I’m curious, if you’re recommending Doctor Who to a friend/family member/whoever what do you show them/suggest they watch first?
For my friends I typically show them the movie first and then suggest episodes to watch (as well as pester them about listening to Gallifrey). In other cases I either tell them to start with new who or give them a list of episodes.
I’ve never been in this position, but if I were to introduce someone to the show I would ask them what types of characters they tend to gravitate to in other media and go from there. Because the Doctor has so many different personalities, I don’t think a “one size fits all” approach works. While Ten or Four (for example) are the most popular in their respective eras doesn’t mean they will resonate with everyone.
Also, I take into account the types of media said newcomer prefers to watch, because someone with a short attention span or a preference for faster-paced media will probably not want to sit through Classic Who.
Really depends on the person. I haven’t been successful with anyone so far but there’s a few people I’m working on.
My brother I’m hoping to at least get minorly into it by watching the new episodes around him. He actually watched the Christmas special with me which is so far the only time that’s worked.
One friend (who did actually watch a few seasons a decade or so ago) we’re planning to do a sort of interest swap at some point. We’ll meet up and just take turns with our favourite tv shows and watch them together as soon as we find a date that works for that. Maybe I’ll even go with a Leela episode first, because her reaction to a pic of Louise Jameson was ‘prettyyy’.
Another friend I’m planning to show season four of New Who, because she likes David Tennant and is overwhelmed by the sheer amount of Doctor Who.
So in full my approach is very slowly and carefully and catered to their interests but I haven’t actually gotten anything back yet so I can’t promise it works
I also haven’t experienced this situation yet. [1]
But I guess it’s really dependent on the person you’re trying to convince. The beauty of Who is that there are many eras, many types of stories and many styles to choose from, so you should be able to find something that appeals to everyone. I’d probably go with a New Who episode for the most part because they are a bit more modern and more accessible. But not one of the well-regarded ones (Blink, Midnight, Heaven Sent) mainly because while they are superb episodes, they don’t really represent Doctor Who at its most typical, and I would want to give the person a wrong impression of the show. So something like Rose, Smith and Jones, The Eleventh Hour, Deep Breath, The Woman Who Fell to Earth or Space Babies might work better. If they are history buffs, I might go for a historical one. If they are into Christmas, one of the specials might do.
My wife has no interest in sci-fi, so I’m not even going to try talking her into it. ↩︎
If someone has never ever watched Who before I’ll generally select Partners in Crime, The Eleventh Hour, or The Pilot depending on the person, or I’ll suggest starting at the beginning of a Doctor.
If someone has seen Revival but fancies dipping their toes into classic, I’d show them Pyramids of Mars, Robots of Death, the Movie, or Remembrance of the Daleks, or suggest starting with a companion of choice, or at Spearhead. I lovelovelove the 60s stuff myself and did start at An Unearthly Child but I generally think for those uninitiated with older style TV, the Tom Baker years have a more accessible format to get people used to longer, slower serials
“Hey, you wanna watch Doctor Who?”
A couple of my friends who like NuWho have asked me about classic before so I’ve given them lists by Doctor. Here’s what I’ve sent before (with the caveat of this was 2023, in the pub, while a little drunk lol):
At the time I hadn’t rewatched much 6 in a long time and didn’t enjoy most of the TV 6 I had rewatched back in 2023. I still haven’t given either of them a new 6 rec since then because none has come to mind that I’ve enjoyed enough and I think they’d also enjoy 
Not that they’ve watched any of these at all yet…
Show them anything except The Web Planet if you don’t want them to go all 73 Yards on you!
I find kidnapping is a pretty easy way to get someone to watch it but if that doesn’t work i usually recommend starting points like Rose, The Eleventh Hour etc. Classic is a lot more standalone so even tho it also has starting points you can generally watch any story whenever.
Me personally, I go from door to door in my area with the Krotons novelisation in hand whilst wearing a fez and the 7 jumper and don’t leave until they cave in or I am escorted away
Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend some of those as a starter. I wouldn’t go with things that are in the regarded-as-the-best-of-the-best-by-many tier, opting more for something that is a more typical of that era story, one that gives a more general feel.
No that’s fair, I guess it’s hard for me to not recommend my personal favourites
I have stoped trying (except from watching with my wife). I dont think that the Disney stuff is that good as a starting point and that is the only thing that are easy access here in Sweden
I’ve had success with telling people to start with ‘Eleventh Hour’, and recently watched ‘The Church on Ruby Road’ with a friend as her first ep since she already knew Gatwa from ‘Sex Education’. If the person has a high tolerance for campiness, I’d go with ‘Rose’, and I hear ‘The Pilot’ works really well as an intro as well.
I wouldn’t go with the TV movie because it’s too important to me, I can’t just show it to anyone ahahhahah. They might say that it sucks and then I’ll have to commit a crime, get a lawyer, go to jail… too much work.
I’ll remember not to tell you my thoughts on the TV Movie then
You’re lucky we have the whole Atlantic between us!
Insert evil laugh here
I generally tell people to start at the beginning of a Doctor or companion, and if they’re not vibing with that to skip to the next one (or the next showrunner). Like, if you watch Rose and you’re not vibing, you might prefer to start with The Eleventh Hour, since Moffat’s style is pretty different. Or maybe Smith and Jones or Partners in Crime, if you want a different companion. (I don’t think Christmas Invasion or New Earth make the best starting point, but you could go there too.) And then if you don’t love Eleventh Hour, try Deep Breath or The Woman Who Fell to Earth. And if those aren’t it, then maybe Church on Ruby Road is. If I know the person, I can tell them which one I think they’re most likely to like. I don’t necessarily expect anyone to watch six different season premieres just to see if they like it this time, but it’s cool that there are so many potential entry points. (Obviously this is only New Who, I’m not deep enough in classic to get people into that.)
If they don’t like that many of the options, Doctor Who may just not be their thing.
I think it depends what they don’t like about it… I know plenty of people who just aren’t into the basic premise of the show, and I wouldn’t go trying to get them into it. But the different eras can be so different, so if someone was actually trying to get a sense of the show I think it would be important to at least give them the option of starting in different places. Personally I think Rose is a perfect introduction to New Who, but plenty of people don’t vibe with RTD’s style but love Moffat’s, for example.