Doctor Who: Classic Episodes 101
If you've watched the new series and are curious where to start watching the classic stuff, here's a good primer for you.
Although the series starts in 1963, the early episodes are very rough and not a good place to start for a newcomer. You would be better off starting with "Spearhead from Space" starring Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor or "Robot" starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. Those storylines are more accessible and entertaining for first-time classic series viewers.
Unlike the modern series, which usually runs approximately an hour (or often 45 minutes without commercials), the classic series episodes run 20 to 30 minutes unless otherwise noted. So a story that runs for 4 episodes is equivalent to the length of a modern-day two-parter.
Happy viewing!
Although the series starts in 1963, the early episodes are very rough and not a good place to start for a newcomer. You would be better off starting with "Spearhead from Space" starring Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor or "Robot" starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. Those storylines are more accessible and entertaining for first-time classic series viewers.
Unlike the modern series, which usually runs approximately an hour (or often 45 minutes without commercials), the classic series episodes run 20 to 30 minutes unless otherwise noted. So a story that runs for 4 episodes is equivalent to the length of a modern-day two-parter.
Happy viewing!
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- DirectorDerek MartinusStarsJon PertweeCaroline JohnNicholas CourtneyAs the newly regenerated Doctor arrives on Earth, so does the Nestene.First appearance of the Autons, who appear in the 2005 series' first episode "Rose." Like that story, this one has a brand new Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and a brand new companion (Liz Shaw), so this is a good jumping-on point. This also features Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart as the head of UNIT. In the new series, UNIT appears frequently, and it's currently run by the Brig's daughter Kate.
Run time: 4 episodes - 1963–198924mTV-G7.6 (731)TV EpisodeDirectorTimothy CombeStarsJon PertweeCaroline JohnNicholas CourtneyThe Doctor and Liz are summoned to the Wenley Moor Research Centre by the Brigadier, after several staff members suffer nervous breakdowns.Some rather embarrassing costumes in this one, and it's overlong, but the story is solid. The Silurians would appear again in the 2010 story "The Hungry Earth"/"Cold Blood."
Run time: 7 episodes - DirectorDouglas CamfieldStarsJon PertweeCaroline JohnNicholas CourtneyThe Doctor and UNIT investigate strange happenings at a top secret government drilling project headed by the pompous Professor Stahlman.The Doctor's first visit to an alternate dimension. The Doctor would again cross over to another dimension several times in the 2006 season with Rose Tyler.
Run time: 7 episodes - DirectorBarry LettsStarsJon PertweeNicholas CourtneyRoger DelgadoWhen a Nestene Energy Unit is stolen and a radio telescope sabotaged, the Doctor is contacted by a Time Lord who tells him his old rival the Master is responsible.This storyline introduces the Master, who terrorizes the Doctor multiple times in the new series.
Run time: 4 episodes - DirectorLennie MayneStarsJon PertweePatrick TroughtonWilliam HartnellThe 10th Anniversary Serial has three incarnations of the Doctor meeting up to face the evil Omega in a universe of antimatter.The first multi-Doctor story. Even if you haven't seen Patrick Troughton or William Hartnell in anything else at this point, I think you'll still find them delightful.
Run time: 4 episodes - DirectorBarry LettsStarsJon PertweeKaty ManningTenniel EvansThe Doctor attempts to test his new dematerialisation circuit by taking Jo to Metebelis Three but instead the TARDIS arrives in the hold of a 1920s cargo ship.This episode isn't important to the new series (although it is mentioned briefly in "Robot of Sherwood"), but it's just a fun story and a favorite of mine. There's a really good twist at the end of episode 1. This story was brought to you by Robert Holmes, who also wrote "Spearhead from Space" and created the Master.
Run time: 4 episodes - DirectorAlan BromlyStarsJon PertweeElisabeth SladenNicholas CourtneyThe Brigadier asks the Doctor to investigate the disappearance of several scientists, only for him to find they have been abducted back in time.This brilliant story by Robert Holmes introduces beloved companion Sarah Jane Smith (later in 2006's "School Reunion"), introduces the Sontarans (the same species as Strax in the new series), and introduces the idea that others can travel in time and meddle with history.
Run time: 4 eps - DirectorChristopher BarryStarsTom BakerElisabeth SladenIan MarterCan the Doctor, now in his fourth incarnation, recover from his post-regenerative trauma to save the Earth from Think Tank and their plot for world domination?The wonderful introduction of Tom Baker to the role of the Doctor. This story gets mentioned in 2009's "Planet of the Dead."
Run time: 4 eps - DirectorDavid MaloneyStarsTom BakerElisabeth SladenIan MarterThe Doctor and his companions are sent to the planet Skaro by the Time Lords to prevent the creation of the Daleks.Introduces Davros, creator of the Daleks. Davros shows up in 2008's "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End" and in 2015's "The Magician's Nephew"/"The Witch's Familiar."
Run time: 6 eps - DirectorDouglas CamfieldStarsTom BakerElisabeth SladenIan MarterThe Doctor, Sarah and Harry return to Earth in response to an emergency space-time telegraph from the Brigadier, who asks them to investigate the destruction of a series of North Sea oil rigs.The Zygons' first and only classic-series appearance. The Zygons returned in 2013's "Day of the Doctor" and in 2015's "The Zygon Invasion/Inversion."
Run time: 4 eps - DirectorPaddy RussellStarsTom BakerElisabeth SladenBernard ArchardThe Doctor and Sarah are drawn off course and, instead of UNIT HQ, they arrive on the same site in 1911.The Doctor would visit the red planet again at an earlier point in its history (but not his) in 2009's "The Waters of Mars."
Run time: 4 eps - DirectorChristopher BarryStarsTom BakerElisabeth SladenPhilip MadocThe Tardis lands in a spaceship graveyard on the bleak planet Karn, where The Doctor and Sarah find a evil scientist called Doctor Solon is constructing a new body for the brain of an evil Time Lord known as Morbius, who The Doctor thought was executed by the High Council on Gallifrey. Morbius plots to rule the galaxy with his new body.The Sisterhood of Karn would again be important in 2013's "Night of the Doctor" and 2015's "The Magician's Apprentice."
Run time: 4 eps - DirectorDavid MaloneyStarsTom BakerLouise JamesonJohn BennettThe Doctor and Leela land in Victorian London, and find themselves in the middle of missing girls, mutilated bodies, and vicious Chinese gangs. The Palace theater, presenting hypnotist Li H'sen Chang seems to be at the center of it all.The 11th and 12th Doctors would visit 1890s London several times combined.
Run time: 6 eps - DirectorDerrick GoodwinStarsTom BakerLouise JamesonMichael SheardIn the year 5000 AD a three-man crew arrive on the planet Titan but unknowingly become hosts for an alien virus that turns them hostile. Picking up a distress signal in the Tardis, the Doctor and Leela head to the planet to investigate.The robotic dog K9's first appearance. K9 would return in 2006's "School Reunion" along with Sarah Jane, and they would both make a few more guest appearances after that.
Run time: 4 eps - DirectorMichael HayesStarsTom BakerLalla WardJulian GloverCount Scarlioni reveals his true form as Scaroth, the last of the Jagaroth and uses his time machine to go back in time and rewrite history. The Doctor, Romana and Duggan take to the Tardis in a race against time to stop him.This doesn't really tie in to the modern series, but it's written by Douglas Adams of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (under a pseudonym) and it's got a priceless cameo in its final installment.
Run time: 4 eps - DirectorPeter GrimwadeStarsPeter DavisonJames WarwickClare CliffordIn the midst of an argument between Adric and the Doctor, the Tardis materializes underground in Earth's distant future where a team of paleontologists and geologists find themselves under attack from a pair of androids.Notable for being one of the only times that a Companion dies in the line of duty. First appearance on this list of Peter Davison as the Doctor.
Run time: 4 eps - DirectorPeter MoffattJohn Nathan-TurnerPennant RobertsStarsPeter DavisonJon PertweePatrick TroughtonThe Doctor and his previous incarnations are brought to the Death Zone on his homeworld Gallifrey as part of a renegade Time Lord's scheme.The 20th anniversary special is another multi-Doctor affair. Some parts of the story are more than a little silly, but it's a pretty good showcase for Peter Davison, and it's fun to watch all the different versions of the Doctor bickering with each other. Sarah Jane and K9 both appear here.
Davison would later appear in 2007's short "Time Crash" alongside David Tennant, and 2013's "The Day of the Doctor" is another multi-Doctor episode.
Run time: One 90-minute special - DirectorGraeme HarperStarsColin BakerPeter DavisonNicola BryantChellak and his men attack Jek's base. The Dr. crash-lands the ship, and must escape from his captors to find the antidote to the Spectrox poisoning and save Peri. He does so, but at a staggering cost.In addition to being considered one of the finest stories ever for the classic series (written by Robert Holmes, naturally), and being Peter Davison's regeneration episode, it's notable because Androzani factors into the 2011 Christmas story "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe."
Run time: 4 eps - DirectorRon JonesStarsColin BakerNicola BryantMartin JarvisThe Governor forces the Doctor to tell him the true value of zeiton-7 but Sil attempts to derail his plans by subjecting Peri and Areta to an enforced mutation.The era of the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) is sadly marked by many terrible scripts, but this is one of his best showcases, a story that eerily foreshadows reality television.
Run time: two 45-minute episodes! - 1963–198925mTV-G7.3 (476)TV EpisodeDirectorChris CloughStarsColin BakerBonnie LangfordMichael JaystonThe charge against the Doctor changes from mere meddling to inexcusable genocide. His future looks both grim and very short.The punishingly long "Trial of a Time Lord" concludes with the two-part "The Ultimate Foe," a nearly incoherent story about a character called the Valeyard who's apparently the 13th incarnation of the Doctor ... or something.
I wouldn't even cite this story at all except that the Valeyard gets name-checked in 2013's "Name of the Doctor," both looking back to his past and nicely foreshadowing the darker turn that Peter Capaldi would bring to the role.
Run time: Skip the first 12 parts and just go straight to the last two 30-minute parts, if you bother with this one at all. - 1963–198925mTV-PG8.4 (778)TV EpisodeDirectorAndrew MorganStarsSylvester McCoySophie AldredSimon WilliamsThe Doctor and Ace travel back to London in November 1963 and are caught in the middle of a Dalek civil war.The series got back on track with Sylvester McCoy in the title role and his terrific companion Ace, here heading back to stop an invasion of Earth by the Daleks in 1963 -- the year the show started.
Run time: 4 eps - DirectorGeoffrey SaxStarsPaul McGannEric RobertsDaphne AshbrookThe newly-regenerated Doctor takes on the Master on the turn of the millennium, 31 December 1999.A failed attempt to revive the series in the '90s for American viewers. Worth watching mainly for Paul McGann's terrific turn in the role. McGann would play the Doctor on film only one other time, in 2013's "Night of the Doctor."
Run time: One 90-minute TV-movie - DirectorWaris HusseinDouglas CamfieldStarsWilliam HartnellWilliam RussellJacqueline HillTwo schoolteachers investigate the personal life of one of their brilliant students and her mysterious grandfather.The very first episode, ever. Watch this story and note how darkly the Doctor is written and is portrayed by William Hartnell. Peter Capaldi's performance in the 2014 season seems very influenced by this.
Run time: 4 eps, but feel free to skip everything after the first one. The other 3 parts are kind of a dull, silly story about cavemen. The first installment is really where all the mythology of the series is built. - DirectorChristopher BarryStarsWilliam HartnellWilliam RussellJacqueline HillThe TARDIS lands in a petrified forest on an alien planet. Determined to explore, the Doctor leads his companions into the metal city, where they discover the danger of what will become his deadliest enemies, the mutant Daleks. (Originally broadcast in seven parts.)The introduction of the Daleks, the Doctors' oldest foe. This one runs way too long, but if you want to see how the Dalek story started for the Doctor, it starts here.
Run time: 7 eps, known under the umbrella title "The Daleks." The first installment linked here goes by a different name. - DirectorRichard MartinStarsWilliam HartnellWilliam RussellJacqueline HillIn this completely TARDIS-based story, the crew find themselves and their ship acting very strangely indeed. Blame runs high for the Ship's unusual behavior, until the Doctor realizes the TARDIS itself may be trying to warn them... (Originally broadcast in two parts; also known in fan circles as "Inside the Spaceship.")One of the few stories ever based completely in the TARDIS, and the first suggestion that the TARDIS is sentient -- a concept that will prove important in such modern-series episodes as 2005's "Boom Town," 2011's "The Doctor's Wife," and the Season 7 arc regarding Clara. It's sometimes a silly story, but it's nice and short.
Run time: just 2 eps