- I’m only going by original air dates (mostly), I’m not taking into consideration any crossovers since I haven’t seen all the episodes yet. I’ve seen them all, original air dates work just fine (mostly).
- No radio plays / TARDISODES / etc. (OK, I might add the Series 5 ‘official episodes’ video games and maybe some other minor things). I don’t think anything beyond what’s in the table below is necessary to understanding what’s going on in the post-2005 Doctor Who shows. Honestly, you can easily get away without watching any ‘classic‘ Doctor Who and still enjoy the new stuff.
I seriously contemplated adding Doctor Who: The Movie to the list (it would be #1 on the viewing order) but decided against it. It’s not part of the 2005 relaunch and not necessary to watch before starting on Series 1. Watch it for ‘completion’s sake’.It’s worth a watch.- I’m still debating adding K-9 to the list. I’ll have to watch it first ( it’s on my to-do list 😉 ).
- If you have any suggestions please post a comment and I’ll change my list.
- Remember: You don’t have to watch everything on the list; I’m just suggesting an order to watch them in. If you feel like skipping one of the spinoffs go right ahead, you won’t be confused while watching the main show.
[table id=1 /]
On Season 4: Disc 1 under Extras there is a special with the 5th Doctor & Tennant that you MUST watch. It’s 8 minutes of pure joy.
Oooh, I’m looking forward to it!
There is another new, not-very-well-know series called K9 which is set in 2050 (I think). It is a kid’s show, and has no tie-ins with the other Doctor Who media besides the robot itself, so you may not be interested. Just to let you know.
I have heard of K-9 and it’s non-canon status. I’ve yet to watch it so I haven’t put it on the viewing order yet. I will change the opening paragraph to mention it though.
thanks!
Your list is the best on the Web for watching these shows — thank you!
A couple suggested additions:
Doctor Who The Dreamland animated special (web series, movie, DVD, however you prefer to refer to it) occurs just before the Waters of Mars special.
Doctor Who The Infinite Quest animated special (etc.) occurs in the midst of Series 3 between “Evolution of the Daleks” and “The Lazarus Experiment”
As for K-9, I’ve watched a bit of it. I would say it’s a divergent or future timeline in that the majority of it takes place in earth’s future and the K-9 that appears is pulled from somewhere in time, so it could have really come from any point in the doctor’s history. Also, there have been 3 or 4 K-9 versions (Mark I, Mark II, etc.), and all of them had different last “onscreen” appearances, so it could technically be one of those as well. So, the short answer is, you can watch it whenever you like, but since it’s mostly in earth’s future, probably after all of the other series would be best.
Keep up the good work!!!
Thank you!
I have heard of the two animated specials but I haven’t gotten around to watching them (I’ve heard that they aren’t very good, especially the animation). As soon as I do I’ll add them to the list.
I’m still debating K-9 since it’s not produced by the ‘official’ people and therefore isn’t part of the Whoniverse.
I would personally place Dreamland before Sarah Jane Adventures Season 3, because there’s an episode of that season that references what happened in Dreamland.
Hmmm….I’ll take that into consideration. Do you know which episode of SJI mentions Dreamland?
“Prisoner of the Judoon”
The ship that Androvax builds using the nanoforms is based on the ship that they re-engineered at the dreamland base.
OK, made some changes.
New to the Doctor Who franchise a couple months ago. This particular page has been extremely helpful as I’m now almost caught up. Thanks!
Thanks for the kind words!
Just got into Doctor Who this year, and now I am catching up with all of the greatness I have missed. Thanks for this awesome list.
I did wonder where the radio plays would fit into this set as I want to listen to them. Any thoughts on where it would be best to put them?
Thanks! I appreciate the compliment. Unfortunately, I haven’t listened to any of the radio plays so I don’t know where they fit chronologically. Try this story chronology on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_story_chronology
Just wanted to mention, in case some folks didn’t know, The Sarah Jane Adventures are definitely intended for children. The originally aired on CBBC, and feel very kiddie.
A huge thank you!
I recently started watching Doctor Who & Torchwood and was looking for a nice watchorder type of list.
I’m currently at season 6 and the list helped a lot!
I have this bookmarked ever since i began watching the new series of DW and Torchwood. Now i own the series and i wanted to mention there is a small mini series on the Season 6 bonus disc. It’s 5 episodes and worth to mention/watch. More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_and_the_Doctor
Keep up the good work 😉
Thanks! That’s a good point, I’ll update the list to include the mini-episodes.
Old Series = Much better
Go to old classic Doctors such as Tom Baker or Sylvester McCoy Or Jon Pertwee
THEN Watch the Movie
THEN start the new series!
Do you happen to know when torchwood: web of lies fits in? Also thank you for the list, it helped me out a lot!
Thanks for the kind words! As for your question The TARDIS Index says this:
1. For Torchwood, this story occurs during either Torchwood Series 1 or Series 2
2. For Holly and Miles, this story occurs during: Torchwood Series 4.
i’ve been watching the series in this order, pretty well done gotta say, really cool and enjoyable but, i think Space/Time comic relief it fits better right after episodes 1 and 2 of series 6. i finished first half of the 6th series last night and when i watched space/Time i didn’t really add up. Amy and Rory’s clothes what gave it away, and well the way 1st half endend, Amy and Rory weren’t in the TARDIS. but i guess it really dosen’t matter, if it’s a comic relief, right? just thought it’d be best after espisodes 1&2 series 6, if you really want to watch it in order. if i missing something or im not correct please, let me know.
really nice job!
have a good day now
Hey Robin,
You might be right about the placement of the two mini-episodes. Since there’s no story elements that place these two specials in any specific spot in the series episode order I just decided to stick it in between halves of Series 6.
yea, that’s what i thought, i just left a replay and didn’t notice you had answer already. umm anyways yea, there could be place right after series 5 too, since they leave with The Doctor right after the wedding, and this was reakesd before the begining of series 6. but you know its not really a nesecity.
or just after the end of series 5. wich they leave with the Doctor after the wedding
I absolutely love this list! Thank you so much! Is there any possibility that you might add maybe a rating of some kind at how imperative the things included above are to getting the story, at least by your estimation? Maybe just a 1 to 3 (3 = Pivotal, 2 = Helpful, 1 = Trivial) or something?
Thanks! OK, as ratings go I’m going to do this ‘quick and dirty’-style. I’m going to give all the Doctor Who shows a ‘3’ except for the animated specials, Comic Relief specials, mini-episodes, and ‘written by kids’ shorts. Those I’d give a 1.5-2 rating. I’m going to get some grief for this next one. I’d give any pre-“Children of Earth” Torchwood a 2. After COE I’d give Torchwood a 1. Sarah Jane Adventures get a 2 except for the episodes guest-starring the Doctor. Those episodes get a very, very high 2.
This is an awesome guide, thanks for taking the time to make this.
thanks!
I just studied the Tardis index file wiki site for Doctor Who, and figured out the best continuity, in my opinion, for everything. The dates in parenthesis are the dates the events of the show happen relative to “present day earth”. For partial Sarah Jane seasons, I listed the story names, since there are two episodes per story, so the numbering can be a bit weird. The only things I didn’t include were the “Death is the Only Answer” and “Good as Gold” because they may not even be canon and even if they were, it’s very difficult to place where they’d go in the continuity. Anyway, here’s my conclusions about the continuity. Let me know what you think.
Doctor Who: Season 1 (March 4 2005 – December 2006)
Doctor Who: Children in Need special (December, 2006)
Doctor Who: The Christmas Invasion (December 24, 2006)
Doctor Who: Season 2 (January – June, 2007)
Torchwood: Season 1, Episode 1-10 (June – December 24, 2007)
Doctor Who: The Runaway Bride (December 24, 2007)
Torchwood: Season 1, Episode 11 (January, 2008)
Sarah Jane Adventures: Season 1, Episode X-2 (January – February, 2008)
-Invasion of the Bane
-Revenge of the Slitheen
Doctor Who: Season 3, Episode 1-7 (January – February, 2008)
Doctor Who: The Infinite Quest (January – February, 2008)
Doctor Who: Season 3, Episode 8-10 (January – February, 2008)
Torchwood: Season 1, Episode 12-13 (February, 2008)
Doctor Who: Season 3, Episode 11-13 (February, 2008)
Torchwood: Season 2, Episode 1 (February, 2008)
Doctor Who: Time Crash (February – December, 2008)
Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned (December 24 – 25, 2008)
Sarah Jane Adventures: Season 1, Episode 3-10 (December, 2008)
-Eye of the Gorgon
-Warriors of Kudlak
-Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?
-The Lost Boy
Torchwood: Season 2, Episode 2-13 (December 2008 – March 2009)
Doctor Who: Season 4 (Spring 2009)
Sarah Jane Adventures: Season 2, Episode 1-2 (Spring, 2009)
-The Last Sontaran
Doctor Who: The Next Doctor (Spring, 2009)
Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (April 12, 2009)
Sarah Jane Adventures: Season 2, Episode 3-12 (Spring/Summer, 2009)
-The Day of the Clown
-Secrets of the Stars
-The Mark of the Berserker
-The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith
-Enemy of the Bane
Sarah Jane Adventures: Season 3 (Spring/Summer, 2009)
Torchwood: Season 3 (September, 2009)
Doctor Who: Waters of Mars (September, 2009)
Doctor Who: Dreamland (September, 2009)
Doctor Who: The End of Time (December 24 – 26, 2009)
Doctor Who: Season 5, Episode 1 (June 25, 2010)
Doctor Who: Meanwhile in the Tardis, Episode 1 (June 25, 2010)
Doctor Who: Season 5, Episode 2-5 (June 25, 2010)
Doctor Who: Meanwhile in the Tardis, Episode 2 (June 25, 2010)
Doctor Who: Season 5, Episode 6-13 (June 5 – 26, 2010)
Sarah Jane Adventures: Season 4 (August – December, 2010)
Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol (December 25, 2010)
Doctor Who: Space / Time (December 2010 – February 2011)
Doctor Who: Bad Night / Good Night (December 2010 – February 2011)
Doctor Who: Season 6, Episode 1-7 (February – Summer, 2011)
Sarah Jane Adventures: Season 5 (Summer, 2011)
Torchwood: Season 4 (July – September 9, 2011)
Doctor Who: Season 6, Episode 8-11 (Autumn, 2011)
Doctor Who: Up All Night (Autumn, 2011)
Doctor Who: Season 6, Episode 12-13 (Autumn, 2011)
Doctor Who: First Night / Last Night (Autumn/Winter 2011)
Doctor Who: The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe (December 25, 2011)
Also, the news is that Season 7 is going to premiere August 25th. Not sure if it’s confirmed yet, but just giving a head’s up.
If you’re interested in the video games:
The following game takes place between episodes 9 and 10 of Season 5:
-Doctor Who: The Mazes of Time
The following games take place between Season 5 Episode 10 and “Meanwhile in the Tardis, episode 1”:
-Doctor Who: The Adventure Games, Season 1
-Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth
-Doctor Who: Return to Earth
The following game takes place between episodes 10 and 11 of Season 6:
-Doctor Who: The Adventure Games, Season 2
The following game takes place after “First Night / Last Night” and before “The Doctor, The Widow, and The Wardrobe”:
-Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock
Sorry, the Adventure Games, Evacuation Earth, and Return to Earth are between episodes 10 and 11 of Season 5.
Got “Meanwhile in the Tardis 1” mixed up with “Up All Night”
after the end of the 1st season of torchwood you go directly to watching Utopia (season 3 episode 12) to match it together then continue doctor who till captain jack harkness returns to torchwood then you can watch it
Just saw this on a Wired article about the 50th Anniversary Special.
The 2013 line-up:
—Series 7 Part 2 (8 Episodes / Spring 2013)
—50th Anniversary Special (1 x 60 minutes / Autumn 2013)
—An Adventure in Space and Time (1 x 90 minutes / Autumn 2013)
—Doctor Who Revisited (11 x 25 minutes / throughout year)
It seems like continuity-wise, “Death Is The Only Answer”, happens after Season 5, “Big Bang”. What do you think? Great viewing list, by the way!
huh, I’ll have to do a bit of research. thanks!
Very good I have a similar one I’ve been making:
The Complete Doctor Who Episode Guide (2005 – present)
Series 1 (2005):
[Starring: Christopher Eccleston as the 9th Doctor and
Billie Piper as Rose Tyler]
Doctor Who Series 1 Boxset Easter Egg Trailer [Youtube Link]
1) Rose
2) The End of the World
3) The Unquiet Dead
4) Aliens of London (Part 1)
5) World War Three (Part 2)
6) Dalek
7) The Long Game
8) Father’s Day
9) The Empty Child (Part 1)
10) The Doctor Dances (Part 2)
11) Boom Town
12) Bad Wolf (Part 1)
13) The Parting of the Ways (Part 2)
Born Again [Children in Need Short] [Youtube Link]
X) The Christmas Invasion [Christmas Special]
Series 2 (2006):
[Starring: David Tennant as the 10th Doctor and
Billie Piper as Rose Tyler]
Tardisode trailer [YouTube Link]
1) New Earth [Tardisode YouTube Link]
2) Tooth and Claw [Tardisode YouTube Link]
3) School Reunion [Tardisode YouTube Link]
4) The Girl in the Fireplace [Tardisode YouTube Link]
5) Rise of the Cybermen (Part 1) [Tardisode YouTube Link]
6) The Age of Steel (Part 2) [Tardisode YouTube Link]
7) The Idiot’s Lantern [Tardisode YouTube Link]
8) The Impossible Planet (Part1) [Tardisode YouTube Link]
9) The Satan Pit (Part 2) [Tardisode YouTube Link]
10) Love & Monsters [Tardisode YouTube Link]
11) Fear Her [Tardisode YouTube Link]
12) Army of Ghosts (Part 1) [Tardisode YouTube Link]
13) Doomsday (Part 2) [Tardisode YouTube Link]
Torchwood Spin-off Begins [4 series and a web-series, in limbo]
X) The Runaway Bride [Christmas Special]
The Sarah Jane Adventures Spin-off Begins [5 series, a Children in Need Short, and Alien Files, ended with short 5th series]
Series 3 (2007):
[Starring: David Tennant as the 10th Doctor and Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones]
Attack of the Graske Game [BBC Website Link: Interactive mini story with two endings]
1) Smith and Jones
2) The Shakespeare Code
3) Gridlock
4) Daleks in Manhattan (Part 1)
5) Evolution of the Daleks (Part 2)
The Infinite Quest [Animated Episode]
6) The Lazarus Experiment
7) 42
8) Human Nature (Part 1) [Youtube Link extra scene: Strange Noises with my Mouth]
9) The Family of Blood (Part 2)
10) Blink [BBC Website Link: Read the original short story]
11) Utopia (Part 1) [Torchwood Season 1 finale ends where this begins]
12) The Sound of Drums (Part 2)
13) Last of the Time Lords (Part 3)
Time Crash [Children in Need Short] [YouTube Link]
X) Voyage of the Damned [Christmas Special]
Torchwood Series 2 Begins
Series 4 (2008):
[Starring: David Tennant as the 10th Doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble]
1) Partners in Crime [Monster File: YouTube Link]
2) The Fires of Pompeii [Monster File: YouTube Link]
3) Planet of the Ood [Monster File: YouTube Link]
4) The Sontaran Stratagem (Part 1) [Monster File: YouTube Link]
5) The Poison Sky (Part 2) [Monster File: YouTube Link]
6) The Doctor’s Daughter [Monster File: YouTube Link]
7) The Unicorn and the Wasp [Monster File: YouTube Link]
8) Silence in the Library (Part 1) [Monster File: YouTube Link]
9) Forest of the Dead (Part 2) [Monster File: YouTube Link]
10) Midnight [Monster File: YouTube Link]
11) Turn Left [Monster File: YouTube Link]
12) The Stolen Earth (Part 1) [Torchwood and Sarah Jane Appearance] [Monster File: YouTube Link]
13) Journey’s End (Part 2) [Torchwood and Sarah Jane Appearance] [Monster File: YouTube Link]
Doctor Who at the Proms mini scene 2008: Music of the Spheres [Youtube Link]
The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 2 Begins
K-9 [Unofficial] Spin-off Begins [Children’s Show] (1 Series, series 2 in development)
2008-10 Specials:
[Starring: David Tennant as the 10th Doctor]
Christmas Monster File [YouTube Link]
1) The Next Doctor [Christmas Special] [Monster File: YouTube Link]
2) Planet of the Dead [Easter Special]
3) The Water of Mars [Autumn Special]
Dreamland [Animated Serial]
The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 3 Begins
The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (Part 1 & 2) [The Doctor on The Sarah Jane Adventures] (Sarah Jane’s Alien Files – The Doctor [Youtube Link])
Torchwood Season 3 (Children of Earth) Begins [No Doctor, but its aftermath is visually referenced in “The End of Time Part 2″
2008-10 Specials continued:
Tonight’s The Night [YouTube Link]
Doctor Who BBC One Idents 2009 (4 scenes) [Youtube Links]
Doctor Who Adventure Calendar – A Ghost Story for Christmas [Youtube Link]
4) The End of Time (Part 1) [Christmas Special]
5) The End of Time (Part 2) [New Year’s Special]
Series 5 (2010):
[Starring: Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor and Karen Gillian as Amy Pond]
1) The Eleventh Hour (Youtube Link extra scene: Meanwhile in the TARDIS)
2) The Beast Below
3) Victory of the Daleks
4) The Time of Angels (Part 1)
5) Flesh and Stone (Part 2) [Monster File: YouTube Link]
6) The Vampires of Venice [Monster File: YouTube Link]
7) Amy’s Choice
8) The Hungry Earth (Part 1)
9) Cold Blood (Part 2) [Monster File: YouTube Link]
10) Vincent and the Doctor
11) The Lodger
12) The Pandorica Opens (Part 1)
13) The Big Bang (Part 2)
Doctor Who: The Adventure Games “Season 1” [4 online games that tie-in with Series 5, BBC Website Link]
The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 4 Begins
Death of the Doctor (Part 1 & 2) [The Doctor on The Sarah Jane Adventures]
X) A Christmas Carol [Christmas Special]
Season 6 (2011) (Split into two parts, spring and fall):
[Starring: Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor, Karen Gillian as Amy Pond, and Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams]
Part 1:
Space/Time [Children in Need Short, Youtube Link]
1) The Impossible Astronaut (Part 1)
2) Day of the Moon (Part 2)
3) The Curse of the Black Spot
4) The Doctor’s Wife
5) The Rebel Flesh (Part 1)
6) The Almost People (Part 2)
7) A Good Man Goes to War (Dailymotion Link extra scene: The Battle of Demons Run: Two Days Later)
Doctor Who: The Adventure Games “Season 2” [1 online game that ties-in with Series 6, BBC Website Link]
Torchwood Series 4 (Miracle Day) Begins
Part 2:
8) Let’s Kill Hitler [Prequel Short YouTube Link]
9) Night Terrors
10) The Girl Who Waited
11) The God Complex
12) Closing Time
13) The Wedding of River Song [Prequel Short YouTube Link]
Doctor Who Scene at National Television Awards 2011 [YouTube Link]
Death is the Only Answer [Doctor Who Confidential Short] [YouTube Link]
Night and the Doctor [Dailymotion Links: mini series of 5 mini-episodes]
Doctor Who Children in Need Christmas Trailer 2011 [Youtube Link]
The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 5 Begins
X) The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe [Christmas Special] [Prequel Short YouTube Link]
Good as Gold [Blue Peter Short for London 2012 Olympics] [YouTube Link]
Series 7 (2012-13) (Split into two parts, fall and spring, with the Christmas special in the middle)
Part 1:
[Starring: Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor, Karen Gillian as Amy Pond, and Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams]
Pond Life [Mini-Webisodes] [YouTube Links]
1) Asylum of the Daleks [2 Prequel Shorts, 1 YouTube, 1 Dailymotion Link]
2) Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
3) A Town Called Mercy [Prequel Short YouTube Link: The Making of the Gunslinger]
4) The Power of Three
5) The Angels Take Manhattan
P.S. [YouTube Link extended ending Season 7 finale]
Special:
[Starring: Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor and Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara Oswald]
X) The Snowmen [Christmas Special] [2 Prequel Shorts YouTube Link: The Great Detective and Vasta Investigations]
Sontaran Carols [Youtube Link]
Part 2:
[Starring: Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor and Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara Oswald]
7) The Bells of Saint John [Prequel Short and Nabile’s Warning Scene YouTube Links]
8) The Rings of Akhaten
9) Cold War
10) Hide
11) Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS
12) The Crimson Horror
13) Nightmare in Silver
14) The Name of the Doctor [2 Prequel Shorts: He Said, She Said and Clearance and the Whispermen, 2 Prequel Strax Field Reports YouTube Link: The Name of the Doctor and A Glorious Day]
Sequel Strax Field Report: The Doctor’s Greatest Secret [YouTube Link, watch after the episode “The Name of the Doctor”]
Cyberman spotted at Heathrow Airport [YouTube Link]
Doctor Who at the Proms mini scene 2013 [YouTube Link]
Google Street View’s ‘Doctor Who’ Easter egg
2013 Specials:
[Starring: Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor and Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara Oswald]
TBA [3D] [50th anniversary special]
TBA [Christmas special]
Season 6 episode 1(The Impossible Astronaut) and episode 3 *Curse of the Black Spot) have prequels. Links can be found on youtube.