# Which Doctor Who episodes should I show a friend? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213 "2010-02-09T00:45:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/1 "2010-02-09T00:45:39Z")
The detailed version of this question: My brother-in-law is currently visiting us, as he does almost every winter. We started watching Doctor Who from the beginning of the “reboot” (i.e. the 2005 season, with Christopher Eccleston). We got through all of season 1 and the first episode of season 2, but he just found out that at the end of this week he’s been called back to work, so we won’t have enough time to watch all of the rest, obviously. So. He doesn’t have any problem skipping around. If you had to pick the best four or five episodes from what’s left, what would you pick? I’m thinking definitely “Blink” and then… dunno, what else? Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/2 "2010-02-09T00:49:33Z")
The Girl in the Fireplace Blink Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead ---
**Author:** ![smaje1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@smaje1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaje1)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/3 "2010-02-09T01:05:12Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The Girl in the Fireplace > Blink > Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead I second these episodes, and would add: Human Nature/The Family of Blood and Voyage of the Damned ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/4 "2010-02-09T01:17:02Z")
Blink Himan Nature/Family of Blood Girl in the Fireplace I was never that keen on Silence in Library and Forest of the Dead. Maybe the two final specials? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/5 "2010-02-09T01:22:45Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Blink > Himan Nature/Family of Blood > Girl in the Fireplace > > I was never that keen on Silence in Library and Forest of the Dead. > > Maybe the two final specials? I don’t think you should watch the specials without watching at least the end of Series 3. And that mult-part episode is made much better by watching the forshaddowing earlier in the season. So I’d stick with the stand-alones. If you’re wanting unconventional ones, try the Christmas specials. I liked the Titanic one. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/6 "2010-02-09T01:31:48Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Maybe the two final specials? A good idea, presuming he doesn’t mind spoilers. All the episodes suggested so far are good (well, I’ve never seen Human Nature/Family of Blood - missed them, dammit)… Planet of the Dead and Waters of Mars are good, too. The Shakespeare Code is fun. New Earth is one of my favourites, but that’s because it hits some personal buttons. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/7 "2010-02-09T01:43:15Z")
“School Reunion”. First time a past companion met a later regeneration, AFAIK. > [@Tengu](#): > > New Earth is one of my favourites, but that’s because it hits some personal buttons. I suggest following it with “Gridlock”. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/8 "2010-02-09T02:05:57Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Planet of the Dead and Waters of Mars are good, too. Thanks to cablelessness – which I have recently remedied – I missed all of Series 4. I just added those two episodes to my nifty DVR; would you recommend that I let them marinate for a while and view Series 4, or are they sufficiently standalone in nature that it doesn’t matter? (And just so I can contribute to the thread, “Blink” is indeed excellent. Before Carey Mulligan was a rising movie star, she was our dear Sally Sparrow.) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/9 "2010-02-09T02:08:04Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Thanks to cablelessness – which I have recently remedied – I missed all of Series 4. I just added those two episodes to my nifty DVR; would you recommend that I let them marinate for a while and view Series 4, or are they sufficiently standalone in nature that it doesn’t matter? Doesn’t matter but you should watch “Planet of the Ood” for the full effect. ---
**Author:** ![smaje1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@smaje1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaje1)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/10 "2010-02-09T02:12:01Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > “School Reunion”. First time a past companion met a later regeneration, AFAIK.I suggest following it with “Gridlock”. Poor Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart has run into a few different incarnations of the Doctor. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/11 "2010-02-09T02:22:28Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > “School Reunion”. First time a past companion met a later regeneration, AFAIK. To get a theme going, combine it with the Library/Woods ones, which let you see the idea from the other side. You can always throw in the Series four Christmas special to get an idea of how the Doctor would react seeing a later regeneration. > [@](#): > > I suggest following it with “Gridlock”. Thank you. I was trying to think of those two when I posted earlier. “Gridlock” was my introduction to NuWho, and seeing “New Earth” made it a lot better. It’s basically a sequel to “The End of the World”, which will help you tie in the new seasons to the one you’ve already seen. This will also give you the full story of the Face of Boe. (No, “Last of the Time Lords” doesn’t count.) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/12 "2010-02-09T02:28:03Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Thanks to cablelessness – which I have recently remedied – I missed all of Series 4. I just added those two episodes to my nifty DVR; would you recommend that I let them marinate for a while and view Series 4, or are they sufficiently standalone in nature that it doesn’t matter? If you’re intending to watch series 4 soon, it wouldn’t hurt to hold off…but if you’re not going to get a chance for a while they don’t depend too much on previous events - like Lute says, Planet of the Ood wouldn’t hurt, but that’s only the end of Waters of Mars, and the significance of their appearance is made pretty explicit. So it wouldn’t be a big deal if you jumped straight to them and caught up on series 4, later. All you really need to know going in is that he’s left Donna behind - you don’t even need to know _why_ until The End of Time (which is when the Ood appearance really comes home, too). Obviously, for The End of Time, it’d be better to catch series 4 first, though. Edit - and I actually like Gridlock better than New Earth, but it definitely needs to be watched after New Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/13 "2010-02-09T02:57:07Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > If you’re intending to watch series 4 soon, it wouldn’t hurt to hold off…but if you’re not going to get a chance for a while they don’t depend too much on previous events - like Lute says, Planet of the Ood wouldn’t hurt, but that’s only the end of Waters of Mars, and the significance of their appearance is made pretty explicit. There’s also the connection between the ends of “Planet of the Ood” and “Planet of the Dead”. Without seeing the former, the Doctor’s song won’t make as much sense until “The End of Time”. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/14 "2010-02-09T04:33:33Z")
Empty Child/Doctor Dances from Series 1. These two were the hook for me. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/15 "2010-02-09T04:35:54Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > There’s also the connection between the ends of “Planet of the Ood” and “Planet of the Dead”. Without seeing the former, the Doctor’s song won’t make as much sense until “The End of Time”. I’d forgotten that line. But it’s not that it’d make less sense, it just wouldn’t have the interesting callback aspect. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/16 "2010-02-09T05:49:33Z")
I agree with: _Girl in the Fireplace Blink Human Nature/The Family of Blood_ And add: _Midnight Smith & Jones_ There are other episodes I love as well, but these work best as standalone out-of-sequence episodes. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/17 "2010-02-09T06:12:36Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > “School Reunion”. First time a past companion met a later regeneration, AFAIK.I suggest following it with “Gridlock”. It was one of the most emotionally powerful episodes - Elizabeth Sladen saying “You were my life!” still gives me a lump in my throat. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/18 "2010-02-09T07:10:16Z")
_Rose, Dalek, Empty Child/Doctor Dances, Girl in the Fireplace, Blink_ In \*something \*like that order. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/19 "2010-02-09T13:50:18Z")
Good suggestions, everybody! We have already seen all of season 1, so those episodes are taken care of. I showed him _Girl in the Fireplace_ last night, and it met with approval. I will probably skip _School Reunion_ just because my BIL didn’t watch any Old Who, so the Sarah Jane reunion won’t hold much impact for him. Next up, probably _Blink_. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213/20 "2010-02-09T14:18:07Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I will probably skip _School Reunion_ just because my BIL didn’t watch any Old Who, so the Sarah Jane reunion won’t hold much impact for him. Previous knowledge of Sarah Jane would help but is not required. Plus he’ll miss out on some great scenes with K-9: “We are in a car.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doctor-who-episodes-should-i-show-a-friend/528213.md?page=2)