Doctor Who is a show in a state of constant flux. With an in-universe explanation as to why the lead actor changes every 3-7 years. The show has taken on a whole host of different leads, all bringing something new to the character and changing the overall feel of the show.
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Each new Doctor gets one shot to make their first impression, something that's become more crucial in the modern age of TV. A new Doctor's first episode needs to capture the essence of what the new actor will bring to the iconic time-traveler, and in some cases, what the new production team will give the audience too.
12 The Twin Dilemma – Colin Baker's 6th Doctor
The 6th Doctor is an incarnation derived by many in the fanbase, as a large chunk of his characterization goes against what people think of for The Doctor. His first episode is the clearest highlight of this. It's clear that the showrunners at the time wanted to make a statement and make this Doctor very different from the rest.
The Doctor could always be a bit rude, but they did it in a charming way because they sometimes forget to stop and think about the other people in the room. The 6th Doctor, however, feels like they assess everyone in the room and pick the perfect way to upset them. The writers would slowly back away from this edge of the character, but in his debut episode, the 6th Doctor is down-right unlikable from start to finish.
11 The Power Of The Daleks – Patrick Troughton's 2nd Doctor
This episode is somewhat of a hard one to judge, as it is one of the episodes that has been lost to history, and the BBC doesn't have a copy of it. What they had of the original audio was reconstructed into an animated adventure in 2013, but there's no way to capture the true experience of this episode.
It gives a good sense of who the 2nd Doctor is and captures their energetic persona quite well. Although, that wasn't that hard to do, considering the complete lack of energy in the 1st Doctor's character. Ultimately, it's a middle-of-the-road Dalek story that audiences may never get to see in its proper form ever again.
10 Time And The Rani – Silvester McCoy's 7th Doctor
Far from the original series' peak, when watching this episode back, it's not hard to understand why the show was just a few years away from getting canceled. This is one of the only post-regeneration episodes that contains the regeneration right at the start, already making it an oddity. This was due to Colin Baker being removed from the role by the BBC before the start of the series.
From there, it doesn't pick up much. McCoy is about the only good thing in the episode, as his portrayal of The Doctor harkens back to the more popular Doctors of the show without feeling like a cheap imitation. He has fresh energy and seems genuinely kind-hearted whenever he talks. It's just a shame that the plot, monster design, and production value couldn't keep up with him.
9 An Unearthly Child – William Hartnell's 1st Doctor
It almost feels unfair to judge this one by modern standards. While The Unearthly Child has plenty of historical significance, it is a clear encapsulation of how different TV was at the time. Episodes were extremely slow-paced and involved a lot of standing around and talking that would never make it into the modern program.
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That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it makes the show feel incredibly different from what modern fans, or even fans of the 70s-80s era of the show, know and love. However, it does a great job of introducing audiences to the whole concept of the show. Explaining The Doctor, The TARDIS, and the basic format for every episode that established the show for almost 60 years and counting.
8 Spearhead From Space – Jon Pertwee's 3rd Doctor
It turns out the modern era wasn't the first time a new Doctor faced the Autons right off the bat. While the modern version of the Autons may be more realistic, these classic-era Autons look far more creepy. Their weird plastic skin and movement put them right in the uncanny valley for an intimidating villain.
This episode is interesting in that it doesn't really spend much time focusing on the 3rd Doctor finding their way in their new body. He finds his outfit and slips into the action surprisingly quickly. It's unusual, but it cuts right to the chase of what this Doctor is like when dealing with crises, and it does a good job of it too.
7 The Woman Who Fell To Earth – Jodie Whittaker's 13th Doctor
The weakest of the modern-era intros, this episode falls down because of its secondary characters. The episode does a good job of establishing most of the new stuff about the series. The production value sky-rocketed following the end of Moffat's time on the show, and the new feeling this episode gives off is a big positive. Not to mention much of the positive representation on display throughout the series.
The Doctor is also established pretty clearly. While some of the bigger positives would fall away slightly over Whittaker's tenure, in this, they balanced aspects of previous Doctors to create something familiar but new. The biggest problem is the new companions who, since there are so many, are reduced to single traits, and the most likable one dies before the episode's over.
6 The Christmas Invasion – David Tennant's 10th Doctor
Tennant's time as The Doctor is easily the most beloved by modern fans, as it was when the show reached its peak of popularity for the modern era, with multiple spin-off shows. However, his first outing as The Doctor was far from his best, as he isn't in it for most of it.
What it does well is looking at the trauma such an event has on The Doctor's companions and gave those moments real weight, something later regenerations wouldn't do. When The Doctor finally shows up, he's a fantastic encapsulation of everything Tennant's Doctor was great at, but he deals with the threat so easily, they feel like no threat at all.
5 Castrovalva – Peter Davidson's 5th Doctor
This episode looked to showcase the new Doctor by giving him a real meaty story to sink his teeth into right off the bat. In many post-regeneration episodes – even the best ones – the episodes' enemy can often feel like a minor part of the story, as the focus is on showcasing everything new the show is going to have under their new lead actor. Castrovalva decides to go against this.
The Doctor has little time to get out of his post-regeneration daze before being thrown into the action, and he deals with it quite well. It creates an episode where we get to spend an extended length of time with all sides of this new Doctor, which means that he feels fully formed by the end. This is largely due to the old series having every story split across several episodes, but it works nonetheless.
4 Deep Breath – Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor
This is an episode often looked over by modern fans, especially those who weren't fans of Capaldi's time in the role. However, while that series as a whole had a lot of problems with The Doctor's characterization, this very first one gets it right.
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The Doctor spends a very long portion of the episode high on regeneration energy, but unlike the 10th Doctor who simply slept it off, the 12th Doctor gets out there. He's in the thick of the action having his own little adventure. Capaldi got to show off his world-class comedic chops throughout this adventure, which turned into showcasing the very best of his serious & heroic side by the end. It even managed to fit in a little hint of the darkness to come without being overbearing.
3 Robot – Tom Baker's 4th Doctor
Easily the most iconic Doctor of the classic series, Tom Baker was a fantastic Doctor right from the word go. Straight away, we get scenes showcasing Baker's hilarious, silly side, running around, judging his new appearance, and talking a lot of advanced nonsense in scenes that modern fans will find very familiar.
The plot isn't as strong as some of the modern episodes, but that doesn't really matter because Baker's personality is enough to carry the episode and make it an entertaining watch. Those who say Baker is just favored because he was The Doctor for so long have clearly never seen how easily he can grip the viewer with his performance and keep them glued to the screen from start to finish.
2 Rose – Christopher Ecclestone's 9th Doctor
Rose is an incredible episode because it has to not only introduce the audience to the new Doctor but the whole new way of doing things. Doctor Who's 2005 revival was a big deal. This episode had to put its best foot forward to not only pull in new fans but convince old fans that this revival was still the show they loved as kids.
On that, it absolutely nailed it. Telling the story through the new companion not only gave us a deep look into who they are but allowed the audience to see The Doctor through completely uneducated eyes. The episode assumes no prior knowledge but still throws hints and teases in there to those who do know the show's lore. On top of that, it's exceptionally well-paced with memorable villains and a plot that is aided by Ecclestone & Piper's instant on-screen chemistry.
1 The Eleventh Hour – Matt Smith's 11th Doctor
The Eleventh Hour could've been one of TV's biggest disasters. Russel T. Davies was out of the writer's chair for the first time since the 2005 revival, and the new Doctor, Matt Smith, was having to follow up the utterly incredible and insanely popular David Tennant.
In just 45 minutes, The Eleventh Hour takes the audience through everything the new incarnation of the show is going to be. It reassures fans that the aspects they loved from the RTD era are still there, only now they've been given a new coat of paint from Smith & Moffat. The new Doctor & companion are instantly likable and pair well together, and the plot showcases all of The Doctor's greatest character strengths.
On top of that, it has the best statement of intent of any new Doctor. The 11th Doctor appreciates and respects the old while pushing forward into the new, injecting beloved characters and immediately creating one of the show's most iconic moments in the process.
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