as the Doctor when I did this), and it was a long, but mostly solid ride. If someone wanted to grab onto the classics and not start at the beginning and go chronologically; I highly recommend either 70s Doctor (Pertwee or Tom Baker), and especially Tom Baker. Hartnell was jarring for me at first since I'm so used to 3-5 from my original viewing back when, so may not be the best for folks to start with him. Maybe do that and come back to visit things in order once you're more used to how the classic show differs from new Who, so you're more prepared for the differences. As an amusing, but related side note; as a kid I got sick of B&W since we had a B&W only TV for years and when people started colorizing things, I wanted everything colorized, but as I got older, I find I appreciate B&W more and it adds some nice shadows and atmosphere to classic horror movies.

[@matthewclarke4127]

I suspect a lot of us older fans who started watching with the VHS had that very random experience of stories from different eras. We also knew a lot of the stories from reading the novelizations first (which sometimes made seeing the TV serial a bit disappointing- Pertwee wrestling a masked man in a silk catsuit in Three Doctors instead of the novelization's demonic monster).

[@MrPHILDABASS]

I grew up in the late 80s so vaguely remember McCoy. Remember Dimensions In Time and the movie really well (still say ‘he’s back and it’s about time’ to myself). My school friend lent me sontaran experiment and genesis vhs double pack. I payed so little attention to any of it. When the new series started in 2005 I wasn’t curious to go back at all. However, I kept hearing about Trial of a Time Lord and was intrigued enough to get the season 23 blu ray. Then I watched McCoy era on Britbox. Then I watched from Robot on Britbox. I now own 6 of the blu rays. Just started Hartnell era on Britbox. I have become hooked much to the delight of my childhood friend who lent me that vhs double pack 30 years ago!

[@Solarpanels-ln1ue]

I remember as a kid probably 5 or 6 the Sun gave out the episode 1 discs of Earthshock, Spearhead, robots of death, and faceless ones which was my introduction. Then I got inferno on DVD shortly after and watched it over and over again. I found it tucked away in a drawer just a couple of years ago and started buying ones I heard were good or looked interesting. It took over a decade but I eventually got into classic who and am glad I did

[@thewhitewolf1156]

Watched some reviewers talking about Doctor Who, especially how great Tom is, so decided to start there, watched episode 1 of Robot and liked it, but for some reason didn’t go back to watching the rest. Now, this was before I’ve seen anything else from Doctor Who, so after few months, decided to pick up New Who, but soon after that, went back and seen the rest of Season 12, and bits from Season 13. Then I started skipping, watched Seasons 22-25, started watching Hartnell. Though, as someone who is now on his fifth year of watching Doctor Who in order, for the second time… I feel it’s the best way to see it. If you have seen most of it or all of it, take your time, rewatch older serials here and there, but watch them in order.

[@talonschultz5277]

I started with classic who when I got the Monsters “The Daleks” DVD which included Genesis of the Daleks. I’ve been hooked on classic ever since.

[@andrewmallie6901]

I had a bunch of VHS tapes that I watched way back (I still have them) but I also remember watching some of those free episodes of classic who given out with the Sun newspaper back in like 2005. Some of those include Spearhead from Space and Earthshock (two stories that became some of my favourites) as well as The robots of death and the faceless ones (a story I also enjoyed and a story that interested me but I have never seen/heard in full respectively).

[@tskmaster3837]

I got into classic Who by getting Tom Baker's third year collection... as well as the two Pertwee sets because those were half price. I watched a 2nd series Pertwee, then a 4 series Pertwee and then a Baker story. It was long before I started to associate seeing Pertwee's face as a promise of good entertainment. Before watching them: "It's the UNIT era and people talk down on it as it not being real Doctor Who. I don't know if I should get them." After watching them: What completes a journey every time? Going home. Pertwee: "I'm home." well said, good sir. I've only through classic so far... no Nu Who, weird huh?... but my overall preference is: Pertwee, Hartnell, Tom Baker, Troughton. Hartnell over Baker? What can I say, Hartnell won me over with "Monkery".... and by God, Harry Sullivan SUCKS First Doctor: Tom Baker.

[@chipperprime]

Well, I was a kid, and I watched what was on TV, but… I had forgotten most of the mythology by the time of the reboot. I’d think that a good way to go about it is to watch the Eccleston season, then skip around. In my opinion, the best series are all within the 1970s.

[@ljllob4740]

Bruh just start from an unearthly child or start on your friend or families favourite doctor in my opinion just start from an unearthly child that’s how I got my mate into it I started when I was a child watching doctor who live when new who came out when I got older about 11 or 12 I found out about classic who and I started with 5 doctors because it was cool to me seeing classic doctors meet and I saw the dvd in hmv then I watched it from the beginning (an unearthly child) to the end(survival)

[@vilmundurgunnarsson3904]

Imo just pick a specific genre or style of stories that interest you. I for instance like really weird stories, big scale epic adventures and stories that border on cosmic horror (Mind Robber, Enlightenment, City of Death etc)’

[@kyloren6396]

My friends introduced me to new who and mentioned the old ones. I was interested and saw the first episode and it became a routine. I'm only on season 13 5 years later now

[@manewland1]

So I became a fan during the years after the classic series but before New Who. A friend of mine recommended it and suggested I try Tom Baker. "The Brain of Morbius" had an interesting-looking name, so I bought it on VHS (yes, this was that long ago!); I was an instant fan, and stuck to Fourth Doctor stories for quite some time (eventually I sampled Pertwee with the Third Doctor story, "The Sea Devils", mostly because an opportunity to watch it presented itself).

[@drwhotvwam]

Only the birgadier and sergeant Benton cross over Into Pertwee era . But he had only appeared twice before

[@chipperprime]

At the time, I equates the Brigadeer with Graham Chapman’s military man, so I was expecting him to be silly.

[@youruncle2916]

Man, two years ago I had six classic doctor who DVDs. Tried to sample a couple doctors with little to no prior knowledge of the classic series. Tomb of the cybermen was the first, genesis of the daleks next, then the mind robber, then the sea devils, and finally the visitation. I loved all of them, and for a couple months they where all I had to go on. Now I have every released dvd from an unearthly child, to timeflight with only two exceptions (the underwater menace and the invasion of time). I also have seasons 23 and 26 which I bought out of order from the rest because I saw em for a good price. I live in the USA, and the prices for region 1 doctor who DVDs can get kind of outrageous. I bought the war games on ebay when it was only $113 and I call it money well spent.

[@wafgunn2]

I remember watching The Fires of Pompeii and being absolutely hooked! My very next story was The Invisible Enemy, so rest assured I watched the good with the meh.

[@TheRealUnkn0wn_289]

Rememberance of the daleks is a really good story to start of with and then Genesis and The Five Doctors, then Robot and Caves of Androzani and Seeds of Death the second doctor one and Unearthly Child then onwards normally from there

[@TheRealUnkn0wn_289]

Revelations of the daleks and Tomb of the Cybermen are good ones too, though before any of these do the TV Movie first if you are a modern who fan it's a good transitioning between classic who and modern who, though is off from the classic and modern era and too american and small bits that are kind of off with doctor who and also has the bizarre chipmunk daleks but aside from that it's pretty good to start on with

[@TheRealUnkn0wn_289]

Do the missing stories last if you're going to do them and you can choose to listen to it, read it watch a reconstruction, an animation or a fan version like josh snare's old reanimated recon versions of dalek masterplan and the abominable snowman

[@TheRealUnkn0wn_289]

For a first time viewer an unearthly child after the first episode and the daleks can be a bit of a slog and maybe boring to some but get through it and there's a two parter which will get you hooked on hartnell's era as it did for me which I couldn't stop watching after that point

[@natsmith303]

My one warning with starting from An Unearthly Child and going straight through from there is that it could get easy to burn out on it. So pace yourself.

[@jamiestevens3074]

I can’t fully remember but I’m pretty sure my first classic stories were frontier in space, planet of the daleks and the Android invasion. I’d say just pick a story or Doctor think looks cool or you’ve heard good things about. For me I just picked random ones lol.

[@thetalisman7722]

I started with Spearhead from Space (Clean Slate, No More Missing Episodes) and then went through to the end of S21 before going back to watch S1-6, and then finished with C Baker and McCoy

[@dylangoodfellow4778]

No missing episodes but the dreadful colour problems

[@DoctorVision]

The first classic story I saw was when I was 11/12 and it was The Five Doctors I think. I met a lad at school who was even more of a Who nut than me and he was into Classic Who and let me borrow some of his DVDs, which included that one and The Time Warrior I think and I really took a liking to the Pertwee era as it reminded me of RTD's era quite a bit. Then for the next few years I basically watched random stories be that through picking up boxsets - The Beginning boxset I watched the first story in a holiday caravan, then Mannequin Mania which contained the two Auton stories which were very good. Then the Horror Channel started showing Classic stories for a while which I used to record so I got to see a few stories from each of the Doctors on there. Then our Lord and saviour BritBox came along with the full set so I've been making my way through them for the past year. Admittedly, I was a coward and skipped over 1 and 2 because I thought the erractically long stories and black and white might put me off, but I will go back and watch them properly sometime soon, now that I have a taste for the Classic series in general and appreciate it for its unique greatness.

[@LordGeoffery]

Started with Genesis and Pyramids. Apparently kid me knew exactly where to start lol