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Originally Posted by !@#$%!
hey, i always wanted to watch this but i never know where to begin.
please advice. who is "tom baker" (what number of dr. who?)
or should i just begin w/ the current one?
thanks.
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Listen, Slambang... I'm not British. I didn't grow up with any Doctor, unfortunately (I grew up with Star Trek reruns, and the first round of movies, which coincided with my early youth) but I have heard that your perception of the doctor is forever defined by the first doctor you witness.
Therefore, the easiest thing to do is what I did: watch just enough of the original series to know the key points (which villains are important, notable sidekicks, etc.) and then dive into Christopher Eccleston's Dr. No.9.
Eccleston was an attempt to make the doctor a bit different than he ever had been. It was a reboot. He's ok as the Dr., but he was only around for one season. That season immediately precedes David Tenant's Dr #10, who is the most beloved and widely praised Dr in the history of the show (moreso than Baker, who's comparable to William Shatner, I suppose.
Tenant IS the Doctor, and Eccleston is NOT. He didn't work. But it's important to watch his season, and to watch Tenant and see the change, in order to appreciate Tenant's influence and complete ownership of the character.
So, start there. With the Eccleston season, which is so-so, but many things happen in his season that carryover into Tenant's four season run. Watch that, and read up on your Who history, and you'll be exactly where I am with the character. (I still can't watch Matt Smith. I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it. It seems like it would be similar to watching someone play the Joker after Ledger.
Matt Smith was a complete reboot of the Doctor mythology. I will get around to it some time, but as of now, I haven't watched a single episode.
It's intimidating to get into it, but once you find your doctor things get simpler, and you have a point of reference. But I'm really just starting out too, hence the questions about the Dr. In other mediums.
Just as there are some Star Trek novels (one in every hundred) that are required reading, and brilliant, I'm sure there are some Dr. Who novels, comics, whatever... that are essential. I just don't know where to begin looking.