Doctor Who

[Grey Fox]

Mission Impossible was better then all this modern crap.

[dps]

... which would be considered essential watching?

The Tom Baker years followed by the Jon Pertwee years.

No, without some context they'll just look like horribly dated, underfunded crap. David Tenant is probably most accessible, THEN followed by Tom Baker.

I dont see anything wrong with starting right from episode 1 of the new Who.  That way he gets to see the transformation at the end of the first season and he can get right into the Who lore quickly.

Yeah, if you're going to check out the new stuff, might as well start right at the beginning. 

OTOH, if the question is more along the lines of, "If there's one episode of this show that's must-see TV, which is it?" then I'd suggest the episode "The Empty Child" (which is technically the first of a 2-parter, so I guess you'd have to watch the second part "The Doctor Dances").  Creepiest thing I've ever seen on tv, though if you don't know your Who lore, you might not realize just how creepy it is when the phone rings the first time.

[Eddie Teach]

Is that the one with all the people in gas masks? I didn't care for it.

[The Brain]

The Indiana Light series with whatshername from Wayne's World was a true masterpiece of the television.

[Agelastus]

The question's not fair, as I rate Tennant (10) as the second best Doctor after Pertwee (3) but I had to vote for the first option due to my dislike of the current Doctor "whoever-ugly-talentless-guy-he-is" (11).

If you do start watching Doctor Who start anywhere except Tom Baker's later years, Colin Baker (6) or with the current one.

[dps]

The question's not fair, as I rate Tennant (10) as the second best Doctor after Pertwee (3) but I had to vote for the first option due to my dislike of the current Doctor "whoever-ugly-talentless-guy-he-is" (11).

Lol.  I'm not that down on Matt Smith, but that echoes my general sentiments. 

If you do start watching Doctor Who start anywhere except Tom Baker's later years, Colin Baker (6) or with the current one.

SF Debris just posted a "Doctor Who 101" video, and he suggests one of 4 starting points.  His 2 primary recommendations are either with Eccleston's or Baker's first episodes.  His other 2 choices were either Pertwee's first episode (which avoids the issue of missing episodes you get with the first 2 Doctors, but unfortunately the first 2 years of Pertwee's run were atypical of the show, what with him being stuck on contemporay Earth and not having use of the Tardis) or all the way back to the very first episode (which on one hand is a great way to do it, but it has some problems aside from the missing episodes--really cheesy effects at times, pacing, dialogue and plots written for audience sensibilities that are quite different from todays, plus the Hartnell version of the Doctor starts off awfully cranky and you might not find him very likable).

[Barrister]

The question's not fair, as I rate Tennant (10) as the second best Doctor after Pertwee (3) but I had to vote for the first option due to my dislike of the current Doctor "whoever-ugly-talentless-guy-he-is" (11).

Lol.  I'm not that down on Matt Smith, but that echoes my general sentiments. 

If you do start watching Doctor Who start anywhere except Tom Baker's later years, Colin Baker (6) or with the current one.

SF Debris just posted a "Doctor Who 101" video, and he suggests one of 4 starting points.  His 2 primary recommendations are either with Eccleston's or Baker's first episodes.  His other 2 choices were either Pertwee's first episode (which avoids the issue of missing episodes you get with the first 2 Doctors, but unfortunately the first 2 years of Pertwee's run were atypical of the show, what with him being stuck on contemporay Earth and not having use of the Tardis) or all the way back to the very first episode (which on one hand is a great way to do it, but it has some problems aside from the missing episodes--really cheesy effects at times, pacing, dialogue and plots written for audience sensibilities that are quite different from todays, plus the Hartnell version of the Doctor starts off awfully cranky and you might not find him very likable).

Way, way back in the day I would come home from school and watch Doctor Who on YTV.  Unfortunately at some point they ran out of episodes, and had to start again back in the 60s.

Those early, early episodes were extremely painful to watch.  It wasn't so much the bad special effects (I mean doctor who always had bad effects), it was just, so, boring...

Some day I'd like to go and start watching a whole crapload of back episodes of Doctor Who in order, but the decision where to start is a tough one.  The show generally got better as you went through time, but then you miss so much of the backstory...

[Neil]

Tom Baker is Doctor Who.

[Agelastus]

On reflection, I think the best thing to do is to cherry-pick a few Troughton series (probably "Tomb of the Cybermen", "The Seeds of Death", and "The Wargames") and then start watching continuously from the start of the Pertwee era to the end of the Davison era; then you need to check reviews to cherry pick the best (Colin) Baker and McCoy stories, skip the "movie", and then watch continuously from Eccleston.

Troughton's "The Wargames" is essential to view simply because it explains why Pertwee is stuck on Earth for three seasons.

[Barrister]

On reflection, I think the best thing to do is to cherry-pick a few Troughton series (probably "Tomb of the Cybermen", "The Seeds of Death", and "The Wargames") and then start watching continuously from the start of the Pertwee era to the end of the Davison era; then you need to check reviews to cherry pick the best (Colin) Baker and McCoy stories, skip the "movie", and then watch continuously from Eccleston.

Troughton's "The Wargames" is essential to view simply because it explains why Pertwee is stuck on Earth for three seasons.

I liked Colin Baker and McCoy though.

[Agelastus]

On reflection, I think the best thing to do is to cherry-pick a few Troughton series (probably "Tomb of the Cybermen", "The Seeds of Death", and "The Wargames") and then start watching continuously from the start of the Pertwee era to the end of the Davison era; then you need to check reviews to cherry pick the best (Colin) Baker and McCoy stories, skip the "movie", and then watch continuously from Eccleston.

Troughton's "The Wargames" is essential to view simply because it explains why Pertwee is stuck on Earth for three seasons.

I liked Colin Baker and McCoy though.

Each to their own...

Actually, although (Colin) Baker's "arrogant psycho in a scarf" interpretation of the part was awful, I quite like McCoy myself - unfortunately, the majority of the stories of his three seasons are crap. "Battlefield" and "The Curse of Fenric" are probably the only exceptions.

[citizen k]

Some day I'd like to go and start watching a whole crapload of back episodes of Doctor Who in order, but the decision where to start is a tough one.  The show generally got better as you went through time, but then you miss so much of the backstory...

You can rent Doctor Who on dvd and start with episode 1, "Unearthly Child".

[Josquius]

I think watching through Dr.Who in order from some early period is something i'll have to do when I go away to the land of no British TV again. My childhood Who watching was very spotty with scatterings of episodes from all over the place - though mainly the 70s.

[dps]

Actually, although (Colin) Baker's "arrogant psycho in a scarf" interpretation of the part was awful

I don't think that was Baker's fault, though, so much as the writers and especially the showrunners.  But, truth be told, I've seen very little of the 6th and 7th Doctors' runs--my local PBS station quit carrying the show partway through Davison's run.

[Brazen]

I liked Colin Baker and McCoy though.