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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 (Doctor Who 2005)
- episode 1, Rose
- episode 2, The End of the World
- episode 6, Dalek
- episode 9, The Empty Child
- episode 10, The Doctor Dances
- episode 12, Bad Wolf
- episode 13, The Parting of the Ways
- Series 2 (Doctor Who 2005)
- special, The Christmas Invasion
- episode 1, New Earth
- episode 2, Tooth and Claw
- episode 5, Rise of the Cybermen
- episode 6, The Age of Steel
- episode 12, Army of Ghosts
- episode 13, Doomsday
- Series 3 (Doctor Who 2005)
- special, The Runaway Bride
- episode 1, Smith and Jones
- episode 3, Gridlock
- episode 8, Human Nature
- episode 9, The Family of Blood
- (episode 10, Blink)
- episode 11, Utopia
- episode 12, The Sound of Drums
- episode 13, Last of the Time Lords
- Series 4 (Doctor Who 2005)
- episode 1, Partners in Crime
- episode 8, Silence in the Library
- episode 9, Forest of the Dead
- (episode 10, Midnight)
- episode 11, Turn Left
- episode 12, The Stolen Earth
- episode 13, Journey's End
- (special 3, The Waters of Mars)
- special 4, The End of Time parts 1 and 2
- Series 5 (Doctor Who 2005)
- episode 1, The Eleventh Hour
- episode 4, The Time of Angels
- episode 5, Flesh and Stone
- (episode 8, The Hungry Earth)
- (episode 9, Cold Blood)
- (episode 10, Vincent and the Doctor)
- episode 12, The Pandorica Opens
- episode 13, The Big Bang
- Series 6 (Doctor Who 2005)
- (special, A Christmas Carol)
- episode 1, The Impossible Astronaut
- episode 2, Day of the Moon
- (episode 4, The Doctor's Wife)
- (episode 5, The Rebel Flesh)
- (episode 6, The Almost People)
- episode 7, A Good Man Goes to War
- episode 8, Let's Kill Hitler
- (episode 10, The Girl Who Waited)
- episode 13, The Wedding of River Song
- Series 7 (Doctor Who 2005)
- episode 1, Asylum of the Daleks
- episode 5, The Angels Take Manhattan
- special, The Snowmen
- episode 6, The Bells of Saint John
- episode 13, The Name of the Doctor
- special, The Day of the Doctor
- Series 8 (Doctor Who 2005)
- special, The Time of the Doctor
- episode 1, Deep Breath
- (episode 4, Listen)
- (episode 7, Kill the Moon)
- episode 8, Mummy on the Orient Express
- episode 9, Flatline
- episode 11, Dark Water
- episode 12, Death in Heaven
- Series 9 (Doctor Who 2005)
- special, Last Christmas
- episode 1, The Magician's Apprentice
- episode 2, The Witch's Familiar
- episode 5, The Girl Who Died
- episode 10, Face the Raven
- episode 11, Heaven Sent
- episode 12, Hell Bent
- Series 10 (Doctor Who 2005)
- (special, The Husbands of River Song)
- episode 1, The Pilot
- episode 5, Oxygen
- episode 6, Extremis
- episode 7, The Pyramid at the End of the World
- episode 8, The Lie of the Land
- (episode 10, The Eaters of Light)
- episode 11, World Enough and Time
- episode 12, The Doctor Falls
- special, Twice Upon a Time
- Series 11 (Doctor Who 2005)
- episode 1, The Woman Who Fell to Earth
- (episode 2, The Ghost Monument)
- (episode 3, Rosa)
- (episode 4, Arachnids in the UK)
- (episode 6, Demons of the Punjab)
- Series 12 (Doctor Who 2005)
- episodes 1-2, Spyfall parts 1 and 2
- episode 5, Fugitive of the Judoon
- episode 8, The Haunting of Villa Diodati
- episode 9, Ascension of the Cybermen
- episode 10, The Timeless Children
- special, Revolution of the Daleks
- Series 13 (Doctor Who 2005)
- (episodes 1-6, Flux)
- episode 1, The Halloween Apocalypse
- episode 2, War of the Sontarans
- episode 3, Once, Upon Time
- episode 4, Village of the Angels
- episode 5, Survivors of the Flux
- episode 6, The Vanquishers
- special, The Power of the Doctor
- (episodes 1-6, Flux)
- 60th Anniversary Specials
- special 1, The Star Beast
- special 3, The Giggle
- Season 1 (Doctor Who 2023)
- special, The Church on Ruby Road