"Wait here, Susan, I won't be long"

The first words spoken in a Doctor Who episode, and so the first words of this blog.

This site is dedicated to those intrigued by the rich history of Doctor Who and curious about what came before New Who (or before Tom Baker for those old enough), but unwilling to put up with what slogging through all of Who would entail.

When I first encountered the Doctor there was no video tape or DVD market to allow us to go back and see what this strange series was all about; we were stuck with whatever the local public broadcasting station decided to show that week. In the last few years there's been an explosion of classic Who episodes released on DVD, making it possible to go back to the beginning of Who and experience pretty much everything that wasn't wiped. I've found some real surprises and gems and gained much more appreciation for the series, and I hope to communicate that excitement to you.

The shows receive various ratings based on their quality, but unless you find yourself catching an unhealthy obsession for all things Who (the first symptom of which is creating a blog) you should only bother with those rated Must See and probably Worth Watching. The rest are likely to permanently cure you of your budding interest in the show.

No need to feel that you are missing out on some important story detail buried in the unwatchable stories. I'll write a post on each story and mention anything you might want to be aware of, as well as providing connective tissue and the story of my journey of discovery as I revisit Who from the beginning.

And now it's December 1963, the camera dollies into a junkyard, the fog rolls in, and as a London Bobby strolls by we get a glimpse of a police box...