Nearly a month later, I feel like I need an update. Did you pull the trigger?

I’d start with the 9th Doctor.

Start with the modern reboot. First episode is a little dry, but later episodes rely heavily on sneaky references to events prior. Especially the specials. Don’t be afraid to rewatch episodes as well. The dialogue can move quickly and I’ve always picked up on details I missed during the first playthrough. Definitely worth it.

I started with the new one and have since gone back to watch the original. From my experience this will be the best for a new viewer as I found that the charm in many of the original episodes was lost in not having lived at the time they aired. And I may not have as much appreciation for how the show began if I didn’t have the knowledge of how the Dr Who series has evolved that the revival goes to lengths to give.

I agree with Audrey0nne that the charm of the original has not aged well, and also not all of the episodes are available due to archive policies and legal restrictions of the day.

The first season of the reboot suffers from the same uncertainty that Star Trek TNG first season did. Nobody knew if the show was going to be a success and also they were trying to balance new techniques with old expectations. Christopher Eccleston was cast for his name recognition and star power and he already knew going in he was only committed for one season.

I say start with the season finale of the reboot’s first season to see David Tennant come in and see where that takes you.

Just upfront, hopefully not here (you never know) but definitely elsewhere, you’re going to run into a lot of the usual bigots telling you that DOctor wHO EnDED wiTH cApaLDi. Coincidentally, the end of Capaldi’s run basically dovetails with when social media algorithms started giving these people brain worms, so everything after that is wOkE gArBaGe while everything before it, with exactly the same messages and techniques, is galaxy brain stuff. They can’t deal with a woman or Black man being on screen so just ignore them, please. (That said, the Thirteenth Doctor’s run is…not great, but certainly not because of those reasons.) If you are concerned about things like a “woke agenda” then Doctor Who is very, very much not the show for you - this has been an important part of the show’s DNA since the 60s.

I’ve loved Doctor Who for thirty years, and seen nearly every episode of every Doctor. The thing about Doctor Who is that it’s goofy and campy, and that ends up with it being dated sometimes, sometimes moreso than other shows. This isn’t a bad thing! It’s charming and fun, but depending on the kind of viewer you are, that might mean that you want to start with the current series (it’s loads of fun and the current Doctor and companion are exceptional), and then watch the older ones in context.

However, that’s going to get you only about six episodes so far. If you really want a project, I’d say start with the 2005 series (the Ninth Doctor) and go from there. You’re going to run into quite a bit that’s very early 2000s, but the fun, camp, and drama, are all on display. I know others will say you can start with the first series of the Eleventh Doctor, but to me you’ll run into a really turgid arc of the showrunner tediously and self-referentially mystery boxing over and over far too soon. This is stuff you ignore when you’ve been watching for a while (or can skip) but it might demoralize you to get into it and then get to molasses so soon.

The classic series are very different - not in terms of story, but format. I love them, I started with the Fourth Doctor, but it’s not to everyone’s taste. They are shorter arcs or four or six twenty-minute episodes, with drastically lower production values and slower pacing. One of the best stories involves the Doctor fighting essentially spray-painted green bubble wrap on a set that sort of looks like a bathroom. If you’re up for it, it’s wonderful, but it’s very different visually and structurally than modern shows.