Where to start for the DR. Who idiot?

[thunderbolt]

ok, tell me what to rent at netflix guys. All I've seen so far is a movie with Peter Cushing.

[The Toyroom]

To my knowledge, the Cushing flicks aren't in canon so it'd be better to pick a favorite Doctor and go from there. My personal choice would be Tom Baker (4th Doctor)...generally most popular and I'm sure there's tons of his stuff out there readily available.

[Bo8a_Fett]

k
Genesis of the Daleks
The Ark in Space
The Robots of Death
The Talons of Weng Chiang
Remembrance of the Daleks
The Green Death
The Curse of Fenric
Tomb of the Cybermen
The Horror of Fang Rock
The Pyramids of Mars
The Invasion
The Aztecs
These are all good examples of what is great about Who from the old stuff...after watching them just choose any .
One thing to remember though is that it used to be a weekly format and sometimes can drag a bit if watching a story all the way through in one sitting (some stories have blatent filler material or extended repeating scenes at the begining of episodes), so maybe watch 2 episodes and give yourself a break before watching the rest. The whole format relied on the cliffhanger to build up anticipation for the next episode (like the Flash Gordan serials), so bear that in mind.

[Cardbuff]

Tom Baker was definitely my favorite Doctor, and The Ark in Space is fantastic. There are of course good episodes from each of the Doctors, but that one just comes to mind immediately.

I managed to meet and get autographs from the old Doctors, except William Hartnell. There was a great little 'con' in NYC years back with Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee, I had a really good time there, they were very funny together.

[Mikey]

Jon Pertwee's INFERNO

[drwhofan74]

My vote for Tom Baker. He is a good intro to the series. Then I am sure you will grow to like each of the Doctors in their own way.

[Mikey]

I actually think Pertwee is a better starter Doctor than Baker.

Pert being trapped on Earth, let's you ease into the show at a slower pace.

I think starting with Baker would be too confusing for a beginner.

[johnmiic]

T-Bolt, it depends what you like to watch. Every Doctor is different and even with each period there are many types of stories within the sci-fi trappings: mystery, horror, comedy, adventure, and on.

Note that the first 2 Doctors are in Black & White and every other is color. They didn't stop video-taping the show until Paul McGann, Doctor number 8 and he only did an American made for tv movie of the week. The B&W episodes are video but look more like film. The latest stuff, 2005 and on, is very fast paced and you should probably sample the older stuff before looking at the newer epsiodes. These things might seem trivial but a lot of people I thought would like the show are turned off by these details and have never enjoyed the show because of them.

[Surfsup]

From the old series:

Genesis of The Daleks
Pyramids of Mars
Talons of Weng Chiang

From the new:

The Unquiet Dead
Fathers day
The Empty Child
The Doctor Dances
School Reunion
Girl in The Fireplace
Human Nature
Family of Blood
Blink

Don't waste your money on anything with Colin Baker or Sylvester McCoy, you may as well throw it down a drain.

[Bo8a_Fett]

Don't waste your money on anything with Colin Baker or Sylvester McCoy, you may as well throw it down a drain.

Come on "Fenric" and "Remembrance " were excellent

[Mikey]

IMO, Remembrance was terrific ... but Fenric was boring as hell.

No matter what you do... Just stay away from Ghost Light

m

[Bo8a_Fett]

Was struggling to think of a decent Colin Baker ...but it kept coming back to "Vengence on Varos"...the pick of a bad lot.
If you want one that is available from each Doctor:
William Hartnell...An Unearthly Child or The Aztecs
Pat Troughton...The Seeds of Death or The Invasion
Jon Pertwee...The Green Death or The Time Warrior
....The Three Doctors...
Tom Baker...The Ark in Space or Genesis of the Daleks
Peter Davison...Earthshock or The Caves of Androzani
...The Five Doctors...
Colin Baker...Vengence on Varos or The Two Doctors
Sylvester McCoy...Remembrance of the Daleks or The Curse of Fenric
Paul McGann....erm...The TV Movie
Christopher Eccleston...Dalek or The Empty child/The Doctor Dances
David Tennant...School Reunion or Blink

[Mikey]

Colin ?

I think my picks would be in order ....

1. Mark of the Rani
2. Revelation of the Daleks
3. The Two Doctors .......

I liked the TRIAL season ... but I wasn't in love with it.

[Bo8a_Fett]

Terror of the Vervoids I enjoyed...good costumes for the vervoids...but the whole trial thing kept interupting the stories.

[thunderbolt]

Thanks guys, I'll try a few out. I don't mind the weekly format, I'm a big movie werial fan. I'm used to the repetition of scenes. Even if the Cushing movie I saw isn't canon, I did enjoy it.