Doctor Who Season 12

If you want science fiction that respects its own premise, Doctor Who Season 12 is available on and right now. The 1-season run is exactly the right length for what it is doing. An 8/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Tom Baker leads a cast that never lets the concept overwhelm the characters. Start it whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Doctor Who Season 12 is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. What makes Doctor Who Season 12 work is that the ideas never crowd out the people having them. All the stories in this season were interconnected, several forming a loose story arc relating to Space Station Nerva. The Cybermen returned to the series for the first time since The Invasion. Genesis of the Daleks, a story which introduced Davros and showed the creation of the Daleks, is one of the most famous of all Doctor Who serials. Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was aired in 1974. The world-building is meticulous enough to sustain multiple rewatches, with details early on that only make sense later. It rarely drops the ball, and when it does, it recovers fast.

Sci-fi fans who want ideas alongside the spectacle will find Doctor Who Season 12 genuinely rewarding. If you have run out of similar titles to watch, this is a strong next pick. The complete run is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Tom Baker grounds the bigger ideas in something human. Once you are in, you will want to talk about it.