Maybe your buddy really likes gritty science fiction, but all he thinks of when Doctor Who is mentioned are silly monsters and the neon bright costuming of the 1980s. Take him back to one of Hartnell's best serials, The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Probably one of the bleakest stories the show has ever produced, it shows a future Earth after the Daleks have taken over the planet. The small resistance forces are massively outnumbered, outgunned, and losing quickly. One glimpse of the nightmarish Robomen (a clear prototype for the Cybermen) and the eerie sign warning against dumping bodies in the river, and the supposed silliness of Doctor Who will be the furthest thing from their minds.