10 Best Doctor Who Episodes For New Fans

4. City Of Death (1979)

Of course Doctor Who's far-reaching format means it can be funny too, and this is one of the best comedic stories of them all. It features the greatest Doctor of them all, Tom Baler's Fourth Doctor, and his companion - the always excellent Laila Ward as Romana II - visiting Paris and uncovering an alien plot involving the Mona Lisa itself. It plays with time travel to great effect, starting off on Earth in 400 million years BC, where an alien craft destroys all but the last of the Jagaroth, before heading to modern day Paris and then back to Florence in 1505 as the Doctor discovers the truth behind Count Scarlioni's plan. It is a great little story that shows just how funny Tom Baker's incarnation of the Time Lord could be. His bemusement over his 'arrest' by one-time companion Duggan is pure comic timing and his interplay with Count Scarlioni and his henchmen is just as delightful. It is also a story with plenty of adventure, action and drama, including a mad scientsist, a museum heist and lots timey-wimey fun in between. The wonderful scene in which the Doctor notices time repeating itself in the cafe deserves a special mention. It looks stunning, too, being the first episode to be set purely on location and it really makes the most of its Parisian landscape. If you want to show someone how engaging Classic Doctor Who can be, this one is probably your best bet.