First contact advice...

I have a friend that has never seen Doctor Who (tragic, I know), so I'm going to introduce him to the show next week over dinner. What would be a good story to start with? I think a classic would be best to get the flavor of the show without the distraction of flashy special effects. (Nothing against the new series, but it is easy to be impressed by SFX and miss a good story, and Doctor Who has always been about good stories and not eye candy.)

I was thinking Terror of the Zygons or Pyramids of Mars. Any other ideas?

Blink! is the perfect episode to introduce to an unknown. You don't need to know Doctor Who to get into the story.

Hope that helps!


Jany

I have started with The Five Doctors.  Gets the concept of who the Doctor is out rather quickly.  The Remembrance the Daleks is another good one. It is very new who like for a classic.

Those are very good suggestions, thank you! I would never have thought of Blink. And The Five Doctors introduces a large swath of Who lore pretty well. Caves of Androzani might not be bad either. Hmmm...

Terror of the Zygons is a nice safe bet. Not overburdened with continuity references, and if they want to see the anniversary story then they will be familiar with the Zygons.

School Reunion is a nice crossover story as well.  Robot is the best regeneration story to showcase.

Here are my suggesions:

1) The Five Doctors (Lots of back story quickly)
2) The Deadly Assassin (Get to know the Time Lords fast)
3) Robot (Always good to start with Tom Baker)
4) An Unearthly Child (Where the show started)

Definitely start with Remembrance of the Daleks. Superb story that introduces the villain that made the show, with good acting and a good storyline.

Who North America wrote:

Blink! is the perfect episode to introduce to an unknown.  You don't need to know Doctor Who to get into the story.

Hope that helps!


Jany

I disagree, personally. The Doctor is hardly in that episode so it's not a good taster for the rest of the show at all.

I'd suggest stand-alone stories. For the new series I would say episodes like 'Dalek', 'Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel' and 'Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone'. That's a story for each NuWho Doctor, too!

As for Classics, go for the best ones: 'Genesis of the Daleks', 'Pyramids of Mars', 'Earthshock', 'Remembrance of the Daleks', 'Tomb of the Cybermen', 'Ambassadors of Death'... There's too many. You can't narrow it down to just one really. You need to watch them ALL!

Wow! So many good ideas! Thanks!! =] At this point I'm thinking either 'The Five Doctors' or 'Remembrance of the Daleks'. I'm leaning toward 'The Five Doctors' because it gives a good idea of the Doctor's history and why he does what he does.

Benam wrote:

Wow!  So many good ideas!  Thanks!! =]  At this point I'm thinking either 'The Five Doctors' or 'Remembrance of the Daleks'.  I'm leaning toward 'The Five Doctors' because it gives a good idea of the Doctor's history and why he does what he does.

Definitely! I'd forgotten about that one! 'The Five Doctors' was actually my first Classic story, too. And now I'm hooked. Now that I reminisce, I also recall that 'The Deadly Assassin' was my second Classic story. Another great one to add to the line-up!

I think Spearhead from Space or Rose.

Neither require you know anything about the show or the Doctor to enjoy it. You learn about the Doctor as you go along with the subsequent stories.

When I started watching classics (also with The Five Doctors), I was confused by many of the elements and terminology right away...I figured stuff out later.

Neither of these stories rely on any prior history per se.

SeaDevil wrote:

I think Spearhead from Space or Rose.

Neither require you know anything about the show or the Doctor to enjoy it.  You learn about the Doctor as you go along with the subsequent stories.

When I started watching classics (also with The Five Doctors), I was confused by many of the elements and terminology right away...I figured stuff out later.

Neither of these stories rely on any prior history per se.  

I re-watched 'The Five Doctors' today, and the length of it worries me a bit. Clocking in at over two hours, it is a bit much. I think 'Rose' might be easier to take.

Benam wrote:

SeaDevil wrote:

I think Spearhead from Space or Rose.

Neither require you know anything about the show or the Doctor to enjoy it.  You learn about the Doctor as you go along with the subsequent stories.

When I started watching classics (also with The Five Doctors), I was confused by many of the elements and terminology right away...I figured stuff out later.

Neither of these stories rely on any prior history per se.  

I re-watched 'The Five Doctors' today, and the length of it worries me a bit.  Clocking in at over two hours, it is a bit much.  I think 'Rose' might be easier to take.

Rose is good. Or as well, the 11th Hour as the series really rebooted there.

From classics, City of Death, or Pyramids of Mars are great stand alone stories

Benam wrote:

SeaDevil wrote:

I think Spearhead from Space or Rose.

Neither require you know anything about the show or the Doctor to enjoy it.  You learn about the Doctor as you go along with the subsequent stories.

When I started watching classics (also with The Five Doctors), I was confused by many of the elements and terminology right away...I figured stuff out later.

Neither of these stories rely on any prior history per se.  

I re-watched 'The Five Doctors' today, and the length of it worries me a bit.  Clocking in at over two hours, it is a bit much.  I think 'Rose' might be easier to take.

Over two hours? I thought it was 90 minutes?

Even in the "Special Edition form" Five Doctors is still under 2 hours.

I guess i've never clocked it myself, but on the back of the DVD it lists the feature length as 191 minutes. Maybe they mean both versions together equal that time?

I think I've decided on 'Caves of Androzani'. It has the charm of the classic series (gotta love the magma creature!), but is a little edgier and more "modern". Plus he'll get to see a regeneration at the end, and that can be fun for the uninitiated. I might take along '11th Hour' as well, just in case. ;]