Dear Whovians - I need your help...

Ditto Matt Smith (dr. 11). But I tend to crush all over David Tennant! (Dr. 10)

I don't think you need to start from the beginning of the entire show (first dr is the original 1964 version). But definitely start with the beginning of the incarnation. Christopher Eccleston was my first Dr (the 9th dr), and that's where I would recommend you start. . . after the 15 yr break from the original.

If you want to start with the Classic Doctors, then you've got a couple that you could begin with. I started with the new Doctors, with the Ninth Doctor, Christopher Eccleston. I'd recommend starting there, you get a bit of backstory and since it's a reboot technically, you don't have to have watched the old episodes to catch up.

Do yourself a favor and don't start off with 10 or 11 just because you don't want to watch 9.

Start with the reboot in 2005, with Christopher Eccleston. Don't judge until you're midway through season 2, because a good portion of new Whovians prefer David Tennant to Christopher. If you like it, watch the new series. They made it expecting people to not know about Doctor Who because it was off the air for like two decades or something. Also, New Who (as the reboot is often called) is all on Netflix and Hulu Plus.

If you like it, then start looking at Classic Who. The episodes at the beginning are super spotty and the series goes on for pretty much forever, so that can be quite the undertaking.

Start with Christopher Eccelston and work your way through Matt Smith. Then when you get the chance go back and watch some of the original episodes from the very very start.

I agree with this. The ones before Eccelston are cool but not necessary to understand the story. Most people find the newer ones easier to watch and then as they get more into the show go back and watch the original doctors.

Start with the first episode of the new series with the 9th doctor. The episode is called Rose. Do not start with 10 or 11 you will miss story lines! Classic Doctor Who (not Dr. Who) is good but not really necessary because the modern series explains things too you. once you are caught up then try and find all the classic episodes, Netflix has some but they're are so many it's nearly impossible to watch ALL of them, especially since some were destroyed or recorded over.

holiday whoobie whatty??? \m/

Each episode is a stand alone but they are all based on the same character "The Doctor" (so very James Bond in a way, there's always a 007 that seems to be named James Bond played by different actors). I watched Dr. Who during the Tom Baker days (he was the doctor with the long scarf) and then fell off the Who bandwagon. Watched the Christmas Carol episode with Matt Smith and loved his portrayal of The Doctor. Saw the 50th anniversary and now I have to go back and watch David Tennant. I like the idea of starting with Eccleston and moving forward. Go back and catch up as you wish.

Each actor brings out a different aspect of The Doctor. Matt Smith's Doctor was very childlike, full of wonder. What I remember of Tom Baker, he was more of the goofy scientist. Also if you really get into it and become a Whovian yourself, you might start to form opinions like other Whovians which means that you'll not want the Doctor to regenerate because you've become attached to a certain Doctor. So basically, the best or worst Doctor depends on which Whovian you talk to unless it's someone like me that tries to find the interesting in each actor's portrayal.

I think you'll have fun with it no matter where you start.

It USED to be on the BBC...?

Netflix. They have what they can get. The new reboot kind of restarts a lot of things, so I guess one thing you should know about old vs. new is that the Time Wars occurred during the series' hibernation period. Old episodes won't reference it, and the new Doctors will be a lot less silly and a bit more moody.

That being said, if you want to stick with modern Who, all advice has been given by previous posters.

I would honestly start with Christopher Eccelston. That is when the "reboot" started. There are a few jokes/references to classic Doctor Who, but not so much that you'll be confused. But a lot of the new builds on (at least by reference) previous episodes. You definitely want to watch each season in order, because they build on meta stories throughout the season. (You could start with any of the seasons, but I think the most enjoyable would be watching them in order )

When you decide to go back to classic Doctor Who, I don't know that it will matter which actor you start with. Each story is 4-6 episodes long (~30 minutes per episode), so be prepared for a lot of "to be continued." But when they made the classic, it was a lot more self-contained within each story.

Ditto with starting with Christopher Eccelston as Doctor 9. My favorite Doctor is David Tennant (10), but Matt Smith definitely grew on me!