I think you can't go wrong with 'Remembrance of the Daleks' (1988). So which episode should you start with? Every fan has a favorite Doctor and episode. But rest assured, his hearts are always in the right place. Part of the fun of the show is learning about the complex character and his history. We still don't know everything there is to know about this renegade Time Lord. One more thing to remember is that the Doctor is enigmatic. If you can, you should try to preserve the breaks too in order to get a real sense of the show, even if you just pause a few moments between parts. I don't know how the UK fans had the patience to wait a week. My friends and I had to wait a whole agonizing day to see the Doctor's clever escape or rescue. I was lucky enough to first see Doctor Who on PBS, one half-hour episode per week-night.

At the end of each part, the Doctor or one of his many companions faces seemingly absolute, inescapable doom of some kind or another. Every episode of the show is about a half-hour, but most stories had at least 4 parts. This dilutes those marvelous cliffhangers. Unfortunately, Doctor Who tends to be shown now in movie-style blocks. Cliffhangers were what made me a fan from the beginning. Doctor Who was always something more than its 1963 b&w kid's show origins suggest, and over the years it evolved into a program that could make some very clever, thought-provoking comments and observations while at the same time delivering a fun and suspenseful adventure. What Doctor Who does deliver is keen attention to character, dialogue, and plot.

The quality of the effects are often admirable when the shoestring production budget considerations are factored in, but Doctor Who never really equaled the special effects of other shows. If the ONLY thing you want from science fiction is special effects, then Doctor Who is not for you. However, I can make some recommendations for new viewers. The sheer volume of Doctor Who episodes makes briefly commenting on all aspects of this wonderful show a challenge.

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