From the people who brought you Flight Through Entirety.
People are always asking the question, If I wanted to start watching Doctor Who now, where would I begin? Some of us fans are very certain we know the answer to that question; but it turns out, of course, that there can be no single correct answer. (Or if there is, it’s With whatever Doctor Who is on when you’re ten.)
You can start Doctor Who anywhere. And one of the reasons for this is that Doctor Who is constantly reinventing itself, creating new beginnings with every new story, every new season, every new Doctor, and every new production team.
In Season 1 of Five Hundred Year Diary, we look at some of those new beginnings: the first and second times they introduce a new Doctor in the Classic Series, the second time they introduce the Third Doctor’s version of the show, and the first time they introduce a new Doctor in the New Series. And, for good measure, we also look at the new beginnings of Doctor Who’s only successful spinoff series. (For now.)
Saturday 5 November 1966
The Power of the Daleks
New Beginnings, Episode 1
Sunday 14 April 2024.
A big week for beginnings this week, with a new Doctor, a new origin story for the Daleks, and a whole new approach to defeating the bad guys. Oh, and a new podcast to discuss them all on. So let’s welcome Patrick Troughton to the studio floor, as we discuss The Power of the Daleks.
Saturday 3 January 1970
Spearhead from Space
New Beginnings, Episode 2
Sunday 21 April 2024.
In the first week of the 1970s, Doctor Who is back, with a new Doctor, a new alien threat, new companions and a new earthbound premise. So what makes it the same show?
Saturday 2 January 1971
Terror of the Autons
New Beginnings, Episode 3
Sunday 28 April 2024.
It feels like only a year ago that Doctor Who underwent a strange and cataclysmic soft reboot, and it looks like it’s happening again this week. Or is it?
Sunday 25 December 2005
The Christmas Invasion
New Beginnings, Episode 4
Sunday 5 May 2024.
Just nine months after Doctor Who’s twenty-first century iteration burst triumphantly onto our screens, we all get together with Steven B to watch as the BBC’s flagship drama introduces its exciting new lead to nearly 10 million viewers on Christmas Day on BBC One. It ends up going pretty well.
Sunday 22 October 2006
Torchwood: Everything Changes
New Beginnings, Episode 5
Sunday 12 May 2024.
It’s 2006, which is just the time to launch a gritty and adult Doctor Who spinoff — Torchwood, a show with an immortal lead character which is basically about the finality of death. But has Torchwood learned anything from its parent show’s many, many launches and re-launches?
Monday 1 January 2007
The Sarah Jane Adventures: Invasion of the Bane
New Beginnings, Episode 6
Sunday 19 May 2024.
We bring our first season to a close with the new beginning of Doctor Who’s most successful spinoff, in which a beloved TV heroine from our childhood was given one last chance (or twenty-seven last chances) to save the world.