Hey Empire, my sister is coming down from Canada today and she has not watched Doctor Who. When she comes down, I need an episode that will get her hooked. Any ideas?
Day of the Doctor (50th Anniversary), Time of the Doctor (Series 7 finale, 2013 Christmas special), literally any of the Ninth Doctor's episodes, and, erm... a few 10th Doctor episodes I don't know the name of. There's also that cowboy one I don't know the name of. Just one rule... Absolutely NOTHING from Series 8. Most of those episodes were terrible. Especially the last episodes and that forest one (Deep Breath was fine.). And don't show her that one American movie they made in 1998 >.>
try Vincent and The Doctor (or Vincent meets The Doctor, or something similar, I forget the name) or maybe Blink, or The Empty Child
I just rewatched Human Nature and am now rewatching The Family of Blood. I think it could possibly be a good introduction to the series...
The episode that I really liked and got me really hooked was The Eleventh Hour. There is very little required background knowledge required, besides regeneration.
The real issue at hand is what does your sister like? What current shows does she watch all the time? Adventure, Drama, Romance, etc? These things will affect the decision of what she should watch if you only get one episode to hook her in...
I think blink from David Tennant's period is a good episode to start someone new on. Also Although there were some bad episodes in series 8, I would say the final episodes with Missy were really good
My suggestions based on further breakdown and needing limited background: The girl who waited-adventure drama Blink-mystery Midnight-psychological drama Girl in the fireplace-historical fantasy
No problem. I meant limited background in the show. I can't tell you what my sister watches either...
The first part was good, the second part was bad. It would have been much better if they didn't cut Missy calling in a Dalek fleet for the Doctor to use the army on - that would have answered the Doctor's "am I a good man?" answer perfectly. I also hated Series 8 for the lack of character development on the Doctor. So... /thing *Horror mystery. Probably. That episode scared the hell out of me as an 8 (7?) year old. I haven't watched that since it was first on TV 7ish years ago simply because I remember it giving me nightmares. No idea if it's actually as scary as I thought it was. What about the first episode of Series 1? That episode is the reason why I've carried on watching Doctor Who for 9 years
Hmm, difficult. I personally wouldn't go for either a "dual episode" (story spread across 2 episodes) nor anything particularly scaring or creepy. If she doesn't like Who then a dual episode might completely bore her, and well; anything too 'explicit' may actually have the opposite effect of what you're trying to do. 'Dalek' (Season '1' / Ep. 6) could be nice. Features a Dalek (which is a well known enemy), shows a bit of the mystery and "goofyness" around Doctor Who ("just" going into a museum?) and although there is some drama and action it's not over the top either. (and can be funny; Dalek going into a staircase and well.... now he's stuck, right?). While it still has some tense moments. 'The girl in the fireplace' (Season 2 / Ep. 4). Ancient France, the doctor and his modern dressed companions. Oh, and add a bit of creepy clockwork aliens into the mix also. It has some suspense (alien threat), story telling / character building and well, plenty of tense but also funny moments. The twist on the "prince on the white horse" could be fun. If you do opt to try a 2-part story arch then I can recommend "Army of Ghosts / Doomsday" as well (last 2 episodes, same season). Also because they more or less play in "modern" time and well; the clash between the Daleks and Cybermen can be fun too. Drama, lots of action and suspense and perhaps a bit of a sad ending. '42' (Season 3 / Ep. 7). Landing on a spaceship, immediately cut off from the Tardis (and any rescue) and then learning that you got 42 minutes before the spaceship drops into the sun. Hot episode indeed. Add a mysterious alien into the mix which turns crew members into mindless killers (who also start killing crew members one by one) and you got plenty of suspense without overdoing things. 'Planet of the Ood' (Season 4 / Ep. 3). Plenty of science fiction in this one; a futuristic society selling primitive life forms as mere servants. And then they go rogue and turn into killers (with matching red eyes for that extra scary effect)... 'Victory of the Daleks' (Season 5 / Ep. 3). Daleks, ancient London and Winston Churchill. And, of course, the Doctor. Why are Daleks suddenly fighting with the British against Nazi Germany? The story isn't the greatest (in my opinion) and sometimes even a little far fetched, but still plenty of Who. Sci-fi, Daleks and a bit of history. 'Vincent and the Doctor' (Season 5 / Ep. 10). Doctor Who meets Vincent van Gogh. I'm Dutch so obviously I'm a little biased here. Even so I like the story angle. Going from modern time (British museum) where the doctor spots something out of place in a van Gogh painting. SO... time to go back in time and meet up with the painting master to see what is going on. Some parts are a tad silly (like bringing van Gogh back into said museum again) but even so... Its good amusement, may even spark interest in some of his work. And there you have it. 6 Doctor Who episodes which I could recommend, and why
Although I agree about the candy colored Daleks its also important to keep the target audience in mind; someone new to Dr. Who. To my knowledge this is the only single episode which features the Daleks and shows their true nature. Meaning; the insane strife for perfection. As soon as the new paradigm Daleks have arrived and are recognized as the Dalek race they'll have no problems eliminating their own "inferior" kind. Its not the best episode, but it could tell a good story to someone new to Doctor Who. (and well, its also fun to see the Daleks "win" for a change)
I would go with the cyborg cowboy one. It's one of the first ones that I watched and it's still one of my favorites. The name of the episode is "A Town Called Mercy" It doesn't require a huge amount of background knowledge and it's well made.
Don't worry, we all did, but honestly I think Clara was the biggest problem. She was an extremely underdeveloped character and really didn't start getting any depth until this season. But even that wasn't enough. Thank goodness she is leaving at the Christmas special. Osgood 2015!
