Compile an "Essential" Compilation of Classic Who stories from each Doctor

Let's say you were going to introduce someone to Classic Who, and let us also say that the way you decided to approach it was to show them a sampling of each Doctor and see which one they take to the best.

What stories would you feel would make for "essential" viewing for each Doctor? If you could go Doctor by Doctor it would greatly help. I am trying to get my girlfriend into Classic Who. Many thanks to all who contribute!

 

I do like Doctor Who but am far from being any type of expert. I don't really know enough to make an "essential" list.

I'm mainly commenting to bump this thread because I hope it does end up with lots of comments so I can get ideas of things to hunt and watch. I don't care for any of the modern versions I've seen. Rather watch the earlier, rough special effects versions.

Captain Leo tell us what you think are the essentials. Prime the pump.

 

The Three Doctors
The Five Doctors

First:
The Romans
The Web Planet

Second: Not sure

Third:
Planet of the Spiders

Fourth:
Genesis of the Daleks

I don't really know the fifth or onward.

 

First Doctor - The War Machines
Second Doctor - The War Games
Third Doctor - The Daemons
Fourth Doctor - Genesis of The Daleks
Fifth Doctor - Caves of Androzani
Sixth Doctor - Revelation of the Daleks
Seventh Doctor - Remembrance of the Daleks
Eighth Doctor - TV Movie

 

First Doctor - An Unearthly Child
Second Doctor - The War Games
Third Doctor - Inferno
Fourth Doctor - Talons of Weng-Chiang
Fifth Doctor - Resurrection of the Daleks
Sixth Doctor - Revelation of the Daleks
Seventh Doctor - n/a

 

Am I the only one who considers The Romans/Web Planet great back to back stories? One shows the historical side of Classic Who, and the other is as weird as it gets.

 

First: The Daleks
Second: Tomb of the Cybermen
Third: Inferno
Fourth: City of Death
Fifth: The Caves of Androzani
Sixth: Vengence on Varos
Seventh: The Curse of Fenric

 

Oh! NOW I see...I though you were asking, which physician had come to which hotel room, to resuscitate which overdosed member of THE BAND...!

 

This is cool for me because I've been wanting to check out more of the older doctors. I've already gone through some Tom Baker and agree that Genesis of the Daleks would be essential.

 

I understand the urge to show at least one story from each Doctor, but I think the best approach for a new fan is to just start with one Doctor and work their way through several of their adventures, getting the feel for how the program flowed. Then, maybe switch to another Doctor once they are used to how the program works. Otherwise, it's hard to adjust to seeing different Doctors and companions for each story. Most of us classic era fans fell in love with the show by just jumping on board and going for the ride.

Two good starting points are the start of the Pertwee era and the start of the Tom Baker era. (For what it's worth, I started with Davison back in the day.) The B&W era is good, but has a different feel... almost like a live stage play instead of a standard television program. The color era will probably connect a little better for a newer viewer. If it were up to me, I'd personally start a new viewer at the beginning of the Tom Baker era. He was the most popular classic era Doctor for a reason.

It's definitely not a program for everyone. The slower pacing of the classic era will not appeal to all viewers. For someone used to the modern version (or just modern TV in general), it will seem impossibly slow at first. (This is why I wouldn't necessarily recommend 6-10 part stories for a first-time viewer.) For me, the slower pacing is actually part of it's appeal. It's not a blur of activity, but instead is a more natural progression of events, with plenty of scenes in the middle to add personality to the characters. But it will take a new viewer a while to adjust to. I also recommend not starting with any of the multi-Doctor stories. Those are best enjoyed once the viewer has a better grasp of the series' history.

Having said that, if I wanted to pick a few good representative stories for each Doctor that gives a good flavor of their portrayal, I would pick from following:

First Doctor: The Daleks, The Time Meddler, The War Machines
Second Doctor: Tomb of the Cybermen, Web of Fear
Third Doctor: Terror of the Autons, The Daemons, The Time Warrior
Fourth Doctor: The Ark in Space, Terror of the Zygons, Pyramids of Mars, Robots of Death
Fifth Doctor: The Visitation, Earthshock, Caves of Androzani
Sixth Doctor: Vengeance on Varos
Seventh Doctor: Curse of Fenric

Oh yeah, one more thing... I would hold off on the Sixth and Seventh Doctors for a new fan. Some aspects of those two eras could give a new fan the wrong impression about the program. The show became pretty campy by the end of the classic run. There are some good stories in those last two Doctor's runs, but one must train themselves to filter out some of the silliness from those eras.

 

The Web Planet can be a difficult viewing for even hardened classic era fans. The first couple of episodes are interesting (and am ambitious attempt to create a truly alien world), and the ending episode is okay. But the middle episodes really drag a lot, with lots of beeping insects running about and crashing into cameras. It's kind of entertaining for it's failures, but it's not one I return to frequently.

I love The Romans. It's one of the historical stories that they turned into a comedy. (One of the others being The Gunfighters.) Perhaps a little too light-hearted for some, but still a nice contrast against the more "serious" historical stories, like The Aztecs or The Reign of Terror.

 

Genesis of the Daleks and Inferno would be the two I would start with.

I would avoid anything from the 5th, 6th and 7th Doctors - they are not very good and only for hardcore fans.

 

This overview of Classic Who may be of use to you.

A Quick Guide to Classic Who - YouTube

 

On the subject of which old Who is good, starting ant "point x" and going from there is a good idea. When I was in my childhood prime (1988 to 1993) in Australia, the ABC played the Tom Baker run (excluding. by my memory, the last series he was in) at least once every 18 months or so, whilst playing new ones when they got them. So if, in the 1990's, you asked me which Doctor was best, I would have said the 4th or the 7th.

Then, after seeing the occasional old story on video, in 2000 I got to see "Doctor Who" from the beginning on Foxtel's UKTV channel. And I'll tell you now: The third Doctor stories absolutely blew my early-20's (age-wise) mind with just how good they were! OK, some of the costumes/effects may have been dodgy (especially those dinosaurs! Oh tome-lord!) but the overall stories were just awesome! Even the early padded-out-to-seven-part stories!

So watch the Jon Pertwee era (starting with "Spearhead From Space") or the Tom Baker era (starting with "Robot" and don't you dare stop at that one)(but not just one story, because some really are .... well .... weak) and if they don't like the show after that, they probably never will.

If this is considered a threadcrap, please accept my apologies and delete this post.

 

I totally agree with this approach. (Not a threadcrap at all as far as I can tell.) As I stated in my earlier post, it would be very confusing for a new watcher to understand all of the changes in Doctors and companions, if they were just given a sample of each era.

Also, another thing worth mentioning is that there is often very little consensus among fans about which stories are best. Yes, some stories are usually rated more highly than others, but I often find that I love some stories that many others don't like... and sometimes dislike stories that are supposed to be "fan favorites." So that's why I think it's just because to pick a starting point and just go from there. One can discover their own favorites that way.

 

If anyone wants to get into Classic Who especially during lockdown, here’s my preference.

1st Doctor - The Dalek Invasion Of Earth and The Rescue (The Rescue is one of my favourite 1st Doctor stories. It’s short and sweet. The Dalek Invasion Of Earth provides a bit of context which is why I’d have them back to back)
2nd Doctor - The Enemy Of The World
3rd Doctor - The Daemons
4th Doctor - The Ark In Space
5th Doctor - The Five Doctors (It should be one of the first stories to watch as it gives a glimpse as to who a lot of the characters are)
6th Doctor - Vengeance On Varos (Prepare to be weirded out)
7th Doctor - Remembrance Of The Daleks
8th Doctor - TV Movie

I have to add. If you haven’t seen Series 12 of New Who, I highly recommend it. It’s honestly the best series since the David Tennant’s Years.

 

1st - The War Machines
2nd - The War Games
3rd - Terror of the Autons
4th - City of Death (Douglas Adams!)
5th - Enlightenment
6th - The Mysterious Planet / Trial of a Timelord
7th - The Happiness Patrol

 

An interesting question. I would tend to avoid the Dalek episodes which are a kind of inside joke of the series. I'm not sure how someone unfamiliar would react to them yelling exterminate repeatedly. Anyway I would recommend more straightforward or clever episodes:

1st - The War Machines ( I agree with others on this one.)
2nd – The Krotons (Wendy Padmore is the best companion IMO)
3rd - The Three Doctors ( the best example of the multiple doctors serials IMO.)
4th - The Ribos Operation (the best of the long series and with Mary Tamm)
5th - Arc of Infinity (exciting well paced Gallifrey /Time Lords episode.)
6th - Mark of the Rani (the 6th doctor had very poor writers so this is the best.)
7th - Greatest Show in the Galaxy (well crafted and without clownish aspects for the doctor although there were other clowns haha.)


There were also really wild and wacky episodes and this would be my list for each doctor.

1st - The Space Museum
2nd - The Mind Robber
3rd - The Claws of Axos
4th - The Brain of Morbius
5th - Snakedance
6th - The Two Doctors
7th - Delta and the Bannerman or The Happiness Patrol