Thanks to COVID-19, far flung vacations this summer are but a pipe dream. But you can still take a trip through space and time (and Doctor Who history) with our Summer TV Binge!
We’ve covered Doctor Who pretty extensively on our site, particularly from the Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor) era onwards. And while the idea of tripping my way through series history has been in the back of my head for a better part of a year, there’s no better time to travel through space and time from the comfort of our couches than the present. Think of it as your small way of preventing the spread of COVID-19. (That said, wash your hands, and wear a mask when you have to go out!)
The way this will work is this: each week, I’ll watch and review one episode from each of the 12 Doctors, skipping Jodie Whittaker’s tenure as we covered it here in great detail already. So you can watch along with me, I have our schedule below, along with a little bit of the rationale behind why I chose each episode (which of course, we’ll go into more detail with every recap). And feel free to share your comments and thoughts on social media with the #12Weeks12Doctors hashtag!
Classic (First through Seventh Doctor) episodes are available on the streaming service Britbox, and revival (Ninth through Twelfth Doctor) episodes are available on HBO Max and Amazon Prime. (The Eighth Doctor TV movie is thus far only available on DVD, which I was able to order here.) Do note that Britbox is only available in the United States, Canada, and the UK at present (but will be in Australia later this year). HBO Max at present is only available in the United States. (If you’re outside of these areas, feel free to share where you can watch in the comments!)
Most of the episodes I picked have some sort of significance to the show’s history, and a few are personal favorites. And one you’ll see ended up part of an American television mystery still unsolved to this day!
Twelve doctors plus our schedule post equals thirteen, which (as much as I love Jodie Whittaker) is a bit of bad luck, so my superstitious self will round things out with An Adventure in Space and Time, the TV film celebrating the show’s early history as part of its 50th anniversary. (It’s presently on Britbox.)
So fire up your TARDIS, find a bag of jelly babies and some fish fingers and custard, and get ready to explore Doctor Who history with me this summer – – all from the comfort and safety of your couch!
| Doctor | Episode | Original Airdates | Reason for Selection |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Doctor (William Hartnell) | “An Unearthly Child” | November 23 – December 14, 1963 | The very first episode |
| Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) | “The Power of the Daleks” | November 5 – December 10, 1966 | First full Second Doctor story |
| Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) | “The Three Doctors” | December 30, 1972 – January 20, 1973 | Opened the tenth anniversary of the series |
| Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) | “Horror of Fang Rock” | September 3 – 24, 1977 | Part of the 1987 Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion incident |
| Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) | “The Caves of Androzani” | March 8 – 16, 1984 | Final appearance of Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor |
| Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) | “Vengeance on Varos” | January 19 and 26, 1985 | Personal favorite |
| Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) | “The Curse of Fenric” | October 25 – November 15, 1989 | Personal favorite |
| Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) | Doctor Who: The Television Movie | May 12, 1996 | The American attempt at reviving the series |
| Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) | “Father’s Day” | May 14, 2005 | Nominated for the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form |
| Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) | “Blink” | June 9, 2007 | Crossed over with the “Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor” comic. |
| Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) | “Vincent and the Doctor” | June 5, 2010 | Personal favorite |
| Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) | “The Girl Who Died” | Continued belowOctober 17, 2015 | 100th episode of the revival series. |
