Just reading the posts and threads from the last 3 episodes and the vast array of opinions of what people like and don't like. As an Older. fan i wanted ask anyone who is new to Doctor Who, what it is that have changed them from casual viewers into fans?

I ask just because with all the competition out there, I'd be interested to know what they expect from the Sci-fi

Initally
Billie Piper
I don´t know was hooked pretty much after the 1st Episode, slowly but surly got into the story arcs. I missed a bit when I came to spain and lived, but on of my visits back to the UK I watched the entire 2nd Series ... it all changed when I seen Domesday, then now I am a mental fan.

Now

Story Arcs
Character Devlopment... how the 10th Doctor grew on was something else.

Now I love everythng about it, the comedy , drama, tears.. and the deeper thories of why we all go mental of somethng that is generally made and written as its gone along !


Thank god for i player , and internet streaming sites

I'm guessing OP, that like me the Doctor became your best friend (obviously not literally!) when you were very young.

There was no sex appeal back then, no companion to lust after. Us older fans fell for the Doctor in a hero worship way and felt safe when he was around.

Or is that just me...I'll get me coat!

I would agree and thats why i posed the question. Is that the appeal that remains today? Or is it that sex and romance is needed to attract viewers today

The first episode I saw was Doctor's Daughter. Not an auspicious start, but I thought it was funny, so I got hooked.

Hmmm... as far as I can tell, the producers were bringing in a little sex appeal (to keep the UK's fathers happy) from quite early on in the show, e.g. Polly, Victoria, Zoe...

nyingy

Started watching in 2005 liked it continued watching to see how it would work under a new actor, thought DT was great and was a real good show. However, I did feel the show was too light and simple for what it could have been so was thrilled when Moffat took control with his arcs and think Matt is the best Doc for me so far.

Was gonna say, Romana Mk I and Leela weren't exactly, erm, aesthetically displeasing....

I started watching in 2005 but never really go into it until Tennant took over, Eccleston just never grabbed me really. I remember watching his episodes but wouldn't have considered myself a real fan. Tennant brought more fun to it really. I was never a fan of Rose however so enjoyed it more after she left. Tennant will always be my Doctor for sparking my love of Who but I love Matt Smith as well. Tennant towards the end was losing his magic and I have been known to defend Smith to a Tennant fan friend who claims Smith overacts.

The way it pulls you into the stories is what really made me a fan. I loved Midnight, Human Nature/Family of Blood, Blink but at the same time the less heavy stories like Partners in Crime, The Lodger and The Eleventh Hour are brilliant as well. There's just so much variety there that you know that if you don't like one episode it's okay because next weeks will be different.

Well my first episode was technically the Christmas invasion, but it didn't really hook me at the time - I was 12, it was Christmas day, and I had a new pokemon game which I thought was more exciting But I remembered it as seeming quite good, and halfway through series 2 (the idiots lantern, in fact) started watching it properly.

I guess what grabbed me in 2006 was the Doctor/Rose relationship - again, I was 12, and a sucker for anything I saw as romantic But as I got older and learnt more about the old series I became more interested in the plots, the ongoing arcs and the aliens. In fact the 'romance' that got me into the show actually annoyed me more than anything! I think that's what I look for now - clever storylines and plot twists, a bit of excitement, and an alien with a unique and interesting idea behind it. Which I think is why I like Moffatts stuff

And in fact, what people have said about the Doctor being like a best friend probably became true for me too

EDIT: gosh, just reread that! Sorry, didn't mean to answer with my life story

BUT, the dad's weren't the fans, the kids were. I take your point though!

Don't apologise, I find it interesting to read other people's experiences.

Ah, that's ok then I just tend to ramble on a lot is all

Though never really liking anything Doctor Who pre 2005, one of the big things for me ironically is the shows history. Never knew who the mater was but loved that old characters that had been significant before had come back. I couldn't really sit and watched a pre 2005 episode but I do have an appreciation for them regardless.

This might not make any sense to most, but it does to me.

I hated doctor who growing up. Couldnt stand it. My stepfather used to make us watch it. Then when it started in 2005 I watched a few episodes but wasnt really taken. I then watched the christmas special and fell in love with Doctor Who. DT will always be my doctor.

I started watching in 2005. I remember seeing a preview on Blue Peter (in Rose when the shop blew up) and me being a typical 12 year old boy, I watched the show mainly for the explosion. Then I was hooked really, mainly down to the characters of Jackie and Rose.

I was born in '83, looking back I remember watching an episode with Sylvester McCoy where people seemed to be turning into cats or something, I also can remember one with a Dalek with a little girl inside it or summat?

But me myself became a fan with the new series, I knew who some of the enemies were, Daleks, Cybermen, The master......But I'd say I got into watching it as it seemed a bit a of gamble from the BBC to begin with, because it could have gone either way.......and then I was hooked! I just thought it was also great to have something at last to be classed as good TV for a saturday night .

This is fascinating for me to read. I think its interesting that a few have mentioned the earlier companions. Although they were attractive it was never indicated that the Doctor who intimate with any of them. In fact it was always suggested that the Doctor was above such things. I love the Nu-who but my heart belongs to the classic series. There are a lot more tears in the new series, I often wonder whether there was a consious decision to appeal too female fans

I don't know whether I class as a new fan but I supppose I do as my decision to watch is now my own.

I have very fond memories of classic Dr Who, watching Tom Baker's doctor, Sarah Jane and K9. I wouldn't say I was hooked but watched it because it was a chance to curl up on the sofa with my dad and watch from behind a cushion when the Daleks and Cybermen, amongst others turned up.

Dad became bored when Colin Baker took over, I got older and lost my interest.

By the time nu-who started I was married and both my husband and I had fond memories so decided to tune in. I loved David Tennants doctor but still wouldn't say I was hooked - a fan yes because it was Sky+'d so we never missed an episode - but not hooked.

I guess I've got more into since discovering these forums and got involved with discussions, theories and speculation. Also this series my children have started watching and Saturday evening now becomes something to look forward to and get excited about.

I was born in 79, so whilst I was around for the end of Tom Baker's rein, it would be Peter Davidson, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy that I saw the most of. Of those I think it was only the Sylvester episodes that I watched that were not repeats...

Of all that, I think the things that hooked me the most wer the TARDIS, the Sonic Screwdriver, the Daleks and my love for anything Sci-Fi/Fantasy

I started watching from Series 5. Had never seen an episode before as I thought it was more just a sort of silly sci fi programme. Gave The Eleventh Hour a watch and thought it was brilliant. Had no idea what the show was about really (Apart from TARDIS bigger on the inside than out, when the doctor is killed he regenerates and there is usually a girl that goes on "missions" with him). I loved Matt Smith, thought he was really funny and liked how everything worked. Ended up watching it a couple of hours later again and really enjoyed it again. The Series as a whole helped me out of a bad time in my life so I'm actually pretty thankful for it as it makes things easier to cope with as it was my "escape".

I LOVE Dr Who. It's really the only show I go out my way to make sure I get to see broadcast "live". I'm looking forward for being able to go back and watch the previous series (eventually) and see how I find different doctors compared to Matt, as most people compare Matt to previous doctors whilst I'll be comparing them to Matt

Being from America, my only opportunity to watch DW was on my local PBS station late on Saturday nights, and only occasionally, so I consider myself a fairly new fan. I started casually watching in 2005, but became a fan in Series 4.

My main reason for watching so casually is that I much preferred TW, thinking it was the more "adult" of the two shows (I just turned 40), whereas I assumed (wrongly) that DW was targeted to kids. Then, just prior to Series 4 being shown here, I stumbled on to a DW marathon on BBC America and have been hooked ever since.

Welcome to the forum!

I was never into the show in the classic years but I started watching the revived series with The Christmas Invasion. Then it was School Reunion that hooked me back into the Classic era, and I'm now a fan of all 11 Doctors! Credit the late great Lis Sladen.

I watched Doctor Who from the beginning when I was a child, with William Hartnell who was like a wise, old grandfather, then Patrick Troughton and John Pertwee with his companion Sarah Jane (she was a role model to me of someone who could be both feisty and fun). I was absolutely terrified of the Daleks moving around on their wheels through the cardboard scenery, and I can't imagine what children nowadays think of the more sophisticated special effects.

Then I had a complete break from watching (I've got a lot of catching up to do!) and only returned when I accidentally saw a repeat of a Series 4 programme on BBC3 with David Tennant and Billie Piper. I loved the dynamic between these two characters and was hooked again! I was sad to see the end of the Tennant era but Matt Smith has been wonderful as the 11th Doctor - he manages to be young and old, silly and wise all at the same time. Looking forward to the rest of this series and trying to get my head round all the plot twists and turns.

I was born in 79, and have always been aware of the show as a kid, but never watched it. Pop culture being what it is, I knew about the premise, the Doctor, the TARDIS, the Daleks etc, but had never truly watched the show. From reading old Starbursts and TV Zone's, I built up a decent understanding of the backstory, and all that, but it wasn't until the Paul McGann TV movie that I actually saw an episode - and I enjoyed the hell out of it. Were there plotholes you could fly a starship through? Hell yeah. DId the Daleks sound like they were on Helium? Absolutely. But I loved it.

Albeait, not enough to go back and watch the older ones. At the time I loved the slick production values, the paciness of it, and trying to rewatch the older ones just seemed like a step backwards to me.

So, come 2005, and I watch the new series, and it sucked me right in. Great production, great writing, Ecceleston was excellent, as was Tennant, and now Smith. Watched them all, and loved it. Couple of duff episodes here and there, but I still never miss it. Total New Who fan.

I never did go back and properly watch the Classic show. A friend of mine sat me through The Five Doctors, and Genesis of the Daleks. I enjoyed them, but I'm not inclined to rewatch the older ones, although I've a massive respect for them as they inform the new series. But McGann, Ecceleston, Tennant and Smith... they're my Doctors.