Doctor Who

By Katy Swain, 23 April, 2025

[Spoilers ahead, obviously.]

I was asked recently how somebody familiar with 21st century Doctor Who might best approach the 20th century back catalogue. A comprehensive answer to this is more a book than a blog post. 

The short answer is: not chronologically. The 1960s black and white stories were produced on a treadmill of forty-odd episodes a year, and while there are some magnificent gems to be found there, even the hardiest binge-viewer of pre-Star-Wars sci-fi will find themselves losing the will to live at times. And there are large stretches during the colour years that varied between uninspired to awful. But that answer still leaves one with no clear direction.

By Katy Swain, 24 February, 2024

I haven't kept a television set for nearly five years, but television fascinates me. I can trace this fascination to a single program, starting one evening at my grandparent's house.

One evening just after dinner I was watching the little black and white portable television in the spare room and, on a whim and for the first time ever, watched a whole episode of Doctor Who. I was hooked.