Here are the opening stories for each regeneration of The Doctor in Doctor Who, as well as the very first villains they faced. Dating all the way back to the 1960s, Doctor Who has considerably more canon to draw from than your average science fiction TV series. There are also 15 separate iterations of The Doctor to consider, each with their own characteristics, flaws, quirks and fashion sense. When a Doctor bids farewell to Doctor Who, their final story is often a hugely dramatic affair pitting the eponymous hero against a major villain. The first adventure of each Doctor, however, is usually quite different.
Every time The Doctor regenerates, episode 1 is left with a stack of admin to deal with. As well as introducing a brand new lead actor, an incoming Doctor is sometimes accompanied by a completely fresh companion. In many cases, regeneration also brings an evolution of Doctor Who‘s style and tone, especially if a new showrunner has been hired. This necessary groundwork leaves precious little room for a big villain, meaning the first foe of each Doctor is usually an underwhelming second-tier monster never to be seen again.
The following list chronicles every Doctor’s first story proper, rather than their debut appearance. No Peter Capaldi angry eyebrows here. The War Doctor and Ruth are excluded by virtue of not sitting within the official line of Doctors, as well as the Eighth Doctor, whose sole televised appearance came in the 1996 movie. These are the opening chapters for each of the Doctors in Doctor Who TV history.
First Doctor – “The Cave of Skulls”
William Hartnell debuted as Doctor Who in 1963’s “An Unearthly Child,” but this episode focused largely on his trio of companions. After The Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan Foreman, acts suspiciously while attending a London school, her teachers follow her home (good luck getting away with that nowadays). Discovering the parked TARDIS, Ian and Barbara are intrigued that Susan and The Doctor live inside a box and sneak inside. The Doctor plays a relatively small part in this premiere episode, making “The Cave of Skulls” William Hartnell’s first proper outing as the First Doctor. When Doctor Who began, the BBC envisioned an educational history-based series, and following that remit, The Doctor is first faced with the threat of prehistoric man – an evil tribe member called Kal looking to snatch leadership by capturing The Doctor and murdering his way to the top. The First Doctor helps the tribe drive Kal away, marking his victory over Doctor Who‘s very first antagonist.
Second Doctor – “The Power of the Daleks”
Although his successors would mostly face lesser villains, Patrick Troughton bucked the trend by kicking off his tenure against the Daleks. Regenerating in the final moments of “The Tenth Planet,” the appearance of a new lead character left The Doctor’s companions (as well as many Doctor Who viewers) deeply confused. As Ben and Polly tried to figure out this impostor, the Second Doctor set about defeating the Daleks in his first full adventure. “The Power of the Daleks” takes place on the planet Vulcan, where a human colony has started reactivating dormant machines. When The Doctor arrives, he finds the machines in question are actually Daleks and implores the colony not to trust them. Ultimately, The Doctor destroys the Daleks and saves the colony from being taken over. Given the massive risk of switching from Hartnell to Troughton, it makes sense that Doctor Who‘s first post-regeneration episode would feature the Time Lord’s most famous adversary. “The Power of the Daleks” was one of the many Second Doctor stories deleted from the BBC archives.
Third Doctor – “Spearhead From Space”
The arrival of Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor in “Spearhead From Space” marked the first total reinvention of Doctor Who. Aside from the introduction of a new Doctor and companion in Liz Shaw, the show moved towards a more grounded, action-based tone. Doctor Who aired in color for the first time, and was solely based on Earth as The Doctor joined UNIT, while the TARDIS gathered dust. Unlike the Second Doctor’s first adventure, Pertwee was faced with an entirely new villain – the Nestene Consciousness. Able to control plastic, the Nestenes commanded an army of shop window mannequins known as Autons, sent to terrorize contemporary England. With an understated and unknown villain, “Spearhead From Space” was able to successfully establish the new world of Doctor Who and became the standard for post-regeneration serials. Although the Nestenes were unfamiliar to audiences in 1970, the success of “Spearhead From Space” and the iconic image of gun-toting mannequins ensured that the Autons would return.
Fourth Doctor – “Robot”
Tom Baker is considered by many to be the greatest Doctor in the history of Doctor Who, but the first villain he faced was hardly a sign of the greatness to come. After regenerating in the previous episode, the Fourth Doctor finally arrived in “Robot” alongside a returning Sarah Jane Smith and new companion, Harry Sullivan. The Fourth Doctor stole the show, naturally, and his opponent was the K1 robot constructed by a group of scientists with the aim of taking over the world’s leadership. The K1 robot itself is relatively unimpressive – a generic, lumbering collision of metal that forms an attachment to Sarah Jane Smith and definitely doesn’t hold up in the modern era. The Fourth Doctor manages to concoct a virus to cut down the rapidly-growing automaton, but would soon go on to better things. “Robot” is a classic case of using a lackluster villain to keep avoid detracting from the new lead actor.
Fifth Doctor – “Castrovalva”
Peter Davison made his Doctor Who debut in “Logopolis,” but it wasn’t until the following season’s “Castrovalva” that the Fifth Doctor was able to make a proper impression. The TARDIS crew of Adric, Nyssa and Tegan remained unchanged, leaving only the new Doctor himself to introduce, and allowing “Castrovalva” to bring in a more familiar villain – Anthony Ainley’s Master. Suffering from his usual post-regeneration weakness, The Doctor’s companions take the TARDIS to Castrovalva to give their fresh-faced friend tranquility, but their surroundings are a fabrication created by Adric, who The Master has captured as part of his ongoing crusade against The Doctor. Although “Castrovalva” was the first post-regeneration episode to feature a famed villain since “The Power of the Daleks,” the Fifth Doctor was mostly inactive for the duration. Only at the end of the final installment did Davison’s character come into his own.
Sixth Doctor – “The Twin Dilemma”
After making his first appearance in the classic “The Caves of Androzani,” Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor took center stage in “The Twin Dilemma,” which curiously acted as the finale of Doctor Who season 21. A lukewarm affair in all respects, “The Twin Dilemma” was notable for the Sixth Doctor’s uncharacteristic cruelty towards his companion, Peri Brown. From outright rudeness to bursts of violent rage, the Sixth Doctor was less than charming in his opening episode, and what could’ve been attributed to a post-regeneration stupor actually proved to be a hallmark of the early Colin Baker episodes. “The Twin Dilemma” was a cookie-cutter Doctor Who effort. A race of nondescript insect-like monsters called the Gastropods take over the planet of Jaconda, while their villainous leader Mestor plots universal conquest by imploding a sun. The new, snarky incarnation of The Doctor teamed up with fellow Time Lord Azmael, who sacrificed himself when possessed by Mestor to kill the villain. Neither Mestor, nor the Gastropods have been seen since in Doctor Who, and most fans would agree that’s probably for the best.
Seventh Doctor – “Time & The Rani”
Portrayed by Kate O’Mara, The Rani was one of the more reputable villains from the Sixth Doctor’s era – a female Time Lord and a callous scientist, unique from both The Doctor and The Master. Bringing The Rani back for Sylvestor McCoy’s debut outing as the Seventh Doctor initially seemed to be a wise decision after Colin Baker’s acrimonious departure, but “Time & The Rani” proved to be a difficult start for the new era of Doctor Who. The Doctor remained confused and helpless for most of the story, while the once-sinister Rani dressed up as The Doctor’s companion Mel and did her best Bonnie Langford impression. The Seventh Doctor enjoyed better adventures, but cancellation was certainly looming.
Ninth Doctor – “Rose”
When Doctor Who returned in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor, “Rose” essentially served as a modern remake of the Third Doctor’s “Spearhead From Space,” following the same story beats in the same way that The Force Awakens follows 1977’s Star Wars. Returning Doctor Who from the wilderness, Russell T. Davies had plenty to cover in his debut outing – a brand new Doctor, Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler, and the updated modern tone. Set in contemporary London, “Rose” brings back the Nestene Consciousness and the Autons, and just as they did in the Third Doctor’s premiere episode, the plastic invaders prove effective enough villains while still leaving enough room to establish Doctor Who‘s new era.
Tenth Doctor – “The Christmas Invasion”
Just as Eccleston’s first Doctor Who episode mirrored Pertwee’s, the introduction of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor comes with echoes of Tom Baker’s “Robot,” not necessarily in the subject matter, but in The Doctor recovering from his regeneration just in time to finish off a sub-par villain, and ultimately becoming the defining Doctor of his generation. Still coming to terms with his new body after first appearing in “The Parting of the Ways,” The Doctor sleeps while the Sycorax invade Earth and threaten a third of its population. A well-placed flask of tea rejuvenates The Doctor, who challenges the Sycorax leader to a duel and wins, promptly kicking the aliens off his adopted home planet. It’s a solid enough introduction to David Tennant, but viewers weren’t exactly begging for the Sycorax to return, and just like Tom Baker, Tennant would enjoy much better adventures.
Eleventh Doctor – “The Eleventh Hour”
“The Eleventh Hour” represented another complete reset for Doctor Who. With Steven Moffat joining as showrunner and Matt Smith replacing David Tennant in the TARDIS, Doctor Who needed to find its feet once again, especially with Karen Gillan’s Amy Pond also new to the cast. Once again, this didn’t leave much room for a standout villain in the Eleventh Doctor’s debut. “The Eleventh Hour” revolves around the recently escaped Prisoner Zero and her Atraxi captors, who are more than happy to destroy the Earth unless their fugitive is returned. Bounding around like an energetic child, the Eleventh Doctor sends both packing, but the real focus rests on the mysterious crack in Amy Pond’s bedroom. Interestingly, Prisoner Zero takes the form of the now Oscar-winning Olivia Colman.
Twelfth Doctor – “Deep Breath”
The transition from Matt Smith to Peter Capaldi was a stark change, but “Deep Breath” offered Doctor Who fans some familiar faces to ease the process. Not only did Clara Oswald return as The Doctor’s companion, but the Paternoster Gang joined this Victorian era adventure and the Eleventh Doctor himself even made a touching cameo, as Clara (and many viewers too, no doubt) struggled to accept The Doctor’s new face. In terms of villains, “Deep Breath” is surprisingly light, even for a post-regeneration episode. The Twelfth Doctor faces off against a time-travelling robot who has been steadily replacing his mechanical parts with organic material from Earth. When The Doctor intervenes, he’s able to convince the android to commit suicide, but the true purpose of this tragic antagonist is to introduce the season’s overarching villain, Missy.
Thirteenth Doctor – “The Woman Who Fell To Earth”
Another new showrunner, another complete regeneration of Doctor Who. Introducing Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor and her trio of companions, Graham, Ryan and Yaz, Chris Chibnall has plenty to cover with “The Woman Who Fell To Earth,” and the new showrunner’s drastically different style made for an even more jarring shift. Whittaker and Bradley Walsh carry the episode, and the scene in which the Thirteenth Doctor constructs her own screwdriver successfully laid the foundations for this incarnation of the character. The episode’s villain was Tzim-Sha (Tim Shaw to his friends) – a member of the Stenza warrior race who would have a recurring role in Whittaker’s debut season, which featured no familiar villains whatsoever. Although the Stenza were more ingrained into the Thirteenth Doctor’s narrative compared to other post-regeneration villains, fans didn’t necessarily embrace Tim Shaw as a Doctor Who villain for the future.
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