I have literally zero desire to watch the new Doctor Who beyond Nine because Matt Smith just sort of repels me for some reason
I might watch some of the old show at some point though? Where would I start, how would I do it, there is a lot of it
Classic Doctor Who is a good fucking time. I watch the new stuff out of a bizarre sense of loyalty at this point, and I like that Capaldi is kind of a scary motherfucker, but I am most fond of the stuff that happened largely before I was born. I’ve seen most of it, barring like 80% of the Third and First Doctors and some smattering of the latter bits of the Fourth. The Second Doctor is my favorite, though admittedly some people find him difficult to watch because so much is missing and black and white, etc etc etc. What the fuck ever, I say, they are all wrong. Patrick Troughton is goddamn magnificent as the Second Doctor, and he and his companion Jamie are really joyous to watch, even if the episode they’re in that week is crap. Many of the actors who played the Doctor after Troughton credited him with aspects of their performance. He’s got a brilliant mix of childlike wonder and ancient rage, he’s glorious and wonderful.
You’ll get different answers from different people when you ask where to start. A lot of people recommend the Fourth Doctor, since he’s the longest running, and the most iconic, and thus has a lot to choose from. I would argue you probably couldn’t go wrong doing that, but I have such fondess for all the Classic Doctors (excepting Three, who makes me alternate between Angry and Bored) that I wouldn’t want you to miss anything.
It can often feel like a totally different show from era to era, so it can be useful to sample everyone. I wouldn’t have watched the rest of Doctor Who if I was told ‘This is what Classic Who is!” when I’d been shown a typical Third Doctor episode, and then I would have missed out how much I love the Second Doctor (and the Seventh. And the Fourth. And the Eighth. And and and and etc)
If you’re really interested in getting recommendations for good episodes with each Doctor, almost everyone has a list of which ones they like, and they’re usually all different, haha. Might be good to scope out someone you think has similar tastes and ask them. I’d be happy to send you some, and I’m pretty sure I’ve still got a good-sized swarm of Classic Who friends as followers who could rec some for you too!
