The essential episodes of Doctor Who
Watch these 15 in order and you've got Doctor Who — each pick states its reason.
- 01
Rose Tyler meets a mysterious stranger called the Doctor, and realises Earth is in danger.
- 02
The Ninth Doctor's final episode is an epic encounter with the Daleks.
- 03
As the human race is caught in a war between Daleks and Cybermen, the Doctor faces losing Rose.
- 04
Only the Doctor can stop the Weeping Angels, but he's lost in time. So Sally Sparrow must fly into action...
- 05
Season 4 concludes with the Doctor's companions making a last stand against Davros and the Daleks with the Doctor and the TARDIS both out of commission.
- 06
The Doctor is gone, the Tardis has been destroyed and the universe is collapsing. The only hope for all of reality is a little girl who still believes in stars…
- 07
As the Doctor makes his final journey to the shores of Lake Silencio in Utah, he knows only one thing can keep the universe safe—his own death.
- 08
Clara is summoned to an impossible conference call, alerting her that the deadly Whisper Men are closing in on Vastra, Jenny and Strax.Someone is kidnapping the Doctor's friends, leading him toward the one place in all of time and space that he should never go. It's a deadly trap that threatens to unravel his past, present and future…
- 09
With Cybermen on the streets of London, old friends unite against old enemies, and the Doctor takes to the air in a startling new role. Can the mighty UNIT contain Missy? As the Doctor faces his greatest challenge, sacrifices must be made before the day is won.
- 10
The Doctor bargains with the Time Lords: his knowledge of the Hybrid in return for their saving Clara from death. However, the price may be far more than the Doctor is willing to pay.
- 11
A young woman, Bill, listens to the lectures of a long-time university professor, the Doctor. He soon agrees to tutor her, and Bill realizes that the Doctor is much more than he seems. Bill's mind is opened to a universe that is bigger and more exciting than she could imagine.
- 12
Yasmin asks the Doctor to travel back to 1947 India to find out the secret of her grandmother's watch, and discovers more than she wanted to know.
- 13
Stomping their way into present-day Gloucester, the Judoon are on the hunt for someone on the run. Who is this fugitive? And why are these alien mercenaries after them?
- 14
Chapter One: The Halloween Apocalypse
On Halloween, all across the universe, terrifying forces are stirring. From the Arctic Circle to deep space, an ancient evil is breaking free. And in present-day Liverpool, the life of Dan Lewis is about to change forever. Why is the Doctor on the trail of the fearsome Karvanista? And what is the Flux?
- 15
In the final epic chapter in the story of the Flux, all hope is lost. The forces of darkness are in control. But when the monsters have won, who can you count upon to save the universe?
Shows like Doctor Who
The closest matches on shared genres, ranked by match strength and popularity.
- 01Drama·Adventure·Science-FictionThe essential episodes of Doctor Who2023·BBC iPlayer
The Doctor and friends travel from the dawn of human history to distant alien worlds. - 02Drama·Adventure·Science-FictionThe essential episodes of Firefly2002–2002·FOX
Five hundred years in the future, a renegade crew aboard a small spacecraft tries to survive as they travel the unknown parts of the galaxy and evade warring factions as well as authority agents out to get them. - 03Drama·Adventure·Science-FictionThe essential episodes of Smallville2001–2011·The CWA retelling of Superman's early days as teenager Clark Kent growing up in Smallville, Kansas.
- 04Drama·Adventure·Science-FictionThe essential episodes of Star Trek: Discovery2017–2024·Paramount+
Star Trek, one of the most iconic and influential global television franchises, returns 50 years after it first premiered, with Star Trek: Discovery. - 05Drama·Adventure·Science-FictionThe essential episodes of The Gifted2017–2019·FOXThe Gifted tells the story of a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children possess mutant powers.
- 06Drama·Adventure·Science-FictionThe essential episodes of The War Between the Land and the Sea2025–2025·BBC iPlayerWhen a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered.
