I've never watched either Dr. Who or Torchwood.

[knightofkrypton]

I'm interested in both of these series and was wondering which would be best to start with.

Not to mention, about which Dr. Who to start with?

[jimmyolsenblues]

I had the same question, i suggest start with doctor who 2005, season 1.
http://epguides.com/doctorwho%5F2005/

[Sam and Dean's Girl]

i think u should go back to the start so that u understand about timelords and all the evil things in it like the sontarins and the darlecks(dont know if i spelt them right) but watch the ones with david tennant coz he is hot maybe u should watch that first:lol::confused:

[Jade4813]

I would start with the 2005 series as well, frankly. That's where I started, so I can tell you that you learn enough from that as you go along to not be lost in the story. You'll come to understand about Timelords, and what you don't get, you can ask about here. ;)

I most definitely would NOT start with Torchwood. In fact, I wouldn't watch Torchwood at all until you've gotten through at least the 2005 and the 2006 series. There are things that you won't know about or understand until you've got at the very least the 2005 series under your belt. Trust me on this.

[ginnyfan]

I guess I have another question, that's related to this. Which doctor should Newbies watch next? After we've been enamored with the revamp of the world, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant, which Doctor do aficionados recommend?

[Sam and Dean's Girl]

watch the ones with david tennat
1. coz he is hot
2. coz i luv him
and 3.coz u will learn stuff:D

[Doctor Who]

I'm interested in both of these series and was wondering which would be best to start with.

Not to mention, about which Dr. Who to start with?

I would be starting with 2005 series because this is where I started to hook in. You don't need to watch the classic series because it's just like revamp and re-telling the old concepts in new way of our generations. Right now, I'm waiting for the 2008 Christmas episode!

[TMLS]

Start at the very beginning, with Hartnell.

Then, if you enjoy it, carry on. If you don't, skip forward to the 2005 Eccleston series. If you don't enjoy that, then watch Paul McGann - it's dumbed down ;)

watch the ones with david tennat
1. coz he is hot
2. coz i luv him
and 3.coz u will learn stuff:D

Not biased at all then? ;)

[quinny06]

Start with the 2005 series. That's how I got into it. The 2005 series is ideal for new fans because you're almost in the same position as Rose - this is a whole new world for you. Everything is explained for a new audience, all the show's signature concepts: daleks, time lords, regeneration. Then, if you like the show, keep watching, there's been four series so far. Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Torchwood but you might like it. I would start watching that after the 2006 series, but not earlier because it will just confuse you. And once you've watched all the new Who and Torchwood (and the Sarah Jane Adventures if you like), there's the classic series for you to enjoy!

[newbaggy]

Start with the 2005 series. That's how I got into it. The 2005 series is ideal for new fans because you're almost in the same position as Rose - this is a whole new world for you. Everything is explained for a new audience, all the show's signature concepts: daleks, time lords, regeneration. Then, if you like the show, keep watching, there's been four series so far. Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Torchwood but you might like it. I would start watching that after the 2006 series, but not earlier because it will just confuse you. And once you've watched all the new Who and Torchwood (and the Sarah Jane Adventures if you like), there's the classic series for you to enjoy!

Interestingly, this mirrors Russell T. Davies' view when developing the format for the new series. For old viewers, it should be recognisably a follow-on to the old series. For new viewers, they should be able to treat it as a brand-new show, without needing to watch any of the old series, listen to the audio adventures or read the novels - these would be treats awaiting those venturing into the wider world of Doctor Who.

P.S. Speaking as someone who started watching Doctor Who in the early 70s, it isn't essential to go all the way back to the first William Hartnell stories and start from there. Besides, thanks to the fact that the BBC wiped the tapes of various stories between 1963 and 1975, you can't watch every episode anyway.

[Antithesis]

I'd recomend starting with Eccelston(season one of the new series) as well. Then continue to Tennant with maybe a smattering of the original thrown in. That's what I did. After you're familar with it go watch certain shows of the original; in particular, when you are getting close to the last three episodes of season 3 try and find some original eps with the Master in it. Ironically the next day after the first of those three aired here, I found a set at Hastings with Tom Baker's last story, and Peter Davidson's first story. The Master is heavily involved in them.

One thing I feel I should warn you about the original. The episodes have very bad effects, and are longer stories than thew new one which means some of each episode feels like filler. They are still interesting to watch at least once just for some history on the Doctor.

I'd say stat torchwood after that since one of the characters starts in Doctor Who.

[Sam and Dean's Girl]

Not biased at all then? ;)

what does that mean?:confused:

[TMLS]

It was a joke (winking smiley gives that away) on you saying

watch the ones with david tennat
1. coz he is hot
2. coz i luv him
and 3.coz u will learn stuff

On the fact that it was hardly an objective suggestion!

But never mind, had enough of this board now anyway - it's gone far too "yoof". See you guys around. It's only Randy I'll miss on here. Well, and Craig too I suppose! See ya guys...

[AngelaV]

My local library has many of the Tom Barker years and some earlier doctors. It's a great and free way to watch some Dr.Who. I've been watching since I was a kid from PBS. Currently I have a BBCkids channel from my canadian rogers cable that show older Dr.Who on weekends in the wee hours of the morning. I've been recording them to watch later. These are doctors who came after Tom Barker and I don't find these stories as good. I prefer Tom Barker and older doctor stories... and the New Dr. Who :)

[Sam and Dean's Girl]

WAT DOES BIASED MEAN!!!!!!:mad::mad::mad::mad:

[Jade4813]

Okay, first of all, Sam and Dean's Girl...you might try switching to decaf. There's nothing to get worked up over here. Second of all, TMLS TOLD you what he meant by that. He meant that your suggestion was hardly objective (in other words, it was biased. Biased = not objective; colored by a preconceived notion or prejudice).

You said you thought DT was the best doctor because he's hot and you love him. While both of those might be true, saying you should watch the ones with him because he's hot and you love him is a biased statement. You're not objectively evaluating the various Doctors for, say, storylines or acting ability. You're saying "you should watch him because I think he's hot."

It's like asking me who I think the best actor was in the X-Men movies. If I say "Hugh Jackman cuz he's hot and I love him" (and he is and I do), it's a biased opinion. My judgment is probably clouded by the factors I listed above.

It's easiest to explain, I think, in a news story. If you watch the news and someone says "That story was biased," what they're saying is that the story didn't objectively and impartially consider both sides and present the conclusion. It appeared to have a preconceived notion it wanted to impart, and so the story was slanted to get that message acrossed.

Political ads are biased. The ads may say they're comparing records, but if you watch, it's clear that the makers of the ads always had a candidate they wanted to promote and a candidate they want to appear less favorably by comparison. Everything in those ads will be biased - slanted so that the candidate they favor will seem better by comparison...even if the content of the ad must be skewed or be less than entirely factually true in order to do it.

Oh, and finally...? He said it was a joke.

So, honestly. Stick to decaf already. You'll live longer.

[ginnyfan]

Also in the future if you don't know what a word means you can do a simple google/yahoo search and all these nifty online dictionaries will tell you. Ain't technology wonderful?

[Mini Wolfsbane]

*blinks* uh...hope I'm not interrupting anything over here.

I woke up at 6:30 this morning because of a bad dream. Usually after I have nightmares, I'll watch tv to calm my nerves and go back to sleep. So, this morning I turned on the tv and lo and behold, a small Dr. Who marathon was on.

I'd only caught a few episodes before this, so I was pretty curious about the show eventhough I didn't really understand it. I decided to watch it, and now I think I'm hooked. It was good I couldn't figure out why I hadn't started watching it regularly before this, because it's right up my alley with the aliens and time travel and all.
(I've been into Star Trek since I was very young, and I've either been watching or reading science-fiction stuff my whole life!)

It was not only entertaining, but it was funny in that subtle way that I like.
Very enjoyable. Now I'll be keeping an eye out for new episodes.
It was a little predictable, but at least it wasn't cheap or boring and the acting was good. For something on the sci-fi channel, that's great. Of course, it is from England, so it's not one of thier originial shows, but it's also better then most of the things they have on there already.

[ginnyfan]

^You're in for a wonderful ride. :D

[Mini Wolfsbane]

^Yep, I could tell.

I got to re-watch the first episode I ever saw this morning, "The Empty Child."
It was almost as scary as the first time I watched it! Maybe that was why I stayed away from the series for so long? Well, they weren't all scary today. A little creepy and disturbing, but not as scary as that one episode was.

[Sam and Dean's Girl]

Okay, first of all, Sam and Dean's Girl...you might try switching to decaf. There's nothing to get worked up over here. Second of all, TMLS TOLD you what he meant by that. He meant that your suggestion was hardly objective (in other words, it was biased. Biased = not objective; colored by a preconceived notion or prejudice).
You said you thought DT was the best doctor because he's hot and you love him. While both of those might be true, saying you should watch the ones with him because he's hot and you love him is a biased statement. You're not objectively evaluating the various Doctors for, say, storylines or acting ability. You're saying "you should watch him because I think he's hot."
Oh, and finally...? He said it was a joke.
So, honestly. Stick to decaf already. You'll live longer.

thanx for that but wat does prejudice and preconceived mean?:confused:
also i already drink decaf lattes and stuff
i am also on antidepressents i dont think they work:D

[ginnyfan]

^Yep, I could tell.

I got to re-watch the first episode I ever saw this morning, "The Empty Child."
It was almost as scary as the first time I watched it! Maybe that was why I stayed away from the series for so long? Well, they weren't all scary today. A little creepy and disturbing, but not as scary as that one episode was.

LOL! Oh you make me feel so much better. I get scared watching Dr. Who and my friend said... Brittny you know this is a show for 7 year olds. LOL! So I felt bad but... some of the episodes really are creepy. That one is probably the creepiest of the lot. Oh and there's one called... Oh I don't remember but these statues... I have a thing about dolls moving. So that was pretty scary too.

The production values are great. The acting is superb. The show is so creative and funny and silly but also profound. It's wondrous. :D

[Mini Wolfsbane]

Glad I made you feel better. If you think an episode is scary, that's okay! Don't let your friend change your opinion.

I like how it doesn't rely to heavily on CGI. In one episode I watched, it looked like the aliens were people in suits, as far as I could tell. I thought that was great and was really cool because you hardly ever see it anymore, much less on "mature" shows. (IMO,
it is a mature show and so not for 7 year olds!)

[newbaggy]

LOL! Oh you make me feel so much better. I get scared watching Dr. Who and my friend said... Brittny you know this is a show for 7 year olds. LOL! So I felt bad but... some of the episodes really are creepy. That one is probably the creepiest of the lot. Oh and there's one called... Oh I don't remember but these statues... I have a thing about dolls moving. So that was pretty scary too.

The production values are great. The acting is superb. The show is so creative and funny and silly but also profound. It's wondrous. :D

Is Doctor Who for 7 year olds or not? Here's what the writer of "The Empty Child" - and executive producer designate - Steven Moffat had to say when interviewed at the San Diego Comic Con:


We've been debating on our site endlessly: Is Doctor Who a kids' program?
Yes. Debate over. It's good to fix those things quickly.
Even though it has a huge adult following? It's not aimed at both?
It's aimed at kids and adults. And why should anyone care about this? If you watch it, then it's for you. It shouldn't matter. I mean the specific thing about it being a children's program, is that it follows the imperatives and narrative rules and the joy of children's fiction. If you watch Doctor Who at 9 pm at night [as you do in the United States] it's going to seem a bit odd. It's energetic. The Doctor walks straight out of the TARDIS and into trouble, and you accept it. The Master becomes Prime Minister of Britain, and you accept it. It's got all the brio and vigor of Harry Potter, Narnia and Star Wars. That doesn't mean it doesn't appeal to adults. Star Wars, the most successful film franchise ever, is explicitly for children, but adults love it. Doctor Who is my favorite thing in the world. If you're in Britain, we'll show you the sticker books [and] the lunchboxes. In the schoolyard on Monday, they're all talking about Doctor Who. That doesn't mean it's childish. It's very sophisticated.
And of course England has a tradition of children's literature that's quite nasty, like Roald Dahl.
It's naughty... It's all fear. death and screaming women. It's innocent people being melted in the first 5 minutes of every episode. Why should there be a debate? If they watch it, it's their program. We're very happy they watch it every single one of them would enjoy it more if they watched it with an eight-year-old. You really see it then... Literally, the whole family sits down to watch Doctor Who: mum and dad, granddad, the two kids... Mum's fancying David Tennant, dad's thinking the spaceships are really cool, the granddad is saying it was better when it was William Hartnell.... and they're all thinking it's aimed at them.
[b]Have you seen Wall-E?
I haven't seen Wall-E. It looks fantastic.
I was really blown away by it. It's a kid's movie, but it deals with some incredibly weighty issues.
The misconception about children's ficition is that it's lightweight or fluffy. It's about really big and important things. It's adults who like light and fluffy. Everything is big and imprtant to a child, [so] their stories are about big and important events.

I will add to this that in Britain, Doctor Who is shown at around 7 o'clock on a Saturday night. The original series, for most of its life, was shown at between 5:45 and 6:15pm on a Saturday night. One phrase associated over this side of the Atlantic with Doctor Who is "behind the sofa" - because when you first watched Doctor Who as a kid, you got scared by the monsters, and you hid from them behind the sofa. But you kept on watching. Actually, it became a rite of passage: as you got older, you became braver, until you didn't need to hide behind the sofa any more.

Russell T. Davies said from the outset that the revived Doctor Who was, in part, targeted at eight-year-olds, the new generation of fans. Therefore, the production team have always been careful that, although the programme should be scary - nothing wrong in RTD's book with giving kids "good, healthy nightmares" - it should not traumatise or be harmful to younger viewers. For example, in "The Empty Child", Doctor Constantine's transformation into "gas mask person" was originally to be accompanied by the sound of bones breaking, but the sound effects were removed from the final edit as the producers throught that they made it too horrific for its audience. Certainly, scenes that are apparently acceptable to American audiences on "Smallville" (Bizarro impaled on a broken pylon, Lionel pulling his hand out of a bear trap) would never be allowed on "Doctor Who" because they would be seen as too gory and graphic. Actually, where U.S. shows seem to lean towards toned-down versions of the graphic violence in modern horror movies, Doctor Who often takes it scary ideas for the more "suggestive" approach of older horror movies, where the scares often came more from the things you don't see than the things you do. The big advantage of this "teatime Hammer horror" approach is that you can create something that is still scary for adults, whilst being acceptable viewing for children.

Oh, and by the way - that last paragraph of yours ginnyfan; a perfect description of why we love Doctor Who.

[ginnyfan]

Wow newbaggy thanks for the ComicCon interview and your wonderful thoughts.

I do love Children's literature and so that's such a perfect comparison. It reminds me of a Dr. Suess quote.

“Adults are just obsolete children and the hell with them.”

LOL! :D

I think you're dead on in what you say about Dr. Who's approach to "scary."

[Mini Wolfsbane]

I just marked it off as not a kid's show because in one of the episodes I watched, Jack kissed the Doctor right on the mouth. I know a lot of people are okay with the gay issue, but in America, we haven't gone that far in normal kid's programs as of yet, for the most part. I didn't think England was that, um, open minded with thier kid's shows.
(I'm not trying to turn this into some debate-been down that road before and it made me leave the forum-I'm just saying that was why I didn't see it as a children's show.)

Plus it left me questioning wether Jack was straight or not when I thought he was after flirting for most of the episode prior to that moment, and having a fling with Rose.

Just sayin'.

Outside of that, I guess the themes they use are pretty mature to me, but for the most part, it seems like a pretty silly show.

[ginnyfan]

I wish Jack would kiss me right on the mouth. Oh wait... did I say that out loud?

;)

[Jade4813]

I wouldn't mind if Jack AND the Doctor both kissed me on the mouth. Just saying.

[newbaggy]

I just marked it off as not a kid's show because in one of the episodes I watched, Jack kissed the Doctor right on the mouth. I know a lot of people are okay with the gay issue, but in America, we haven't gone that far in normal kid's programs as of yet, for the most part. I didn't think England was that, um, open minded with thier kid's shows.
(I'm not trying to turn this into some debate-been down that road before and it made me leave the forum-I'm just saying that was why I didn't see it as a children's show.)

Plus it left me questioning wether Jack was straight or not when I thought he was after flirting for most of the episode prior to that moment, and having a fling with Rose.

Just sayin'.

Outside of that, I guess the themes they use are pretty mature to me, but for the most part, it seems like a pretty silly show.

O.K., I'm not going to start a debate, but I think that I'd better provide some context and clarification - before you get some funny ideas about what we Brits have in "kid's shows".

In Britain, children's programmes (i.e. specifically made for and aimed at children) normally occupy slots in a channel's daytime schedules. Generally speaking, the early evening news bulletin (at about 6pm) marks the end of any "kids only" programming. At 9pm, we have the "watershed" - the point at which programs deemed unsuitable for children (for reasons of violence, bad language or sexual content) may be shown. Therefore, the period between 6pm and 9pm (which "Doctor Who" occupies) is "family viewing" - content guidance to programme makers assumes that children will be watching alongside adults, so there are limits on what may be shown "pre-watershed", but parents should assume that not all content is suitable for all children. In this context, "Doctor Who" is a "family show", suitable for all ages (except very young children), whilst "Torchwood" is the "post-watershed show" targeted at an adults-only audience, with "The Sarah Jane Adventures" as the "kid's show" commissioned by the BBC Children's Department for a children's audience. "Family viewing" also includes the main evening soap operas - dramas principally aimed at adults, but with significant numbers of children watching. The late 1980s saw the first gay couples appearing in the evening soaps, with the BBC's Eastenders the first to feature a kiss between two gay men. It caused uproar at the time, but people slowly got used to the idea. In 1994, Channel 4's "Brookside" had the first lesbian kiss between teenager Beth Jordache and her lover Margaret (Beth was the breakthrough role for a young actress called Anna Friel - whatever happened to her?). Another period of uproar, but it subsided, and now British audiences are fairly used to gay characters in "family viewing". So, by the time Captain Jack planted a chaste kiss on The Doctor's mouth, it caused relatively little reaction here.

Now, both Russell T. Davies and John Barrowman are openly gay men (Barrowman auditioned for the part of Will in "Will and Grace", but was turned down on the grounds that he appeared to be "too straight"!!!). However, Captain Jack is not straight or gay or bi - he is omnisexual. In "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances" (written by - the "straight" - Steven Moffat), "dancing" is used as a euphamism for "sex". So when The Doctor describes Jack as a "typical 51st century guy" - an era when the human race would "seek out new life and new civilisations - and dance with them", adding "so many species, so little time" - it is pretty clear that Jack regards anything male or female, human or alien, as a potential sexual conquest. After all, he talks about getting drunk and waking up in bed "with both my executioners", whom he kept in touch with after they got married!

Having said all that, when Jack kisses Rose and The Doctor in "The Parting of the Ways", Davies and Barrowman were keen to stress in interviews that these were not sexual in any way: Jack is saying what he thinks is his last goodbye to the two people he cares about the most, and showing them - in a platonic way - how much he loves them. Barrowman stated in an interview that he was careful to make both kisses exactly the same, so that the audience would not think he was singling one of the characters out as his "lover". I have to say that - despite the fact we have seen kisses between gay lovers in the evening soaps - a kiss between Jack and The Doctor that carried any sort of romantic or sexual connatation would probably have been vetoed as going too far.

So, Doctor Who is and isn't a kid's show; it's silly and it's profound; it'll scare you to death and give you the warm fuzzies. In short, it's a mass of contradictions and there isn't anything else quite like it. That's why I love it.

[Mini Wolfsbane]

Erm...okay then.

Thanks...I think? (No, really, thanks for clearing that up.)

I should've known something sci-fi-ish like that was going on with Jack.
I kinda guessed the kiss was platonic but wasn't intirely sure, as you could see.

[ginnyfan]

Captain Jack is... um... the answer to the question of Captain Jack's sexual preference is yes.

LOL!

Is he ________________ (fill in the blank with question of your choice) ?

Answer: Yes.

Of course all that is only hinted at on Dr. Who. Torchwood I think... goes into more detail and is a more mature show.

[newbaggy]

Erm...okay then.

Thanks...I think? (No, really, thanks for clearing that up.)

I should've known something sci-fi-ish like that was going on with Jack.
I kinda guessed the kiss was platonic but wasn't intirely sure, as you could see.

Sorry, it was a bit (a lot!) over the top, but I didn't want to leave you thinking "the Brits are weird - their kids TV is full of gay people kissing!"

[Mini Wolfsbane]

LOL!!

Well, in my head I was comparing it to Japan. They're very...linient...as to what thier kids watch over there compared to America. In America, a cartoon character can't even bleed without the censors freaking out over it think it's gonna scar some poor kid for life.
Maybe if that weren't the case, the quality of animation wouldn't be going down the tubes over here.

Oops. I'm ranting.

[smallville0001]

I started with the 2005 season cos thats when i first heard about it, seen the first episoe and loved it from the start. I am gradually watching all the old Dr Whos, and they're great. But personally i prefer the newer series. So start with the new series, series 1. Its a good place to start cos it tells you more-or-less all about the Doctor.

[knightofkrypton]

Ok, so I'm getting...start with the 2005 series and move on from there.

This may sound stupid, but I honestly didn't know. From what you guys are saying is "Torchwood" a spin-off of "Dr. Who"? That would explain watching it after starting the 2005 Who.

Thank you guys for your help!

[Cromartiefan]

yes, it is - It's set up by series 1 & 2 of doctor who, and referenced in 3 & 4

[Vindellavon]

I want John on my mouth. Oh Lord, his jacket is AWESOME!