What would be a good introduction to Doctor Who?

In an attempt to get rid of my friends' nagging, I've decided to watch a little of Doctor Who. But there's a problem; I have no idea where to begin. Could someone suggest a good episode to start off with? I know the basic premise of the show, but nothing else. Help is much appreciated.

Eleventh Hour

We already have some topics like this, but yeah: The Eleventh Hour or Rose. Both are intended to start up a new era of the show, although I think Rose is a better introduction, TEH does have some stuff that might be confusing if you're completely new, but if you have some cursory knowledge probably not.

Don't start with the very first episode though, from 1963.

Don't worry, I know not to do that.

I've seen people determined to start from the very beginning.

>.> I haven't the foggiest what you mean, Occono....

Anyhow, yeah, start with Rose.

edited 14th Sep '11 6:50:52 PM by MousaThe14

Definitely Rose. If you start with TEH, you skip all of the 10th Doctor. This is not something you want to do.

Start with Eleventh Hour. If you you like that watch the rest of series 5. If you like that go back to Rose and watch the first four series. At some point catch up to series 6.

I mean people new to the show who are determined to start from the very very start regardless of advice.

I think Mousa was being self-deprecating.

NO. The Tenth must always come before the Eleventh. Always.

If you watch Rose, then New Earth, and then The Eleventh Hour, you should be able to decide which Doctor you're most interested in.

I am most interested in the 10th.

Out of curiosity, why?

Because David Tennant.

FANGIRL! no matter what your actual gender is.

edited 15th Sep '11 12:39:28 PM by zam

Well, yeah, but I was hoping for something more specific.

He's supposed to be one of the best Doctors and everyone seems to like him.

He's our generation's Tom Baker, it would seem. For now, at least.

If you want Ten, I'd just go ahead and start from Rose. Nine and Ten's character arcs are more directly connected than Eleven's. Plus, Eccleston plays a mean Doctor, and you've only got one series of him to sit through before getting to Tennant.

I really liked Ten when I was on seasons 2 through 4, but essentially the moment that Eleven showed up, I knew I was going to love him. And so far, I have loved him. He's nothing like Nine or Ten, who were very human Doctors. Instead, he's extremely alien, and I like that about him. As Ten showed us, part of being human is being an obnoxious git at times. And after a while I just got sick of his self-righteous crap.

By the same token, I think that was on purpose. People kept saying during RTD's run that they were sick of the whole "The Doctor can do no wrong" crap, but that's not how I saw it at all. I would have thought that The Waters of Mars (which was an awesome special BTW) would have made that clear.

Still, I find Eleven a lot more likable on the whole.

edited 15th Sep '11 2:30:17 PM by Sporkaganza

This I will agree with. Ten's characterization can fluctuate at times depending on the writer, and while he's excellent and definitely one of the best Doctors, he can come off as self righteous some times. Eleven...

Let's just say Eleven has no need to worry about such problems.

I think it's because Eleven's alien enough that he doesn't really feel the need to justify his actions in terms of human morality, so there's no self-righteousness from him because he just does what he does.

Ten is rather condescending at times, but for the most part I actually like that part of his character - when it's friendly condescension and not outright self-righteousness.

I like Nine more, though. He's closely followed by Eleven who is closely followed by Ten. I love Nine's brooding, dangerous intensity (with a dash of zany), Eleven's manic energy and eccentricity, and Ten's friendly, relaxed attitude (which he usually has when he's not being condescending.)

Another possibility is to start with THE episode of the Tenth Doctor's era: Blink. As it is a Doctor-lite ep, we get to be introduced to the Whoniverse with fresh eyes, without too much foreknowledge required. The plot is brilliant, the acting superb (Carey Mulligan !! ) and the monsters, well... Rose is a briliant ep, for sure, but Nine's era was slightly campier at times (IMHO) - which doesn't mean I didn't like it! But maybe, if what you want is to be pulled in, eager for more, then "Blink" is what you need. If you want to catch up on the show's mythology, then yes, you'll need a) to begin with Nine's era and b) to check out either Wikipedia, the Tardis Wikia, or the T Vtropes page for more backstory, lest you wanna have the impression that certain plot points and characters come out of nowhere

I just watched Blink on BBC America, and I agree with the above post. It's a rather good episode to start with if you keep in mind that not all episodes are done in its style.