Update: a commenter rightly points out that the classic series is available under a different title on Netflix.) (FYI Netflix only has the rebooted series so that in itself is self-containing. But there are different ways to enter even the series even when you just contain yourself to those seven (yes, seven) seasons. The original series, which began in 1963, experts aid can be tougher to get into just because it's an older model of television, which is paced more slowly and, in England, resembled a theatrical production. All four of the Doctor Who fans I spoke with told me to start within the context of the modern series, which rebooted in 2005. When a Doctor encounters something fatal, he regenerates, which explains why different actors with different personalities can have played him over time.īut where on Earth do you get started? Well, first off: no one is asking that much of you. As Edwards noted, you can sum up the premise in 'a sentence:' The Doctor is an alien known as a Time Lord who travel in time around the universe in a spaceship known as the TARDIS with a (usually female) companion. And in the age of Netflix you don't need to feel pressured to watch every single episode available. Unlike, say, Lost or Breaking Bad, you don't need to have watched every episode to know what's happening most of the time.

Yes, there may be 50 years of history, but as Barnaby Edwards of the New York Doctor Who fan group explained to us in a telephone call, 'that 50 years of history isn't that intimidating.' That is, when you actually look deeper.ĭoctor Who is an example of something we don't see much of outside of police procedurals these days: it's an anthology show.

(ducks).'īut jumping into Doctor Who is rather easy. I guess this is where I confess that I've never watched an episode of Doctor Who. During BBC America's presentation at the Television Critics Association, The Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman tweeted: 'I will just dutifully type Doctor comments w/o comment since that's a show I never watched, felt intimidated by the history, stayed away.' The Daily Beast's Jason Lynch wrote: ' Doctor Who is first up. Contending with 50 years of history is an intimidating thing even for season television critics.

Doctor who specials viewing order