The beginner's guide to Doctor Who
For the tens of you who asked
Hi friends,
In honour of the re-launch of Doctor Who for a new era and new audiences (and in tacit admission that I desperately need a distraction and escapist sense of play this week), I thought I’d create a permanent spot here at the newsletter for my geek flag to fly at full mast with you.
That’s right, folks: it’s time for that long-promised Beginner’s Guide to Doctor Who!
If you have wanted to start watching Doctor Who but didn’t know where to start, or if you have tried to watch it but felt lost, or you just didn’t get it even after watching an episode or two, here is the beginner’s guide tens of you have requested.
You may be thinking, “Sarah Bessey, full name! I do not care! I am here for Jesus-y adjacent content! For essays that are at minimum 80% longer than they need to be! for deconstruction conversation and exhaustingly sincere spiritual explorations, egregious use of footnotes and talking about books! Unsubscribe!” If so, go with God, gentle reader.
Alternatively, you can keep reading and see if this might actually scratch an itch for you or satisfy some pop culture curiosity. Or, you can also just close out of the tab with a philosophical “good for her, not for me” shrug to revisit a favourite or two from the top of the archives, and let me be self-indulgent this week.
For the rest of us? Allons-y!
It’s no secret to you, dear reader, that I am a flailing fan-girl about Doctor Who.1 Everyone has a completely irrational love for something that seems weird to other people, but what can I say? This is mine. In the grand tradition of mis-representing poets, this may be my Mary Oliver-esque embodiment because I’m letting the “soft animal part of me love what it loves.”2 And my soft animal part freaking LOVES this show.
Confession time though: I don’t usually like sci-fi as a a genre. We all know I’m more “earnest period dramas” or “bake off” than “aliens and space stations.” I remain unmoved by everything from Star Wars to Star Trek to Battlestar Galactica.3 But ages ago, when I was quarantined with a houseful of sick tinies sleeping the days away, I decided to watch an episode or two of Doctor Who to see what all the fuss was about. RIP to me because I was a goner in less than one season. More than ten years later, I’m a red-thread board building certifiable obsessive weirdo about this British television show. I’m evangelical in my love for it so let’s start recruiting.
What is Doctor Who?
It’s a BBC television show that premiered in 1963. So yes, there are 61 years worth of history. No wonder you’re overwhelmed at the thought of jumping in. The series is divided into two eras: Classic Who (which ran from 1963 – 1989 when it was cancelled due to poor ratings) and the Reboot (often called New Who) which was re-launched in 2005 and continues until now. DW used to be considered a cult hit but it’s become very mainstream and accessible in the last few years. The latest season of the show just launched with an absolutely marvellous new Doctor; hence, all the renewed interest right now
Basically, it’s a massive, massive show with a fan base that makes Star Wars bros look reasonable. The show explores universal themes of wonder and goodness, of suffering and our choices, of friendship and love, of war and hate, of belief and curiosity and they intersect almost weekly with spirituality and faith through the storytelling.
What’s the show actually about?
The show is about the Doctor and their companions and their adventures in time and space, sure. But really at the core, it’s a story about hope and goodness, life and the sacredness of our stories. It’s about doing the right thing, taking a stand, and navigating complex morality in a shifting universe. It is also just a fun escapist hang sometimes. Doctor Who can be mad and terrifying, exciting and funny, bonkers silly (Space Babies!) and thoughtful, beautiful and heart-breaking. Yes, I said and meant heart-breaking.
It’s clever and well-written, complicated and soulful. One of my favourite things about the show is that almost everything means something, so we circle back around to little hints, slow burn stories, Easter eggs, and recurring jokes throughout the entire show. The longer you watch the show, the more you get out of it.
Doctor Who is an sometimes irreverent television romp through time and space, absolutely. It’s weird and hilarious and brilliant. But it also exposes the deeper longings of the human heart, how we grapple with belief and faith, our suffering and grief, our joy and curiosity, the vastness of the universe, and how we are shaped both by our choices and experiences, and more deeply, by how we love and are loved in return. The theology at the heart of the show is that everyone is deeply important (“In 900 years of time and space, I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important”) and that life in all its forms is sacred. I found that it increased my sense of wonder and curiosity.
As the Doctor says, we’re all stories in the end. Let’s make it a good one, eh?
Do I need to start at the very beginning with Classic Who?
Absolutely not. Once you get into Doctor Who, you might want to go back and watch certain big stories, sure. (Besides the truth is that even if you wanted to start at the beginning, you couldn’t. A lot of early episodes are lost or believed destroyed.) So no, you don’t have to watch 60 years worth of television to enter the universe.4 Keep scrolling because I’ll give you three options to enter into the fandom below.
Who is the Doctor?
Their name isn’t “Doctor Who.”5 They are just The Doctor. It’s a title that became a name.6
And … they are an alien. Yes, an alien. Stay with me, folks. The Doctor is a Time Lord from a planet called Gallifrey. They have two hearts and look like a human (they would argue that humans look like time lords since they came first but whatever). They are very old by our standards – right now, our Doctor is thousands of years old, give or take how you track time in certain canon and non-canon storylines.
Not only are they a Time Lord, they are the Last of the Time Lords. The Time Lords don’t engage with time in a linear fashion: they hold all of time and space at once. They see everything that was and everything that could be. In fact, they were once the guardians of time. But they’re the last one and the only one. This shapes a lot of their decisions and pathos and respect for life.
The big news about Time Lords is this: they can regenerate. This means that when the Doctor is fatally injured or aged, their entire body renews and they become a completely new person. That is why we say things like “Twelfth Doctor” and “Ninth Doctor.” It’s because there is literally a Ninth Doctor and a Tenth Doctor etc. – all played by different actors. This is part of what makes the show so incredible and fresh – every few years, the actor that plays the Doctor departs the series and we are given a new Doctor complete with a new face and even a new temperament or personality.
And as a warning: you will become very attached to the Doctors and grieve over regenerations before quickly loving the new one just as much. And you’ll also develop an irrational attachment to at least one of the Doctors, henceforth always referring to them as “My Doctor”7 as the one who remains the standard for you.
We don’t know the Doctor’s “real” name. We only know the name they have chosen for themself, because it is a promise: “Never cruel or cowardly, never give up and never give in.” Because of their chosen identity, they often makes people “better” – in all ways of understanding that word. We’ve been given a lot of subtext and later confirmation that they endured great suffering and have lost the people who were dear – they’ve made references to being a father, for instance, but “not anymore.” They are as shaped by suffering and loss and outliving everyone whom they loves, as they are shaped by the wonders and glories and joys.
The Doctor’s personality changes in small ways throughout the show, but at the core, here’s what you need to know, according to Steven Moffat (who was the showrunner for the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors as well as a frequent writer for the show):
“When they made this particular hero, they didn’t give him a gun, they gave him a screwdriver to fix things. They didn’t give him a tank or a warship or an x-wing fighter, they gave him a call box from which you can call for help. And the didn’t give him a superpower or pointy ears or a heat ray, they gave him an extra heart. They gave him two hearts. And that’s an extraordinary thing; there will never come a time when we don’t need a hero like the Doctor.“
What’s with the blue police box?
The blue police box is actually called the TARDIS – an acronym that stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. It allows the occupants to travel through both time and space. The story of The Doctor begins on Gallifrey when they stole this TARDIS and ran away. The blue police box thing is because the cloaking device – a TARDIS feature that allows it to disguise itself and remain out of notice no matter where it landed – got stuck when it landed in the 1960s Britain. At that time, police boxes were very common, and there you go. It’s a blue police box forever now.
The TARDIS itself is another dimension. So it’s – wait for it – bigger on the inside.8 In fact, no one really knows just how big. The TARDIS is also sentient – you’ll begin to see as the show goes along that the TARDIS often has a big role in why the Doctor lands where and when they land. They have a mutual relationship with one another – and the TARDIS boasts not only a new control room with every Doctor but also a swimming pool, a library, and quite a few sinister corners and secrets as well.
Who is the person who travels with the Doctor?
We call them “companions” and they are usually - not always - human. In the beginning, they were there as the audience-stand-in, almost for us to have a liaison – someone to represent us and our questions in the TARDIS. But now they are equal characters with motivations, back stories, and brilliance. They serve as conscience, plot, instigator, troublemaker, or grounded presence at times.
The Doctor has a real soft spot for Earth, sometimes calling themself our protector or defender. The companions’ relationships with the Doctor are complex – and often their families back on Earth have an even more complex relationship with the Doctor. We grow as attached to the companions and their families as we do to the Doctor. One strength of the show is the character development of the companions – they grow and change as people. Since the rebooted show, you could argue that the companion is actually the equal main character. Some companions fall in love with the Doctor, others are best friends, others are just good buddies for a short time. It’s clear that the Doctor has certain favourites, too, even as they travel with a wide assortment of folks. I can’t share much more without spoilers.
So is this show all about fighting aliens?
Nope. The Doctor at core is very pro-life and peace-driven, more fascinated than repulsed by newness and change. If they have an enemy, it’s usually because that species or individual violates those values. The Doctor is curious and intrigued by alien life and has an inherent respect for it.
So the main enemies – the Daleks, for instance – are not enemies simply because they are alien. Not at all. (In fact, the Doctor’s biggest fights with humans have been over our habit of reacting in fear and violence against other life forms and possibilities.) Daleks are enemies because they are filled with hate for anything other than themselves and want to assimilate all the wonder and unique vastness of the universe into one homogenous whole.
Aliens are only one aspect of the show and you’d be surprised how quickly you can jump into believing in the universe. We are just as likely to go back in time with historical figures or events or deal with sinister humans or natural disasters in various times and places. One of the show’s great strengths is its ability to take very typical objects or completely normal things and twist them just enough to make them creepy and ominous (you’ll never look at earpieces or statues the same way again).
Isn’t this a kids’ show?
Yes and no. It was originally envisioned as a kids’ show. But in the rebooted series, it’s more of a whole family show that often veers thoroughly and completely into too-scary for younger kids. I didn’t start my kids on it until they were about ten or eleven. We do have to be able to embrace the aspects that are there for kids – some silliness and goofiness. Which, again, that is something that most Whovians love. We can go from terrified to laughing in one scene. But because there is always a possibility or likelihood that kids are watching, the show never includes overt violence or swearing or sex to get the point across – which you know I love.
Okay, you’ve convinced me. I’ll give it a go. Where should I begin?
There are many ways to begin one’s love affair with the Doctor, but here are the three I’ll recommend.
1. The Fifteenth Doctor Method
Since we have a brand new era of Doctor Who starting, you could honestly just start right now with the current season. You don’t need all of the lore to enjoy it or decide if it’s for you. Because they anticipate a lot of new folks joining in, so they will explain a lot of the show for you as you go, too. Then if you like the show’s vibe, you might want to try Method 2 or 3 below, in conjunction or after this season.
There are three episodes out right now (The Church on Ruby Road, Space Babies, and The Devil’s Chord) on Disney Plus or BBC iPlayer. We have a lovely, charming new Doctor and a charismatic-with-a-mystery-surrounding-her new companion called Ruby Sunday. We also have lots of Disney money at last, so the effects are a million times better. You’ll get a good sense of the bonkers nature of the show, even as they are planting a lot of seeds for what will come. (Pay attention to little moments because this show will usually pay those off later.)
2. The 2005-Onward Reboot Method
Begin right in 2005 with the reboot of Series/Season 1, Episode 1 called Rose and just go for it, watching straight through, episode by episode. This is how I began, with the Ninth Doctor, so it’s my sentimental favourite.
However, if you can’t handle really cheesy special effects and deep silliness, as well as the prospect of more than twenty years of television ahead of you, well, this isn’t your method just yet. In the 2005 reboot, the budget was teeny tiny. So for audiences used to 2024 big budget television, it can be hard to get past that.
Personally, I very nearly gave up early then – I think it was the farting aliens on Downing Street that made me roll my eyes so hard they nearly fell out of my head – but right around the eighth and ninth episodes (called The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances, which is a perfect mix of love and fear, creepiness and beauty) I fell head over heels in love with the show. But not everyone gets there. So it’s a riskier start but it will give you all the back stories for everything ahead. And bonus points: David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor.
2. The One-Off Episodes and then Eleventh Doctor Start Method
This is the one I recommend for people in particular who have tried to watch Doctor Who once upon a time but simply didn’t get it or like it. It’s also for folks who aren’t sure they really want to commit to a show with a history as deep as DW and just want to get a general idea for the show.
Here’s your plan: Watch an episode called Blink in Series 3, Episode 10 (2007). It features the Tenth Doctor and his companion, Martha, but really it’s one of the best early episodes of the rebooted show and will give you a very clear idea of the show and how time travel works even if there isn’t enough of the Doctor in it. Then watch Vincent and the Doctor in Series 5, Episode 10 (2010) with the Eleventh Doctor.
Good? Now go to Series 5, Episode 1 called The Eleventh Hour (2010) which introduces the Eleventh Doctor along with companion Amy Pond. This was another start of a new era, much like right now, and it was more accessible for new fans. This is the method I used with my husband who simply could NOT get past the cheese of the initial reboot.
I have yet to see anyone do this that did not become a Whovian and then promptly go back to Series 1 Episode 1 and begin at the beginning, fully embracing all of it.9 (I haven’t included the Classic Who as a starting point because that’s for a rare bird, but if that’s you, my blessings.)
Where do I watch it?
If you are starting fresh with this new Doctor, you can watch new episodes on Disney Plus right now in North America or on BBC iPlayer for the UK folks.
As of right now, the older seasons are on Amazon Prime and on HBO Max. (Classic Who is on BritBox too.)
Me? I own all of the seasons on Blue-ray #Flex because I am old and like physical copies with bonus features. When I first started watching the show though, I just requested the DVDs from the library one after another which is a low-budget/low-commitment way to begin.
Okay, that’s more than enough to get you started! There are a million other things I have typed and deleted (turns out that I had some thoughts on the Master that just weren’t helpful). I’d love to hear your thoughts on the above if you’re a fan, too.
I’ll hang out in the comments over the next couple of days so if you have any other questions, let me know. I’ll see you there!
Also a hoper of far-flung hopes and dreamer of impossible dreams,
S.
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And in case you missed these recent Field Notes:
In which an angry encounter leads to a few thoughts on metaphors and motherhood: Could my experiences as a woman and a mother be included in how we speak or think about God?
Time for the having-too-many-tabs-open portion of the day: Out and about on the Internet
That Jezebel Spirit: Or, pulling the trusty old soapbox out of storage
Instructions on Loving in Particular: Decide that God so loves this tragedy of a world and that's enough incentive for you to keep trying.
I mean, our cats are named Amy and Rory for two of our favourite companions.
This is a famous line from the beloved poem Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver that I am mis-using like a first-year bible college student misuses Romans. It’s fine.
Not for lack of trying, I promise you.
I’ve personally gone back and watched a lot of the Third and Fourth Doctors’ tenures but it’s not at all necessary to understanding or appreciating the rebooted series. In fact, most new fans are exclusively coming to the series via the rebooted series.
It is a running joke that when people encounter The Doctor and they are introduced as “The Doctor,” someone inevitably say, “Doctor who?” and then all us geeks clap like seals.
I’m using non-binary pronouns because, while the Doctor has been most often portrayed as a man, there are at least two female iterations in the mix (Thirteenth Doctor and the Fugitive Doctor). The Doctor doesn’t use they-them pronouns (yet?) but this way I’m not saying “he/she” every time.
This is why people always ask me, “Who’s YOUR Doctor?” when I do an AMA. They mean, which one is your favourite or iconic one because that question is as good as the Enneagram for short-hand understanding of each other. Case in point: My Doctor was the Tenth, David Tennant, for the longest time even though I loved Nine and Eleven. But he was replaced by Pete Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor. I would ride at dawn for that iteration of the Doctor - those last couple of seasons are such a grown-up and interesting portrayal with quotes I would like to tattoo on my body.
Another running joke in the show. When someone comes into the TARDIS for the first time, they inevitably say, “it’s bigger on the inside!” and we all cheer. Best moment was when the companion Clara turned it around and said, “It’s smaller on the outside” just to mess with us.
Purists, I get it. I hate to think of anyone watching Doctor Who without a deep understanding of the history of the show’s stories and particularly without David Tennant but this is an entry point and they’ll get there, promise.
Yes! Donna's story wrecks me every time - I've never met anyone who wasn't important. (Isn't that divine goodness 🤷🏼♀️)
I 10/10 support doctor who write ups any time ❤️
Seeing this in my inbox today was kind of creepy... I thought, "so now it's not only Amazon anticipating my thoughts and needs, but Sarah Bessey too!" Just a few days ago I was thinking how much I'd like to try Dr. Who, but then I started poking around the internet and got overwhelmed by the 60-year history and gave up, not knowing the way in. Voila! Sarah to the rescue!