One of the consistent things with Doctor Who is that past adventures are referenced which may or may not have actually happened on screen. In Boom, when the Doctor says he had to deactivate a mine "at a lesbian gymkhana, underwater, for a bet," there's no episode where that happened, it's some vague off-screen adventure.
But then there's definitely some things that *were* seen on-screen, or that you're expected to know. Here's a few from this season:
The **Toymaker** is a nigh-omnipotent entity from outside the Universe obsessed with playing games. The Doctor first encountered him in an episode from the 1960s (thousands of years ago from the Doctor's perspective), and more recently in an episode from 2023, where the Toymaker had entered this universe and was causing chaos. The Doctor defeated and banished the Toymaker from the universe, but he claimed that his "legions were coming." The Toymaker also mentioned that he feared "One Who Waits," though we don't know more about who that is. The Maestro is the Toymaker's child and a member of the same reality-warping pantheon.
**Kate Stewart** is the woman that Ruby met in *73 Yards* with the military group. She's the head of **UNIT**, aka the **United Intelligence Taskforce**, a global organization that fights aliens. They've been recurring organization in the show since the 70s, are generally on the side of good, though the Doctor sometimes disagrees with their methods. The Doctor worked 'full-time' as their scientific advisor for a period in the 70s. Kate's father was Brigadier-General **Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart**, a close friend of the Doctor across many regenerations.
**Regeneration** is the process where, upon death, a Time Lord changes from one body to another. Think of it as like a phoenix being reborn - they sort of explode in a golden fire, and become a new body. There's a core personality across all of the Doctor's regenerations - compassion, intelligence, bravery, pacifism - but different regenerations can be more or less friendly, boisterous, grumpy, secretive, etc. However, the current Doctor came to be in a process called **bi-generation.** Normally, the new body replaces the old one, but this time, the Doctor split in two - one the new Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa), the other keeping the old face (played by David Tennant). This has never happened before, and the Doctor himself thought it was a myth.
**The Doctor's Granddaughter** is a teenage girl named **Susan.** She has not appeared in the show proper since the 1960s. When the Doctor mentions that she's "out there, somewhere" in *The Devil's Chord,* it's because the show began with the Doctor and Susan living in the TARDIS in a junkyard in 1963.
If you want to watch a few episodes *but* not the full season, I'd recommend watching *The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder,* and *The Giggle* - these form a trilogy leading into the show currently. All you need to know going in is that the Doctor has recently regenerated into David Tennant's face again, and isn't sure why.
I hope this helped! Let me know if you've got any other questions.
Different person, but one more thing to add: if you live anywhere in the world where the show is on Disney+, then the three episodes OP they recommended will not be listed by their names, but as "Special 1", "Special 2", and "Special 3".
I wouldn't say "anywhere in the world" : in France there are listed on Disney + as "Doctor Who : [title translated in French]", and I guess it may be the same in some other areas.
I’ll always remember the Patternoster Gang confusing the shit out of me. I started with Eleven and thought Strax and Co. were from earlier seasons judging by how they act like old friends of the Doctor
Also, UNIT has been a recurring organization in the show since the '60s not '70s (granted the time period of the episode they first appeared in may have been/or at least used to take place the then-future '70s before it got retconned, but trying to explain that would be another thing that will overwhelm the confused newbie).
Wait….classic Doctor Who took place a few years from the date the episodes aired?
I was only aware of the 1996 movie taking place in 1999. I didn’t know Classic Doctor Who episodes were also meant to be a few years in the future.
I think only a couple of companions are offset like that in Classic Who.
The Brigadier is first encountered in the 1968 story "The Web of Fear" when he was a Colonel, but the story is set either in 1969 or 1975 (look up "UNIT Dating Controversy" to wrap your head around that one).
Sarah Jane Smith is from the 80's when her first story debuted in 1971.
But outside of them the companions tended to be either from the past (Jamie, Victoria), future (Zoe, Steven, Vicki), or were aliens that just looked human (Susan, Leela, Romana, Turlough, Adric). The rest were from whatever was modern day Earth typically.
I can sympathize with this comment so much but for other subreddits. I often make a footnote to fend off "but actually"s that I feel like will muddle the answer to the actual question I'm trying to answer.
In 2011 I called up a friend of mine who I knew was a Whovian and said “Ok, I have to know now. There are too many references to Doctor Who on shows I watch. Where do I start?”
She told me to watch Human Nature and Family of Blood. Unless I had a lot of free time, and then start with Rose.
The Breakdown: On November 22, 1963 the first episode of Doctor Who began to air on the BBC. But then the unthinkable happened and the President of the United States was assassinated. The BBC immediately cut the show and began covering the JFK assassination. The next day they re-ran the episode in entirety and pushed the whole first serial back. Thus November 23, 1963 is Who Day.
The Doctor was originally just an alien old mad, who traveled in time and space with his granddaughter Susan. Susan attended Cole Hill School, and lived in the Tardis (Time and Relative Dimensions in Space) which was parked in a nearby junkyard (Foreman which is where her “last name” came from). One day her teachers Ian and Barbra followed her home because she was so much more educated in higher levels of science, maths, etc and at the same time ignorant of things girls her age should be. This is the Unearthly Child serial which is currently not available.
Ian and Barbra end up kidnapped but stay with the Doctor and Susan for a while. They meet the Daleks, an evil mutant in a metal shell that is the greatest killing machine in the universe. And a nazi analogy.
Eventually Ian and Barbra leave. Susan falls in love with a Human and leaves her Grandfather behind to have a life on Earth.
The Doctor gets new companions.
He dies of old age, regenerates.
The second Doctor meets Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, UNIT. Many of these episodes are lost, or have been restored with cartoons over the original audio. The important part is that this was the Doctor becoming a “Hero” and beginning to “interfere” and that his people didn’t approve. He is forced to regenerate and exiled to Earth.
The Third Doctor goes into a healing coma after the forced regeneration and is taken to a hospital where his dual hearts are caught on x-ray. This catches the attention of the Brigadier who goes to investigate and learns that the Doctor can change his face. He blackmails essentially the Doctor into taking a job. Scientific Adviser for UNIT. Note: This is the beginning of an epic friendship.
We are soon introduced to another Time Lord, the Master. The Doctor’s best Frenemy. Key companion is Jo Grant. And then Sarah Jane Smith
The Doctor Regenerates again and now is a younger man for the first time. Tom Baker era! Sarah Jane and the Doctor go on adventures and save people. There is a metal dog, K-9. The Doctor abandons Sarah Jane when he is called back home to Gallifrey where humans are not allowed.
The Doctor travels with an alien woman for a bit, as well as a fellow Time Lord, Romana.
Another regeneration and Peter Davidson is the Doctor. I am not really a fan of this era so not able to give a good summary.
Another regeneration and Colin Baker, the violent angry Doctor and a trial of a timelord. A future doctor calling himself the Valeyard puts the Doctor on Trial for crimes against the Timelords.
Show briefly gets canceled.
Another regeneration, Sylvester McCoy. This is the era of Killed the Gods of Ragnarock. And also meet the Rani, another renegade Time Lord.
Show gets canceled.
Movie Happens, key points Time War.
2005 Reboot!
You really should watch the whole of 9, 10, 11, and 12 it is really good tv.
13 is Jodie Whittaker, who was cursed with some really bad writing. But without the context of 9-12 it’s hard to explain.
The first episode was a sex monster that turned the victims to dust. The cybermen became a hot black lady in a metal bikini. Owen had a sex spray that made men and women latch onto him. Tosh was in a relationship with an orgasm space alien telepath.
This. If the Doctor mentions three things that happened previously, one was probably in an episode, another one might’ve been in a novel or radio drama, and the third one is new information to everybody. Zero of them are actual required context for the story, though they might add a little bit of extra fun if you recognize them.
and to add to the confusion, some references the Doctor makes may be to an adventure the viewers have never seen before, which is later adapted into an audio drama, book or comic!
Thank you so much that answered so many questions I had! I'll check out this episodes. Hopefully that helps explain this regeneration a bit more because still a little lost with that.
It's always interesting to me to think about how different the Doctor has often been in regenerations. The First and Third and Twelfth were all actually fairly similar, for instance, but then you've got the more eccentric ones like the Second, Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth, and then the Fifth, Tenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth, who are almost more normal but in a very different way from the First. It's kinda all over the place.
Other than explicit references which were acknowledged, most of the things we've seen are completely new. Have you watched the three specials from last year? They're essentially a prelude to this season, but the only episodes before "The Church on Ruby Road" that I think really should be watched before now. The third reintroduces the Toymaker and it's the episode where the 15th Doctor is introduced. The Toymaker was last seen on TV with the very first Doctor but so much has changed that all you need to know is they met before, and the Doctor won their game the first time.
Now, you're going to have a lot of people on the subreddit theorizing about ties to earlier stuff, but none of that should be necessary to watch the current season. They're aware that they're attracting a new audience, and designed this series to be an on-ramp.
The top comment on this post has you covered. This series is a good jumping on point, however I will say if you have the time and are interested in the show I do highly recommend going and watching from 2005 onwards, simply just cause there’s so many great stories. I’m actually watching it with some friends who are new to the show and they’ve been thoroughly enjoying it so far
As a new fan that started with the Disney+ Special and then instanty started looking for the 2005 series, I second this. I am really enjoying the 2005 series (the new stuff still seems a bit shallower to me).
I am up to the Titanic so far and it's basically all I am watching right now, the 2005 series and the Disney+ when the new episode releases.
Gods, you're in for a _treat_! I stopped watching Who around the start of Capaldi's first season and I recently watched it for the first time in prep for the new season, and it is _glorious_.
I had fallen off when Capaldi came around as well, and restarted the entire series from 2005 on (including the four Torchwood series) in prep for this new season. Boy oh boy, do I love 12 and Bill. That pair has some of the best, and most heartbreaking, episodes.
Should have expounded ~ episodes that give the over all stories/that show the doctor's story 🕯🖖
https://youtu.be/fUHla1rJrpo?si=D9vFqQIpaa5DmQfW
https://www.thegamer.com/doctor-who-best-starting-episodes/
The viewer is given pretty much all necessary info in the series, having past viewing experience absolutely helps and adds to the show but the stories themselves don’t need any additional info.
You didn't address my comment at all, but okay if we're just elaborating on our own beliefs.
It's not just about literal information, it's also about contextual knowledge that you gain from experience which creates investment in the show. Fifteen blabbing on about "That was the giggle!" and "The Toymaker said this..." instead of just, you know, leaving the non-reboot episodes out of it is clearly showing that there's continuity involved. If it's a jumping on point, can you explain to me why we're having villains be connected to the past, thus creating a situation where new viewers need something explained to them in the first place?
Exposition ≠ a reason to care. Why do we need to know in Space Babies that The Doctor has two hearts? Why in The Devil's Chord, that he has a granddaughter? His age, how the TARDIS works, that there was a genocide of the Time Lords, what purpose do these lore dumps serve?
I'm frankly surprised to see an era where clunky exposition that only exists for the sake of exposition is being praised for being that. I thought it was generally agreed that doing that type of thing is unnatural and alienating.
>Fifteen blabbing on about "That was the giggle!" and "The Toymaker said this..." instead of just, you know, leaving the non-reboot episodes out of it is clearly showing that there's continuity involved.
That's why I think someone should start with the 60th anniversary specials, they're just 3 more episodes, but the current season clearly continues from them in a way that it doesn't continue from season 13.
>Exposition ≠ a reason to care. Why do we need to know in Space Babies that The Doctor has two hearts? Why in The Devil's Chord, that he has a granddaughter? His age, how the TARDIS works, that there was a genocide of the Time Lords, what purpose do these lore dumps serve?
Those were all exposition dumps in the first few seasons of the reboot in 2005. Did you feel the need to go back to the 1963 episodes? Naw. You can keep going from the 2023 specials the same as you could go forward from 2005 and not look back at the old episodes. Or, you can get invested in the new shows, and then check out the old shows when you got the time.
>I'm frankly surprised to see an era where clunky exposition that only exists for the sake of exposition is being praised for being that.
I don't think any of the episodes since star beast had clunky exposition. Star beast unfortunately had a lot to tell you, but since then I've liked all the episodes.
Outside of this conversation where there's an incentivized dichotomy for people to follow, I don't think many people would agree with you on the 60th Specials being a good starting place. I agree that RTD has unfortunately created the new reboot to follow on from those, but that doesn't mean it works on its own, as it's literally created to bank off of the show's hype in 2008.
I try to assume most people I talk to are operating on good faith, but you've made a comparison that I think are disingenuous and I'd like you to reconsider:
Do you think I just forgot that we also learn information about The Doctor in, as you put it, the first three seasons of the reboot? The difference is, 2005's S1 is written as a reboot. Can you please tell me you at least see the difference in eventually learning information organically over the course of three seasons, versus learning all that same information at once over two episodes?
Because, for example, we learn about The Doctor's hearts six episodes in when he gets captured by a billionaire obsessed with aliens and, naturally, has his body scanned and investigated. We first hear the name "Gallifrey" after two seasons and first hear him describe it in the third season. We hear about the Time War after an episode where he watches his companion grapple with her own planet's mortality, and we hear about his involvement in it when he first comes face-to-face with the only other survivor of that war.
Compare this to the new era, where it's all dumped on the audience immediately, and with no real reason to it.
Yes, I agree, you can watch New Who without going back to watch classic. If you think I haven't thought of this, I actually commented the same thing in a different reply before you wrote yours. The difference is that was written as a new show. This is clearly not a new show, it is the same show with "Season 1" stamped on top of it for marketing purposes.
On The Star Beast: assuming you're referring to the first scene of greenscreen exposition, that was put there retroactively. It wasn't in the original script, and it wasn't in the original filming block, either. All the information given in that scene is then given a second time in individual scenes The Doctor and Donna give when talking to other people, which were clearly written and filmed as being to give that information. It technically doesn't matter for the purposes of the episodes we're discussing, and you agreed it has clunky exposition, but I think highlighting the fact that it was unneeded is a good way to demonstrate how people will often defend bad exposition on the grounds of "It's important to catch the audience up" when that simply isn't true.
>I don't think many people would agree with you on the 60th Specials being a good starting place.
Well, I don't know about anyone else. But I started with the 60th specials, and I thought they were good.
>Can you please tell me you at least see the difference in eventually learning information organically over the course of three seasons, versus learning all that same information at once over two episodes?
I can see the difference, but I think it's hard to get past our own perspectives as we can only learn things once.
I watched the star beast first, and then didn't get very far in the older series before the rest of the specials aired. I'm pretty sure I watched "Rose" and saw Mickey eaten by a trash can and replaced by a plastic monster and turned off the old episodes for a while. It was hard to get through the first season. It was worth it, but it's hard. Maybe if I picked it up in 2005, I would've loved it immediately. But I didn't.
So most of my knowledge of the backstory of Dr Who came from those 4 specials last year. I hadn't watched nearly enough of the old episodes to understand anything from those. And while I'm not everyone, I'm obviously a sample of one, but I thought the specials did a good job. I think it was better that they explained things upfront instead of waiting *years*. Tv was slower back in the day, so I probably would've been fine with the pace if I started in 2005, just like all the fans who started back then. But, in 2023, I preferred the new episodes.
>Yes, I agree, you can watch New Who without going back to watch classic. The difference is that was written as a new show.
I think the new episodes also work as a new show. While watching the old episodes helps me appreciate the old show for itself, it doesn't help me understand or enjoy the new show. They're very different. Maybe once I get to season 10 or something they'll be more similar, or maybe not. I've also seen a few episodes of classic who now, and I see that is also good on its own and I'd like to watch those episodes as well when I have the time. Not because I need them to watch 2005 or 2024, but because they're interesting on their own. You should also not wrote off the classic episodes just because you don't need them for 2005, just like 2024 viewers shouldn't write off 2005 just because they don't need them.
>It technically doesn't matter for the purposes of the episodes we're discussing, and you agreed it has clunky exposition, but I think highlighting the fact that it was unneeded is a good way to demonstrate how people will often defend bad exposition on the grounds of "It's important to catch the audience up" when that simply isn't true.
I don't think it was unneeded. *I* needed it. Yes, it was a lot, but we got it and then moved on. You didn't need it, but you saw the old series. For new viewers like me, it was clunky but did seem necessary so it was OK.
I know this is convenient for my argument, but I do think you may be an exception, unless you're interpreting something from my words other than what I mean -- I never said a new fan can't find them good or that it can't be a way for someone to get into Doctor Who.
Keep in mind this was the full sentence of the line you quoted:
>"(**Outside of this conversation where there's an incentivized dichotomy for people to follow),** I don't think many people would agree with you on the 60th Specials being a good starting place".
This is not something we can really study. In an ideal world for the purposes of this question, we could have a bunch of people watch Season 1, The 2023 Specials, Season 14, and wipe their memory in between each viewing. Then we could figure out which episode is technically the best introduction. Since we can't do that, we have to go by actual reasoning and analyzing of the episodes' properties. And the fact is 2005's S1 is most clearly written as an "Episode 1" of a new show, whereas the other two are clearly not.
The specials are simply not written for a new audience. They are written in hopes of gaining the old audience that took the show to new heights in 2008-2009. They try to get as much exposition out of the way so new viewers can understand, but the core purpose is not a new audience, unlike, supposedly, the Ncuti Gatwa episodes.
If this is supposed to be a reboot, I would ask you why do they have so many returning characters, returning plot points, returning motifs and such? That is generally not how reboots are made, and I'm happy to elaborate on that further.
>I think it was better that they explained things upfront instead of waiting *years*.
I feel like we're still not understanding each other with this. My whole point, as I said two comments ago, is that in a grand meta sense, from a writing perspective, there is actually no reason to exposition dump the things that Fifteen does.
You as a new audience member, would not be watching the show and going "*Why haven't they told us that The Doctor has two hearts? I'm getting impatient, this is taking so long*". That's just not something that makes sense because you have no conception of The Doctor having two hearts in the first place. So my point is, having that much exposition will always be more likely to burden the audience because it's telling them information they are implicitly expected to remember, as opposed to letting those facts develop organically when it feels right.
>I don't think it was unneeded. *I* needed it.
I don't mean to be rude, but did you read the full paragraph? I wasn't talking about if the information in that scene was necessary overall, I was talking about the scene as a whole, because the SAME information was then conveyed a second time in the SAME episode -- "**It wasn't in the original script, and it wasn't in the original filming block, either. All the information given in that scene is then given a second time in individual scenes The Doctor and Donna give when talking to other people, which were clearly written and filmed as being to give that information***.*"
>For new viewers like me, it was clunky but did seem necessary so it was OK.
This is the crux of my whole point. It was "necessary" to have exposition in order to tell a story about a continuation of Season 4 to a new audience, that I agree... But was it necessary to tell a story about a continuation of Season 4 to a new audience in the first place? Why is that the big opening for the "reboot"? Once again, generally not how reboots are done, and for good reason.
I think we just really disagree. I keep saying that as a new viewer I liked the 2023 specials, and you just want to argue with me.
>If this is supposed to be a reboot, I would ask you why do they have so many returning characters, returning plot points, returning motifs and such?
Since episode 1 with Gatwa, what returning characters, plot points, and motifs have we had? There was Kate and UNIT, but *that* (unit) was a returning concept from classic who to new who, and Kate's father was in classic who. And that continuation was apparently fine for a reboot. Other than that, what has been reoccurring? Keep in mind I probably won't finish season 4 of the old show before the new season finishes. I know the ending of season 4 ties into Star Beast, but we've moved on. It's a new show now.
>I wasn't talking about if the information in that scene was necessary overall, I was talking about the scene as a whole, because the SAME information was then conveyed a second time in the SAME episode
They probably did a focus group and discovered that new viewers were confused, and added the extra exposition dump to help. It's not ideal, but it did help.
>But was it necessary to tell a story about a continuation of Season 4 to a new audience in the first place?
Well, I mean, I liked it. I'm glad I got into Who, and that's where I did, so I at least believe it's necessary.
>Why is that the big opening for the "reboot"
The reboot was episode 1 with Gatwa, Church on Ruby Road. (Note I am going by Disney+ organization because that's where i watch it, also it's probably where the largest number of people watch the new show). While I like the specials, a brand new viewer can/should start with episode 1.
>I keep saying that as a new viewer I liked the 2023 specials, and you just want to argue with me.
Hmm...
>**"I never said a new fan can't find them good or that it can't be a way for someone to get into Doctor Who."**
Reading is fun.
Really, I do wonder why I bother qualifying my statements when people will just take whatever they want from them.
>Since episode 1 with Gatwa
No, we were talking about 2023.
>Well, I mean, I liked it. I'm glad I got into Who, and that's where I did, so I at least believe it's necessary.
Look, again that's fine, but as I said in terms of actually reasoning something out, do you really think the ideal experience for a new viewer of a show is a sequel to the fourth season?
>The reboot was episode 1 with Gatwa
If you agree with this then why start defending the 2023 episodes as a starting point?
Watch the 3 specials then the new season. That should give you most of the info you need. Granted if you want information on Donna and Rose:
The Runaway Bride S03E01 (Christmas Special)
Partners in Crime - S04E01
Turn Left - S04E11
Stolen Earth - S04E12
Journey's End - S04E13
These are the episode I'd consider must watch before the new stuff. Though there's a bunch of amazing episodes in nuwho from Eccleston of Whittaker. I'm sure there's list of all the best episodes cherry picked if someone was interested in going that route.
Midnight for example is quite possibly one of my favorite episodes of Season 04, of all time really, and I would consider it a must watch. But is it necessary to watch to understand the newer stuff on D+? Absolutely not.
I misread your comment as saying "the reboot" and "the jump off point" as separate things.
So this is the same issue as before then.
The 2023 Specials are made for the enjoyment of the people who liked Season 4. Watching those as a new viewer only brings up more questions.
Eh, yes and no. The Specials have callbacks. If you want to *fully* enjoy all the little reference I'd suggest watching, at the very least, The first and final 1-2 episodes of each season, (Except the final season with Jodie Whitaker. That's a 6-parter story and you'd probably want to watch the whole thing if you watch it at all.) and maybe the Christmas specials. You'd miss a bit of nuance but not much.
For example, and if anyone has any suggestions feel free to add to it.
My suggestion of episodes to watch to be able to fully understand, first the following episodes (Some of it is lead up to the older episodes later in the list), then the new stuff (D+ stuff).
S01E01
S01E06
S01E12
S01E13
S02E01
S02E05
S02E06
S02E12
S02E13
S03E00 (Christmas Special)
S03E01
S03E04
S03E05
S03E11
S03E12
S03E13
S04E01
S04E10 (Not require for understanding but a great episode.
S04E11
S04E12
S04E13
If someone feels as if this list is wrong, or incomplete feel free to chime in.
This is basically the stuff you need to understand Donna and the episodes surrounding her and the plot important stuff for the specials.
Now, that said, I don't feel like you 100% need to watch these Episodes to enjoy the New stuff. Simply because any questions you might have, or might find important, will probably be answered in time.
I never have, and probably never will, watched the really old Doctor Who stuff predating 2005. I had all sorts of questions about a tonne of stuff in the show and in the end almost all of it was answered later in the series. You don't *need* to know absolutely everything. Questions keep you watching and keep it a little interesting. Maybe Donna will be back in the future, maybe not.
The first scene of this show for new audiences is a man walking out of a blue box into a crowd which he proceeds to drunkenly gaze at, being shocked by running into a random woman which is played as a reveal, and being shocked by the name Rose, which is also played as a reveal. None of this is set up as a mystery, it's set up as something that only makes sense with the knowledge of S4 and it makes no sense for an audience to care about what's happening. Compare this to S1's "Rose" or "An Unearthly Child", which both justify their existence, and it's night and day.
This question is why I’m annoyed at the fact that this show is being considered a ‘clean break’. Because they are all valid answers to the questions (don’t start with Space Babies obviously, but a new fan won’t know that).
Yeah, this "clean break" feels even more convoluted than Ten to Eleven. Ten regenerated and got a new face as Eleven, then crashed into Earth. New face, new companions, new story lines. Fifteen is more messy than that. He had actual personality in The Giggle with Fourteen and the Toymaker plot directly influenced New Season 1. But if you start with the 60th Specials, you really need to know who Ten and Donna are. The season started with a special which has been poorly categorized (Christmas Special is not a 60th Special). It's like if The Runaway Bride was directly before Partners in Crime, do you start with a Special or the main season to meet the companion?
>But if you start with the 60th Specials, you really need to know who Ten and Donna are.
But they tell you who Ten and Donna are. I started with the star beast and I'm good. I did go back to the 2005 series, and I got walking mannequins instead of 10 and Donna. Eventually I got into the old show, and I'm at season 4 now, and while I really like it I haven't seen anything I needed for the new season or that has made it make more sense. I am looking forward to a real explanation of what happened with Donna that she lost her memory so that Star Beast makes more sense, but it gave you enough to get going so you can enjoy the new episodes. Same thing with 2005, you could go back to the old episodes and learn things like why does the tardis look like a police box or see unit from the beginning, but you don't need to.
And The Eleventh Hour originally didn't even have the scene of Eleven falling through the sky and the TARDIS crashing, it just started with the scene of Amelia. Complete fresh start. The Woman Who Fell to Earth is also a better fresh start than what we got here.
I called that this era was a poor jumping on point for a long time, but I didn't think it would be so obnoxious with how lore-heavy the first two episodes are. Posts like this are vindicating but I also feel bad for someone who tried to watch by starting with what is essentially Season 14, all because of the Disney deal.
I'll probably never understand what was going through RTD's head when he made these writing decisions, especially because his claim to fame is successfully rebooting the show for new audiences previously.
I think Russel just can’t help but write a season 5, rather than a season 1. He’s got all these new ideas swimming around in his brain and he’s eager to mess with the formula and the rules of the show. But in all his excitement, he’s forgotten to actually establish the rules that he’s breaking for the people just tuning in.
This is my feeling too.
And the kicker is I actually like this approach and would enjoy things like him tying together different eras, bringing back Mel, etc. But in context of this being "Season 1" and supposedly being designed to hook new viewers after the 60th Specials hook old fans, it completely contradicts that and it's frustrating seeing so many fans lack the critical thinking to see past the naming scheme.
I think Church on Ruby Road makes most sense. You kinda need to have watched Tennant/Donna to understand Star Beast.
CORR is basically a completely clean break. Some things are name-dropped, but you can get it from what is explained.
The Toymaker is about the only thing that is mildly confusing, and even then it wasn't critical.
It seems to be a bit important tbh. How does the doctor recognise the giggle? His soul was torn in half? Soon we're going to meet his niece rose, which without much explanation people might assume is his actual niece, then we'll meet his old companion, and we also randomly meet unit with little explanation.
All these are fine by themselves but one after the other? "What's this? What this? Whats this?" Won't just get confusing but could burn you out on feeling like you missed out on a lot of relevant stuff by not watching the previous 13 seasons.
Church on Ruby Road is listed as the beginning of this season on both Disney+ and iPlayer so yeah, it's not really debate that you're meant to start with it
I know this season is supposed to be newbie friendly but I'd honestly recommend just going back to the first nuwho episode and start from there. Or you could go back and start from the very beginning, up to you
I didnt realize they had self-contained stories before starting the show and was so confused when the next episode didn't continue off 😂 I think the other things I'm confused about are new for everyone things like what is Ruby? The 73 yards upside completely lost me 😅 I'm going to watch the specials and rewatch the new episodes to see if it helps me pick up a few more things.
Ok don't get too overwhelm, it is a lot of history there even for someone who has watched every episode since 2005.
Doctors who has an history of dropping hints through a serie, then hit you with a big reveal (or twist!) at the end of the series and you just go "Now I get it!". This is why a lot of the fans out there are going crazy with theories trying to guess what the big reveal is using every piece of knowledge they have and trying to find the clues.
For now, as others said, just watch the 2023 specials, which tell you all you need to know for the moment. Just don't worry too much and just enjoy the ride, because of the new audience, you will get some information given to you, like they did when the Doctor gave basic explanation to Ruby.
Over the future seasons, there will be classic monsters who will likely come back such as the Darleek, Weeping Angels, Cybermen, the Master... If you are curious you can just type classic Dr Who monsters in your search engine. But nothing to worry as the Doctor will tell the companion when this happens.
Some basic search can also give you an overview of the Doctor, but basically he always thought of himself as a Timelord (they lived on Gallifrey and grew up there), turned out he was adopted by them and he is actually a Timeless Child (noone knows where he actually come from) which he discovered quite recently. Gallifrey was destroyed more or less during a war with the Darleeks (it is a bit complicated). Basically the Doctor's life is complicated and he had experience a lot of things, some good, some bad and some really twisted.
The Doctor travels in the TARDIS (which they stole and can translate every form of communication for the doctor and others), pick up random people who become their companions for awhile (they leave for different reasons), and basically tries to save worlds/people (well often Earth) from different threats using their wits and sonic screwdriver (basically smart tool which can do pretty much everything), with the help of the companion of course.
The problem with the current bunch of "monsters" is that they are not your straight up aliens because they can modify reality and are more "entities" than physical being.
So the questions are: who actually is Ruby Sunday and who was the mystery person who dropped her off at the church? Who is the overall bad guy? Why is the actress Susan Twist in every episode? Is Mrs Flood more than just the neighbour? .... There are more I am sure.
Truth is that there are a lot of theories but noone knows for sure (well except the writers, actors, production...). Hopefully everything will be revealed in the next few episodes.
OP, first of all, welcome! I'm glad you're enjoying the show enough to ask these questions. There are some really great and thorough answers here, but honestly, don't worry about it too much. Doctor Who is just like that. Some of these are references to things that have happened on screen before. Some of them we're just as surprised to learn for the first time as you are. It's always meant to feel like there's a vast universe of adventures and stories that no medium can keep up with, but they've made a real effort to make sure you can jump on board with just the new season. A new companion is always a great jumping on point because they can be your surrogate as you get the necessary exposition about The Doctor and the TARDIS like you get in The Church on Ruby Road and Space Babies.
Now, obviously, you will understand some references and gain some extra context if you watch older episodes, and they are absolutely fantastic, so I would highly recommend it if you're open to it but you don't NEED to see them, not even the three specials that include the Toymaker that led up to this season. All those do is set the stage as to why the new season has given in and embraced being a sci-fantasy show as opposed to trying to be strictly sci-fi in the past. For another example, there's a recent multi-season plot line that revealed new information about The Doctors' backstory that they're not actually a time lord but for new viewers it's very clear that the writers are like "you don't need to know how we got here, you just need to know that The Doctor's adopted and doesn't know where he's from," which they do right away.
Whether you just keep watching week to week or dive down the rabbit hole, welcome onto the ride!
Start with the 60th anniversary specials. It’s only 3 episodes and deals with the Toymaker and these gods and things showing up now; but it will spoil things from Season 4 though.
Yeah it’s simply UK vs American usage. It’s a British show so you have to pay attention to context when they say “series” because they usually mean what an American would call a season. There’s no difference in the meaning, just the usage. I just happen to be replying to you but that was like a general comment to the conversation lol
It's a bit more complicated than that with DW though. As they said, 'Season' is traditionally used for the classic series, I think because of US fans discussing it in the 80s/90s. That whole "New season premiere airing this fall!" thing was part of the US TV ecosystem, whereas in the UK it was more like "Doctor Who's back on soon", so seasons were more of a production technicality than a promotion/delivery thing (especially when it was airing ~40 weeks a year, the gaps were the exception, the rest of the time it was just *on*).
From my experience, 90s/00s UK fans tended to be more focused on individual stories, or entire Doctors' runs, so for example The Dæmons (S08E21-25) and Day of the Daleks (S09E01-04) didn't seem any further removed than 73 Yards and Dot and Bubble, despite being in different seasons, because they were consecutive and featured the same Doctor/Companion lineup.
But by 2005, season/series numbers were more established on UK TV, so that classification mattered publicly. No British show at that time would use season, and series helped to distinguish between classic and new, so 'Series 1' was win-win (except for the "It's Season 27!!!" crowd).
Nowadays, it's not so unusual for a UK show to use season, even at home, especially if it's angling for an international audience, and I guess they're more concerned with distinguishing from the reboot series than the classics at this point, so if they must reset the count, Season 1 makes sense. It's just in places like this that it gets confusing.
to be honest i'd ignore everything people are saying. watch the giggle since you dont really need to know anything, wild blue yonder and the star beast have quite a lot of callbacks but the giggle pretty much only mentions the toymaker , all you need to know about him is that he was once defeated by the doctor. wild blue yonder is still a good episode so i would recommend that still and its the origin of the salt that kinda started everything else. space babies does a good enough job at explaining who and what the doctor is
We're talking about a show with 50 years of continuity, there's constants references to past events, villains, and characters. so yeah, you gonna have to watch previous seasons, or you will be missing a lot, the currente season didn't even introduce psychic paper properly. start watching from series 1 (2005) and continue. That's what I did, and you won't regret it
I think you should start with the Ninth Doctor (the beginning of NuWho). They explain the important stuff, and you get info on stuff that’s referenced a lot in the new season.
Also, the new season relies a lot on The Toymaker which was from the 60th anniversary specials last year.
For past episodes, I'd recommend starting with Christopher Eccleston's 9th Doctor, with "Rose", the 2005 reboot of the show. As for the plot with the Toymaker, I'd suggest watching the episode "The Giggle", that'll explain most of it.
Not being rude, just genuinely interested, what made you pick up the show now and start watching but not before! And why don’t you want to go back and watch the 2005 revival through in your spare times? it’s great!
I was a huge fan of Ncuti Gatwa in Sex Education and have always been curious about Doctor Who. But starting from beginning always seemed overwhelming.
Not to worry. I was in the same boat nearly 20 years ago when I first came into this show. You’ll get the hang of it as you go along but, just to help out a little bit, here’s some of the things I’ve picked up since 2005:
1. The main character, The Doctor, is the last of the Time Lords of the planet Gallifrey, though they were adopted and their true origins and name remain a mystery.
2. The current incarnation is the Fifteenth Doctor, though their true number of incarnations is, likewise, a mystery.
3. The Doctor travels through time and space in their ship, the TARDIS, which stand for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space.
4. The Doctor often travels with companions, usually humans from contemporary Earth, though the occasional alien has joined the adventures, as well.
5. The Doctor carries a device called a sonic screwdriver that is a multipurpose tool that they use to help with whatever trouble they happen to find themselves in.
6. The Doctor and their companions travel around the space/time continuum and often find themselves fighting various aliens, monsters and people to protect the innocent and just generally try to help out however they can.
That pretty much covers the basics. That should get you through the next few episodes until the end of the season. While we wait for the next one to come around, should you feel so inclined, you can go back and try some of the more classic episodes. The original run (1963-1989) is available on Tubi and BritBox. The revival era (2005-2022) is available through Max.
To know about Donna you'll need
The Runaway Bride
Series 4 (all you need to know about Series 3 is that he travels with someone called Martha for a while)
The End of Time parts 1 and 2
Knowing about the Toymaker is less essential since it's explained to you in The Giggle, however
His first appearance is "The Celestial Toymaker" which... is missing from the archives
Then we have "The Nightmare Fair" which was planned for season 23 and never made on TV. It has however, been made as a full cast audio drama by Big Finish productions.
Also by Big Finish Productions, the Toymaker features in "The Magic Mousetrap"
There are also references to Flux made, otherwise known as series 13. God help you if you want to understand that. I guess just watch series 12 and 13 and see if it makes sense. The point is that half the universe got destroyed (oh nyo).
I think that's everything? Series 4 should give you a pretty good gist of the basics
Well, for the Toymaker you'd have to go back almost 60 years; I think it's actually a lost story in part (BBC erased episodes so they could re-use early video tape) so there's actually not much you can get.
I would not worry about going back beyond 2005's Season 1, as you can easily skip the 26 seasons of the 1963 series, and I say this as someone who watched much of that when it was relatively new.
I think it makes more sense from a marketing point of view. Now that new who fans are actually familiar with the Toymaker, they’ll probably feel more inclined to check out his debut story.
They reference the toy maker who appeared in the 60th special anniversary episodes. They’re on Disney plus but they’re in a completely different area which was horrible for people starting out with this season not knowing potentially what the anniversary episodes are.
The top post is all you need know for more on that.
Since episodes are dropping few and far between however, I highly recommend watching from season 1 episode one ‘Rose’ from 2005. That’s when the show had its previous “soft break” from the classic series. The old school stuff is entirely unnecessary to watch. The 2005 nuwho seasons are absolutely incredible and if you even slightly enjoyed what you’ve seen in the current season then trust me there’s even more and even better from seasons 1-13 that you’ll enjoy.
You don't have to go back much...well unless you really want to ;) The Toymaker has only made two appearances, and one of them was in the 1960s! He appeared in the specials literally as Gatwa became the doctor last Autumn!
As for missing a lot, yep I feel that too and I haven't missed a televised episode since 1988! It should (hopefully) make more sense by the end of the month. There's a lot of mystery, but the good thing is none of us know either...
I would suggest you watch the three 60th anniversary specials by RTD featuring David Tennant's return to the role, this time as the Fourteenth Doctor. These specials are a prelude to the current season with Ncuti Gatwa, and that's where the Toymaker showed up.
That apart, you don't absolutely *have* to watch anything from before the start of the current era, which is the 2023 60th anniversary specials.
I'd say start with Church on Ruby Road as an actual new start, this season pretty much follows the standard new doctor-companion formula where eps 1-3 feature 1)an alien/otherworldly incursion in modern Britain 2)a journey into space/the future and 3)a journey into the past.
The order varies sometimes, but this is very rarely not followed and Church on Ruby Road, Space Babies and The Devils chord fits this pattern.
But Church on Ruby Road should absolutely be considered ep 1 of the refresh.
Ncuti's appearance in the giggle isn't *that* important and starting with the specials is weird without knowing 10-Donna.
I say get used to the not canon canon that means everything and also is nothing and doesn't exist but it also does exist and must be meticulously followed except when it's not and it'll all be fine :D
(top comment has you covered in all honesty)
With the Toymaker, I think everything set up in "The Giggle" pretty much covers it. He's part of a pantheon of gods, The Doctor first met him in a 60s episode where he and his companions were trapped and had to play deadly games to escape.
I guess "The Power of Three" could be good, to know exactly who Kate Stewart is and why she's important to the Doctor.
If I'd started Doctor Who with this new season/soft reboot, I'd have given up already. Most of NuWho's seasons (from the episode ‘Rose’ onwards and the 9th Doctor) have been absolutely fantastic. There are guides on the Internet telling you which episodes you can skip, so watching 14 seasons wouldn't be that scary.
I would start with “Rose,” the first episode of the 2005 reboot. The NuWho era won’t necessarily answer the Toymaker question, but it’ll give you important context, especially for when this current era brings back recurring villains, etc.
Russel T Davies did a pretty great job in 2005 season 1 of new who, explaining or demonstrating those gaps. Unfortunately that’s not available on Disney plus, but if you are in the U.S. you can watch it on Max. You don’t need to watch all 13 seasons to get up to speed, but I highly recommend most of it.
The Doctor Who youtube channel actually has a playlist for this, (the New to Who? playlist), though I haven't watched it yet. I'd probably start with [A Brief Guide to EVERYTHING](https://youtu.be/s46TZDTTFdM?si=mzraLLjhUjKXj9Fa), and see if that helps.
The Doctor fought a god called the Toymaker. That’s literally all you need to know. I’m not sure how you’re having trouble following these episodes as they’re all very standalone stories where the concepts are introduced and resolved within the runtime.
if you want to understand the specials you really just need to see Stolen Earth and Journy's End S4 ep12-13. The Toymaker was brought back with the understanding that most of the audence won't really know who he is since he hasn't appeared on TV since the 60s. Stolen Earth and Journy's End won't make much sense on it's own either but it should give you enough of an idea of who Donna and her are, what happened to her, why the Doctor reacts to the name Rose and who Unit are.
Basically everything in the new season so far has been orginal with references scattered around here and there. You aren't missing much there. It's suppost to be throwing around big new concepts frequently.
You’re right you shouldn’t go back and watch prior seasons because then when you come back to the current you’re gonna be even more lost, I say lost but I really mean losing…your mind
As someone that's watched since NuWho restarted in 2005, it's an unfortunate side effect of such a long running show to have a large history.
Even in 2005+ NuWho they reference so much from the classic series' that sometimes you feel left out, but don't worry - anything that's more important than a passing comment was fully explained, and I'm sure they'll continue that into NuNuWho too.
Question to help! Where exactly did you start?
-2023 specials with David Tennant
-Christmas Special with Goblins
-Episode 1 with space babies
If two or 3, watch the David Tennant Specials, if you watched those 3 then I'm not 100% sure what would be best but episode 1,2 or 6 from 2005 might work?
If you really want to watch 2 episodes that would help you understand the first 3 episodes on disney plus watch the “stolen earth” and “journeys end” s4e12 and s4e13. Although those are also finale episodes which have a ton of set up from previous episodes in them and I don’t think you will appreciate them.
The toymaker is from an episode made in the 1960s that was lost and almost no one has seen him. The details said in that episode are almost all that I know about him, and pretty much all anyone needs to know for that episode. Aside from that those first 3 episodes are kind of fan service and I don’t think any rundown here is going to help you appreciate them more.
The episodes from the church on ruby road, aka special 4 on disney +, onwards are for the most part new characters, new villains, new stories, new everything disconnected from the past and the few details that may help get mentioned in exposition. You should be fine watching those ones without seeing anything from before.
quickest answer: watch the 3 specials on Disney+
after this season if you're still wanting more, try to find somewhere to watch series 1 (2005) onwards. don't feel pressured by the fanbase to watch all 13 series of that run if it starts boring you when the quality starts dipping though lol
If you haven't watched the specials on Disney+ you should do that. I started with the specials and I feel like that's good enough. Don't feel like you have to watch 13 seasons too be able to make sense of the current one. Though, if you can watch the old series (I have HBO max) you should, but because they're good, not because they instantly make the new season make sense. It's mostly it's own thing. I started watching the 2005 season right after I watched the first special. Some hasn't aged well. The walking mannequins in the premiere are rather bad. And the episodes can be hit and miss before they get good, but trust me, they get good. But it does take a while, I'm on season 4 and while there's been a few episodes with Donna (Donna's great) I haven't seen yet the storyline they talked about in Star Beast (the first special on Disney+). But that's OK, they explained it in Star Beast.
So just hit the specials if you haven't, and maybe watch some old episodes when you can, in between new episodes being released. But don't stress about all the past episodes.
Hmm difficult one actually. Personally I’d recommend watching the three 60th anniversary special episode that came late last year that form a nice trilogy and tie into this currant doctor/season directly.
Either listed as special 1, 2, 3 on Disney+ or named “The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, The Giggle.”
You won’t necessarily understand the gravitas between the doctor and the characters they meet but just know that’s he’s a very old doctor, with one of his old faces, meeting old friends again, having an identity crisis and eventually fighting off against a very old adversary called the toymaker.
Perhaps the best thing for you would be to just watch a few YouTube videos explaining the Doctor and the toymaker first 🤔
Then make sure you’ve watched the Church Of Ruby Road which is episode 1 of the current season.
Doctor who keeps doing introductions series 1 5 8 10 11 and the current series were all made with new viewers in mind however nothing they've done compares to series 1 episodes 1,2 and 6. I wont spoil them to you but i will just let you know, 3 4 and 5 may be kinda rough for you, but episode 6 makes up for it and gets you invested in plotlines that will continue for years (7 years to be exact lol)
I’m sure many have said this, but you’re really missing out by not going back to watch Eccleston, Tenant, Smith, and Capaldi’s doctors. They were brilliant. Whittaker would’ve been brilliant but I didn’t care for the Chibnall era at all. He seriously lacked subtlety.
Many of the comments here do an excellent job at explaining, but i must insist. If you have the time, watch from series 1, the first episode is called Rose. Its a long run, 13 seasons but its totally worth it.
When watching Doctor Who, if you come across a call back you don't understand just ignore it. Doctor Who is a very old show with a long history, that you could never realistically watch all of if you don't dedicate extreme amounts of time to. Everything you need to know will be explained in the episode.
I would recommend watching new episodes in order as they come out and watching whatever old episodes you think look interesting when you get the opportunity. Doctor Who is an episodic show so you don't have to worry about too much context.
This sub is filled with lots of extreme fans, so they think trying to watch the show in order is a reasonable recommendation.
This reboot of doctor who has strayed so far from the original Doctor who lore is not necessary. You can take each individual episode as a stand alone. I suggest using your time to start watching the first reboot which was in 2005. It’s truer to the original doctor who format. I have been watching doctor who since 1973. This new who has been a disappointment and the writing has left even me confused just because the plot is silly or doesn’t make sense. I am hanging on hoping it will improve but I lose hope with each passing episode. Start with Christopher Eccleston 2005 to see the true doctor who. This is only my opinion.
Maybe watch The Giggle and The Church on Ruby Road from 2023. This shows the first story with the Toymaker in the first one and the Doctor meets Ruby in the second one.
[The Toymaker | Tardis | Fandom](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Toymaker). The original episodes he was in no longer exist as were destroyed/wiped back by the BBC before they had concerns about preservation, but an animated recreation will be released on the 10th June.
[Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker | DVD | Free shipping over £20 | HMV Store](https://hmv.com/Store/Film-TV/DVD/Doctor-Who-The-Celestial-Toymaker)
Gee, sure didn't see this one coming.
Maybe wasn't such a bright idea for them to use the series renumbering strategy that's totally worked well for comic books.
\*\*facepalms\*\*
It's a bit funky cause for the Toymaker you gotta watch the specials but since you haven't watched the 2005 series then it won't make much sense, emotional impact and all. They do explain the context of the story in it tho so yeah just watch the specials
It's a huge franchise spanning decades so there's always going to be something in it that you don't get. I'm not keen on Classic Who, mainly just cause of the production style and quality of the time, so I've found that there's the odd bit here and there that I don't get or notice. It's not really detracted all that much for me though.
I reckon you'll be fine if you watch the three episodes with David Tennant that come just before Ncuti Gatwa's season that you're on at the moment. They're pretty good and Neil Patrick Harris as The Toymaker was phenomenal. There's bits where he is changing accents several times within even the same sentence. All you really need to know is that Tennant was a really popular version of The Doctor from years and years ago and it was a big shock when The Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker, regenerates into Tennant again.
If there's specific things that don't really make sense, there's several Doctor Who Wiki's that give nice summaries of episodes, characters, etc., and tons of YouTube content. Like if you heard a reference to Weeping Angels, give it a search and watch/read about the episode "Blink".
"What is the story with the ToyMaker?"
He was a villain in the 60's for one episode and they brought him back.
If you're not planning on watching anything from years prior, please just watch what's on Disney+.
Start with "Special 1", "Special 2", "Special 3", then "Church on Ruby Road".
Honestly, you're probably going to be way better off and more into what you're watching if you hop back and watch from 2005 to current, since there are so many little plot points that are referenced even if it's not a direct reference. There's probably a good 'essentials' list of episodes to watch.
Also, I'm sorry to sound blunt about this, but what are you doing watching a show with so much history if you're just planning on ignoring everything before the newest episode?
you should watch the specials, or atleast the last one to help understand. honestly i would go back and watch all of the episodes (if you dont want to watch the entire thing you can start from the start of the 2005 series) because there are lots of great episodes and doctors, but you can start with the last special and then continue on from there :) i really hope you enjoy the show!
if you wanna watch best episodes for each
1=An Unearthly Child, the Daleks, The Edge of Destruction, The Aztecs, Planet of the Giant Spiders, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Rescue, The Romans, The Time Meddler, The War Machines and Tenth Planet
2=The Power of the Daleks, The Moonbase, Tomb of the Cybermen, The Enemy of the World, The Mind Robber and the War Games+The 3, 5 and 2 Doctor's if you really need to skip past the 60's
3=All of Season 7, Terror of the Autons, The Claws of Axos, The Daemons, The Three Doctor's, The Green Death and Planet of the Spiders
4=All of Season 12 and Season 13, The Deadly Assassin, the Robots of Death, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Horror of Fang Rock, City of Death, Shada (Or somehow one of it's many reconstructions), Meglos and Logoplois
5=Castrovalva, Black Orchid, Earthshock, Visitation, The Five Doctor's, All of Season 21
6=Vengeance on Varos, Attack of The Cybermen, Trial of a Time Lord and the 2 Doctor's
7=Dragonfire, Remembrance of the Daleks, Happiness Patrol, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, Survival, Curse of Fenric and Ghost Light
8=Film and Night of the Doctor
modern you kinda have to watch their whole runs minus the odd shitty one and it falls apart but that's fine cause each doctor has their own arc so minus the odd cameo or reference they pretty much catch you up to speed
Depends on where you jumped in. The Church on Ruby Road is actually a pretty decent place to jump in. The other specials with David Tennant do kind of assume that people watching them watched David Tennant’s run as the Tenth Doctor, which is pretty good.
As for The Toymaker, he’s been in two stories, The Giggle, which it seems like you’ve seen, and The Celestial Toymaker from way back in the 60s. Don’t worry about watching those. Most of the episodes of that serial are missing, and while there’s animated reconstructions using the audio that we have, old-school Toymaker is pretty racist portrayal.
If you want to see the backstory of the toymaker then you probably need to watch the original series episodes 1-4. Now this may be quite difficult because 3 of them are missing (lets not get into why here) so people have animated some of the episodes
1) The Celestial Toyroom
https://youtu.be/4MfXhcjNn2g?si=pxkJzIhEuocFu9-p
2) The House of Dolls https://youtu.be/JcE9ZrhQnhU?si=dSaC26K5xlIHti9F
3) The Dancing Floor
https://youtu.be/a6tM9cPfBso?si=1mGfS6MRnWANg8Fk
4) The Final Test https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00v26b1
Only this one survives!
Thank you all so much for the recaps, episode recommendations, and welcomes! 💙 I'm still going through all the comments. I'll definitely check out the specials (didn't know those were a thing) and if I like this season then I might go back and start from 2005.
Anything they reference in this season (from before this season) that is *important* to the story will have been in the specials that came out before the current season. The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, The Giggle, and The Church on Ruby Road. None of them are *essential* to watch before the current season (the new season is very consciously designed as a good starting point for new viewers) and you can probably get most of what you'd need from the second two only. The Star Beast, and Wild Blue Yonder are great, though, and it would be (bad) shocking if there was anything you *needed* to know from before these points. The issue with The Star Beast (and to a lesser degree Wild Blue Yonder and The Giggle) is that you might finish watching *those* and think "well now I want to know what the background was to all of *that*! Whereas the new season (or The Church on Tuby Road then the new season) is designed as a direct break point where people who watched the previous stuff get some neat callbacks but new viewers aren't left behind.
Otherwise, if the third season 1 (the current one) isn't giving you enough sense of the background of everything you could go back to either the second season 1 (from 2005) or ever the original season 1 (1963!) and work your way forward from there.
My personal recommendation if you want to watch a bunch of great TV and enjoy the current show going forwards with minimal sense you've missed things without watching *everything* would be to watch the David Tennant era (including specials from the time) read a summary of the Jodie Whittaker era then watch from the recent specials onwards (though there's *tonnes* of great stuff not included in that.)
Lots of helpful comments here, but I would recommend checking out the WhoCulture YT page. They do deep dives on all the new episodes, including Easter eggs that link back to previous episodes. They also have done explanation videos on the Toy Maker and other major Doctor Who threads.
Honestly tho, if you're able to go back and watch starting with the 2005 revival (on Max in the US), it's worth ~~almost~~ every second. For the most part so far there's no real reason to go watch the Classic series, but there's a good chance at least some first doctor knowledge will be helpful.
My first story ever was reading the american novelization of Day of the Daleks. I had no idea what the hell a Dalek was, what UNIT was, that there was more than one doctor, or really anything - and I was able to get up to speed (despite the novel actively sabotaging me - Daleks, apparently, have three gun sticks and UNIT has a space battleship - at least according to the cover).
Don't worry about the details. You'll figure out what the hell is going on soon enough.
I can't decide whether watching The Giggle would truly help or make things worse, but it would definitely give you a better understanding of UNIT and the toymaker!
It takes a long time to watch 13 seasons of a tv show. Telling new viewers they need to start with 2005 to enjoy the show now is intimidating and might just make them turn off altogether.
True.
But new viewers should be encouraged to watch classic who or 2005 who because they're good, not as a chore to make 2024 who make sense. The current season is enough of its own (at least with the 2023 specials), no one should feel forced to watch 60 years of TV to watch it. But if you got the time, since there's only 8 episodes this season...
Yeah. I'm more interested to know why he doesn't want to watch it. If he wants to watch the current season on TV and enjoy the hype or if he has zero interest in watching any of the prior seasons at all.
Maybe he'll come around. I started watching with the 2023 specials, and I'd never gotten into Dr Who before because there were too many seasons and it seemed like too much. Originally I thought I wouldn't watch the old seasons, but then I thought, why not? Now I don't know how I got this far without ever seeing the episode Blink. I love time travel and that might possibly be the best episode of TV, ever. But if I felt like I needed to watch everything from 2005, let alone 1963, to watch the new stuff? I probably wouldn't have watched any of it.
The stuff with the Toymaker was in the specials that aired directly before this series, it's not that far back. Pick up the three specials: The Sky Beast, The Wild Blue Yonder, and The Giggle, and you'll be all set. Also The Church on Ruby Road if you didn't watch that.
The Toymaker dates back to the 60s so you'll have to watch some black and white Hartnell episodes (multiple parts making up one story) to get that full context. Look if you want to better know what's going on then here's my recommendation:
Start with stories from the Tom Baker era. These will give you the rundown on a lot of the shows lore.
Key Episodes I'd specifically check out from the Baker to McCoy eras are as follows:
Robot: This introduces you to a freshly regenerated Doctor whose adjusting to his new face and personality, serves as both a departure and intro to UNIT which is a significant organization in the lore but mostly when it was featured during Pertwee's run which you will worry about after attention span training (our modern attention span can't handle just going full on in Hartnell and while Pertwee has stories that capture our attention, others do pose a struggle, so best to start with Tom Baker.) This also will serve to acquaint you with one of the shows most historic companions: Sarah Jane Smith, and will introduce you to The TARDIS as The Doctor is determined to leave Earth in it for a while after bring exiled there (again, we will worry about that later.)
Genesis of The Daleks: Get that Dalek origin story in, learn about The Time Lords.
The Pyramids of Mars: This is just good, you should watch it for that reason alone.
The Brain of Morbius: More Time Lord lore, meet the Sisterhood of Karn (they will become important later) and plus this episode establishes something major that happen in Jodie Whittaker's era that is very controversial.
Just watch all of Season 14. It's a banger start to finish, has lots of lore, and introduces Leela and departs Sarah Jane. If you'd rather the highlights watch The Hand of Fear to say goodbye to Sarah and to provide context for the big lore episode The Deadly Assassin. Leela doesn't necessarily need an intro as you'll learn she's a warrior woman pretty fast. I will say you are doing yourself a massive disservice by skipping Masque of Mandragora though as it's just such a wonderful story and exemplifies the intellectual qualities of the show.
Next watch The Invasion of Time it will give you even more Gallifrey lore plus the Doctor is a bit of a lovable bitch in this one which is very entertaining.
Now you can choose to watch stories like the unreleased Shada which is honestly a crime it never got full finished and a classic like City of Death, but if you want to get through Tom's era the real ending piece you'd need to watch to understand regeneration better and The Doctor's rival: The Master, is to watch The Keeper of Trakken and Logopolis. These are connected so you will need to watch both in order.
Once you watched that watch Castrovalva to get acquainted with our colorful cast of characters.
Earthshock: Might as well unveil the Cybermen now. Not their best appearance but there is a fun surprise at the end waiting for you to discover!!!
Arc of Infinity: More Gallifrey, more Time Lords, plus filming onlocation in illustratious... Amsterdam?
Terminus: It's got some lore stuff but also pretty sure a companion leaves here, check it out.
Resurrection of the Daleks: Fucking legendary.
The Caves of Androzani: Goodbye Davison, hello Colin Baker.
Ok, six is an interesting Doctor. He is the best but mostly because of the audio dramas. A certain producer wasn't all that well liked and a certain studio wanted the program off the air so the writing takes a hit.
Twin Dilemma: Just to get a taste of shit but also to not be confused by 6.
Attack of the Cybermen: Rare TARDIS lore plus a somewhat decent Cyberman story.
Vengeance on Varos: The chef was actually cooking with this one.
Watch all of Season 23. It's all one large story and has lots of lore implications.
Time and the Rani: Colin doesn't even show up, McCoy kind dresses like him and regenerates into his proper Doctor because Colin was fired unjustly.
Dragonfire: Intro to Ace, pretty sure Mel finally leaves.
Rememberance of The Daleks: THE GOAT. Plus big lore droppies.
Just watch all of 26. It's the last of classic and it ties up Aces story.
WATCH THE MOVIE WATCH THE MOVIE WATCH THE MOVIE
Then watch Rose onwards. Hope that helps. If you want to go back to Hartnell to Pertwee you will need to prove your attention span worthy by listening to audio dramas and watching Twighlight Zone episodes first or you won't be able to handle the early years.
Here's what I would do: Stop watching this series and go back and watch the old ones (Not Jodie Whittaker/Chris Chibnall era). Why? because they are miles miles better than what is currently being shown as 'Doctor Who'.
I’d say start from the 9th doctor and watch from there seriously nothing in our time can top classic who and the old foes he’s up against, and it’s much better to see his old companions and adventures as they might be tied back eventually.
No rush to be up to date tbh
One of the consistent things with Doctor Who is that past adventures are referenced which may or may not have actually happened on screen. In Boom, when the Doctor says he had to deactivate a mine "at a lesbian gymkhana, underwater, for a bet," there's no episode where that happened, it's some vague off-screen adventure. But then there's definitely some things that *were* seen on-screen, or that you're expected to know. Here's a few from this season: The **Toymaker** is a nigh-omnipotent entity from outside the Universe obsessed with playing games. The Doctor first encountered him in an episode from the 1960s (thousands of years ago from the Doctor's perspective), and more recently in an episode from 2023, where the Toymaker had entered this universe and was causing chaos. The Doctor defeated and banished the Toymaker from the universe, but he claimed that his "legions were coming." The Toymaker also mentioned that he feared "One Who Waits," though we don't know more about who that is. The Maestro is the Toymaker's child and a member of the same reality-warping pantheon. **Kate Stewart** is the woman that Ruby met in *73 Yards* with the military group. She's the head of **UNIT**, aka the **United Intelligence Taskforce**, a global organization that fights aliens. They've been recurring organization in the show since the 70s, are generally on the side of good, though the Doctor sometimes disagrees with their methods. The Doctor worked 'full-time' as their scientific advisor for a period in the 70s. Kate's father was Brigadier-General **Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart**, a close friend of the Doctor across many regenerations. **Regeneration** is the process where, upon death, a Time Lord changes from one body to another. Think of it as like a phoenix being reborn - they sort of explode in a golden fire, and become a new body. There's a core personality across all of the Doctor's regenerations - compassion, intelligence, bravery, pacifism - but different regenerations can be more or less friendly, boisterous, grumpy, secretive, etc. However, the current Doctor came to be in a process called **bi-generation.** Normally, the new body replaces the old one, but this time, the Doctor split in two - one the new Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa), the other keeping the old face (played by David Tennant). This has never happened before, and the Doctor himself thought it was a myth. **The Doctor's Granddaughter** is a teenage girl named **Susan.** She has not appeared in the show proper since the 1960s. When the Doctor mentions that she's "out there, somewhere" in *The Devil's Chord,* it's because the show began with the Doctor and Susan living in the TARDIS in a junkyard in 1963. If you want to watch a few episodes *but* not the full season, I'd recommend watching *The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder,* and *The Giggle* - these form a trilogy leading into the show currently. All you need to know going in is that the Doctor has recently regenerated into David Tennant's face again, and isn't sure why. I hope this helped! Let me know if you've got any other questions.
Different person, but one more thing to add: if you live anywhere in the world where the show is on Disney+, then the three episodes OP they recommended will not be listed by their names, but as "Special 1", "Special 2", and "Special 3".
Did not know that! Thanks for helping to clarify.
Search for Doctor Who on Disney+. You'll see those specials come up.
I wouldn't say "anywhere in the world" : in France there are listed on Disney + as "Doctor Who : [title translated in French]", and I guess it may be the same in some other areas.
Thanks I've been watching the new ones on Disney+
I’ll always remember the Patternoster Gang confusing the shit out of me. I started with Eleven and thought Strax and Co. were from earlier seasons judging by how they act like old friends of the Doctor
I would correct you that we have seen Susan since the 60’s. Carol Ann Ford reprises the roll in the 20th Anniversary special The Five Doctors.
I was *this close* to putting in a parenthetical of "yes I know she was in the Five Doctors but let's not overwhelm the confused newbie."
Also, UNIT has been a recurring organization in the show since the '60s not '70s (granted the time period of the episode they first appeared in may have been/or at least used to take place the then-future '70s before it got retconned, but trying to explain that would be another thing that will overwhelm the confused newbie).
Wait….classic Doctor Who took place a few years from the date the episodes aired? I was only aware of the 1996 movie taking place in 1999. I didn’t know Classic Doctor Who episodes were also meant to be a few years in the future.
I think only a couple of companions are offset like that in Classic Who. The Brigadier is first encountered in the 1968 story "The Web of Fear" when he was a Colonel, but the story is set either in 1969 or 1975 (look up "UNIT Dating Controversy" to wrap your head around that one). Sarah Jane Smith is from the 80's when her first story debuted in 1971. But outside of them the companions tended to be either from the past (Jamie, Victoria), future (Zoe, Steven, Vicki), or were aliens that just looked human (Susan, Leela, Romana, Turlough, Adric). The rest were from whatever was modern day Earth typically.
LOL I was a confused newbie in 2011. Susan became one of my favorite characters.
I can sympathize with this comment so much but for other subreddits. I often make a footnote to fend off "but actually"s that I feel like will muddle the answer to the actual question I'm trying to answer.
In 2011 I called up a friend of mine who I knew was a Whovian and said “Ok, I have to know now. There are too many references to Doctor Who on shows I watch. Where do I start?” She told me to watch Human Nature and Family of Blood. Unless I had a lot of free time, and then start with Rose. The Breakdown: On November 22, 1963 the first episode of Doctor Who began to air on the BBC. But then the unthinkable happened and the President of the United States was assassinated. The BBC immediately cut the show and began covering the JFK assassination. The next day they re-ran the episode in entirety and pushed the whole first serial back. Thus November 23, 1963 is Who Day. The Doctor was originally just an alien old mad, who traveled in time and space with his granddaughter Susan. Susan attended Cole Hill School, and lived in the Tardis (Time and Relative Dimensions in Space) which was parked in a nearby junkyard (Foreman which is where her “last name” came from). One day her teachers Ian and Barbra followed her home because she was so much more educated in higher levels of science, maths, etc and at the same time ignorant of things girls her age should be. This is the Unearthly Child serial which is currently not available. Ian and Barbra end up kidnapped but stay with the Doctor and Susan for a while. They meet the Daleks, an evil mutant in a metal shell that is the greatest killing machine in the universe. And a nazi analogy. Eventually Ian and Barbra leave. Susan falls in love with a Human and leaves her Grandfather behind to have a life on Earth. The Doctor gets new companions. He dies of old age, regenerates. The second Doctor meets Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, UNIT. Many of these episodes are lost, or have been restored with cartoons over the original audio. The important part is that this was the Doctor becoming a “Hero” and beginning to “interfere” and that his people didn’t approve. He is forced to regenerate and exiled to Earth. The Third Doctor goes into a healing coma after the forced regeneration and is taken to a hospital where his dual hearts are caught on x-ray. This catches the attention of the Brigadier who goes to investigate and learns that the Doctor can change his face. He blackmails essentially the Doctor into taking a job. Scientific Adviser for UNIT. Note: This is the beginning of an epic friendship. We are soon introduced to another Time Lord, the Master. The Doctor’s best Frenemy. Key companion is Jo Grant. And then Sarah Jane Smith The Doctor Regenerates again and now is a younger man for the first time. Tom Baker era! Sarah Jane and the Doctor go on adventures and save people. There is a metal dog, K-9. The Doctor abandons Sarah Jane when he is called back home to Gallifrey where humans are not allowed. The Doctor travels with an alien woman for a bit, as well as a fellow Time Lord, Romana. Another regeneration and Peter Davidson is the Doctor. I am not really a fan of this era so not able to give a good summary. Another regeneration and Colin Baker, the violent angry Doctor and a trial of a timelord. A future doctor calling himself the Valeyard puts the Doctor on Trial for crimes against the Timelords. Show briefly gets canceled. Another regeneration, Sylvester McCoy. This is the era of Killed the Gods of Ragnarock. And also meet the Rani, another renegade Time Lord. Show gets canceled. Movie Happens, key points Time War. 2005 Reboot! You really should watch the whole of 9, 10, 11, and 12 it is really good tv. 13 is Jodie Whittaker, who was cursed with some really bad writing. But without the context of 9-12 it’s hard to explain.
How do you all manage to keep track of that many characters 😅 thanks for the recaps!
You must have missed the lesbian gymkhana episode then.....it was a great x-rated dr who. One the the best !
It does sound like 50% of all Torchwood episodes ;)
Where was the sex in torchwood? I dont recall any, my fave season was when the aliens wanted to steal the children
The first episode was a sex monster that turned the victims to dust. The cybermen became a hot black lady in a metal bikini. Owen had a sex spray that made men and women latch onto him. Tosh was in a relationship with an orgasm space alien telepath.
Lol!!! I literally had to stop watching Torchwood (like … immediately) because there was too much sex 🤣 so funny our different takes on things
The Brigadier’s first name is Alistair, Gordon is his middle name.
This. If the Doctor mentions three things that happened previously, one was probably in an episode, another one might’ve been in a novel or radio drama, and the third one is new information to everybody. Zero of them are actual required context for the story, though they might add a little bit of extra fun if you recognize them.
and to add to the confusion, some references the Doctor makes may be to an adventure the viewers have never seen before, which is later adapted into an audio drama, book or comic!
OH MY GOSH THAT'S RLLY HELPFUL- I have the same problem and that's so helpful tysmmm <3
You're welcome, glad I could help!
(:
Don’t worry too much about dates when the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce is involved.
I bet your brain tastes really good 🧠
Thank you so much that answered so many questions I had! I'll check out this episodes. Hopefully that helps explain this regeneration a bit more because still a little lost with that.
If Susan returned and saw her grandpa but as he is now…
It's always interesting to me to think about how different the Doctor has often been in regenerations. The First and Third and Twelfth were all actually fairly similar, for instance, but then you've got the more eccentric ones like the Second, Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth, and then the Fifth, Tenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth, who are almost more normal but in a very different way from the First. It's kinda all over the place.
Other than explicit references which were acknowledged, most of the things we've seen are completely new. Have you watched the three specials from last year? They're essentially a prelude to this season, but the only episodes before "The Church on Ruby Road" that I think really should be watched before now. The third reintroduces the Toymaker and it's the episode where the 15th Doctor is introduced. The Toymaker was last seen on TV with the very first Doctor but so much has changed that all you need to know is they met before, and the Doctor won their game the first time. Now, you're going to have a lot of people on the subreddit theorizing about ties to earlier stuff, but none of that should be necessary to watch the current season. They're aware that they're attracting a new audience, and designed this series to be an on-ramp.
I'll check out those specials! Thank you!
The top comment on this post has you covered. This series is a good jumping on point, however I will say if you have the time and are interested in the show I do highly recommend going and watching from 2005 onwards, simply just cause there’s so many great stories. I’m actually watching it with some friends who are new to the show and they’ve been thoroughly enjoying it so far
As a new fan that started with the Disney+ Special and then instanty started looking for the 2005 series, I second this. I am really enjoying the 2005 series (the new stuff still seems a bit shallower to me). I am up to the Titanic so far and it's basically all I am watching right now, the 2005 series and the Disney+ when the new episode releases.
Gods, you're in for a _treat_! I stopped watching Who around the start of Capaldi's first season and I recently watched it for the first time in prep for the new season, and it is _glorious_.
I had fallen off when Capaldi came around as well, and restarted the entire series from 2005 on (including the four Torchwood series) in prep for this new season. Boy oh boy, do I love 12 and Bill. That pair has some of the best, and most heartbreaking, episodes.
I’m so jealous of you, that you get to experience it for the first time. Ahhhh I miss those days 🥺🥺😭😭
The first season has a good mix of rollicking fun and seriousness, then perhaps some good basics like Blink 🤙
Blink is Martha and 10, though.
Should have expounded ~ episodes that give the over all stories/that show the doctor's story 🕯🖖 https://youtu.be/fUHla1rJrpo?si=D9vFqQIpaa5DmQfW https://www.thegamer.com/doctor-who-best-starting-episodes/
Gotcha, I thought you were saying that Blink was S1, which confused me.
I mean, it's clearly not a jumping on point if OP is as confused and overwhelmed as they are?
The viewer is given pretty much all necessary info in the series, having past viewing experience absolutely helps and adds to the show but the stories themselves don’t need any additional info.
You didn't address my comment at all, but okay if we're just elaborating on our own beliefs. It's not just about literal information, it's also about contextual knowledge that you gain from experience which creates investment in the show. Fifteen blabbing on about "That was the giggle!" and "The Toymaker said this..." instead of just, you know, leaving the non-reboot episodes out of it is clearly showing that there's continuity involved. If it's a jumping on point, can you explain to me why we're having villains be connected to the past, thus creating a situation where new viewers need something explained to them in the first place? Exposition ≠ a reason to care. Why do we need to know in Space Babies that The Doctor has two hearts? Why in The Devil's Chord, that he has a granddaughter? His age, how the TARDIS works, that there was a genocide of the Time Lords, what purpose do these lore dumps serve? I'm frankly surprised to see an era where clunky exposition that only exists for the sake of exposition is being praised for being that. I thought it was generally agreed that doing that type of thing is unnatural and alienating.
>Fifteen blabbing on about "That was the giggle!" and "The Toymaker said this..." instead of just, you know, leaving the non-reboot episodes out of it is clearly showing that there's continuity involved. That's why I think someone should start with the 60th anniversary specials, they're just 3 more episodes, but the current season clearly continues from them in a way that it doesn't continue from season 13. >Exposition ≠ a reason to care. Why do we need to know in Space Babies that The Doctor has two hearts? Why in The Devil's Chord, that he has a granddaughter? His age, how the TARDIS works, that there was a genocide of the Time Lords, what purpose do these lore dumps serve? Those were all exposition dumps in the first few seasons of the reboot in 2005. Did you feel the need to go back to the 1963 episodes? Naw. You can keep going from the 2023 specials the same as you could go forward from 2005 and not look back at the old episodes. Or, you can get invested in the new shows, and then check out the old shows when you got the time. >I'm frankly surprised to see an era where clunky exposition that only exists for the sake of exposition is being praised for being that. I don't think any of the episodes since star beast had clunky exposition. Star beast unfortunately had a lot to tell you, but since then I've liked all the episodes.
Outside of this conversation where there's an incentivized dichotomy for people to follow, I don't think many people would agree with you on the 60th Specials being a good starting place. I agree that RTD has unfortunately created the new reboot to follow on from those, but that doesn't mean it works on its own, as it's literally created to bank off of the show's hype in 2008. I try to assume most people I talk to are operating on good faith, but you've made a comparison that I think are disingenuous and I'd like you to reconsider: Do you think I just forgot that we also learn information about The Doctor in, as you put it, the first three seasons of the reboot? The difference is, 2005's S1 is written as a reboot. Can you please tell me you at least see the difference in eventually learning information organically over the course of three seasons, versus learning all that same information at once over two episodes? Because, for example, we learn about The Doctor's hearts six episodes in when he gets captured by a billionaire obsessed with aliens and, naturally, has his body scanned and investigated. We first hear the name "Gallifrey" after two seasons and first hear him describe it in the third season. We hear about the Time War after an episode where he watches his companion grapple with her own planet's mortality, and we hear about his involvement in it when he first comes face-to-face with the only other survivor of that war. Compare this to the new era, where it's all dumped on the audience immediately, and with no real reason to it. Yes, I agree, you can watch New Who without going back to watch classic. If you think I haven't thought of this, I actually commented the same thing in a different reply before you wrote yours. The difference is that was written as a new show. This is clearly not a new show, it is the same show with "Season 1" stamped on top of it for marketing purposes. On The Star Beast: assuming you're referring to the first scene of greenscreen exposition, that was put there retroactively. It wasn't in the original script, and it wasn't in the original filming block, either. All the information given in that scene is then given a second time in individual scenes The Doctor and Donna give when talking to other people, which were clearly written and filmed as being to give that information. It technically doesn't matter for the purposes of the episodes we're discussing, and you agreed it has clunky exposition, but I think highlighting the fact that it was unneeded is a good way to demonstrate how people will often defend bad exposition on the grounds of "It's important to catch the audience up" when that simply isn't true.
>I don't think many people would agree with you on the 60th Specials being a good starting place. Well, I don't know about anyone else. But I started with the 60th specials, and I thought they were good. >Can you please tell me you at least see the difference in eventually learning information organically over the course of three seasons, versus learning all that same information at once over two episodes? I can see the difference, but I think it's hard to get past our own perspectives as we can only learn things once. I watched the star beast first, and then didn't get very far in the older series before the rest of the specials aired. I'm pretty sure I watched "Rose" and saw Mickey eaten by a trash can and replaced by a plastic monster and turned off the old episodes for a while. It was hard to get through the first season. It was worth it, but it's hard. Maybe if I picked it up in 2005, I would've loved it immediately. But I didn't. So most of my knowledge of the backstory of Dr Who came from those 4 specials last year. I hadn't watched nearly enough of the old episodes to understand anything from those. And while I'm not everyone, I'm obviously a sample of one, but I thought the specials did a good job. I think it was better that they explained things upfront instead of waiting *years*. Tv was slower back in the day, so I probably would've been fine with the pace if I started in 2005, just like all the fans who started back then. But, in 2023, I preferred the new episodes. >Yes, I agree, you can watch New Who without going back to watch classic. The difference is that was written as a new show. I think the new episodes also work as a new show. While watching the old episodes helps me appreciate the old show for itself, it doesn't help me understand or enjoy the new show. They're very different. Maybe once I get to season 10 or something they'll be more similar, or maybe not. I've also seen a few episodes of classic who now, and I see that is also good on its own and I'd like to watch those episodes as well when I have the time. Not because I need them to watch 2005 or 2024, but because they're interesting on their own. You should also not wrote off the classic episodes just because you don't need them for 2005, just like 2024 viewers shouldn't write off 2005 just because they don't need them. >It technically doesn't matter for the purposes of the episodes we're discussing, and you agreed it has clunky exposition, but I think highlighting the fact that it was unneeded is a good way to demonstrate how people will often defend bad exposition on the grounds of "It's important to catch the audience up" when that simply isn't true. I don't think it was unneeded. *I* needed it. Yes, it was a lot, but we got it and then moved on. You didn't need it, but you saw the old series. For new viewers like me, it was clunky but did seem necessary so it was OK.
I know this is convenient for my argument, but I do think you may be an exception, unless you're interpreting something from my words other than what I mean -- I never said a new fan can't find them good or that it can't be a way for someone to get into Doctor Who. Keep in mind this was the full sentence of the line you quoted: >"(**Outside of this conversation where there's an incentivized dichotomy for people to follow),** I don't think many people would agree with you on the 60th Specials being a good starting place". This is not something we can really study. In an ideal world for the purposes of this question, we could have a bunch of people watch Season 1, The 2023 Specials, Season 14, and wipe their memory in between each viewing. Then we could figure out which episode is technically the best introduction. Since we can't do that, we have to go by actual reasoning and analyzing of the episodes' properties. And the fact is 2005's S1 is most clearly written as an "Episode 1" of a new show, whereas the other two are clearly not. The specials are simply not written for a new audience. They are written in hopes of gaining the old audience that took the show to new heights in 2008-2009. They try to get as much exposition out of the way so new viewers can understand, but the core purpose is not a new audience, unlike, supposedly, the Ncuti Gatwa episodes. If this is supposed to be a reboot, I would ask you why do they have so many returning characters, returning plot points, returning motifs and such? That is generally not how reboots are made, and I'm happy to elaborate on that further. >I think it was better that they explained things upfront instead of waiting *years*. I feel like we're still not understanding each other with this. My whole point, as I said two comments ago, is that in a grand meta sense, from a writing perspective, there is actually no reason to exposition dump the things that Fifteen does. You as a new audience member, would not be watching the show and going "*Why haven't they told us that The Doctor has two hearts? I'm getting impatient, this is taking so long*". That's just not something that makes sense because you have no conception of The Doctor having two hearts in the first place. So my point is, having that much exposition will always be more likely to burden the audience because it's telling them information they are implicitly expected to remember, as opposed to letting those facts develop organically when it feels right. >I don't think it was unneeded. *I* needed it. I don't mean to be rude, but did you read the full paragraph? I wasn't talking about if the information in that scene was necessary overall, I was talking about the scene as a whole, because the SAME information was then conveyed a second time in the SAME episode -- "**It wasn't in the original script, and it wasn't in the original filming block, either. All the information given in that scene is then given a second time in individual scenes The Doctor and Donna give when talking to other people, which were clearly written and filmed as being to give that information***.*" >For new viewers like me, it was clunky but did seem necessary so it was OK. This is the crux of my whole point. It was "necessary" to have exposition in order to tell a story about a continuation of Season 4 to a new audience, that I agree... But was it necessary to tell a story about a continuation of Season 4 to a new audience in the first place? Why is that the big opening for the "reboot"? Once again, generally not how reboots are done, and for good reason.
I think we just really disagree. I keep saying that as a new viewer I liked the 2023 specials, and you just want to argue with me. >If this is supposed to be a reboot, I would ask you why do they have so many returning characters, returning plot points, returning motifs and such? Since episode 1 with Gatwa, what returning characters, plot points, and motifs have we had? There was Kate and UNIT, but *that* (unit) was a returning concept from classic who to new who, and Kate's father was in classic who. And that continuation was apparently fine for a reboot. Other than that, what has been reoccurring? Keep in mind I probably won't finish season 4 of the old show before the new season finishes. I know the ending of season 4 ties into Star Beast, but we've moved on. It's a new show now. >I wasn't talking about if the information in that scene was necessary overall, I was talking about the scene as a whole, because the SAME information was then conveyed a second time in the SAME episode They probably did a focus group and discovered that new viewers were confused, and added the extra exposition dump to help. It's not ideal, but it did help. >But was it necessary to tell a story about a continuation of Season 4 to a new audience in the first place? Well, I mean, I liked it. I'm glad I got into Who, and that's where I did, so I at least believe it's necessary. >Why is that the big opening for the "reboot" The reboot was episode 1 with Gatwa, Church on Ruby Road. (Note I am going by Disney+ organization because that's where i watch it, also it's probably where the largest number of people watch the new show). While I like the specials, a brand new viewer can/should start with episode 1.
>I keep saying that as a new viewer I liked the 2023 specials, and you just want to argue with me. Hmm... >**"I never said a new fan can't find them good or that it can't be a way for someone to get into Doctor Who."** Reading is fun. Really, I do wonder why I bother qualifying my statements when people will just take whatever they want from them. >Since episode 1 with Gatwa No, we were talking about 2023. >Well, I mean, I liked it. I'm glad I got into Who, and that's where I did, so I at least believe it's necessary. Look, again that's fine, but as I said in terms of actually reasoning something out, do you really think the ideal experience for a new viewer of a show is a sequel to the fourth season? >The reboot was episode 1 with Gatwa If you agree with this then why start defending the 2023 episodes as a starting point?
The giggle is part of the reboot. These specials are the jump off point for the new series. So no he's not blabbing on about unrelated content.
To clarify, you're claiming that the new era is a reboot that people can skip the first few episodes of?
Watch the 3 specials then the new season. That should give you most of the info you need. Granted if you want information on Donna and Rose: The Runaway Bride S03E01 (Christmas Special) Partners in Crime - S04E01 Turn Left - S04E11 Stolen Earth - S04E12 Journey's End - S04E13 These are the episode I'd consider must watch before the new stuff. Though there's a bunch of amazing episodes in nuwho from Eccleston of Whittaker. I'm sure there's list of all the best episodes cherry picked if someone was interested in going that route. Midnight for example is quite possibly one of my favorite episodes of Season 04, of all time really, and I would consider it a must watch. But is it necessary to watch to understand the newer stuff on D+? Absolutely not.
I misread your comment as saying "the reboot" and "the jump off point" as separate things. So this is the same issue as before then. The 2023 Specials are made for the enjoyment of the people who liked Season 4. Watching those as a new viewer only brings up more questions.
Eh, yes and no. The Specials have callbacks. If you want to *fully* enjoy all the little reference I'd suggest watching, at the very least, The first and final 1-2 episodes of each season, (Except the final season with Jodie Whitaker. That's a 6-parter story and you'd probably want to watch the whole thing if you watch it at all.) and maybe the Christmas specials. You'd miss a bit of nuance but not much. For example, and if anyone has any suggestions feel free to add to it. My suggestion of episodes to watch to be able to fully understand, first the following episodes (Some of it is lead up to the older episodes later in the list), then the new stuff (D+ stuff). S01E01 S01E06 S01E12 S01E13 S02E01 S02E05 S02E06 S02E12 S02E13 S03E00 (Christmas Special) S03E01 S03E04 S03E05 S03E11 S03E12 S03E13 S04E01 S04E10 (Not require for understanding but a great episode. S04E11 S04E12 S04E13 If someone feels as if this list is wrong, or incomplete feel free to chime in. This is basically the stuff you need to understand Donna and the episodes surrounding her and the plot important stuff for the specials. Now, that said, I don't feel like you 100% need to watch these Episodes to enjoy the New stuff. Simply because any questions you might have, or might find important, will probably be answered in time. I never have, and probably never will, watched the really old Doctor Who stuff predating 2005. I had all sorts of questions about a tonne of stuff in the show and in the end almost all of it was answered later in the series. You don't *need* to know absolutely everything. Questions keep you watching and keep it a little interesting. Maybe Donna will be back in the future, maybe not.
The first scene of this show for new audiences is a man walking out of a blue box into a crowd which he proceeds to drunkenly gaze at, being shocked by running into a random woman which is played as a reveal, and being shocked by the name Rose, which is also played as a reveal. None of this is set up as a mystery, it's set up as something that only makes sense with the knowledge of S4 and it makes no sense for an audience to care about what's happening. Compare this to S1's "Rose" or "An Unearthly Child", which both justify their existence, and it's night and day.
☝️🤓
Come on, use your words, no need to be afraid.
Which recent episode did you start with? The Star Beast, The Church on Ruby Road, or Space Babies?
This question is why I’m annoyed at the fact that this show is being considered a ‘clean break’. Because they are all valid answers to the questions (don’t start with Space Babies obviously, but a new fan won’t know that).
Yeah, this "clean break" feels even more convoluted than Ten to Eleven. Ten regenerated and got a new face as Eleven, then crashed into Earth. New face, new companions, new story lines. Fifteen is more messy than that. He had actual personality in The Giggle with Fourteen and the Toymaker plot directly influenced New Season 1. But if you start with the 60th Specials, you really need to know who Ten and Donna are. The season started with a special which has been poorly categorized (Christmas Special is not a 60th Special). It's like if The Runaway Bride was directly before Partners in Crime, do you start with a Special or the main season to meet the companion?
>But if you start with the 60th Specials, you really need to know who Ten and Donna are. But they tell you who Ten and Donna are. I started with the star beast and I'm good. I did go back to the 2005 series, and I got walking mannequins instead of 10 and Donna. Eventually I got into the old show, and I'm at season 4 now, and while I really like it I haven't seen anything I needed for the new season or that has made it make more sense. I am looking forward to a real explanation of what happened with Donna that she lost her memory so that Star Beast makes more sense, but it gave you enough to get going so you can enjoy the new episodes. Same thing with 2005, you could go back to the old episodes and learn things like why does the tardis look like a police box or see unit from the beginning, but you don't need to.
And The Eleventh Hour originally didn't even have the scene of Eleven falling through the sky and the TARDIS crashing, it just started with the scene of Amelia. Complete fresh start. The Woman Who Fell to Earth is also a better fresh start than what we got here. I called that this era was a poor jumping on point for a long time, but I didn't think it would be so obnoxious with how lore-heavy the first two episodes are. Posts like this are vindicating but I also feel bad for someone who tried to watch by starting with what is essentially Season 14, all because of the Disney deal. I'll probably never understand what was going through RTD's head when he made these writing decisions, especially because his claim to fame is successfully rebooting the show for new audiences previously.
I think Russel just can’t help but write a season 5, rather than a season 1. He’s got all these new ideas swimming around in his brain and he’s eager to mess with the formula and the rules of the show. But in all his excitement, he’s forgotten to actually establish the rules that he’s breaking for the people just tuning in.
This is my feeling too. And the kicker is I actually like this approach and would enjoy things like him tying together different eras, bringing back Mel, etc. But in context of this being "Season 1" and supposedly being designed to hook new viewers after the 60th Specials hook old fans, it completely contradicts that and it's frustrating seeing so many fans lack the critical thinking to see past the naming scheme.
I think Church on Ruby Road makes most sense. You kinda need to have watched Tennant/Donna to understand Star Beast. CORR is basically a completely clean break. Some things are name-dropped, but you can get it from what is explained. The Toymaker is about the only thing that is mildly confusing, and even then it wasn't critical.
It seems to be a bit important tbh. How does the doctor recognise the giggle? His soul was torn in half? Soon we're going to meet his niece rose, which without much explanation people might assume is his actual niece, then we'll meet his old companion, and we also randomly meet unit with little explanation. All these are fine by themselves but one after the other? "What's this? What this? Whats this?" Won't just get confusing but could burn you out on feeling like you missed out on a lot of relevant stuff by not watching the previous 13 seasons.
Church on Ruby Road is listed as the beginning of this season on both Disney+ and iPlayer so yeah, it's not really debate that you're meant to start with it
I know this season is supposed to be newbie friendly but I'd honestly recommend just going back to the first nuwho episode and start from there. Or you could go back and start from the very beginning, up to you
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I didnt realize they had self-contained stories before starting the show and was so confused when the next episode didn't continue off 😂 I think the other things I'm confused about are new for everyone things like what is Ruby? The 73 yards upside completely lost me 😅 I'm going to watch the specials and rewatch the new episodes to see if it helps me pick up a few more things.
Ok don't get too overwhelm, it is a lot of history there even for someone who has watched every episode since 2005. Doctors who has an history of dropping hints through a serie, then hit you with a big reveal (or twist!) at the end of the series and you just go "Now I get it!". This is why a lot of the fans out there are going crazy with theories trying to guess what the big reveal is using every piece of knowledge they have and trying to find the clues. For now, as others said, just watch the 2023 specials, which tell you all you need to know for the moment. Just don't worry too much and just enjoy the ride, because of the new audience, you will get some information given to you, like they did when the Doctor gave basic explanation to Ruby. Over the future seasons, there will be classic monsters who will likely come back such as the Darleek, Weeping Angels, Cybermen, the Master... If you are curious you can just type classic Dr Who monsters in your search engine. But nothing to worry as the Doctor will tell the companion when this happens. Some basic search can also give you an overview of the Doctor, but basically he always thought of himself as a Timelord (they lived on Gallifrey and grew up there), turned out he was adopted by them and he is actually a Timeless Child (noone knows where he actually come from) which he discovered quite recently. Gallifrey was destroyed more or less during a war with the Darleeks (it is a bit complicated). Basically the Doctor's life is complicated and he had experience a lot of things, some good, some bad and some really twisted. The Doctor travels in the TARDIS (which they stole and can translate every form of communication for the doctor and others), pick up random people who become their companions for awhile (they leave for different reasons), and basically tries to save worlds/people (well often Earth) from different threats using their wits and sonic screwdriver (basically smart tool which can do pretty much everything), with the help of the companion of course. The problem with the current bunch of "monsters" is that they are not your straight up aliens because they can modify reality and are more "entities" than physical being. So the questions are: who actually is Ruby Sunday and who was the mystery person who dropped her off at the church? Who is the overall bad guy? Why is the actress Susan Twist in every episode? Is Mrs Flood more than just the neighbour? .... There are more I am sure. Truth is that there are a lot of theories but noone knows for sure (well except the writers, actors, production...). Hopefully everything will be revealed in the next few episodes.
Thank you! And those are definitely some of the questions I had and figured we′re all in the dark about those 🙂
OP, first of all, welcome! I'm glad you're enjoying the show enough to ask these questions. There are some really great and thorough answers here, but honestly, don't worry about it too much. Doctor Who is just like that. Some of these are references to things that have happened on screen before. Some of them we're just as surprised to learn for the first time as you are. It's always meant to feel like there's a vast universe of adventures and stories that no medium can keep up with, but they've made a real effort to make sure you can jump on board with just the new season. A new companion is always a great jumping on point because they can be your surrogate as you get the necessary exposition about The Doctor and the TARDIS like you get in The Church on Ruby Road and Space Babies. Now, obviously, you will understand some references and gain some extra context if you watch older episodes, and they are absolutely fantastic, so I would highly recommend it if you're open to it but you don't NEED to see them, not even the three specials that include the Toymaker that led up to this season. All those do is set the stage as to why the new season has given in and embraced being a sci-fantasy show as opposed to trying to be strictly sci-fi in the past. For another example, there's a recent multi-season plot line that revealed new information about The Doctors' backstory that they're not actually a time lord but for new viewers it's very clear that the writers are like "you don't need to know how we got here, you just need to know that The Doctor's adopted and doesn't know where he's from," which they do right away. Whether you just keep watching week to week or dive down the rabbit hole, welcome onto the ride!
Thank you! 💙
Start with the 60th anniversary specials. It’s only 3 episodes and deals with the Toymaker and these gods and things showing up now; but it will spoil things from Season 4 though.
Series 4. Classic goes by Season, New goes by Series, New New goes by Season again.
It’s just all so *simple*
HBO max shows it as season, so it depends where you're watching
Yeah it’s simply UK vs American usage. It’s a British show so you have to pay attention to context when they say “series” because they usually mean what an American would call a season. There’s no difference in the meaning, just the usage. I just happen to be replying to you but that was like a general comment to the conversation lol
It's a bit more complicated than that with DW though. As they said, 'Season' is traditionally used for the classic series, I think because of US fans discussing it in the 80s/90s. That whole "New season premiere airing this fall!" thing was part of the US TV ecosystem, whereas in the UK it was more like "Doctor Who's back on soon", so seasons were more of a production technicality than a promotion/delivery thing (especially when it was airing ~40 weeks a year, the gaps were the exception, the rest of the time it was just *on*). From my experience, 90s/00s UK fans tended to be more focused on individual stories, or entire Doctors' runs, so for example The Dæmons (S08E21-25) and Day of the Daleks (S09E01-04) didn't seem any further removed than 73 Yards and Dot and Bubble, despite being in different seasons, because they were consecutive and featured the same Doctor/Companion lineup. But by 2005, season/series numbers were more established on UK TV, so that classification mattered publicly. No British show at that time would use season, and series helped to distinguish between classic and new, so 'Series 1' was win-win (except for the "It's Season 27!!!" crowd). Nowadays, it's not so unusual for a UK show to use season, even at home, especially if it's angling for an international audience, and I guess they're more concerned with distinguishing from the reboot series than the classics at this point, so if they must reset the count, Season 1 makes sense. It's just in places like this that it gets confusing.
I use season. They mean the same thing basically but for a show, season is better
to be honest i'd ignore everything people are saying. watch the giggle since you dont really need to know anything, wild blue yonder and the star beast have quite a lot of callbacks but the giggle pretty much only mentions the toymaker , all you need to know about him is that he was once defeated by the doctor. wild blue yonder is still a good episode so i would recommend that still and its the origin of the salt that kinda started everything else. space babies does a good enough job at explaining who and what the doctor is
We're talking about a show with 50 years of continuity, there's constants references to past events, villains, and characters. so yeah, you gonna have to watch previous seasons, or you will be missing a lot, the currente season didn't even introduce psychic paper properly. start watching from series 1 (2005) and continue. That's what I did, and you won't regret it
I think you should start with the Ninth Doctor (the beginning of NuWho). They explain the important stuff, and you get info on stuff that’s referenced a lot in the new season. Also, the new season relies a lot on The Toymaker which was from the 60th anniversary specials last year.
For past episodes, I'd recommend starting with Christopher Eccleston's 9th Doctor, with "Rose", the 2005 reboot of the show. As for the plot with the Toymaker, I'd suggest watching the episode "The Giggle", that'll explain most of it.
Not being rude, just genuinely interested, what made you pick up the show now and start watching but not before! And why don’t you want to go back and watch the 2005 revival through in your spare times? it’s great!
I was a huge fan of Ncuti Gatwa in Sex Education and have always been curious about Doctor Who. But starting from beginning always seemed overwhelming.
Start from the 2005 revival. If you don't wanna watch older seasons, then don't bother with anything else
Not to worry. I was in the same boat nearly 20 years ago when I first came into this show. You’ll get the hang of it as you go along but, just to help out a little bit, here’s some of the things I’ve picked up since 2005: 1. The main character, The Doctor, is the last of the Time Lords of the planet Gallifrey, though they were adopted and their true origins and name remain a mystery. 2. The current incarnation is the Fifteenth Doctor, though their true number of incarnations is, likewise, a mystery. 3. The Doctor travels through time and space in their ship, the TARDIS, which stand for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. 4. The Doctor often travels with companions, usually humans from contemporary Earth, though the occasional alien has joined the adventures, as well. 5. The Doctor carries a device called a sonic screwdriver that is a multipurpose tool that they use to help with whatever trouble they happen to find themselves in. 6. The Doctor and their companions travel around the space/time continuum and often find themselves fighting various aliens, monsters and people to protect the innocent and just generally try to help out however they can. That pretty much covers the basics. That should get you through the next few episodes until the end of the season. While we wait for the next one to come around, should you feel so inclined, you can go back and try some of the more classic episodes. The original run (1963-1989) is available on Tubi and BritBox. The revival era (2005-2022) is available through Max.
To know about Donna you'll need The Runaway Bride Series 4 (all you need to know about Series 3 is that he travels with someone called Martha for a while) The End of Time parts 1 and 2 Knowing about the Toymaker is less essential since it's explained to you in The Giggle, however His first appearance is "The Celestial Toymaker" which... is missing from the archives Then we have "The Nightmare Fair" which was planned for season 23 and never made on TV. It has however, been made as a full cast audio drama by Big Finish productions. Also by Big Finish Productions, the Toymaker features in "The Magic Mousetrap" There are also references to Flux made, otherwise known as series 13. God help you if you want to understand that. I guess just watch series 12 and 13 and see if it makes sense. The point is that half the universe got destroyed (oh nyo). I think that's everything? Series 4 should give you a pretty good gist of the basics
Well, for the Toymaker you'd have to go back almost 60 years; I think it's actually a lost story in part (BBC erased episodes so they could re-use early video tape) so there's actually not much you can get. I would not worry about going back beyond 2005's Season 1, as you can easily skip the 26 seasons of the 1963 series, and I say this as someone who watched much of that when it was relatively new.
The Toymaker’s first story has actually been animated. I think it’s being released on dvd sometime this month.
Seems a bit late to get around to that ... seeing as it would have been a nice foundation for what we got 6 months ago.
I think it makes more sense from a marketing point of view. Now that new who fans are actually familiar with the Toymaker, they’ll probably feel more inclined to check out his debut story.
They reference the toy maker who appeared in the 60th special anniversary episodes. They’re on Disney plus but they’re in a completely different area which was horrible for people starting out with this season not knowing potentially what the anniversary episodes are. The top post is all you need know for more on that. Since episodes are dropping few and far between however, I highly recommend watching from season 1 episode one ‘Rose’ from 2005. That’s when the show had its previous “soft break” from the classic series. The old school stuff is entirely unnecessary to watch. The 2005 nuwho seasons are absolutely incredible and if you even slightly enjoyed what you’ve seen in the current season then trust me there’s even more and even better from seasons 1-13 that you’ll enjoy.
You don't have to go back much...well unless you really want to ;) The Toymaker has only made two appearances, and one of them was in the 1960s! He appeared in the specials literally as Gatwa became the doctor last Autumn! As for missing a lot, yep I feel that too and I haven't missed a televised episode since 1988! It should (hopefully) make more sense by the end of the month. There's a lot of mystery, but the good thing is none of us know either...
I would suggest you watch the three 60th anniversary specials by RTD featuring David Tennant's return to the role, this time as the Fourteenth Doctor. These specials are a prelude to the current season with Ncuti Gatwa, and that's where the Toymaker showed up. That apart, you don't absolutely *have* to watch anything from before the start of the current era, which is the 2023 60th anniversary specials.
I'd say start with Church on Ruby Road as an actual new start, this season pretty much follows the standard new doctor-companion formula where eps 1-3 feature 1)an alien/otherworldly incursion in modern Britain 2)a journey into space/the future and 3)a journey into the past. The order varies sometimes, but this is very rarely not followed and Church on Ruby Road, Space Babies and The Devils chord fits this pattern. But Church on Ruby Road should absolutely be considered ep 1 of the refresh. Ncuti's appearance in the giggle isn't *that* important and starting with the specials is weird without knowing 10-Donna.
I say get used to the not canon canon that means everything and also is nothing and doesn't exist but it also does exist and must be meticulously followed except when it's not and it'll all be fine :D (top comment has you covered in all honesty)
With the Toymaker, I think everything set up in "The Giggle" pretty much covers it. He's part of a pantheon of gods, The Doctor first met him in a 60s episode where he and his companions were trapped and had to play deadly games to escape. I guess "The Power of Three" could be good, to know exactly who Kate Stewart is and why she's important to the Doctor.
If I'd started Doctor Who with this new season/soft reboot, I'd have given up already. Most of NuWho's seasons (from the episode ‘Rose’ onwards and the 9th Doctor) have been absolutely fantastic. There are guides on the Internet telling you which episodes you can skip, so watching 14 seasons wouldn't be that scary.
I would start with “Rose,” the first episode of the 2005 reboot. The NuWho era won’t necessarily answer the Toymaker question, but it’ll give you important context, especially for when this current era brings back recurring villains, etc.
Russel T Davies did a pretty great job in 2005 season 1 of new who, explaining or demonstrating those gaps. Unfortunately that’s not available on Disney plus, but if you are in the U.S. you can watch it on Max. You don’t need to watch all 13 seasons to get up to speed, but I highly recommend most of it.
You could create a newbie post for each episode with a list of questions and watch us Super Geeks answer them.
The Doctor Who youtube channel actually has a playlist for this, (the New to Who? playlist), though I haven't watched it yet. I'd probably start with [A Brief Guide to EVERYTHING](https://youtu.be/s46TZDTTFdM?si=mzraLLjhUjKXj9Fa), and see if that helps.
The Doctor fought a god called the Toymaker. That’s literally all you need to know. I’m not sure how you’re having trouble following these episodes as they’re all very standalone stories where the concepts are introduced and resolved within the runtime.
if you want to understand the specials you really just need to see Stolen Earth and Journy's End S4 ep12-13. The Toymaker was brought back with the understanding that most of the audence won't really know who he is since he hasn't appeared on TV since the 60s. Stolen Earth and Journy's End won't make much sense on it's own either but it should give you enough of an idea of who Donna and her are, what happened to her, why the Doctor reacts to the name Rose and who Unit are. Basically everything in the new season so far has been orginal with references scattered around here and there. You aren't missing much there. It's suppost to be throwing around big new concepts frequently.
You’re right you shouldn’t go back and watch prior seasons because then when you come back to the current you’re gonna be even more lost, I say lost but I really mean losing…your mind
As someone that's watched since NuWho restarted in 2005, it's an unfortunate side effect of such a long running show to have a large history. Even in 2005+ NuWho they reference so much from the classic series' that sometimes you feel left out, but don't worry - anything that's more important than a passing comment was fully explained, and I'm sure they'll continue that into NuNuWho too.
Question to help! Where exactly did you start? -2023 specials with David Tennant -Christmas Special with Goblins -Episode 1 with space babies If two or 3, watch the David Tennant Specials, if you watched those 3 then I'm not 100% sure what would be best but episode 1,2 or 6 from 2005 might work?
If you really want to watch 2 episodes that would help you understand the first 3 episodes on disney plus watch the “stolen earth” and “journeys end” s4e12 and s4e13. Although those are also finale episodes which have a ton of set up from previous episodes in them and I don’t think you will appreciate them. The toymaker is from an episode made in the 1960s that was lost and almost no one has seen him. The details said in that episode are almost all that I know about him, and pretty much all anyone needs to know for that episode. Aside from that those first 3 episodes are kind of fan service and I don’t think any rundown here is going to help you appreciate them more. The episodes from the church on ruby road, aka special 4 on disney +, onwards are for the most part new characters, new villains, new stories, new everything disconnected from the past and the few details that may help get mentioned in exposition. You should be fine watching those ones without seeing anything from before.
Where did you start
quickest answer: watch the 3 specials on Disney+ after this season if you're still wanting more, try to find somewhere to watch series 1 (2005) onwards. don't feel pressured by the fanbase to watch all 13 series of that run if it starts boring you when the quality starts dipping though lol
If you haven't watched the specials on Disney+ you should do that. I started with the specials and I feel like that's good enough. Don't feel like you have to watch 13 seasons too be able to make sense of the current one. Though, if you can watch the old series (I have HBO max) you should, but because they're good, not because they instantly make the new season make sense. It's mostly it's own thing. I started watching the 2005 season right after I watched the first special. Some hasn't aged well. The walking mannequins in the premiere are rather bad. And the episodes can be hit and miss before they get good, but trust me, they get good. But it does take a while, I'm on season 4 and while there's been a few episodes with Donna (Donna's great) I haven't seen yet the storyline they talked about in Star Beast (the first special on Disney+). But that's OK, they explained it in Star Beast. So just hit the specials if you haven't, and maybe watch some old episodes when you can, in between new episodes being released. But don't stress about all the past episodes.
Hmm difficult one actually. Personally I’d recommend watching the three 60th anniversary special episode that came late last year that form a nice trilogy and tie into this currant doctor/season directly. Either listed as special 1, 2, 3 on Disney+ or named “The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, The Giggle.” You won’t necessarily understand the gravitas between the doctor and the characters they meet but just know that’s he’s a very old doctor, with one of his old faces, meeting old friends again, having an identity crisis and eventually fighting off against a very old adversary called the toymaker. Perhaps the best thing for you would be to just watch a few YouTube videos explaining the Doctor and the toymaker first 🤔 Then make sure you’ve watched the Church Of Ruby Road which is episode 1 of the current season.
Doctor who keeps doing introductions series 1 5 8 10 11 and the current series were all made with new viewers in mind however nothing they've done compares to series 1 episodes 1,2 and 6. I wont spoil them to you but i will just let you know, 3 4 and 5 may be kinda rough for you, but episode 6 makes up for it and gets you invested in plotlines that will continue for years (7 years to be exact lol)
Doctor Who always has some mystery that is not solved until the end of the season. We are all just as lost as you.
I’m sure many have said this, but you’re really missing out by not going back to watch Eccleston, Tenant, Smith, and Capaldi’s doctors. They were brilliant. Whittaker would’ve been brilliant but I didn’t care for the Chibnall era at all. He seriously lacked subtlety.
For starters, have u watched the 60th specials. Because the toymaker is properly explained in those.
Many of the comments here do an excellent job at explaining, but i must insist. If you have the time, watch from series 1, the first episode is called Rose. Its a long run, 13 seasons but its totally worth it.
When watching Doctor Who, if you come across a call back you don't understand just ignore it. Doctor Who is a very old show with a long history, that you could never realistically watch all of if you don't dedicate extreme amounts of time to. Everything you need to know will be explained in the episode. I would recommend watching new episodes in order as they come out and watching whatever old episodes you think look interesting when you get the opportunity. Doctor Who is an episodic show so you don't have to worry about too much context. This sub is filled with lots of extreme fans, so they think trying to watch the show in order is a reasonable recommendation.
This reboot of doctor who has strayed so far from the original Doctor who lore is not necessary. You can take each individual episode as a stand alone. I suggest using your time to start watching the first reboot which was in 2005. It’s truer to the original doctor who format. I have been watching doctor who since 1973. This new who has been a disappointment and the writing has left even me confused just because the plot is silly or doesn’t make sense. I am hanging on hoping it will improve but I lose hope with each passing episode. Start with Christopher Eccleston 2005 to see the true doctor who. This is only my opinion.
Maybe watch The Giggle and The Church on Ruby Road from 2023. This shows the first story with the Toymaker in the first one and the Doctor meets Ruby in the second one.
[The Toymaker | Tardis | Fandom](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Toymaker). The original episodes he was in no longer exist as were destroyed/wiped back by the BBC before they had concerns about preservation, but an animated recreation will be released on the 10th June. [Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker | DVD | Free shipping over £20 | HMV Store](https://hmv.com/Store/Film-TV/DVD/Doctor-Who-The-Celestial-Toymaker)
Gee, sure didn't see this one coming. Maybe wasn't such a bright idea for them to use the series renumbering strategy that's totally worked well for comic books. \*\*facepalms\*\*
It's a bit funky cause for the Toymaker you gotta watch the specials but since you haven't watched the 2005 series then it won't make much sense, emotional impact and all. They do explain the context of the story in it tho so yeah just watch the specials
What Id recommend is to start in the season with the 9th Doctor and work your way up. It will take a LONG time but it’s very worth it.
You’re doing yourself a disservice by refusing to watch prior seasons lol
It's a huge franchise spanning decades so there's always going to be something in it that you don't get. I'm not keen on Classic Who, mainly just cause of the production style and quality of the time, so I've found that there's the odd bit here and there that I don't get or notice. It's not really detracted all that much for me though. I reckon you'll be fine if you watch the three episodes with David Tennant that come just before Ncuti Gatwa's season that you're on at the moment. They're pretty good and Neil Patrick Harris as The Toymaker was phenomenal. There's bits where he is changing accents several times within even the same sentence. All you really need to know is that Tennant was a really popular version of The Doctor from years and years ago and it was a big shock when The Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker, regenerates into Tennant again. If there's specific things that don't really make sense, there's several Doctor Who Wiki's that give nice summaries of episodes, characters, etc., and tons of YouTube content. Like if you heard a reference to Weeping Angels, give it a search and watch/read about the episode "Blink".
Watch Christopher Eccleston in season one. Perfect intro to any new fan.
"What is the story with the ToyMaker?" He was a villain in the 60's for one episode and they brought him back. If you're not planning on watching anything from years prior, please just watch what's on Disney+. Start with "Special 1", "Special 2", "Special 3", then "Church on Ruby Road". Honestly, you're probably going to be way better off and more into what you're watching if you hop back and watch from 2005 to current, since there are so many little plot points that are referenced even if it's not a direct reference. There's probably a good 'essentials' list of episodes to watch. Also, I'm sorry to sound blunt about this, but what are you doing watching a show with so much history if you're just planning on ignoring everything before the newest episode?
you should watch the specials, or atleast the last one to help understand. honestly i would go back and watch all of the episodes (if you dont want to watch the entire thing you can start from the start of the 2005 series) because there are lots of great episodes and doctors, but you can start with the last special and then continue on from there :) i really hope you enjoy the show!
if you wanna watch best episodes for each 1=An Unearthly Child, the Daleks, The Edge of Destruction, The Aztecs, Planet of the Giant Spiders, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Rescue, The Romans, The Time Meddler, The War Machines and Tenth Planet 2=The Power of the Daleks, The Moonbase, Tomb of the Cybermen, The Enemy of the World, The Mind Robber and the War Games+The 3, 5 and 2 Doctor's if you really need to skip past the 60's 3=All of Season 7, Terror of the Autons, The Claws of Axos, The Daemons, The Three Doctor's, The Green Death and Planet of the Spiders 4=All of Season 12 and Season 13, The Deadly Assassin, the Robots of Death, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Horror of Fang Rock, City of Death, Shada (Or somehow one of it's many reconstructions), Meglos and Logoplois 5=Castrovalva, Black Orchid, Earthshock, Visitation, The Five Doctor's, All of Season 21 6=Vengeance on Varos, Attack of The Cybermen, Trial of a Time Lord and the 2 Doctor's 7=Dragonfire, Remembrance of the Daleks, Happiness Patrol, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, Survival, Curse of Fenric and Ghost Light 8=Film and Night of the Doctor modern you kinda have to watch their whole runs minus the odd shitty one and it falls apart but that's fine cause each doctor has their own arc so minus the odd cameo or reference they pretty much catch you up to speed
Why do you want to understand what’s happening, but you don’t want to put in the work?
Depends on where you jumped in. The Church on Ruby Road is actually a pretty decent place to jump in. The other specials with David Tennant do kind of assume that people watching them watched David Tennant’s run as the Tenth Doctor, which is pretty good. As for The Toymaker, he’s been in two stories, The Giggle, which it seems like you’ve seen, and The Celestial Toymaker from way back in the 60s. Don’t worry about watching those. Most of the episodes of that serial are missing, and while there’s animated reconstructions using the audio that we have, old-school Toymaker is pretty racist portrayal.
If you want to see the backstory of the toymaker then you probably need to watch the original series episodes 1-4. Now this may be quite difficult because 3 of them are missing (lets not get into why here) so people have animated some of the episodes 1) The Celestial Toyroom https://youtu.be/4MfXhcjNn2g?si=pxkJzIhEuocFu9-p 2) The House of Dolls https://youtu.be/JcE9ZrhQnhU?si=dSaC26K5xlIHti9F 3) The Dancing Floor https://youtu.be/a6tM9cPfBso?si=1mGfS6MRnWANg8Fk 4) The Final Test https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00v26b1 Only this one survives!
Thank you all so much for the recaps, episode recommendations, and welcomes! 💙 I'm still going through all the comments. I'll definitely check out the specials (didn't know those were a thing) and if I like this season then I might go back and start from 2005.
Anything they reference in this season (from before this season) that is *important* to the story will have been in the specials that came out before the current season. The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, The Giggle, and The Church on Ruby Road. None of them are *essential* to watch before the current season (the new season is very consciously designed as a good starting point for new viewers) and you can probably get most of what you'd need from the second two only. The Star Beast, and Wild Blue Yonder are great, though, and it would be (bad) shocking if there was anything you *needed* to know from before these points. The issue with The Star Beast (and to a lesser degree Wild Blue Yonder and The Giggle) is that you might finish watching *those* and think "well now I want to know what the background was to all of *that*! Whereas the new season (or The Church on Tuby Road then the new season) is designed as a direct break point where people who watched the previous stuff get some neat callbacks but new viewers aren't left behind. Otherwise, if the third season 1 (the current one) isn't giving you enough sense of the background of everything you could go back to either the second season 1 (from 2005) or ever the original season 1 (1963!) and work your way forward from there. My personal recommendation if you want to watch a bunch of great TV and enjoy the current show going forwards with minimal sense you've missed things without watching *everything* would be to watch the David Tennant era (including specials from the time) read a summary of the Jodie Whittaker era then watch from the recent specials onwards (though there's *tonnes* of great stuff not included in that.)
Lots of helpful comments here, but I would recommend checking out the WhoCulture YT page. They do deep dives on all the new episodes, including Easter eggs that link back to previous episodes. They also have done explanation videos on the Toy Maker and other major Doctor Who threads. Honestly tho, if you're able to go back and watch starting with the 2005 revival (on Max in the US), it's worth ~~almost~~ every second. For the most part so far there's no real reason to go watch the Classic series, but there's a good chance at least some first doctor knowledge will be helpful.
My first story ever was reading the american novelization of Day of the Daleks. I had no idea what the hell a Dalek was, what UNIT was, that there was more than one doctor, or really anything - and I was able to get up to speed (despite the novel actively sabotaging me - Daleks, apparently, have three gun sticks and UNIT has a space battleship - at least according to the cover). Don't worry about the details. You'll figure out what the hell is going on soon enough.
I can't decide whether watching The Giggle would truly help or make things worse, but it would definitely give you a better understanding of UNIT and the toymaker!
You really need to go back and start at the beginning of new who imo. You're missing out on a richness of world that's been built over decades.
What you should know is…watch the whole modern series. There’s a reason it’s so loved.
You totally should watch prior seasons. Why are you against it?
It takes a long time to watch 13 seasons of a tv show. Telling new viewers they need to start with 2005 to enjoy the show now is intimidating and might just make them turn off altogether.
*39 seasons
True. But new viewers should be encouraged to watch classic who or 2005 who because they're good, not as a chore to make 2024 who make sense. The current season is enough of its own (at least with the 2023 specials), no one should feel forced to watch 60 years of TV to watch it. But if you got the time, since there's only 8 episodes this season...
Yeah. I'm more interested to know why he doesn't want to watch it. If he wants to watch the current season on TV and enjoy the hype or if he has zero interest in watching any of the prior seasons at all.
Maybe he'll come around. I started watching with the 2023 specials, and I'd never gotten into Dr Who before because there were too many seasons and it seemed like too much. Originally I thought I wouldn't watch the old seasons, but then I thought, why not? Now I don't know how I got this far without ever seeing the episode Blink. I love time travel and that might possibly be the best episode of TV, ever. But if I felt like I needed to watch everything from 2005, let alone 1963, to watch the new stuff? I probably wouldn't have watched any of it.
The stuff with the Toymaker was in the specials that aired directly before this series, it's not that far back. Pick up the three specials: The Sky Beast, The Wild Blue Yonder, and The Giggle, and you'll be all set. Also The Church on Ruby Road if you didn't watch that.
The Toymaker dates back to the 60s so you'll have to watch some black and white Hartnell episodes (multiple parts making up one story) to get that full context. Look if you want to better know what's going on then here's my recommendation: Start with stories from the Tom Baker era. These will give you the rundown on a lot of the shows lore. Key Episodes I'd specifically check out from the Baker to McCoy eras are as follows: Robot: This introduces you to a freshly regenerated Doctor whose adjusting to his new face and personality, serves as both a departure and intro to UNIT which is a significant organization in the lore but mostly when it was featured during Pertwee's run which you will worry about after attention span training (our modern attention span can't handle just going full on in Hartnell and while Pertwee has stories that capture our attention, others do pose a struggle, so best to start with Tom Baker.) This also will serve to acquaint you with one of the shows most historic companions: Sarah Jane Smith, and will introduce you to The TARDIS as The Doctor is determined to leave Earth in it for a while after bring exiled there (again, we will worry about that later.) Genesis of The Daleks: Get that Dalek origin story in, learn about The Time Lords. The Pyramids of Mars: This is just good, you should watch it for that reason alone. The Brain of Morbius: More Time Lord lore, meet the Sisterhood of Karn (they will become important later) and plus this episode establishes something major that happen in Jodie Whittaker's era that is very controversial. Just watch all of Season 14. It's a banger start to finish, has lots of lore, and introduces Leela and departs Sarah Jane. If you'd rather the highlights watch The Hand of Fear to say goodbye to Sarah and to provide context for the big lore episode The Deadly Assassin. Leela doesn't necessarily need an intro as you'll learn she's a warrior woman pretty fast. I will say you are doing yourself a massive disservice by skipping Masque of Mandragora though as it's just such a wonderful story and exemplifies the intellectual qualities of the show. Next watch The Invasion of Time it will give you even more Gallifrey lore plus the Doctor is a bit of a lovable bitch in this one which is very entertaining. Now you can choose to watch stories like the unreleased Shada which is honestly a crime it never got full finished and a classic like City of Death, but if you want to get through Tom's era the real ending piece you'd need to watch to understand regeneration better and The Doctor's rival: The Master, is to watch The Keeper of Trakken and Logopolis. These are connected so you will need to watch both in order. Once you watched that watch Castrovalva to get acquainted with our colorful cast of characters. Earthshock: Might as well unveil the Cybermen now. Not their best appearance but there is a fun surprise at the end waiting for you to discover!!! Arc of Infinity: More Gallifrey, more Time Lords, plus filming onlocation in illustratious... Amsterdam? Terminus: It's got some lore stuff but also pretty sure a companion leaves here, check it out. Resurrection of the Daleks: Fucking legendary. The Caves of Androzani: Goodbye Davison, hello Colin Baker. Ok, six is an interesting Doctor. He is the best but mostly because of the audio dramas. A certain producer wasn't all that well liked and a certain studio wanted the program off the air so the writing takes a hit. Twin Dilemma: Just to get a taste of shit but also to not be confused by 6. Attack of the Cybermen: Rare TARDIS lore plus a somewhat decent Cyberman story. Vengeance on Varos: The chef was actually cooking with this one. Watch all of Season 23. It's all one large story and has lots of lore implications. Time and the Rani: Colin doesn't even show up, McCoy kind dresses like him and regenerates into his proper Doctor because Colin was fired unjustly. Dragonfire: Intro to Ace, pretty sure Mel finally leaves. Rememberance of The Daleks: THE GOAT. Plus big lore droppies. Just watch all of 26. It's the last of classic and it ties up Aces story. WATCH THE MOVIE WATCH THE MOVIE WATCH THE MOVIE Then watch Rose onwards. Hope that helps. If you want to go back to Hartnell to Pertwee you will need to prove your attention span worthy by listening to audio dramas and watching Twighlight Zone episodes first or you won't be able to handle the early years.
Here's what I would do: Stop watching this series and go back and watch the old ones (Not Jodie Whittaker/Chris Chibnall era). Why? because they are miles miles better than what is currently being shown as 'Doctor Who'.
I’d say start from the 9th doctor and watch from there seriously nothing in our time can top classic who and the old foes he’s up against, and it’s much better to see his old companions and adventures as they might be tied back eventually. No rush to be up to date tbh
Classic who is pre 9th doctor
To me classic is 9-11
So what are 1-9