To quote The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (authored, as it happens, by one of the show’s former writers – Douglas Adams), Doctor Who is vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big. With 2023 marking 60 years exactly since the TARDIS first materialized on our screens, the British sci-fi phenomenon is the longest-running TV show in its genre, bar none (sorry, Star Trek, but second place ain’t bad either).
As such, it can be as intimidating as facing down a Dalek to contemplate watching all of Doctor Who from start to finish if you’ve never done so before. Whether you decide to just watch the new series, kicking off with the revival in 2005, or go all in and start right back at the beginning in 1963, you’ll need some guidance on how to navigate through the time vortex. Especially if you want to be really thorough and throw in the several spinoffs — including Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures — too.
Luckily for any nouveau Whovians out there looking to take the plunge, here’s a handy guide to the best way to watch literally everything in the Whoniverse in chronological order.
Classic Who and company (1963-1989)
Doctor Who famously began airing on Nov. 23, 1963, the day after JFK’s assassination. Originally starring William Hartnell (1963-66) as the character who became known to fans as the First Doctor, the immortal series outlasted the retirement of its leading man to encompass six further stars across its next 26 years — Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor (1966-69), Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor (1970-74), Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor (1974-81), Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor (1981-84), Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor (1984-86), and Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor (1987-89). Following the series’ permanent hiatus in ’89, Paul McGann starred as the Eighth Doctor in a BBC/Fox co-produced TV movie released in 1996.
Despite its quarter-century lifespan and immense popularity, classic Doctor Who never had a fully-fledged spinoff running alongside it, although there was one pilot for an aborted series that made it to broadcast. Aired as a Christmas special, 1981’s K-9 and Company paired up the Doctor’s robot dog with perhaps the most beloved companion of the classic era, Elisabeth Sladen’s Sarah Jane Smith. Although this show failed, both of these characters would get another crack at the whip. Due to its release date, K-9 and Company can be watched in between Tom Baker’s swansong “Logopolis” and Davison’s debut, “Castrovalva.”
Who’s up for a Whoniverse? (2005-2008)
After 16 years away from our screens, Doctor Who made a triumphant return in 2005, with Christopher Eccleston starring for a single season as the Ninth Doctor before regenerating into David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor. What’s more, under the auspices of showrunner Russell T. Davies, the series was able to create an interconnected TV universe for the first time.
Adult-oriented spinoff Torchwood followed immortal time agent Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman, introduced in Who season 1) investigating extraterrestrial incidents in Cardiff, Wales. Meanwhile, children’s series The Sarah Jane Adventures brought back Sladen’s Sarah Jane (following a guest spot in Who season 2) to solve mysteries with her teenage neighbors in Ealing, London.
Here’s how to watch this first phase of the so-called Whoniverse in order:
- Doctor Who seasons 1-2
- Torchwood season 1*
- The Sarah Jane Adventures: “Invasion of the Bane”
- Doctor Who season 3*
- The Sarah Jane Adventures season 1
- Torchwood season 2
*Note: If you want to get specific, Torchwood season 1’s two-part finale “Captain Jack Harkness/End of Days” leads directly into the events of Doctor Who season 3’s three-part finale “Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords,” with Harkness returning to the parent series for those episodes. Therefore, to get the best chronological experience, you may wish to hold the final episodes of Torchwood season 1 until after Doctor Who: “Blink.”
The Children of Time assemble (2008-2010)
Back when The Avengers was just a glint in Kevin Feige’s eye, Doctor Who was pulling off its own epic team-up crossover event. In Doctor Who‘s season 4 two-part finale — “The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End” — Davies’ world-building paid off when he united the heroes of the parent series with the casts of Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures in order to foil an invasion of Earth by the Daleks. They even kind of got their own Marvel-like superhero team name, as Davros dubs them “The Children of Time.”
With the crossover potential established, David Tennant’s Doctor went on to appear in an episode of SJA season 3 — “The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith” — which fits into the arc of the Doctor’s impending death that ran through the standalone Doctor Who specials that aired in place of a season in 2009. Meanwhile, Torchwood revamped its format from a 12-part plot-of-the-week series to a five-part event miniseries titled Children of Earth. Here’s how to watch this next phase of the Whoniverse in order:
- Doctor Who season 4
- The Sarah Jane Adventures season 2
- Doctor Who: “The Next Doctor” and “Planet of the Dead”
- Torchwood: Children of Earth
- The Sarah Jane Adventures season 3
- Doctor Who “The Waters of Mars” and “The End of Time: Parts 1 and 2”
Addendum: Although its place in canon is very shaky, Australian children’s series K-9 also began airing in October 2009. Thanks to the character’s creator — Wallace & Gromit writer Bob Baker — retaining the rights to the character, this spinoff was created without the involvement of the BBC. It was broadcast on Network Ten in Australia and on Disney XD in the U.K. and in Europe, but did not receive an airing in North America. It was cancelled after a single 22-episode season due to poor reception. Watch it if you dare.
Class dismissed (2010-2017)
2010 was a year of transformative change for Doctor Who as the series said goodbye to both Tennant and Davies, with Steven Moffat stepping up as showrunner and Matt Smith joining as the Eleventh Doctor, remaining at the TARDIS’ controls for three seasons, including the show’s major 50th anniversary celebrations. In 2014, Peter Capaldi took over as the Twelfth Doctor for another three seasons, although this included a year without any new episodes (bar the Christmas special) in 2016.
With Moffat in charge of the flagship, connections between Who and its spinoffs largely dried up. However, there was one major exception, as Matt Smith guest starred in The Sarah Jane Adventures story “The Death of the Doctor” in season 4. Sadly, Sladen’s death in 2011 ensured the beloved spinoff ended with its fifth season. As for Torchwood, that revitalized itself again with 10-part miniseries Miracle Day, a U.S./U.K. co-production with Starz. This is the final season of Torchwood to date.
Lastly, Moffat’s era spawned its one and only original spinoff in the form of 2016’s Class, an eight-part series aimed at a YA/teen audience, set in Shoreditch’s Coal Hill School, a recurring location in Doctor Who. Peter Capaldi guest starred in the pilot, but otherwise the main cast were all original characters. An online exclusive, it streamed on BBC iPlayer but was cancelled after one season due to low engagement.
- Doctor Who season 5
- The Sarah Jane Adventures season 4
- Doctor Who season 6 part 1
- Torchwood: Miracle Day
- Doctor Who season 6 part 2
- The Sarah Jane Adventures season 5
- Doctor Who seasons 7-9
- Class
- Doctor Who season 10
Everything’s in flux (2018-22)
Doctor Who underwent its biggest shake-up since 2010 in 2017 when both Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi exited the series, leaving Chris Chibnall to take up the showrunner job while Jodie Whittaker was ushered in as the Thirteenth Doctor, the show’s very first female lead. The duo’s era comprised two regular series and then, as a consequence of the pandemic, a shortened six-part miniseries that replaced season 13 titled Doctor Who: Flux. Echoing Tennnant’s swansong specials, Whittaker’s last year on the job spawned a handful of specials.
While no live-action spinoffs were produced during this era, completists may wish to check out Daleks!, a six-part animated miniseries that released exclusively on YouTube in fall 2020. Although part of the Time Lord Victorious initiative, an overarching storytelling event that encompassed tie-in books, audios, comics, and more, Daleks! can be viewed on its own merits.
- Doctor Who seasons 11-12
- Daleks!
- Doctor Who: Flux
- Doctor Who: “Eve of the Daleks,” “Legend of the Sea Devils,” and “The Power of the Doctor.”
The future’s so bright… (2023-)
Following Whittaker and Chibnall’s exits in 2022, Doctor Who is in for a victorious relaunch in its 60th anniversary year as Russell T. Davies is returning to steer the ship once again. What’s more, David Tennant is back, this time as the Fourteenth Doctor, becoming the first actor to lead the show twiceover. Tennant will star in a trilogy of anniversary specials in late 2023 before he hands the sonic screwdriver over to Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor. Gatwa has already confirmed he’ll stick around for at least two seasons.
As for spinoffs, unsurprisingly given Davies’ original tenure, the EP has teased big things on the way, as part of the BBC’s groundbreaking partnership with Disney Plus that means the platform will become the international streaming home of all future Doctor Who productions, with Disney also providing extra finance. No spinoffs have been announced at the time of writing, but watch this (time and) space.
- Doctor Who 2023 specials
- Doctor Who seasons 14-15
Doctor Who returns this November to celebrate its milestone birthday.