Doctor Who Viewing Order and FAQs

People ask me about the viewing order for new Doctor Who all the time. I figured it would be easier to have this on my blog so I can link them easily and update the list as needed. I have also included a short section with responses to questions I frequently get asked by people new to the show. I do not in any way claim to be an expert on this. I just figured this would be helpful for new fans. If you notice any mistakes or have any questions let me in know in comments.

Doctor Who Series 1

Doctor Who Children in Need Special 2005  

Doctor Who Christmas Special 2005: The Christmas Invasion

Doctor Who Series 2

Doctor Who Christmas Special 2006: Runaway Bride

Torchwood Season 1

Doctor Who Series 3

Doctor Who Children in Need Special 2007: Time Crash

Doctor Who Christmas Special 2007: Voyage of the Dammed

Sarah Jane Adventures Season 1

Torchwood Series 2

Doctor Who Series 4

Sarah Jane Adventures Season 2

Doctor Who Christmas Special 2008: The Next Doctor

Doctor Who Easter Special 2009: Planet of the Dead

Torchwood Season 3: Children of Earth

Sarah Jane Adventures Season 3

Doctor Who Special: Waters of Mars 

Doctor Who Special Christmas 2009: End of Time Part 1

Doctor Who Special New Years Day 2010: End of Time Part 2

Doctor Who Series 5

Sarah Jane Adventures Season 4

Doctor Who Christmas Special 2010: A Christmas Carol

Doctor Who Comic Relief 2011 Specials: Space and Time

Doctor Who Series 6 Part 1 (Episodes 1 – 7)

Torchwood Season 4: Miracle Day

FAQs

Wow that’s a lot of shows. Do I really have to watch Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures?

No. You don’t need to watch Torchwood to understand Doctor Who or vice-versa, however, some details of plot lines will makes more sense if you do. Sarah Jane Adventures generally stands apart from Doctor Who and can be skipped. I would, however, recommend watching Season 3 Episodes 5/6 “The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith” and Season 4 Episode 5/6 “The Death of the Doctor” as they include guest appearances by the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, respectively.

Is Torchwood any good?

Personally, I only recommend watching Season 3 of Torchwood which is a five part mini series entitled “Children of Earth.” Season 4 is taking a similar format with a ten part story; hopefully it will be good as well.

Isn’t Sarah Jane Adventures a children's show? Is it any good?

Yes, Sarah Jane Adventures is specifically targeted at younger children. In general it’s a bit hit-and-miss. I generally use it to fill the space between seasons of Doctor Who.

What comes before “New Who?”

The Classic series aired from 1963 - 1989 and includes the adventures of the 1^st to 7^th Doctors. “Doctor Who: The TV Movie” aired in 1996 and deals with the 8^th Doctor.

Where should I start?

If you’re not sure if you are going to like the show or if you are introducing the show to a sceptical friend I suggest starting with Series 3 Episode 10 “Blink”. 

In generally, however, I recommend starting with Series 5 Episode 1 “The Eleventh Hour.” This episode marks the beginning of a new Doctor, new companion, and new head writer. As a result it covers most of the basics. The “Eleventh Hour” gives you much more a feel for the current show than 2005 pilot “Rose” does. If you enjoy the Eleventh Hour and series 5, I would definitely recommend going back and watching series 1 to 4 and the various specials along the way.

I don’t really want to sit down and watch all of these. Can you just tell me what the really good episodes are?

Sure, check out my top ten episodes list here.

Love the show but are they any podcasts you’d recommend?

(Ok no one has ever asked me this but I always wanted to give an answer).

My favourite is Radio Free Skaro. I’ve also recently started listening to The Oddcast. There are a number of other Doctor Who podcasts, a directory of which can be found can be found here.

So This is the End -- BEDA #30

So this is it. The last day of BEDA. End of the line. End of an era…OK that last one might be taking it too far.

As much as I griped and complained about doing BEDA on twitter I did overall enjoy the experience. I want to thank Noxy and Christina for helping me get though this. There were days when I really didn’t want to do it and I thought “Come on they did a post today so can you!”

I am going to continue blogging more often in May. I know Noxy is doing BALM or BAM (blog a lot in May) but I feel like I need more concrete guidelines or I’ll procrastinate and never actually get around posting. Right now I’m thinking I will blog at least twice weekly in May (BALTWM). I might set more specific guidelines for myself if I feel like that isn’t working.

I also wanted to address something brought up by Owlssayhooot's in a recent blog which came to my attention with Christina blogged about it. The basic premise of Kayley’s original blog was that things like BEDA are not good because encourage quality over quantity. Kayley does make some good points but the way I see it creativity and the drive to produce output is different for each person. I started this blog back in September of 2010 and in between then and the end of March I only posted two blogs. I even had other blogs that I had started drafting (my top ten episodes of Doctor Who for example) but they didn’t get posted till BEDA because I didn’t feel any urgency to posted them. Additionally, I face the problem of blog ideas and drafts becoming brain crack. In that you feel like you can constantly work on and improve them and you never actually end up posting them. Sure, the version of my top ten episodes of Doctor Who blog that was posted probably wasn’t the best one I could have written but BEDA forced me to post it and at least now it’s out there encouraging people to watch Doctor Who rather than sitting on my hard drive half finished.  

Looking back I’d say I’m really proud of roughly a third of the blogs I posted this month. There are a lot of mediocre posts including a number of tags. There is only really one post I dislike. At the end of the day, for me personally anyway, I feel like the good posts outweigh the mediocre ones in terms of value.

There are, however, a few things I will enjoy about not having to stick to the rules of BEDA. Firstly, I will enjoy being able to write (but not necessarily post) more than one blog a day. I often find I’m more creative after I’ve written one post but during BEDA I tended not to start a second post because I wanted to stick to the “every day” part. Secondly, I will enjoy writing post at whatever time works best for me. While I really didn’t stick to the whole posting before midnight aspect I did feel the need during BEDA to post around midnight for the most part. Thirdly, I will enjoy being able to write a long post over multiple days.

I still have lots of topic that I came up with for BEDA and never used for a variety or reasons (including that horse story I keep talking about on twitter) so look forward to reading those in May. If there is anything specific you’d like to see me write about leave it in the comments.

And now for the last time the 30 Day Song Challenge

Day 30 - your favourite song at this time last year

All Caps – Can’t

Unicorns? Narwals! -- BEDA #29

Today I asked twitter what I should blog about and Celine replied that I should write about unicorns.

First off here’s some hilarious comedy about unicorns.

So yes, unicorns are cool and all but you know what’s cooler? Narwhals!  

Reasons:

a)      They are adorable. Seriously, look at them

b)     They are actually real.

c)     Their “horn” isn’t even a horn it’s a giant tooth.

d)     Narwhal sighting are believed to have started or at least reinforced the myth of unicorns. So all those unicorn stories you read as a child? You owe those to narwhals.

Fun facts:

1. When you Google “are u” the first suggestion is “Are unicorns real?”

2. When you Google “are n” the third suggestion is “Are Narwhals real?”

We need to get the word out people! Narwhals are real AND awesome. Tell your friends.

Next time someone stops you and asks you if you are Team Unicorn or Team Zombie tell them with pride that you are Team Narwhal!

30 Day Song Challenge

Day 29 - a song from your childhood
Doris Day -  Que Sera Sera

Helping People Imagine You Complexly – BEDA 28

My dad walked to the kitchen at 7am the yesterday to find me singing along to Ani Difranco’s Talk To Me Now. Though the song is one of my favourites it had gotten lost in the sea that is my itunes library and as a result I hadn’t heard it in months. Listening to a song like that especially one that that I played constantly for a long time a few years ago (in my case my first year of university) is like running into an old friend after a long time.  I got carried away in the song the same way you would when reminiscing with an old friend and started singing along. I didn’t just mumbling the lyrics. I was all out singing the song with all of Ani’s inflections and swaying around the kitchen. 

My dad seemed rather taken a back at first and asked me what I was doing. I realized that while I sing along to songs often, it’s a side of me he rarely if ever sees.  The side of me that adores music, needs music, and defines myself though my favourite songs.  I often get irritated when I feel that people not treating me fairly by simplifying me or not imagining me complexly. However, the fact of the matter, which I realized in my kitchen at 7am, is that if you want people to do this you have to be willing to show them your many sides.

30 Day Song Challenge

Day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty

I don’t have songs that make me feel guilty so I’m just going to give you another guilty pleasure song

Waking up in Vegas – Katy Perry

What is This Sleep You Speak of? -- BEDA #27

Hello Folks,

I’m actually writing today’s a BEDA before 10pm today. That’s mostly because I’m doing another awakepolypse and I wanted to write this before my brain descends into a sleepless haze and refuses to form sentences. Though at this point I’ve been awake for around 22 hours straight so I can’t be certain this post will make sense to a person who has slept recently. Let me know in the comments.

I had something brilliant to say this morning but now my brain is just like “nope I’m not going to form complex sentences and write an interesting post till you have slept for at least 12 hours” so that blog post will have to wait till tomorrow.

In her song "Grey" Ani Difranco sings the lyric “Every time I blink I have a tiny dream” I always thought that lyric had some hidden meaning but now I’m convinced she was just really sleep deprived.

Ok I’m going to stop before I start stringing together random unrelated words. Better BEDA tomorrow, I promise. Unless you thought this post was amusing in which case I like you.

day 27 - a song that you wish you could play

Can I just say Ani Difranco's whole catalogue? Oh I have to pick one song, fine.

Ani Difranco -- If He Tries Anything

I Was Tagged – BEDA #26

Just as I had today’s inevitable “Oh shit I haven’t written today’s BEDA” moment I clicked onto Noxy’s blog and discovered I was tagged. So here we go!

Random questions
1) Cheddar or Swiss? 
Cheddar

2) Purple or Pink?
Purple

3) Skinnies or Boot-cuts?
Boot-cut

4) Converse or Vans?
Converse because that’s what the Tenth Doctor wore.

5)Sweet or Sour candy?
Sweet

6) Leopard print or zebra print?
ANIMAL PRINTS SHOULD NOT EXIST. Sorry for the yelling, I feel very strongly about this. Animal prints are UGLY.

7) Vegetables or Meat?
Vegetables. Unless you mean M.E.A.T.

8) Nook or Kindle E-reader?
Books. I’m not actually anti-E-readers I just don’t read enough to justify buying one

9) Mac or Microsoft?
Microsoft for computers.

10) Pepsi or Coke?
Wait they taste different?


Who's hotter?

1) Taylor Lautner or Robert Pattinson

I guess I found Robert Pattinson kind of attractive in his Harry Potter days. Taylor Lautner looks like a child.

2) Patrick Dempsey or James Marsden
James Marsden. I mean have you seen him recentally?

3) Paul Walker or Hayden Christensen
Oh come on now why would you put them in the same category? Fine, if I have to pick then Paul Walker.

4) Kellan Lutz or Channing Tatum

Channing Tatum

5) Tom Cruise or Christian Bale

Pass. Oh ok fine Christian Bale

6) Daniel Radcliffe or Tom Felton
Tom Felton because I have a personal rule that I’m not allowed to find Harry Potter attractive (Yes, AVPM was difficult for me)

7) Orlando Bloom or Justin Timberlake
Orlando Bloom

8) Leonardo DiCaprio or Chris Evans

Chris Evans

9) Shia LaBeouf or Jake Gyllenhaal

Jake Gyllenhall

10) Ryan Reynolds or Gerard Butler

Ryan Reynolds has great abs plus he was on Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place.

11) Bradley Cooper or George Clooney

Bradley Cooper is basically more attractive than anyone anywhere.

12) Harrison Ford or Patrick Swayze
Harrison Ford because he was kind of hot in the original Star Wars .

13) Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp

I have never understood the Brad Pitt fascination so Johnny Depp.

14) Zac Efron or Chace Crawford
Chace Crawford

15) Robert Downey Jr. or Hugh Jackman
Robert Downey Jr. I guess.

I'm tagging BEDAers and VEDAers everywhere.

30 Day Song Challenge

day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument

I haven’t played in years but given the sheet music I could probably play Beethoven’s Ode to Joy on the trumpet.

Haha got to love the Muppets. Ok here’s a proper version of what it’s supposed to sound like:

Star Wars Episode IV Review – BEDA #25

The other day I rented and watched Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope for the first time. I thought I would use today’s BEDA post to give a quick review.

Story

I have seen a few spoofs of Star Wars and have been around long enough in science fiction circles to have most of the plot points of the movie spoiled for me. So much so that during the scene with Han and Greedo I thought to myself this must be the scene where Han shot first originally. The one thing that wasn’t spoiled for me was the return of Han during the final showdown and I’ll admit that got a cheer out of me when it happened.

In terms of the actual story I thought the front end of the movie was poorly paced and dragging in parts. If I had stumbled onto this movie on TV and not know the huge status that it has I probably would have switched channels about 30 minutes in. I am glad I kept watch though as the pacing and plot improved as the movie went on.

Visuals/Special effects

I am a big science fiction fan but I am also spoiled by the great CGI in newer shows and movies. Thus I was a little worried about whether or not I would like Star Wars on a purely visual basis. I was pleasantly surprised. There were only a couple of short scenes where the special effects were laughable. I thought the final show down between the rebels and the Base Star were done remarkably well. The battle was written and filmed in such a way that it was dynamic and complex without being confusing or repetitive. If I had to pick a favourite part of the movie that would be it.

Acting/ Characters

While overall the acting was decent, I was underwhelmed by Mark Hamill acting in the beginning particularly in response to the death of aunt and uncle and the destruction of his town.  

In terms of characters I found Han and Leia the most interesting. I hope we learn more about Leia’s past in the next couple of movies. I am interested to learn how someone of royal decent who is a politician learned to fight. I don’t dislike Luke and I hope he is meant to grow on you as the story progresses with the other movies.

Overall I did enjoy the movie. I would give it 4 stars out of 5.

I am definitely going to watch episodes V and VI and perhaps the prequels as well.

30 Day Song Challenge

day 25 - a song that makes you laugh

Chameleon Circuit – Journey’s End

(Note this song does contain spoilers)

I always get a laugh out of the boys making fun of the ridiculous plot lines of the series 4 finale of Doctor Who. My favourite lines have to be “That doesn’t sound plausible!” and of course the chorus:

 

“He was pretty lucky that he kept his severed hand/
Though in terms of canon I do not quite understand/
What was Russell thinking? What the hell was going on?/
OK, fine, we're sorry, we'll get right back to the song”

Easter Traditions of a Non-Christian -- BEDA #24

I was planning to make today’s BEDA a review of Star Wars episode IV but seeing as everyone else is talking about Easter thought I may as well bend to peer pressure and join in. That’s right kids the moral here is to bend to peer pressure. 

Anyways, I’m not Christian. My family is Hindu and I was raised as such. However, we do live in a largely Christian country so we occasionally co-op the holidays. We never really co-opted Easter beyond the chocolate egg hunt tradition though and even that stopped once my sister and I got older. My real memories of Easter come from primary school. I went to a catholic school, not a run by nuns’ type of catholic school, just a public school that happened to be catholic. This was in the days before they secularized the school system in my town. Around Easter every year all the students from my school would take a short walk up the hill and attend a service. There we would sing songs and hymns about spring and Easter and watch performances. My parents never bothered signing me out of these trips to the church; they figured it was a good opportunity for me to learn about other religions. Being raised in a non Christian household my knowledge of Christianity at the age of ten was somewhat shaky. I knew the general jist of the story of the bible but not the details. The church at which we attended this service every year had a giant organ. The pipes of the organ took up the entire front wall of the church. The architecture of the church made appear as if there was some space behind these pipes and the exterior wall. During these long fieldtrips the other kids in my class decided it would be fun to mess with me. To be fair they were probably just bored, I hold no grudge. They managed to convince me that the body of Christ was placed behind the organ pipes. I remember thinking that this church was no more special that other churches in town and therefore the body of Christ must be in every Church behind the organ pipes. Ten year old Sue spent much of her time on these church trips pondering the physics of how the body of Christ could be in every church. I’m not sure when I figured out they were messing with me probably around the time that I properly read the story of Easter. These fieldtrips stopped once the school system became secularized. Nowadays my Easter traditions amount to buying discounted chocolate on Easter Monday.

30 Day Song Challenge

day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral

I really don't know so I'm going to go super unoriginal here

James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover

Survey -- BEDA #23

The lovely Christina tagged me (after I nagged her) so here we go.

1. What is your favourite Kool-Aid flavor? The red one. Not sure if it’s strawberry or cherry.

2. Do you use a wireless keyboard and mouse. Nope, they drain battery life quickly.

3. Last sporting event you watch on TV or in person? Saw a bit of the hockey game in the restaurant my friend works in the other day. Was more excited by the Doctor Who commercial that airing during the game than the actual game though.

4. Who makes the best fudge? Not really a fan of fudge.

5. Do you like it when the toothpaste bubbles in your mouth? No. 

6. Do you believe the world is going to end in 2012? No, I tend to go with John's Green's logic on this: "Always deny the apocalypse. You'll usually be right, and when you're wrong, no one will be left to say, 'I told you so' "

7. How many songs are on your iPod or MP3 player? 1567

8. Have you ever made your own survey? No.

9. Can you swear inside your house? I can but I don’t swear in front of people that don’t like it.

10. Do you save your Bed Bath and Beyond coupons? We don’t have one in my town.

11. Have you ever had a pet goldfish? Yes I had lots of fish growing up. I was rubbish at taking care of them.

12. When did you last eat waffles? Like two years, in other words way too long.

13. What is the most overrated thing in your opinion? The outdoors.

14. Do you have a video Skype account? Yes.

15. What color is your comforter? Grey.

30 Day Song Challenge

...Wow I really don't like a lot of romantic songs haha

The Mountain Goats -- Love, Love, Love

My Top 10 Favourite Doctor Who Stories-- BEDA #22

In  honour of the series 6 premiere of Doctor Who tomorrow I thought I’d share my top ten stories* of "new who" to date. These are ranked in no particular order mostly because it took me long enough to even come up with a top ten. Also, this post contains spoilers for the episodes mentioned.

2X04: The Girl in the Fireplace

The chemistry between David Tennant and Sophia Myles is possibly the best I have ever seen on screen. It’s enough to even make my Ten and Rose shipper heart melt. I also love the beautifully heartbreaking ending (You’ll see a trend as you read this list...apparently I love heartbreaking endings).

4X03: The Planet of the Ood

My favourite parts of Doctor Who is the futuristic time travel inhabited planets. Also I love anything to do with the various incarnations of the Great and Bountiful Human Empire. I love the idea that someday the human race will be out there spread among the stars. This episode combines all three loves.

Also, I adore the Ood. I have no idea why, I just do. Maybe it’s their peaceful nature maybe it’s their creatively designed faces.

5X05: The Beast Below

This is the episode that made me fall in love with Doctor Who. I began watching the series with The Eleventh Hour (5X01) and after watching that episode I quite enjoyed it but after watching The Beast Below I was hooked for life. A large potion of why I love this episode has to do with the nostalgia associated with this memory but the episode does hold up to rewatching, in my opinion.

3X10: Blink

Generally agreed upon by fans to be one of the shows best episodes and let me tell you it is not over hyped. This episode has it all a storyline that keeps you guessing, the scare factor, a likable main character and romance.

After seeing The Christmas Invasion and Love and Monsters I had given up hope on Doctor-light episodes being any good. It turns out that they can be quite good you just need a strong lead character to carry the episode, Sally Sparrow is that character.

5X10 Vincent and the Doctor

I went into this episode fully expecting to hate it. It’s set in the past on earth and is focused on a historical figure I’m not particularly interested in. However, the episode won me over with its character exploration and its beautiful cinematography.

2X12 / 2X13 The Army of Ghost/Doomsday

Dalek vs. Cybermen showdown. Lots of Ten/Rose moments and the most heart breaking ending in the history of the (new) show. What more can you ask for really?

Christmas Special 2010: A Christmas Carol

The Eleventh Doctor and Steven Moffat at their best. Timey Wimeyness dialed up to 11** and some of the best dialogue of the show. The number of quotable one-liners in this episode is ridiculous.

1X9/ 1X10 The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances

A creepy monster (it’s about time people acknowledge how creepy children can be haha), the introduction of Jack Freaking Harkness and an actual happy ending.  

5X12 / 5X 13 The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang

A brilliant twist in the first part, ridiculous timey wimeyness in part two and River Song at making a Dalek beg for mercy. What more can you ask for?

4X9 Midnight

The scariest episode, in my opinion. Also, some of Tennant’s best acting.  

Honourable mentions:

Boomtown

Silence in the Library/ Forests of the Dead

Human Nature/ Family of Blood

Turn Left

What's your top ten?

* A two parter still equals one story.

 ** Get it?

30 Day Song Challenge

day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad

The Stars -- Calendar Girl

Questions That Can’t Be Answered – BEDA #21

When I was two years old my parents left India and immigrated to Canada. Their decision to move to Canada was the one that had the largest impact on my life. I love Canada, it’s my home and I’m glad they moved here. However, sometimes I can’t help but wonder what my life would be life if they had stay, who I would be. So much of who you are is affected by the people and experiences you are surrounded with while growing up. Aside from my family basically every person I have ever met and everything I have experienced would be different. I can guess a few things about myself that would be different. I wouldn’t go by Sue, I probably would have gone into a different field of study, I’d be able speak Marathi. But at a base level how much would my family staying in India have changed who I am as a person? Sometimes I wonder if I would like this “other possible Sue” and if she’d like me.

Moving on to questions that can be answered, Christina wanted to know what Kannada was. I figured it was best to post the answer on today’s blog as she was probably not the only one with that question. Kannada is a South Indian language spoken primarily in the state of Karnataka where both of my parents are from.

30 Day Song Challenge

day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy

I’ve recently discovered Molly Lewis and I’ve been listening to her music a lot when I’m happy.

Molly Lewis – My Hope

Five Facts Tag -- BEDA #20

The basic idea of this tag is that you list five facts about yourself that the people reading your blog might not know.

1. I love olives and will basically eat them on anything, even cereal.
2. I can touch my nose with my tongue
3. I am bilingual. I can speak both Kannada and English. I also understand conversational Hindi.
4. I didn’t start wearing makeup till I was like 21.
5. I would love to one day take a train journey across Canada.

As always I tag everyone reading this that’s doing BEDA/VEDA.   

30 Day Song Challenge

day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry

My Chemical Romance -- Welcome to the Black Parade

My Encounter with a Squirrel – BEDA 19

A few years back my family and I went to Vancouver. While there we visited Stanley Park. In addition to having beautiful trees, scenery, and foliage, the park is home to some smaller animals like squirrels.

While taking nature shots of the park I spotted one of the squirrels and decided I wanted a close up. I approach the squirrel slowing figuring that if I got too close for the squirrel to be comfortable I would just run away.

The squirrel did not run. When it noticed me approaching it perked up and ran towards me.

That’s when my fight or flight response kicked in.

It’s important to note here a squirrel is only about 8 inches tall. Now while I’m only 5 foot 2 (on a good day) that’s still a hell of a lot bigger than a squirrel. However my brain was not thinking that. Nor was it thinking “aww how cute you should take your picture now”. No, my brain was thinking “HOLY SHIT A WIDE ANIMAL IS CHARGING TOWARDS YOU. GET OUT OF HERE NOW” …so I ran. I’ll admit I’m not proud of that.

..And that’s the story of how I ended up being chased by a squirrel.

30 Day Song Challenge

day 19 - a song from your favourite album

Alex Day – Not Just Yet

Listen to the whole album for free here.

Things That Should Exist -- BEDA 18

A random list of some things that I think should exist:

1.       Food in pill form. I love food as much as the next person but sometimes I just don’t have the time or patience to sit down and eat.

2.       Something that stops you from overanalyzing thing. Or at least an Overanalyzes Anonymous

3.       Homer Simpson’s makeup gun

4.       Something non habit forming/terrible for you that that makes you fall asleep instantly

5.       Cap-less internet on my computer

6.       Something that jumps out and distracts you before you say something you’re going to regret

7.       Insta-cure for pimples. And don’t say toothpaste that doesn’t work.

8.       Jeans that make both your ass and torso look good.

9.    Teleportation

What's on your list?

30 Day Song Challenge 

day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio

Alex Day -- The World is Mine (I Don't Know Anything)