Doctor Who began in 1963 and continues to this day. Following the titular Doctor, who travels through time and space, it has been a great mix of history, sci-fi, drama, and comedy. 2023 marks the show’s 60th anniversary; there are three specials planned to air during the holiday season before beginning a new era with Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor.

This transition period is a great time to get into the show, but with over 60 years of episodes, Doctor Who can be daunting to start. A show that coined the term "timey wimey" certainly has a lot of continuity to get through and can seem impossible to start. Yet luckily, over the years, Doctor Who has created many avenues for which new viewers can enter the series. Here are some different places you can begin if you want to get into the series.

Update November 6, 2023: This article has been updated with even more advice on how to start Doctor Who following the release dates for the upcoming Doctor Who specials on Disney+.

The Basics of the Show

Before watching, it’s good to have an overview of the show’s basic premise. The central character is the Doctor, an alien from a race called the Time Lords. He travels through time and space in a police-box-shaped spaceship named the TARDIS. Rather than dying, the Doctor is able to regenerate into a new form. This idea actually came when the first Doctor, William Hartnell, left the show due to health reasons.

The idea of regeneration was born, allowing a new performer to take on the role and keep the show going. The Doctor often travels with a companion or two, and they help save the day. The Doctor’s arch-enemy is a Time Lord called the Master, who also regenerates. Other foes the Doctor often takes on include Cybermen, Daleks, and Weeping Angels.

Classic Who vs. New Who

The show's original, or classic, era (also called Classic Who) began in 1963 and ran until 1989, with a TV movie in 1996. It featured eight different actors as the Doctor, beginning with William Hartnell and ending with Paul McGann. Unfortunately, it's difficult to watch all the show's classic era. Nearly a hundred episodes from the 1960s are missing due to the BBC wiping tapes and spare copies. Therefore, several of those seasons are incomplete. If you want to watch chronologically from the beginning. The wiped tapes – and recent streaming controversies – show the importance of physical media, and there are also DVD releases of this era.

After the TV movie, the show rebooted in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston’s 9th Doctor starting the new era (also called New Who). This era is currently set to conclude with the Christmas Specials in 2023, with a new era starting in 2024. If you want to watch this era chronologically, HBO Max contains all the seasons for US streaming, while BBC iPlayer allows UK streaming. The new era also has DVD releases; these are often split by series, but there are ones that contain all of a certain Doctor's episodes. With the announcement that new episodes will be on Disney+, many have wondered if other episodes will move there as well, which will make it easier to watch.

Doctors as Starting Points

Instead of chronological viewing, another way to start is with a specific Doctor. Each regeneration sees a new actor as the Doctor and essentially creates a new chapter of the show. Because of this, it would be possible to select a certain actor to run as the Doctor and start there. For example, if you’re a fan of David Tennant, you could start with his era, Series 2 through 4 of New Who.

Tom Baker, the 4th Doctor, remains a beloved favorite; he starred in Seasons 12 through 18 of the classic era. If you want to watch the most recent Doctor and catch up before the new one starts, watch Jodie Whittaker’s time as the 13th Doctor, Series 11 through 13. This condenses the show’s decades of material into one entry point without a lot of commitment.

Strong Episodes to Start Small With

Doctor Who for a lot of its run, was an episodic series. While both Old and New Who have had long-running story arcs, until the nature of streaming, it was difficult to rewatch old episodes, so there is a standalone nature to them. One can pick up on any episode since the show's simple premise of time travel, arriving at a place, and solving a problem is an easy setup to understand.

If you want to try out the show with something small, there are some great standalone episodes you can use to dip your toe into the universe. “Blink” (Series 3, Episode 10 of the reboot) is one of the series’ all-time best episodes. It does not feature a lot of The Doctor and instead tells the story from the perspective of a normal person, played by future Academy Award nominee Carey Mulligan, and also deals with one of the Doctor's more dangerous villains, The Weeping Angels.

Some other great new era episodes include “Rosa” (Series 11, Episode 3), where the 13th Doctor travels to meet Rosa Parks; “Vincent and the Doctor” (Series 5, Episode 10), where the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith) shows Vincent van Gogh the impact of his work; or “Mummy on the Orient Express” (Series 8, Episode 8), a 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi) episode that’s a murder mystery on a train in space.

One of the staples of New Who is the holiday specials. The holiday-themed episodes always take place around Christmas or New Year's Day and are another great jumping-off point if you're in the mood for holiday cheer (with a side of an alien invasion, of course). Before the 60th anniversary specials in November 2023, "The Runaway Bride" is a great special to watch, as it is the first episode featuring both Tennant and Catherine Tate's character, the beloved companion Donna Noble.

For the classic era, “City of Death” (Season 17, Episode 2) is a great, multipart 4th Doctor story where the Doctor must stop an alien from stealing the Mona Lisa to fund time travel experiments. It captures the zany humor of the era while still having a strong plot. Another good 4th Doctor episode is “The Seeds of Doom” (Season 13, Episode 6), featuring beloved companion Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen).

Other episodes include “Tomb of the Cybermen” (Season 5, Episode 1), which features the 2nd Doctor (Patrick Troughton) fighting Cybermen – the only '60s Cyberman episodes to fully survive, per Game Rant. For an episode with intense storytelling and real-world parallels on an alien planet, the 5th Doctor's (Peter Davison) "The Caves of Androzani" (Season 21, Episode 6) is a compelling watch. A 1st Doctor episode, “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” (Series 2, Episode 2), shows just how threatening this long-running enemy can be.

Follow the Life and Times of River Song

The Doctor isn't the only time traveler in Doctor Who. A close personal friend (and romantic partner) of the Doctor's is the New Who character River Song. When she first appears in Series 4, Episode 8 ("Silence in the Library"), the 10th Doctor is surprised that this woman he does not recognize knows so much about him. That adventure with the 10th Doctor is chronologically the last adventure they have in River's timeline, but she tells him they'll meet again (or that he'll meet the younger version of her). The lovebirds continue to see each other many times through the 11th Doctor's run. However, their timelines are never fully aligned, thanks to the time-traveling adventures they each find themselves in.

For a bittersweet Doctor Who marathon, filled with both heartwarming and heart-wrenching moments, you can watch in the order of River's life, from birth to ... well, as she likes to say, "Spoilers!" River Song's story in chronological order includes lots of skipping around (and some repeated episodes). Still, it's an exciting way for you to feel like you're hopping around the universe with her.

Start Fresh With the Anniversary Episodes

With the return of former showrunner Russell T. Davies, Doctor Who is evolving into something new yet again. Three new episodes are releasing for Doctor Who's 60th anniversary (also featuring the return of fandom favorite David Tennant, this time as the 14th Doctor, and Catherine Tate as Donna). The episodes are slated to release on November 25, December 2, and December 9, 2023. UK viewers can watch them on the BBC, and US viewers can watch on Disney+.

These Doctor Who specials are meant to act as a celebration for old fans, but also as an exciting new beginning for fans looking to start the series. You can jump right into the new action. The end of the final special will include the 14th Doctor's regeneration into the 15th Doctor, played by Sex Education's Ncuti Gatwa. Like the ever-changing Doctor, you can get thrown headfirst into the adventure if you start watching the 60th-anniversary specials or Gatwa's series. Gatwa's run as Doctor will officially begin with a holiday special near the end of 2023.

It may be intimidating, but at its core, Doctor Who is a fun show with all-ages appeal. Whether you're new to the show or are a fan who wants to revisit some episodes, it's a great time to start. No matter where you begin, it's a show worth watching!