this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2024
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Doctor Who

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[–] [email protected] 81 points 5 months ago (9 children)

Where would The Runaway Bride go? It's set in 2006, but they also travel to shortly before Earth is formed.

Also, what about episodes that are set outside of time or entirely within the TARDIS (e.g. Time Crash)? Or when all of time sort of happens at once (e.g. The Big Bang, The Wedding of River Song)?

What about false realities (e.g. Amy's Choice, Extremis)? Bubble universes (e.g. The Doctor's Wife, Hide)?

And then there's the matter of the Doctor and River. Do we go in the Doctor's order, or in River's order?

What about cliffhangers and cyclic stories?

Absolutely I'd do this, but I'd need a very large corkboard and about a mile of red yarn to figure out the order.

[–] [email protected] 66 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You would need to start on the middle of the episode where they are at the start of the world and go from there. Can’t do episode by episode but could scene by scene

[–] Kecessa 39 points 5 months ago (1 children)

There's a marvel fan edit like that, pretty wild watch as it jumps from one movie to the other...

[–] cujo255 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

And what might that be called if it were to be found?

[–] [email protected] 38 points 5 months ago (2 children)
  • Cut all the episodes to have snippets that keep the same timeframe, then watch those in order
  • If two clips are supposed to be the same time, splitscreen
  • TARDIS scenes would make sense to keep before they arrive to their destination. And TARDIS episodes should be kept in the """present"""
  • If the time happens all at once, play all the frames of the clip at once. Preferably stretched to be in the background of all the Chronological Dr. Who Marathon™
  • False realities and bubble universe should either be split screen or inserted in between the start and end of that part.
  • We go in the time's order. We don't care about the love birds.
  • If there's a cliff hanger, just play the next chronological clip
  • Cyclic story can be split screened.
[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago

I got all wibbly wobbly just reading that.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

Or in true timelord fashion, make a compund super episode with all of them playing overlayed on each other simultaniously. Takes less time too, not that it matters.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

For the Doctor and River: watch it twice, once for each perspective.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago

Some of your questions can be answered when the episodes are split which would make the idea even more crazy

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

skip them all, there's too many anyway

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

If I'm skipping any, it'll just be Love & Monsters (a bit rubbish), The Angels Take Manhattan (too sad; can't watch that one again), and a few (but certainly not all) of Chris Chibnall's episodes (e.g. The Tsuranga Conundrum; I didn't enjoy them that much).

Other than that, I'll take the lot. I might even throw in the Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood, Class, the BBV Productions movies, and those spin-off movies starring Peter Cushing, for good measure.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Programmer solution:

Each episode is defined by the earliest point they travel to, excluding that episode's "present".

Jam all edge cases at Epoch (1970) or the present if you prefer (2024). Sort these by order of release.

Push to production.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

How about City of Death, which takes place in 1980s Paris, Renaissance Italy, and billions of years ago when life on Earth began. Where do you put that in the chronology?

(Answer: You watch this episode first regardless because Douglas Adams wrote it.)

Edit: Technically a bunch of other times too because you get glimpses of other fractured selves of Scaroth from other points in human history.

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I imagine the final episode would have to be Utopia, which essentially takes place after the heat death of the universe. That's a bit of a bummer for an ending though lol.

[–] funkless_eck 17 points 5 months ago (1 children)

decade-old spoiler warning:

they also restart the entire universe like a recalcitrant lawn mower several times, which really fucks the timeline.

Is the The Girl Who Died set in Vikings times (700 AD) actually after the Van Gogh episode (1890 AD) because the universe the Vikings exist in is newer than the one van gogh is in, which was destroyed?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Also old spoiler warning

There's also that episode where 12 is

spoilertrapped in a castle for about 4 billion years
so you'd presumably have to watch that a few seconds at a time, interspersed with hundreds of years of other adventures.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 5 months ago (4 children)

This is why I really want streaming services to offer user-curated playlists.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago (1 children)

One of the biggest perks of pirating junk. I know some services allow its users to create and post collections. It’s fun to find a movie you like and see what user collections that movie was in.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I love the fan edits like Naruto Kai that cuts out all the filler and recaps and junk

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

I was thinking about how I miss a good old broadcast with a presenter or VJ to talk to you about what's on in between showings.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Unless the series was over, it'd be impossible to watch them in that order.

Imagine if they release a new episode where they visit a certain point in history. Would you have to watch all of the episodes chronologically after that one again?

[–] [email protected] 24 points 5 months ago

Of course! Would mean I'd never have to watch another show again.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 5 months ago (1 children)

stitchesinti.me

It's a Dr Who supercut.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

Does it make any sense or, you know, work?

[–] [email protected] 23 points 5 months ago

The only plotline I can think of that will actually make more sense, watched this way, is the Doctor's relationship with the Queen of England.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Is there an actual list that has them in chronological order? Or at least the closest you can get to it.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago
[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago (12 children)

How do you start watching Doctor Who? Should I watch original series first?

[–] ElderWendigo 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Browse the wikis a bit and find a doctor you like. Watch some episodes from that Doctor until you're bored. Repeat. You can watch them in any order you like.

Starting with the 2005 reboot is probably easiest and most accessible. Watch for callbacks to previous adventures. If those stories sound interesting dive into the back story.

Everybody has their favorite Doctor. Some like the leather clad skinhead. Some like the guy with the scarf and the Jelly Babies. Some weirdos like the guy with the celery stalk in his pocket. My favorite is the first Doctor. He's in black and white, he's witty, he's grumpy and sometimes mean, and he lies. If you want to know about the origins of the Daleks you'll need to find his episodes. The library is probably the best place to find these. I think there is always Doctor Who streaming or being broadcast somewhere at practically all times. I'm pretty sure I can search for Doctor Who on Plex and find some random episode streaming at any time.

As others have mentioned, several large chunks of the original series are missing, so be prepared for that disappointment.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

No in fact a good chunk of the early episodes are missing. The show changes a lot based on who is playing the Doctor and who the showrunner and head writer are.

Best bet is pick a Doctor and watch the first episode or two. If you don't like it try another.

Old run Tom Baker and John Pertwee are good choices. Baker had Douglas Adams as head writer for the early seasons and Pertwee has two of the best companions.

Latter original run had a show runner who did not want the job and it shows.

New Who I would recommend trying Christopher Eccleston or Peter Capald. Lots of people love David Tenant but I find him annoyingly hyperactive.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Gotta come to bat for my boy Matt Smith, imo his first episode is the best of any in the modern era

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

I would suggest watching starting with the 2005 rebirth of the series. They made it expecting you to not have watched the original series.

From then on there is a lot of overlap and continuation, some more subtle than others, so you could just watch one of the doctors, but part of what makes it special is the wealth of possible collisions so you may not need to have seen the reason why such-and-such character perks up when they hear the Doctor coming, but it's what made me appreciate the show.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Look up a list of the top 10 best episodes. Watch those. Take note of which ones you like more, and which actor is playing the doctor in that episode. Use that to pick your favourite doctor. Then watch all the episodes starring your favourite doctor in order.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

If you don't know anything about the show this sounds like a batshit way to figure out not only if you like a show, but which parts of the show you like.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

It very much depends on you. I personally think most people should start with New Who, because it’s much faster paced and The Doctor starts out a lot more likable. I personally started with New Who, then started mixing in Old Who during Capaldi’s first season. Which turned out rather nicely, because early Capaldi actually resembles the First Doctor in many ways, and it was interesting to see how elements of the show unfolded.

For reference, Old Who starts with An Unearthly Child (1963.) New Who starts with Rose (2005.)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

You can pick anywhere and honestly it's fine. Lots of people started with modern Who, so that lines up with the average experience, and there are long-running plot arcs you might stumble over if you don't, but most episodes are fairly self-contained.

Old Who is a different show. Somewhat akin to the original Star Trek, it requires a certain ability to ignore the experience and budget constraints and pick out the charm. But some of the old Doctors remain fan favorites like Tom Baker, the 4th and longest-running generation.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I'm a huge sci fi fan, I love Star Wars, Trek, Gate, just about any sci fi movie, etc. I have never been able to get into Dr Who but the rabid fan base makes me feel like I'm missing out. Not sure what it is about the show but I just don't get it, I guess.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago (2 children)

To be fair the first season when it returned with rose is just alright and I almost dropped it as well. The next doctor Tenant really did the role justice and peaked the show for many of us.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 months ago (4 children)

I actually liked that season. I very much like Tennant, never understood why people dislike the Eccleston season.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Same, the mannequin episode is one of my favorites. Wish we’d got more Eccleston, although the latest True Detective turned out wildly anticlimactic he’s still excellent.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (3 children)

So if I started with the Tenant seasons would I even know what's going on?

[–] Ashyr 14 points 5 months ago

Start with Blink. It's a very famous and popular episode with Tenant and it's basically a standalone. It's an especially good entry point as the Doctor is barely in it.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You might get lost a bit with some story threads. If you really have no intention on watching the previous doctor I would watch a season recap video online. That way you're familiar with the important bits of lore and story lines and whose who but it shouldn't be too bad. They don't really delve too much into all the old doctors lores and stories, and when they do they refresh your memory, so at most it's one season of stuff before tenants.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Appreciate the tip, I think I'll give it another go at some point!

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

Sadly this means you'll never see "The Edge of Destruction" a.k.a. "Inside the Spaceship," as the whole thing takes place in the TARDIS it's outside time entirely and therefore impossible to put into any objective chronological order with the others. Other stories like "The Celestial Toymaker" or "The Mind Robber" take place in freaky realities which are similarly difficult to contextualize in the timeline.

Source: I wasted far too much of my precious human life debating this shit on fandom wiki talk pages.

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