Back when I was in college (some 20 or so years ago) a bunch of people whose taste I shared, generally, tried to get me into Doctor Who (I think this would have been the Tom Baker version, in reruns). I gave it a shot, but I could never get into it. I don’t know if I got into it too late, but the stories never struck me as compelling, and I abandoned it.
Over the past several years, I’ve been aware of a renaissance of Doctor Who, mentioned in various other threads on shows I was watching. But I never gave it much more than a passing thought.
I read about Torchwood: Miracle Day starting on Starz, and the premise sounded intriguing, so I gave it a shot, and discovered that I liked it quite a bit. Reading some old threads on this board, I learned that generally seasons 1-2 were not liked, but that Children of Earth was pretty good. I just finished watching Children of Earth on Netflix and thought it was phenomenal. I’m starting to think I was missing something by ignoring Doctor Who.
I have to admit, though – I’m intimidated. It’s been on since – what – the sixties? So I’m looking for some advice – where’s a good entry point? What do I need to know as far as backstory goes? Are there seasons/episodes that are particularly good? Any I should avoid?
As someone who also just recently got into Doctor Who and Torchwood, I would say for right now, ignore all that early stuff. Start in with NuWho. It’s sort of a series reboot in that it still follows all the stuff that happens earlier, but you don’t really need to know about all that. Just search for Doctor Who on Netflix, and it’ll come right up. It starts out rough, but stick with it until “The Empty Child.” Then you’ll know if you really like it or not.
“The Empty Child” is a good place to start for a Torchwood fan, as it’s the episode that introduces Jack Harkness. Note, though, that he’s a subtely diferent character in DW - a rougish interstellar buccaneer, with 75% less angst.