Guide:Episodes for New Who

Reader Guides → Episodes for New Who

Have you never watched the show before and you're a bit intimidated even though you want to start? You don't just want a plot summary - reading isn't the same is watching, but, gosh, it's a lot of TV to watch to get caught up. Look no further. This is a recommended viewing guide to catch up with the plot of the show. You might miss some small things, but the big plot points are all gonna be hit by this guide, and it also mentions the episodes that people generally regard as standout hits in case you want to watch those as well.

While the show began in 1963, it took a large hiatus from 1989 to 2005. When the show returned in 2005 this functioned as a "soft reboot", somewhat discontinuous from the 1963-1989 era of the show. It's often recommended that people start with the 2005 era of the show, and many people simply never watch the 1963-1989 show. A guide for the classic series, as it's often called, is forthcoming. Recently, the show has undergone another soft reset, beginning in "Season 1" (as opposed to Series 1). Starting there makes similar sense to starting at Series 1.

Series 1: Rose, The End of the World, Dalek, The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances, Bad Wolf, The Parting of the Ways

Series 2: The Christmas Invasion, New Earth, Tooth and Claw, Rise of the Cybermen, The Age of Steel, Army of Ghosts, Doomsday

Series 3: The Runaway Bride, Smith and Jones, Gridlock, Human Nature, The Family of Blood, Blink (This isn't necessary at all, doesn't impact the plot one bit, but it's generally regarded as fantastic), Utopia, The Sound of Drums, Last of the Time Lords

Series 4: Partners in Crime, Silence in the Library, Forest of the Dead, Midnight (This is not necessary, but the episode is generally regarded as very good), Turn Left, The Stolen Earth, Journey's End

Series 5: The Waters of Mars (This is not necessary, but the episode is generally regarded as very good), The End of Time part 1 and 2, The Eleventh Hour, The Time of Angels, Flesh and Stone, (The last 5-10 minutes of Cold Blood), The Pandorica Opens, and The Big Bang

Series 6: The Impossible Astronaut, Day of the Moon, The Doctor's Wife (This is not necessary, but the episode is generally regarded as very good), (The last 5-10 minutes of The Almost People), A Good Man Goes to War, Let's Kill Hitler, The Girl Who Waited (One again, this is not necessary, but the episode is generally regarded as very good), and The Wedding of River Song

Series 7: Asylum of the Daleks, The Angels Take Manhattan, The Snowmen, The Bells of Saint John, The Name of the Doctor, The Day of the Doctor

Series 8: The Time of the Doctor, Deep Breath, Listen (This is not necessary, but generally regarded as very good), (The last 5-10 minutes of Kill the Moon), Mummy on the Orient Express, Flatline, Dark Water, Death in Heaven

Series 9: Last Christmas, The Magician's Apprentice, The Witch's Familiar, The Girl Who Died, Face the Raven, Heaven Sent, Hell Bent

Series 10: The Husbands of River Song (This is not strictly necessary, but it's generally liked, and it's helpful for both resolution for previous character beats and context for the next few episodes), The Pilot, Oxygen (At least the last 5-10 minutes, but the rest is well liked), Extremis, The Pyramid at the End of the World, The Lie of the Land, (The last 5-10 minutes of The Eaters of Light), World Enough and Time, The Doctor Falls

Series 11: Twice Upon a Time, The Woman Who Fell to Earth, The Ghost Monument, The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

Series 12: Spyfall part 1 and 2, Fugitive of the Judoon, The Haunting of Villa Diodati, Ascension of the Cybermen, The Timeless Children

Series 13: Revolution of the Daleks, The Halloween Apocalypse, War of the Sontarans, Once, Upon Time, Village of the Angels, Survivors of the Flux, The Vanquishers, The Power of the Doctor

60th Anniversary Specials: The Star Beast, The Giggle

Season 1: The Church on Ruby Road