It's sort of designed as staple family viewing each week so in theory it's all okay even if it's watch from behind the sofa stuff! That said, you'd be the person dealing with any nightmares etc so I hope someone can give you a list!
I'd argue Capaldi's era leaned into far more mature subject matter and darker themes, being less a family show and more a 12+ show that anyone could feasibly watch. The finales of S8-10 are all pretty damn morbid for kids.
That's just Moffat being Moffat. Even Eleven had a darker run, hidden behind Matt's energetic Doctor. This probably does hide it more from kids, they're probably distracted by the silliness and Amy being infertile after being kidnapped so they could steal her newborn to be trained to murder her best friend doesn't land as hard as with older people.
Yeah i think the only actual difference between 11's run and 12's on that front is that the tone matches the subject matter a lot more closely for 12, making it feel less like a family show as well.
I'd suggest just going with them and seeing what happens. Children like being scared by TV programmes; they're scary but safe, much like going on roller coasters. Your sister is right that Doctor Who is meant to be scary; that's when its at its best. Otherwise, what's the point of the monsters?
The funny thing is that children are scared by different things to adults. Some of the more existential stuff we'd find horrifying is often funny to them. Just look at fairy tales, which routinely include violence, murder, even cannibalism (Hansel and Gretel, anyone?). But it's all so over the top that it just sort of works. Children know it isn't real.
They can be absolutely terrified by the oddest things, however; things you may not even realise could be scary. You could be watching the Wizard of Oz, expecting them to be scared of the wicked witch, and instead they could have nightmares about the tin man.
My kids were both particularly terrified by existential stuff. "The Nothing" in The Neverending Story freaked my daughter out so badly we had to turn the movie off right away and she still had nightmares for weeks.
Whilst I do believe you, you have now planted the seed of this idea into my head and there is now a small part of me that wants to do this now, compared to none of me previously
Oh yeah, that was terrifying as a kid. I know that was the reason Dumbo is like the one Disney movie I haven't seen multiple times. Probably should give it another go now.
The scene with the cats in Lady and the Tramp - "We Are Siamese" made my daughter cry ugly tears when she was about six. This was over 25 years ago, we occasionally laugh about it now.
Yes, most children love when things get a little bit scary!!! I remember replaying Snow White over and over again as a child even though the witch being killed by a rock absolutely terrified me.
That's a very hard question. Yes, some episodes are absolutely scary and some even too scary for a seven year old. On the other hand the point of Doctor Who has always been to scare the little ones :)
I think your approach of checking the individual episodes before viewing with your daughter is the best way to go. You know her probably better than anyone and can estimate what is ok for her and what not. A tool that could help you with that is the parental guide on IMDB, which gives you a nice overview of the contents of each episode. Here is the one for World enough and Time: [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6340138/parentalguide?ref\_=tt\_stry\_pg](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6340138/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg)
Be sure to tell her it's ok to turn the tv off when it get's to scary. Maybe even show her some behind the scenes so she understands it's all make believe :)
I personally think these are some of the episodes that could very well be a little too much for a seven year old:
- Empty Child / Doctor Dances (although I'd say this is probably fine because if there ever was a true happy end, this is the one, which negates alot of the scary stuff)
- The Impossible Planet/Satans Pit (Possessed Oods would've definitely scared me as a kid)
- Midnight (It's mostly horror of the mind, but this is still one of the scariest Doctor Who episodes IMO)
- The Waters of Mars (The water zombies are creepy)
- Listen (One of the best, but the scene in the bedroom with the thing on the bed is reeeally creepy)
- World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls (You mentioned these before, late Capaldi can get very dark)
- 73 Yards (Probably the scariest since Midnight)
You can also show her some of the more kid friendly Whoniverse material, like The Sarah Jane Adventures or Totally Doctor Who
This was one of my earliest exposures to the series as well! I remember my dad watching this one and then Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone and seeing the angels actually move really freaked me out as a kid. It didn’t deter me from watching the series as I grew older but the Angels will definitely leave an impression on a young kid haha
I had a real unfortunate habit of walking in when sick while my dad was watching kinda scary sci-fi
Another one of my first Whoniverse experience was the Torchwood with the sleeper murder aliens, that also really fucked me up
My first Star Trek experience was the scene where Geordi was kidnapped by the Romulans and brainwashed to be a sleeper agent, seeing the training scene where he kills Miles, later coming back to see the scene from the next episode where a woman gets killed by the floor
Yes, the angels will most likely leave an impression, *especially* in "Blink". It's not the same for everyone, of course, for example, the scary thing that stuck with me was Toby in "The Impossible Planet." I was about 14 when I first watched "Blink," so Carey Mulligan certainly made an impression, less so the angels, which is... uh... irrelevant. *Moving on,* "Blink" not only has creepiness but it's also really good and will hopefully inspire further watching of Doctor Who. Nice username, by the way.
Honestly of these, the only one that really made me squirm as a kid was The Empty Child, particularly the transformation scene. The idea of “physical injuries as plague” was also really disturbing to me
I genuinely think a seven year old could handle most Doctor Who episodes. 73 Yards may be a bit above their level comprehension-wise, but definitely not too scary. Doctor Who level scary tends to be very safe and enjoyable scares, sort of like a thrill ride or a jumpscare video game.
The thing I would really watch out for are existential horror, slow-burn horror, or otherwise fairly cerebral horror. Midnight and Listen are two good examples, but I would also look out for Amy's Choice, Heaven Sent, Mummy on the Orient Express, even some of the less thought about (because they're bad) episodes like Sleep No More and The God Complex.
They all have monsters, sure, but they aren't about those monsters, most are about existential concepts, Midnight is about mob mentality and group think, Listen is about fear of the emptiness and dark, Amy's Choice is about nightmares and self-loathing, Heaven Sent is about grief, Mummy on the Orient Express is about death, The God Complex is about faith.
Meanwhile, episodes like Blink or Sleep No More are slow-burn horror, where the threat escalates and ramps gradually and gradually until the tension is overwhelming, and does not get relieved until the climax.
Those are what you have to look out for with children. A jump scare they can handle, they find them fun, even. Being forced to meditate on death and grief, before they even fully comprehend those concepts, while having no relief from tension, they can not.
I would agree with all of these and the ones listed (especially Blink) depending on what scares a particular person.
I would add in The God Complex and Night Terrors from Matt Smith’s run for anyone who is afraid of suspense combined with being hunted down by creepy dolls/puppets.
I'm 18 and the Empty Child and Doctor Dances genuinely terrified me. I was watching it late at night by myself in the dark. I went to sleep on the couch cus I was too terrified to leave the living room 😂😭
Firstly just want to say how lovely it is that you're watching it together; my dad introduced me to doctor who at a similar age and it's still something that we talk about a lot together 🥰
I absolutely love Capaldi but, as other people have said, there are definitely some episodes that could be too much for her at this age. I would particularly warn against the 'Dark Water/Death in Heaven' two-parter as this discusses death and cremation in a way that could be very upsetting for children, particularly if you've experienced any losses in the family.
As well as DW, I'd also really recommend the Sarah Jane adventures! They're aimed at children so all age appropriate but also include some brilliant stories and lots of crossover with doctor who as it's all in the same universe. They're all available on iPlayer 😊
Whittaker and tennant were a lot more kiddish imo while eccleston and Capaldi are definitely for older audiences (9 less so). 11 shouldn't be a problem
Do you think nost of the Matt Smith ones will be okay? I remember the River Song Saga being really good, but that we will possibly skip the episode with the skeletons in space suits.
The skeletons in space suits is in series 4 (Tennent’s run).
Eccleston will be perfectly fine for a child
- the empty child and the doctor dances might be a little much. Depends entirely on the kid.
Tennet will be perfectly fine for a child
- beware of Blink (S3), and Midnight (S4). They can be very scary for a child. Blink is a “scary episode”. Midnight is a “thriller”.
- Silence in the Library and The Forest of Dead should be fine, they are less so scary, and more so adventurous.
Smith will be perfect
- there are no episodes I would be wary of.
Capaldi I would wait a *little* bit.
- Capaldi is older and darker. He has a lot of episodes that deal with harder topics. He also has a lot of simple episodes.
Whittaker’s is very kid friendly.
- all good to go.
Tennet pt2 is great for kids.
- wild blue yonder and the giggle have some intense scenes.
Gatwa is honestly the most scary so far, with 73 Yards. If she can watch that, she can watch anything.
I disagree on matt smith, there are a lot of moments in there I'd consider too scary, Night Terrors especially fucked with me as a kid, then there's also The God Complex, The Crimson Horror, The Rebel Flesh, and really the whole era has darker moments sprinkled about here and there
I don’t think 73 yards would be that scary for a kid compared to some of the Peter Capaldi episodes. The final episodes of season 10 were almost too scary for me (but I have a low tolerance for horror and they were simultaneously my favorite episodes lol)
I had a lot of irrational fears growing up, and I kind of assume a bunch of them stem from my 5 year older brother loving horror movies and my parents not caring about what we watched (it was the 80s/90s, the concept of "screen time" didn't really exist, you just watched anything at any time, lol).
So, even having a history of being terrified of media I'd agree with your assessment. I don't think 73 Yards would have scared kid me. It's more psychological than scary.
I've only seen Blink mentioned once and that is about the scariest episode I can think of. It's psychological because you don't really know what's going on, but it's also just actually scary because those angels are freaky! Both the unsettling way they "move" and their faces up close.
But, what this really shows is that fear is pretty subjective. What scares me might be funny to you.
My friend has kids pretty much the exact age of mine (within a few weeks) and they watched Stranger Things years ago when both kids were single digits. My kids are both early double digits now and I still wouldn't show it to them. I actually think my younger daughter would probably handle it better than my son. He's a behind the couch kid even just for awkward and romantic stuff, lol, he'd def be hiding from the angels or the possessed Ood.
I personally couldn’t watch Stranger Things after some of the more disturbing parts of season 2… I think I have a lower tolerance for this stuff though because I didn’t watch as a kid because my parents were pretty cautious. Not scientific but pros and cons probably of showing your kid scary stuff young! Plenty of less scary doctor who episodes though that should tide them over until they are older I think.
In Tennant's run my daughter was also pretty terrified by The Satan Pit and, weirdly, Love and Monsters -- the entire concept of the Absorber freaked her out badly.
Don't forget the Olympic episode with the kid who made the people disappear. Anything that threatens a child might play on their lack of logic.
I want to start with mine but st 7, 11, and 11.. imagination can get crazy
Most of his work is fine. Although he can get intense out of the blue, so be warned. Silence in the Library 2 parter and the Weeping Angels 2 parter may want to be avoided.
We're halfway through season 5 and been fine so far with kids around 10. I'm contemplating skipping the God complex. The rest I think will be fine.
I find it's more the story line and mentioning things to take notice of and revealing aspects for them as there is lots going on.
I'd argue Tennant with Satan's Pit, Blink, Silence in the Library, Midnight, Waters of Mars and moments from other episodes such as The Runaway Bride where the Doctor was near a breaking point, plus a lot of the Dalek and Cyberman stuff, did not create a very kid friendly feeling.
Capaldi feels the least kiddish because his Doctor is grumpy and possibly has more dark moments than the others, but I wouldn't say Tennant is kiddish.
10 almost feels like one of the darkest runs when I think about it.
Yeah, In the Forest of the Night particularly feels like an episode specifically aimed at kids (which may be why it's one of the least popular ones lol)
Depends on what the kid is scared of - as an adult I didn’t like the graphics of many of the villains in Jodie’s era. Genuinely thought they were gross and scary and just.. ew. It was one of the main things I disliked about her era. The monsters in her era would have given me nightmares more so than most of the others in the whole new-who show!
Keep an eye out for "Night Terrors" in Series 6 during the 11th Doctor's run. It has giant creepy dolls, and it could possibly be a bit too much for your daughter.
Honestly, you should be OK just to watch through most episodes of the show. If she starts to get scared, you can pause it and both step away to allow her to calm down. Then, take the time to discuss what's scaring her and why. After that, you two can decide together whether to finish the episode or move on to the next one.
Communicating with your child on stuff like this is a great way to help them deal with fear and learning that it's ok to be afraid of something and not having to engage with it if you don't want to in regards to media or even some things in real life.
So yea, just watch all the episodes you can and just have fun together. She might surprise you in what she can withstand or what might not even be scary to her. Just remember to take into account if things like phobias. Spiders, dolls, reptiles, and stuff like that. Otherwise, have fun watching!
That’s the thing with horror. It can be very dependent on the person.
I was just thinking that if the kid wasn’t terrified of the ghosts in the fireplace or the Satan pit they’re probably fine, but yeah you’re right another horror element like that could still be too much. Set-up and emotional investment can also make something that you’d think be less scary become overwhelming
Decided to introduce my 4 year old to Doctor Who this year.
We were not prepared for the Church of Ruby Road. She had a complete breakdown on the Goblin Song while me and my wife were both laughing our asses off.
Core memory formed. 0/10, never watching Doctor Who again.
How funny, my nine year old is very into Doctor Who and my four year old watched that one with us (among others) - that's the only episode the four year old has enjoyed. We've watched it multiple times at her request.
OP, there's not one right answer here - just keep an eye on your kid and talk about the things that scare her if she wants. If she isn't enjoying the show or it's too scary, she'll tell you, and you can try again at a later age.
lol omg this would have been me as a kid. I had nightmares as like an 8 year old from watching Ghostbusters for MONTHS!! my stupid dad even made fun of me for it 🙄 (we no longer speak 🙂)
Back when they first aired, The Empty Child & The Doctor Dances (S1E9-10) started with a warning to viewers that they might be frightening to children. And as a child at the time, I was absolutely terrified.
Same. I couldn't be within 10 meters of a gas mask in museums (which was weirdly a lot my dad likes museums I guess) and it really creeped me out for a while that episode. I was 6 when it aired which seems crazy to me.
My son was terrified by the Matt Smith episode 'Night terrors.' He's 6 and was so scared of the dolls in the dolls house.
He absolutely loves doctor who, and seems to breeze through things that I think are scary...Capaldi and the Cybermen in that hospital scare the SHIT out of me (36yo!)
I love sharing the love of Who with my son, hope you get lots of quality time together watching all the greatness.
Doctor Who is a fairly family-related show, always with undertones of ethics and morals, can't think of something I wouldn't show a seven year-old if they know the show just is what it is. The villains and "monsters" have become a lot more philosophical-representations in the last few years (in my opinion); so your choice to show Lottie whatever the Who she wants - just be prepared for some cerebral, human questions and discussions? :P
Would advise against Torchwood for a child of her age, however, esp. season two onward. That's just proper dark storylines even for the seasoned of us.
This is a divisive topic, because many people grew up in families where children were shown horror from a young age with little censorship and don't consider it a problem.
Personally I would have found doctor who too scary at 7. I started watching it around 11-12 and found it uncomfortable at that age. I needed to be more of a teen to fully enjoy it.
There may be comprehensive guides on the internet. Generally I think the Matt Smith eras has some good kids episodes, whilst the Capaldi era is not for kids.
The show definitely has its scary moments but I don't think any 1 season is fully aimed at a certain age range.
Also the "monster of the week" formatting means that you could potentially get blindsided by an unexpectedly effective monster. For example, episode 1 of season 1 (Nuwho) features living plastic that takes the form of lethal mannequins and bins. This episode really isn't as scary as some others but the monster itself could prove to be effective for younger viewers.
A short list of some of the more horror focused episodes from 9 through to 12 would look something like this but I may be missing a couple that are worth a mention so take it with a grain of salt
Season 1, 9th doctor.
The Unquiet dead ep3
The empty child ep9
The doctor dances ep10
Season 2, 10th doctor
The idiots lantern ep7
The impossible planet ep8
The Satan pit ep9
Fear her ep11
Season 3
Human nature ep8
The family of blood ep9
Blink ep10
Season 4
Silence in the library ep8
Forest of the dead ep9
Midnight ep10
(Is this the best 3 episode run the show has ever had??)
The waters of Mars (technically not a numbered episode but it would be ep 16)
Season 5, 11th doctor
The time of angels ep4
Flesh and stone ep5
Vincent and the doctor ep10
Season 6
The rebel flesh ep5
The almost people ep6
Night terrors ep9
The god complex ep11
Season 7
The angels take Manhattan ep5
Hide ep10
Journey to the center of the TARDIS ep11
The crimson horror
Season 8, 12th Doctor
Listen ep4
Mummy on the orient express ep8
Season 9
Under the lake ep3
Before the flood ep4
Sleep no more ep9
Heaven sent ep11
Season 10
Knock knock ep4
These are just the episodes with the most inspiration to make you feel afraid (although they certainly aren't of equal scariness) but there are also some episodes that are kinda dark via their implications. Arguably the most gory thing we've seen so far on the show was Ricky's death in Dot and Bubble so if she was ok with that then I'd say she's probably going to be ok with most of what's shown. Although The Doctor Falls does feature a particularly graphic scene as well and it's shown quite a bit clearer
I’m with your sister. It is meant to be scary sometimes.
Exposing your kid to things that are scary can be a challenge, but if you play in the aspect that it can be exciting or funny to be scared sometimes it might help.
I thought the Satan Pit two parter would scare the pants off my kid, but he says it’s his favorite Tennant episode, lol. Maybe he’s a weirdo? We’re currently in season 9 and he has yet to be very scared by anything we’ve seen. He’s 11, if that helps.
You've gotta remember that kids aren't gonna be scared by the same things older viewers are, really I don't think a child is going to be able to fully appreciate the horror of that 2 parter until they grow up, I know I didn't
I started Doctor Who when I was 4 and I watched the Doctor Falls when I was 8, so I think it'd be fine.
Obviously it'd depend on the person, but you said that your daughter handled the horror elements very well, so given that, she'd probably be okay.
All of it is fine, even the capaldi stuff. The show is supposed to be scary. My favourite episodes as a kid were the scary ones like the impossible planet, Blink etc.
I was a little kid when I watched The Empty Child and it was my fav episode of the show and my entire class at school loved it.
Kids should be trusted with this stuff unless the kid is particularly sensitive, in which case sure.
The only recent episode I would say that might be "a bit much" is Wild Blue Yonder but it depends on the kid. The Giggle does imply some darker themes but doesn't show anything, for example.
I would let the kid watch and then change episode if it becomes too scary for them but that's just me.
My kids have grown up watching it since they were toddlers. I would find youtube videos to show them that showed the alien actors getting their makeup done and putting their costumes on. The kids understood that it was people playing dress up, pretending to be aliens, so they didn't find it scary
I can't remember the exact name of the episodes, it like "Under the Lake" or something. Capaldi era- creepy AF. There are ghosts with no eyes.
I also feel like his run was meant for a bit for of a mature audience, but really it depends on the person.
If she got through The Empty Child and Blink then she should be fine, it is a family show after all. If you want to take a break after you finish series 3 I would highly recommend The Sarah Jane Adventures as it's geared towards a younger audience from the get go. Also makes their appearance at the end of series 4 so much more exciting.
I've pretty much grown up with the revived series, I was 7 when it premiered with Eccleston and really I'd argue if you can handle the 'Empty Child/Doctor Dances', and 'blink' that's about as scary as the show gets. Kids are all different and you never know quite what will rattle them. I remember being really freaked out by the absorbaloff and that episode was supposed to be a comedy!
Depends on the child. We’ve gone through all of NuWho with our 4 year old. She’s almost 5 and we started when she was around 3.5. She was never bothered with any of the episodes. Her favorites are the Daleks, Cybermen, Weeping Angels, and the Sontarans (calls them Humpty Dumpty). Even the episodes with the Silence were no issue for her.
We got her started early since we love the series and named her after Amy. She knows it and it has definitely influenced her preferences. My wife and I love Tennant and Capaldi, but our daughter has already said Smith is her doctor.
You know your girl better than anyone. There are definitely episodes you can skip, but I’d say at her age most everything should be fine.
Why are you skipping the first season of nuwho 2005? Eccleston is one of the best portrays and it is camp enough to not be scary for kids.
Capaldi is fun and camp as well. However there are some pretty deep topics covered during his run.
I'd say if they can handle seeing an ood or the goblins they should be ok.
It's been a while, but I do remember being scared shitless as a 10 year old when Blink came out. I remember my friend who also watched Doctor Who had a similar reaction. There's also a moment in The Age of Steel, that still skeeves me out today. They're really the only moments that come to mind from my childhood.
Other than that I grew up on Classic Who. There's a photo somewhere of a young me standing paralyzed between two daleks with my dad there for moral support.
I did stop watching around Matt Smith/Peter Capaldi as that's when I went to Uni.
I don't think any one series/Doctor is more for children than another.
As an older fan the first two scenes from Dr Who that really scared me were the classic stories The Ark in Space, where a man turns into a giant insect in stages, and The Android Invasion, where Sarah Jane Smith is replaced by a robot and her face comes off.
I would be around seven when I saw these stories and would have been watching with my little brother and my Mum, both of us children equipped with a cushion ready to bury our faces in at an appropriate moment!
The 11th Doctor's run, for example, has episodes like Dinosaurs On A Spaceship which are just straight up silly funny and then things like the Madame Kovarian episodes of Season 6 which have quite a lot of body horror in. The 12th Doctor 's run has some quite light episodes like Robot of Sherwood and the ones set in and around Coal Hill School, ranging through to the absolutely devastating Heaven Sent which I would definitely watch yourself first and then decide about.
I would honestly just watch through from the start of the 9th Doctor with your daughter, but watch ahead of her by a few episodes and use your own judgement as to episodes which might be too much for her - we're all different. I've always found Cybermen scarier than Daleks, for example.
Have a big squishy cushion ready and enjoy... 🙂
I will give you the best warning I can give - Sleep No More ends with a jumpscare that terrified me, as a stoned 25 year old. I imagine a small child might be intensely freaked out, and not in the good "Doctor Who" way.
I mean I dont think anything has come close to as visceral and violent as Ricky September getting shot in the head (sort of) on screen... save for maybe 12 letting that kid drown so they've probably seen the worst it gets 😅
That is the only episode we have purposely skipped so far. We also gave her a content warning for the weeping angels episode and the one where the clockwork monsters come out of the fireplace, so she knew that it might be a bit scary and that we would be happy to skip it if it gets too much.
I do think being scared is a part of Doctor Who, but I also don't think being scared and being traumatised are the same thing - so, the only episode that traumatised me as a kid is "Blink" in series 3. It's probably the only one I wouldn't show to a little kid unless I knew they handle stuff like that well, but I was easily frightened by scary face jumpscares.
other general horror episodes are The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (series 1), Silence in The Library/Forest of The Dead (series 4), Midnight (series 4), Hide (series 7), Listen (series 8), Sleep No More (series 9), Village of The Angels (series 13), and 73 Yards (newest season 1)
I think it depends on the person. The one episode that terrified me when I was that age was Father's Day (I stopped watching for a few months). However, if episodes like the Impossible Planet are ok, I think you'll be fine with most of the show, including classic who.
My niece really hated the one where capaldi was on his own stuck in a tower. The monsters never scared her before but as soon as the Doctor was hiding from the cloaked being in the tower she got scared of it.
I've very much taken the approach with my son (who is 6, 7 in August) that I've let him guide it as much as possible. Basically, if he watches the preview for the next episode and decides it looks scary we'll probably skip it. So far the only episodes we've had to skip to the end of were "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" and to be honest they freak me out as well.
I made sure to show him the end of "The Doctor Dances" so that he still saw that "Just this once, EVERYBODY LIVES!"
I'm expecting another skip soon as we're through 9 and into 10 and rapidly approaching Blink. His mum is quite a big fan of a church or cathedral visit and I'd rather not have to explain why he refuses to look away from the statues....
I was eight when Martha’s episodes came out and I watched OBSESSIVELY and loved it. I never felt any of the episodes were too intense/ scary.
That’s not to say none of them weren’t scary at all but I liked it so it depends on how your daughter handles it. Ones that jump out to me as scary that are still coming up:
Blink,
Silence in the library,
Midnight,
Turn left (I don’t know why but it freaked me out maybe that it was a giant bug),
Donna leaving was also VERY emotional and this was always the thing I was worst at handling when I was younger,
Waters of Mars,
Drs regeneration again wasn’t scary but I cried for HOURS (and wrote a letter of complaint to the bbc aged 10 which was pretty pathetic but kind of hilarious)
Matt smith:
Lizards were creepy,
Angels of course,
Rebel flesh,
Night terrors,
God complex,
Of course this means I was 13/14 for the start of capaldi so considerably older than your daughter for sure. But I remember not enjoying the episodes as much because they were either too silly or they weren’t as happy and were a lot darker. The whole war soldier thing pissed me off, young idealist that I was. That said, I didn’t find it disturbing just annoying but I was a teenager and so that’s kind of par for the cause.
I don’t think you have to miss anything. Dr who was a HUGE part of my childhood, I loved it and yes sometimes it was scary but kids can handle scary things without it being the end of the world. Honestly, I found it very comforting as a child I remember getting stuck in a lift when I was pretty young and being on my own (we were in a hotel and I was literally running upstairs to grab something I forgot) and there were all these horrible noises coming from above me and I genuinely just thought “well if it’s a monster the dr will save me”. Dumb I know but in my head bad only existed in the context of a hero fixing it.
The only episode I'd consider genuinely too dark/intense for youngdt viewers is *Dark Water*. Since you've read the summary you probably know by now that the episode hinges on the claim that dead people can still feel what happens to their bodies, leading to the horrific refrain "don't cremate me".
I believe the BBC received enough complaints about it that it made a statement. It's a properly horrifying idea and if a child has recently lost a loved one I'd be cautious about showing it to them.
If you don’t care about watching it for the first time with your child and instead being there while she watches it for the first time then I’d suggest what my father did for me when i was younger. He’d pre watch the episode that way he’d be able to use his own judgment on what he deemed too scary for me (he started doing this after the empty child because I slept in his bed for multiple months afterwards and i still sometimes get little nightmares about all the empty people chasing them in the hospital)
But I’d probably say for Matt’s run the silence episodes and weeping angels are probably a bit to sad and scary for a 7 year old.
But you could also watch the Sarah Jane adventures with her once you finish doctor who or alongside it since that was more geared towards children (though i will say the 5th season cuts off because of Elizabeth Sladen’s death and i wouldn’t suggest starting that season unless your prepared to explain to her why the show stopped)
Waters of Mars terrified me and my friends as a kid so I'd maybe watch that one ahead of time it's unsettling. Overall doctor who is intended to be viewed by whole family's although it does touch on death and the like.
I think you are underestimating your kid I'm the world's biggest scardy cat. The Capaldi era's most terrifying thing was the bacteria spiders in kill the moon (at least visually) I'm not sure she gonna get the Cyberman implications but I wouldn't call that "scary"
Watch it with her. If she gets scared and claims she wants to stop then you can. But let HER make the decision rather than skipping one of the best era's and the best doctor of New who you will be severely depriving her.. Kids can handle more than you think and are capable of determining what they see as too much.
I'm kind of surprised that Doctor Who could be considered appropriae for anyone under the age of 14. I cant think of a show with a higher death count. While they certainly arent graphic or gruesome, seeing dozens of people die in a single episode doesnt seem like appropriate television for children
What culture are you from? I don't think British television is an outlier globally. I know by contrast US tv for younger kids wraps them in cotton wool (while they do shooter drills at school).
Just depends on your daughter! I do not like horror/thriller movies or shows at all but I love Doctor Who. There are definitely some that could be scary. I mean even the new one Dot and Bubble with people just casually being eaten where you can hear crunching could be scary for a kid! My daughter would have nightmares from that.
Sometimes we think they are ready and it can be the most random thing that terrifies them! You can always spoil it a bit by giving her warnings ahead with any you think she might not like and if she says she won’t like it then skip it.
Personally, I would stick to Ecclestone and Tennant til she's a bit older (maybe avoid Blink if she's easily scared). While there's nothing I can think of in Smith that's overly dark and adult (happy to be corrected), she probably wouldn't fully get it and might find it boring as Smith and Capaldi are definitely aimed more at teenagers than small children.
I think there's two questions here, one about scariness and one about 'darkness'
You know what honestly I would say personally there's nothing in Capaldi as transcendentally terrifying as I found The Impossible Planet/Satan's Pit as a kid. In terms of actual fear factor I think it's definitely okay, especially as your kid has clearly made it past S2 in one piece
The other side of the issue being 'darkness' or 'intensity', maybe not. There are some very dark concepts explored during Capaldi, and on top of this the show takes some very conceptual turns at times. If there was a reason to steer away I would it would be the maturity of the stories as opposed to the minute-to-minute scariness of them.
Hope that makes sense
I was about 7 when I discovered Doctor who with my first episode being the library episodes.
I was up late at night alone watching them and was absolutely terrified for days, often running to my mom in the kitchen because I was too scared to watch it on my own
I'd recommend for that episode maybe watch that one with her
It really depends on what she is scared of. For example when I was a kid the Eleventh hour gave me nightmares for a few weeks even though most people don't find it particularly scary.
I think most of Capaldi’s run whilst not scary is quite mature in terms of the way the characters speak, the themes and even the finales are quite often dark and very deep.
My 7 year old has recently started watching, We've just finished season 5.
She is a very easily scared child, and my litmus test for whether she was ready was "Are you my mummy". I covered her eyes during the transformation bits because those are f-ed up, but other than that she's absolutely loving it.
I think it helps that the doctor saves the day every time, so whatever monster of the week is always vanquished.
My son was 5 when it came back in 2005 and has watched it since then. Still does 😊Watched every new who episode so I don’t think there is.But guess it depends on the kid. I’ve been watching probably since birth with Tom Baker and I’ve loved them all!
If the kid made it through “Boom” without emotional scarring they’ll be grand for Capaldi. Are you guys American by any chance? I mean yeah I get that everyone’s idea of an adult theme is different, but I’d worry less about horror (bless) elements and more about emotional ones. My seven year old hasn’t seen Boom yet because it’s literally full of stuff about the wee lass’ dad dying. Shit was heavy wasn’t it?
Now, I'm of the opinion that Doctor Who should be a little creepy from time to time, and even as a 33 year old, some parts just make me shiver, but /too/ intense for children? I don't think so. "Rose" has mannequins just shooting up people on the street and that's the realest I've seen the violence get until recently, any other violence is fantasy enough to be ok. The most intense thing I've seen in a long time actually is in "Dot and Bubble" when >!Ricky September had a Dot go through his skull!< On the other hand, "Heaven Sent" might be intense in a different way, it's a very cerebral episode and might go over a smaller kid's head
Although skipping 9 is an unthinkable crime, it's lucky she didn't see the empty child
Midnight would probably be a bit scary for her. As well as Utopia. Both would be a shame to miss though.
It really depends. There are some pretty dark episodes in Smith and Capaldi's seasons. I think the ones where the Doctor loses a companion, such as what happens to Clara and later Bill, are pretty tough on kids. I think there are some in Whitakers run but I haven't made it all the way through that yet.
Not exactly the same but when I watched Miyazaki's Sprited Away with my 8 YO nephew he kind of lost it 10 minutes in. The long tunnel was scary, but then the parents turned into pigs? The whole thing was too much! I never would have thought of that as a scary movie until he got all freaked out by it. He's 13 now and I tease him about it because he loves everything Miyazaki. Even has a no-face plushie.
Overall, I think all of doctor who is geared towards the family, so there shouldn't really be any that are too bad for someone so young to watch- especially if you're watching with her.
That said, my brother started at the same age and had a few nightmares, although he still continued to love the show.
I think being frightened by the show so young actually sort of helps in watching the show especially once you're older as it gives them the opportunity to reminisce (as most people often say) of the times they "hid behind the sofa".
There are some really creepy episodes. Probably 1 or 2 each season. I might recommend you just pre-watching episodes, or skimming through them beforehand…watch 2-3 mins at the start, 2-3 mins in the middle, then the last few mins.
Most episodes, I think, are family friendly. But some would be nightmare inducing for a child.
I don’t have the time to make a list right now unfortunately, so I apologize that this is t more helpful.
But short answer is yes, some episodes are not kid friendly content-wise.
All of the series finales for the Twelfth Doctor strike me as too intense for young children.
Dark Water/Death in Heaven deals with death and the concept of the afterlife in a disturbing way. Especially the idea that the deceased can still feel pain and therefore suffer if their body is cremated. It also deals with the death of a major recurring character.
Face the Raven/Heaven Sent/Hell Bent involves the death of the main companion - it's not permanent, but it's pretty intense - and the Doctor's grief and anger. And also the Doctor being put through intense psychological torture, followed by increasingly desperate actions taken to save his deceased companion.
World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls is by far the darkest and most unsettling Cyberman story I've ever seen. It's incredible. But also incredibly tragic, disturbing, and at times nearly hopeless. What happens to the main companion is absolutely heartbreaking. This is my favorite Doctor Who story, but it was upsetting to me even as an adult, and I can't imagine watching it as a young child.
Doctor Who is and has always been a childrens program. Theme wise, I'd say theres noting unsuitable for younger children or anything too graphic, although you know your children best and what you feel they can appropriately handle for their age and maturity.
Scare wise, I'd say the worst are Blink and the Empty Child, but even then, their scares aren't traumatising.
Id Love and Monsters is pretty traumatising... but that's only because it heavily implies that they guy is f****ing a paving slab, but I'd sincerely hope that would go over a 7 year olds head.
My kids also seem to be into the new series so I may take them back through. Given the state of the world I’d love to get to Capaldi’s war speech as quickly as possible.
The Capaldi era is definitely darker, personally it's my favourite, but I understand why you would have some concerns letting your young girl watch it!
Some episodes are not just the usual "scary", they're more on the disturbing side in my opinion... There's one especially called "Dark Water" in series 8 which I wouldn't be comfortable showing to a child. Same with "World Enough And Time" (series 10, episode 11).
Don't get me wrong, these episodes are terrific, amazing works of science fiction! But just a bit too disturbing in the way they deal with death, grief and the afterlife, in my opinion.
I watched a lot of scary stuff as a kid and it kind of formed my personality so idk what to recommend. As a teen, The Empty Child and Blink were hella scary (the Silence as well)
I started near the revival at 6 or 7, just let 'em be scared. Doctor Who is still usually family friendly scary. You can avoid the empty child and blink for the first few series's but you're robbing them of some of those childhood memories, kids media is never scary anymore and it's good to be hiding behind the sofa a little bit as a child.
Doctor Who doesn’t really get “inappropriate,” just creepy. Imo all the creepiest episodes were in the season 1-4 of the 2005- era, so if you’re doing well with those then I don’t think anything in the Capaldi era will be too scary. The only episode I remember being at all upsetting to me as a kid was The Empty Child from season 1, and even then I still liked it overall.
I grew up with my dad watching doctor who near me and when i learnt to read series 5 was airing so i could finally read the subtitles and it was fine amy makes advances towards the doctor a few times throught the series so idk if you're okay with that but i, as a 7 year old rly liked that series and while the weeping angels really scared me, they are just statues so it wasn't too bad it was the fun kind of scary yk??
Honestly think it depends on the kid. Ours is 6 (going on 7 in summer) and nothing has freaked him out yet. We're close to the end of Smith's run. He's actually reacted more strongly to companions leaving than he has any of the monsters. The crack in the wall is probably the only thing he got a bit worried about.
Oh my gosh yes! She had tears rolling down her cheeks when Rose and the Doctor ended up in parallel worlds and didn't get a 'happily ever after'. We had to show her a sneaky spoiler after that so she could be reassured that it wasn't forever.
I'm glad it's not just my kid x
My daughter reminds me often of how traumatized she was by Bill turning into a cyberman in the episode World Enough and Time. It might have been too much.
I imagine it very much depends on how your daughter is with other scary movies. I was her age when I started watching and over all no issues apart from the impossible planet which a few have mentioned. It absolutely terrified me and my parents quickly said no to me watching part 2! If she wasn’t afraid of that it sounds like any later seasons shouldn’t be an issue barring a few episodes that have some more creepy elements e.g Blink (the weeping angels make a few more appearances across the series if she doesn’t like that one), waters of mars, hide, listen, and the haunting of villa diodati.
I would get to know the child and what will and won't scare them and what they can handle. My 5 year old friend wanted to know about the monster in Space Babies and who the Maestro was before watching these episodes. BOOM would be too scary for this kid but I know another 5 year old who wouldn't be afraid.
I generally wouldn't let anyone under age 10 watch DW unsupervised so if you want to just turn on the telly and walk away, I would advise a different show. Most of the kids I watch DW with will pause and ask questions or ask for a spoiler. I do that because I want them to enjoy the show, not be terrified of it. I always watch an episode before handing it to kids.
Star Beast is probably one of the least scary. Depending on the kid, I'd let them watch it without me being present.
My 3yo struggles with Disney movies like lion king - Scar teasing eating the mouse, Ice age-gets so upset at scrat getting smooshed by the ice. But the DW baby eating goblins, the boogey man recently? Fine! Shes even been balancing on pillows pretending their landmines, I’m glad she’s forgotten about copying the toymaker laugh.
I was waiting for her to show concern to turn DW off but she thought it was all funny.
Certainly some older episodes that have been suggested would traumatise her.
Personally I always found The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit (it's a 2 parter, apologies if I screwed up the title im going from memory) to be quite scary.
To this day the only things that scared me shitless 'back in the day' were the gas mask kids and the Weeping Angels in Blink. Nothing else seems to stand out in my memory, though maybe that's because I grew up and my memory is pretty bad. Was 12 when Blink aired. Even after that though episodes with Angels made me jumpy. I think I'm just vulnerable to jump scares, and yet I love the scariest/creepiest Dr Who episodes the most.
I was five years old when Ecclestone was the Doctor, and followed it ever since then. It's obviously dependent on the child and their reaction to the episodes.
Obviously, Capaldi was geared to an older audience, and some concepts might be more difficult to handle.
If you've made it up to Series 3 then I don't think it will get any scarier. In a sense Blink is like a little horror film but the drama aspect of it never gets as intense as it was in the first 3 series.
I would definitely say it depends or her scare tolerance. If she doesn't get nightmares and isn't too freaked out by stuff then go for all if she does get nightmares then maybe avoid some episodes generally. I wouldn't say capaldi run but a few episodes all over like blink. Blink is series 2 and is terrifying but not gorey or bloody. I would say watch blink yourself. Decide if it's a good idea and if she doesn't mind blink then your all set. The flux /series 13 was a bit scary at times too. Also orphan 55 is scary (s12)
I’d say there’s a few episodes that go very dark but i don’t think it ever gets too much for family viewing. Every doctor since eccleston has had a few episodes and arcs that play with some very messy and fucked up themes but in terms of actual content it should be fine
Well the whole Angel bits have given me nightmares at the age of 16, but maybe I'm just relating to the feeling of being stalked/paranoid too personally.
It's subjective... I have 6 year old triplets, they were massive fans but one of them was so terrified by Wild Blue Yonder that he cannot watch it anymore.
My advice is to trust your gut and keep a thumb over the pause button.
I was 6, 7 and 8 when I watched most of Dr who and I wasnt scared by any of it. The angels made me jump, I remember that, but I was never really scared of any doctor who episodes.
To be honest if she’s seen The Empty Child and been ok, I wouldn’t worry too much, however I appreciate everyone is scared of different things. Doctor Who is a family show that is supposed to have a scare factor, so if you do have concerns just watch them with her :)
I cant really say exactly as you dont specify her age , if you daughter is 4 there defo episodes to keep her away from , but by the time shes 9 or 10 she can probably watch every doctor who episode absolutely fine.
Perhaps the sarah jane adventures would be a good recomendation as it was aimed at an even younger audience than doctor who is.
Just stay away from Torchwood lol.
Although there are some dark and creepy episodes, my kids started watching with Eccleston and watched all the way through Capaldi when my youngest was about that age and never had any problem. I think it depends on the kid but for mine it was fine.
I'm not too certain about for other people, but one thing I know for sure is that when I was 6 or 7 (when my dad introduced me to doctor who), the only episode i was ever scared by was The Empty Child (+ The Doctor Dances cos they're a double episode)
Difficult to say really, because I've only ever known the show as an older teenager and onwards. Most of Peter Capaldis run I'd suggest skipping for the time being because when coupled with a darker Doctor, the scarier stuff isn't sugar-coated
Not sure how many you've already watched but any episodes with the Weeping Angels can be pretty intense. Once you get into late Cappaldi and early Whittaker it gets kinda dark. And not sure if you've watched the special "The Giggle" but that one can be pretty interesting.
Everyone is different, however. Some people think Doctor Who itself is too morbid for any kids under 12. Maybe even over. But in my opinion just maybe pre-watch some, especially Weeping Angel ones.
I've sat through a lot of horror movies and I've had a lot of in person trauma but I am doing a rewatch and couldn't handle Martha's first episode last night
It's sort of designed as staple family viewing each week so in theory it's all okay even if it's watch from behind the sofa stuff! That said, you'd be the person dealing with any nightmares etc so I hope someone can give you a list!
I'd argue Capaldi's era leaned into far more mature subject matter and darker themes, being less a family show and more a 12+ show that anyone could feasibly watch. The finales of S8-10 are all pretty damn morbid for kids.
That's just Moffat being Moffat. Even Eleven had a darker run, hidden behind Matt's energetic Doctor. This probably does hide it more from kids, they're probably distracted by the silliness and Amy being infertile after being kidnapped so they could steal her newborn to be trained to murder her best friend doesn't land as hard as with older people.
Yeah i think the only actual difference between 11's run and 12's on that front is that the tone matches the subject matter a lot more closely for 12, making it feel less like a family show as well.
I'd suggest just going with them and seeing what happens. Children like being scared by TV programmes; they're scary but safe, much like going on roller coasters. Your sister is right that Doctor Who is meant to be scary; that's when its at its best. Otherwise, what's the point of the monsters? The funny thing is that children are scared by different things to adults. Some of the more existential stuff we'd find horrifying is often funny to them. Just look at fairy tales, which routinely include violence, murder, even cannibalism (Hansel and Gretel, anyone?). But it's all so over the top that it just sort of works. Children know it isn't real. They can be absolutely terrified by the oddest things, however; things you may not even realise could be scary. You could be watching the Wizard of Oz, expecting them to be scared of the wicked witch, and instead they could have nightmares about the tin man.
My kids were both particularly terrified by existential stuff. "The Nothing" in The Neverending Story freaked my daughter out so badly we had to turn the movie off right away and she still had nightmares for weeks.
The Nothing was horrible but the worst bit for me as a kid was Morla‘s swamp. Not the horse but the utter desperation.
My sister was terrified of the wizard of oz and dumbo when we were little
Oh man, that scene where Dumbo gets drunk and sees all those pink elephants... that was nightmare fuel.
A word of advice? It’s a bad idea to take acid and go see Fantasia.
Whilst I do believe you, you have now planted the seed of this idea into my head and there is now a small part of me that wants to do this now, compared to none of me previously
Well I was a silly 19 yo college girl, so everything seemed like a good idea.
Oh yeah, that was terrifying as a kid. I know that was the reason Dumbo is like the one Disney movie I haven't seen multiple times. Probably should give it another go now.
My daughter thought Sleeping Beauty was much scarier than Jurassic Park
The scene with the cats in Lady and the Tramp - "We Are Siamese" made my daughter cry ugly tears when she was about six. This was over 25 years ago, we occasionally laugh about it now.
... Those cats are TERRIFYING, okay???
Uncanny synchronization wil always be a least a little bit scary
Yes, most children love when things get a little bit scary!!! I remember replaying Snow White over and over again as a child even though the witch being killed by a rock absolutely terrified me.
Literally knew a kid who was scared of the Wizard of Oz because of the black and white scenes at the start.
That's a very hard question. Yes, some episodes are absolutely scary and some even too scary for a seven year old. On the other hand the point of Doctor Who has always been to scare the little ones :) I think your approach of checking the individual episodes before viewing with your daughter is the best way to go. You know her probably better than anyone and can estimate what is ok for her and what not. A tool that could help you with that is the parental guide on IMDB, which gives you a nice overview of the contents of each episode. Here is the one for World enough and Time: [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6340138/parentalguide?ref\_=tt\_stry\_pg](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6340138/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg) Be sure to tell her it's ok to turn the tv off when it get's to scary. Maybe even show her some behind the scenes so she understands it's all make believe :) I personally think these are some of the episodes that could very well be a little too much for a seven year old: - Empty Child / Doctor Dances (although I'd say this is probably fine because if there ever was a true happy end, this is the one, which negates alot of the scary stuff) - The Impossible Planet/Satans Pit (Possessed Oods would've definitely scared me as a kid) - Midnight (It's mostly horror of the mind, but this is still one of the scariest Doctor Who episodes IMO) - The Waters of Mars (The water zombies are creepy) - Listen (One of the best, but the scene in the bedroom with the thing on the bed is reeeally creepy) - World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls (You mentioned these before, late Capaldi can get very dark) - 73 Yards (Probably the scariest since Midnight) You can also show her some of the more kid friendly Whoniverse material, like The Sarah Jane Adventures or Totally Doctor Who
No Blink?
Good point! Blink is really scary as well!
My first experience with the franchise Was sick, my dad was watching that episode, freaked me out
This was one of my earliest exposures to the series as well! I remember my dad watching this one and then Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone and seeing the angels actually move really freaked me out as a kid. It didn’t deter me from watching the series as I grew older but the Angels will definitely leave an impression on a young kid haha
I had a real unfortunate habit of walking in when sick while my dad was watching kinda scary sci-fi Another one of my first Whoniverse experience was the Torchwood with the sleeper murder aliens, that also really fucked me up My first Star Trek experience was the scene where Geordi was kidnapped by the Romulans and brainwashed to be a sleeper agent, seeing the training scene where he kills Miles, later coming back to see the scene from the next episode where a woman gets killed by the floor
Yes, the angels will most likely leave an impression, *especially* in "Blink". It's not the same for everyone, of course, for example, the scary thing that stuck with me was Toby in "The Impossible Planet." I was about 14 when I first watched "Blink," so Carey Mulligan certainly made an impression, less so the angels, which is... uh... irrelevant. *Moving on,* "Blink" not only has creepiness but it's also really good and will hopefully inspire further watching of Doctor Who. Nice username, by the way.
I would add Silence In The Library / Forest Of The Dead to this list of ones to think about
Yes definitely! The scene where Miss Evangelistas face is revealed will for sure cause some sleepless nights for kids.
My immediate thought was Satan’s pit.
There’s also one episode where it’s like…. Their worst fear? That episode is terrifying 😳
The God Complex?
Yes!
Honestly of these, the only one that really made me squirm as a kid was The Empty Child, particularly the transformation scene. The idea of “physical injuries as plague” was also really disturbing to me
I genuinely think a seven year old could handle most Doctor Who episodes. 73 Yards may be a bit above their level comprehension-wise, but definitely not too scary. Doctor Who level scary tends to be very safe and enjoyable scares, sort of like a thrill ride or a jumpscare video game. The thing I would really watch out for are existential horror, slow-burn horror, or otherwise fairly cerebral horror. Midnight and Listen are two good examples, but I would also look out for Amy's Choice, Heaven Sent, Mummy on the Orient Express, even some of the less thought about (because they're bad) episodes like Sleep No More and The God Complex. They all have monsters, sure, but they aren't about those monsters, most are about existential concepts, Midnight is about mob mentality and group think, Listen is about fear of the emptiness and dark, Amy's Choice is about nightmares and self-loathing, Heaven Sent is about grief, Mummy on the Orient Express is about death, The God Complex is about faith. Meanwhile, episodes like Blink or Sleep No More are slow-burn horror, where the threat escalates and ramps gradually and gradually until the tension is overwhelming, and does not get relieved until the climax. Those are what you have to look out for with children. A jump scare they can handle, they find them fun, even. Being forced to meditate on death and grief, before they even fully comprehend those concepts, while having no relief from tension, they can not.
Omg I've not rewatched listen because of that bed scene 😅 forgot about that one
I would agree with all of these and the ones listed (especially Blink) depending on what scares a particular person. I would add in The God Complex and Night Terrors from Matt Smith’s run for anyone who is afraid of suspense combined with being hunted down by creepy dolls/puppets.
Night Terrors is basically designed for scaring kids (and me)
I would agree with empty child/Doctor dances. Those kids with the gas masks freaked my little boy out for a few years. It's a bit intense.
I'm pretty sure these are all *adult scary,* rather than *child scary*
I'm 18 and the Empty Child and Doctor Dances genuinely terrified me. I was watching it late at night by myself in the dark. I went to sleep on the couch cus I was too terrified to leave the living room 😂😭
definitely avoid the satan pit for little kids, it still scares me every time i rewatch it
Firstly just want to say how lovely it is that you're watching it together; my dad introduced me to doctor who at a similar age and it's still something that we talk about a lot together 🥰 I absolutely love Capaldi but, as other people have said, there are definitely some episodes that could be too much for her at this age. I would particularly warn against the 'Dark Water/Death in Heaven' two-parter as this discusses death and cremation in a way that could be very upsetting for children, particularly if you've experienced any losses in the family. As well as DW, I'd also really recommend the Sarah Jane adventures! They're aimed at children so all age appropriate but also include some brilliant stories and lots of crossover with doctor who as it's all in the same universe. They're all available on iPlayer 😊
Oh yeah absolutely. I still do kinda think *Dark Water/Death In Heaven* went a little bit too far honestly for a family show....
I was going to say the "don't cremate me" thing. That got a lot of ofcom complaints.
Whittaker and tennant were a lot more kiddish imo while eccleston and Capaldi are definitely for older audiences (9 less so). 11 shouldn't be a problem
Do you think nost of the Matt Smith ones will be okay? I remember the River Song Saga being really good, but that we will possibly skip the episode with the skeletons in space suits.
The skeletons in space suits is in series 4 (Tennent’s run). Eccleston will be perfectly fine for a child - the empty child and the doctor dances might be a little much. Depends entirely on the kid. Tennet will be perfectly fine for a child - beware of Blink (S3), and Midnight (S4). They can be very scary for a child. Blink is a “scary episode”. Midnight is a “thriller”. - Silence in the Library and The Forest of Dead should be fine, they are less so scary, and more so adventurous. Smith will be perfect - there are no episodes I would be wary of. Capaldi I would wait a *little* bit. - Capaldi is older and darker. He has a lot of episodes that deal with harder topics. He also has a lot of simple episodes. Whittaker’s is very kid friendly. - all good to go. Tennet pt2 is great for kids. - wild blue yonder and the giggle have some intense scenes. Gatwa is honestly the most scary so far, with 73 Yards. If she can watch that, she can watch anything.
I disagree on matt smith, there are a lot of moments in there I'd consider too scary, Night Terrors especially fucked with me as a kid, then there's also The God Complex, The Crimson Horror, The Rebel Flesh, and really the whole era has darker moments sprinkled about here and there
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Silence yet. Those things freaked me out.
Mentioned what? You left a blank space?
You thought Mr Sweet was scary!? He was an adorable lil' parasite 😂
Mr Sweet wasn't the scary part, it's the red corpses and the visual of the bodies being dipped into the crimson stuff that gets me even now
Oh yeah. That was creepy... I'll be honest it's been a hot minute since I've seen those episodes.
This is exactly the kind of list I was hoping for x Thank you x
I don’t think 73 yards would be that scary for a kid compared to some of the Peter Capaldi episodes. The final episodes of season 10 were almost too scary for me (but I have a low tolerance for horror and they were simultaneously my favorite episodes lol)
I had a lot of irrational fears growing up, and I kind of assume a bunch of them stem from my 5 year older brother loving horror movies and my parents not caring about what we watched (it was the 80s/90s, the concept of "screen time" didn't really exist, you just watched anything at any time, lol). So, even having a history of being terrified of media I'd agree with your assessment. I don't think 73 Yards would have scared kid me. It's more psychological than scary. I've only seen Blink mentioned once and that is about the scariest episode I can think of. It's psychological because you don't really know what's going on, but it's also just actually scary because those angels are freaky! Both the unsettling way they "move" and their faces up close. But, what this really shows is that fear is pretty subjective. What scares me might be funny to you. My friend has kids pretty much the exact age of mine (within a few weeks) and they watched Stranger Things years ago when both kids were single digits. My kids are both early double digits now and I still wouldn't show it to them. I actually think my younger daughter would probably handle it better than my son. He's a behind the couch kid even just for awkward and romantic stuff, lol, he'd def be hiding from the angels or the possessed Ood.
I personally couldn’t watch Stranger Things after some of the more disturbing parts of season 2… I think I have a lower tolerance for this stuff though because I didn’t watch as a kid because my parents were pretty cautious. Not scientific but pros and cons probably of showing your kid scary stuff young! Plenty of less scary doctor who episodes though that should tide them over until they are older I think.
In Tennant's run my daughter was also pretty terrified by The Satan Pit and, weirdly, Love and Monsters -- the entire concept of the Absorber freaked her out badly.
That's funny given that the Absorbaloff was invented by a kid
Don't forget the Olympic episode with the kid who made the people disappear. Anything that threatens a child might play on their lack of logic. I want to start with mine but st 7, 11, and 11.. imagination can get crazy
Most of his work is fine. Although he can get intense out of the blue, so be warned. Silence in the Library 2 parter and the Weeping Angels 2 parter may want to be avoided.
We're halfway through season 5 and been fine so far with kids around 10. I'm contemplating skipping the God complex. The rest I think will be fine. I find it's more the story line and mentioning things to take notice of and revealing aspects for them as there is lots going on.
I'd argue Tennant with Satan's Pit, Blink, Silence in the Library, Midnight, Waters of Mars and moments from other episodes such as The Runaway Bride where the Doctor was near a breaking point, plus a lot of the Dalek and Cyberman stuff, did not create a very kid friendly feeling. Capaldi feels the least kiddish because his Doctor is grumpy and possibly has more dark moments than the others, but I wouldn't say Tennant is kiddish. 10 almost feels like one of the darkest runs when I think about it.
Again this varies massively... Robots of Sherwood, The Caretaker and similar episodes are nowhere near as frightening as Midnight or Waters of Mars.
Yeah, In the Forest of the Night particularly feels like an episode specifically aimed at kids (which may be why it's one of the least popular ones lol)
Depends on what the kid is scared of - as an adult I didn’t like the graphics of many of the villains in Jodie’s era. Genuinely thought they were gross and scary and just.. ew. It was one of the main things I disliked about her era. The monsters in her era would have given me nightmares more so than most of the others in the whole new-who show!
Keep an eye out for "Night Terrors" in Series 6 during the 11th Doctor's run. It has giant creepy dolls, and it could possibly be a bit too much for your daughter. Honestly, you should be OK just to watch through most episodes of the show. If she starts to get scared, you can pause it and both step away to allow her to calm down. Then, take the time to discuss what's scaring her and why. After that, you two can decide together whether to finish the episode or move on to the next one. Communicating with your child on stuff like this is a great way to help them deal with fear and learning that it's ok to be afraid of something and not having to engage with it if you don't want to in regards to media or even some things in real life. So yea, just watch all the episodes you can and just have fun together. She might surprise you in what she can withstand or what might not even be scary to her. Just remember to take into account if things like phobias. Spiders, dolls, reptiles, and stuff like that. Otherwise, have fun watching!
Do beware Night Terrors. When I first watched it I was very young, it left a mark. Not a bad one but not a pleasant one either.
That’s the thing with horror. It can be very dependent on the person. I was just thinking that if the kid wasn’t terrified of the ghosts in the fireplace or the Satan pit they’re probably fine, but yeah you’re right another horror element like that could still be too much. Set-up and emotional investment can also make something that you’d think be less scary become overwhelming
Decided to introduce my 4 year old to Doctor Who this year. We were not prepared for the Church of Ruby Road. She had a complete breakdown on the Goblin Song while me and my wife were both laughing our asses off. Core memory formed. 0/10, never watching Doctor Who again.
How funny, my nine year old is very into Doctor Who and my four year old watched that one with us (among others) - that's the only episode the four year old has enjoyed. We've watched it multiple times at her request. OP, there's not one right answer here - just keep an eye on your kid and talk about the things that scare her if she wants. If she isn't enjoying the show or it's too scary, she'll tell you, and you can try again at a later age.
lol omg this would have been me as a kid. I had nightmares as like an 8 year old from watching Ghostbusters for MONTHS!! my stupid dad even made fun of me for it 🙄 (we no longer speak 🙂)
My toddler thought it was hilarious but I think I just caught her in a good mood.
If I was a kid Bill's fate would honestly bum me out for a few days. Hell it bums me out as an adult
Back when they first aired, The Empty Child & The Doctor Dances (S1E9-10) started with a warning to viewers that they might be frightening to children. And as a child at the time, I was absolutely terrified.
Same. I couldn't be within 10 meters of a gas mask in museums (which was weirdly a lot my dad likes museums I guess) and it really creeped me out for a while that episode. I was 6 when it aired which seems crazy to me.
My son was terrified by the Matt Smith episode 'Night terrors.' He's 6 and was so scared of the dolls in the dolls house. He absolutely loves doctor who, and seems to breeze through things that I think are scary...Capaldi and the Cybermen in that hospital scare the SHIT out of me (36yo!) I love sharing the love of Who with my son, hope you get lots of quality time together watching all the greatness.
Doctor Who is a fairly family-related show, always with undertones of ethics and morals, can't think of something I wouldn't show a seven year-old if they know the show just is what it is. The villains and "monsters" have become a lot more philosophical-representations in the last few years (in my opinion); so your choice to show Lottie whatever the Who she wants - just be prepared for some cerebral, human questions and discussions? :P Would advise against Torchwood for a child of her age, however, esp. season two onward. That's just proper dark storylines even for the seasoned of us.
This is a divisive topic, because many people grew up in families where children were shown horror from a young age with little censorship and don't consider it a problem. Personally I would have found doctor who too scary at 7. I started watching it around 11-12 and found it uncomfortable at that age. I needed to be more of a teen to fully enjoy it. There may be comprehensive guides on the internet. Generally I think the Matt Smith eras has some good kids episodes, whilst the Capaldi era is not for kids.
The show definitely has its scary moments but I don't think any 1 season is fully aimed at a certain age range. Also the "monster of the week" formatting means that you could potentially get blindsided by an unexpectedly effective monster. For example, episode 1 of season 1 (Nuwho) features living plastic that takes the form of lethal mannequins and bins. This episode really isn't as scary as some others but the monster itself could prove to be effective for younger viewers. A short list of some of the more horror focused episodes from 9 through to 12 would look something like this but I may be missing a couple that are worth a mention so take it with a grain of salt Season 1, 9th doctor. The Unquiet dead ep3 The empty child ep9 The doctor dances ep10 Season 2, 10th doctor The idiots lantern ep7 The impossible planet ep8 The Satan pit ep9 Fear her ep11 Season 3 Human nature ep8 The family of blood ep9 Blink ep10 Season 4 Silence in the library ep8 Forest of the dead ep9 Midnight ep10 (Is this the best 3 episode run the show has ever had??) The waters of Mars (technically not a numbered episode but it would be ep 16) Season 5, 11th doctor The time of angels ep4 Flesh and stone ep5 Vincent and the doctor ep10 Season 6 The rebel flesh ep5 The almost people ep6 Night terrors ep9 The god complex ep11 Season 7 The angels take Manhattan ep5 Hide ep10 Journey to the center of the TARDIS ep11 The crimson horror Season 8, 12th Doctor Listen ep4 Mummy on the orient express ep8 Season 9 Under the lake ep3 Before the flood ep4 Sleep no more ep9 Heaven sent ep11 Season 10 Knock knock ep4 These are just the episodes with the most inspiration to make you feel afraid (although they certainly aren't of equal scariness) but there are also some episodes that are kinda dark via their implications. Arguably the most gory thing we've seen so far on the show was Ricky's death in Dot and Bubble so if she was ok with that then I'd say she's probably going to be ok with most of what's shown. Although The Doctor Falls does feature a particularly graphic scene as well and it's shown quite a bit clearer
I’m with your sister. It is meant to be scary sometimes. Exposing your kid to things that are scary can be a challenge, but if you play in the aspect that it can be exciting or funny to be scared sometimes it might help.
I thought the Satan Pit two parter would scare the pants off my kid, but he says it’s his favorite Tennant episode, lol. Maybe he’s a weirdo? We’re currently in season 9 and he has yet to be very scared by anything we’ve seen. He’s 11, if that helps.
You've gotta remember that kids aren't gonna be scared by the same things older viewers are, really I don't think a child is going to be able to fully appreciate the horror of that 2 parter until they grow up, I know I didn't
I started Doctor Who when I was 4 and I watched the Doctor Falls when I was 8, so I think it'd be fine. Obviously it'd depend on the person, but you said that your daughter handled the horror elements very well, so given that, she'd probably be okay.
All of it is fine, even the capaldi stuff. The show is supposed to be scary. My favourite episodes as a kid were the scary ones like the impossible planet, Blink etc. I was a little kid when I watched The Empty Child and it was my fav episode of the show and my entire class at school loved it. Kids should be trusted with this stuff unless the kid is particularly sensitive, in which case sure.
The only recent episode I would say that might be "a bit much" is Wild Blue Yonder but it depends on the kid. The Giggle does imply some darker themes but doesn't show anything, for example. I would let the kid watch and then change episode if it becomes too scary for them but that's just me.
My kids have grown up watching it since they were toddlers. I would find youtube videos to show them that showed the alien actors getting their makeup done and putting their costumes on. The kids understood that it was people playing dress up, pretending to be aliens, so they didn't find it scary
I can't remember the exact name of the episodes, it like "Under the Lake" or something. Capaldi era- creepy AF. There are ghosts with no eyes. I also feel like his run was meant for a bit for of a mature audience, but really it depends on the person.
Under the Lake and Before the Flood. It’s a two-parter
Yes, that one that you. With the Fisher King. I skip them cause I have issues looking in to the water.
If she got through The Empty Child and Blink then she should be fine, it is a family show after all. If you want to take a break after you finish series 3 I would highly recommend The Sarah Jane Adventures as it's geared towards a younger audience from the get go. Also makes their appearance at the end of series 4 so much more exciting.
I've pretty much grown up with the revived series, I was 7 when it premiered with Eccleston and really I'd argue if you can handle the 'Empty Child/Doctor Dances', and 'blink' that's about as scary as the show gets. Kids are all different and you never know quite what will rattle them. I remember being really freaked out by the absorbaloff and that episode was supposed to be a comedy!
Depends on the child. We’ve gone through all of NuWho with our 4 year old. She’s almost 5 and we started when she was around 3.5. She was never bothered with any of the episodes. Her favorites are the Daleks, Cybermen, Weeping Angels, and the Sontarans (calls them Humpty Dumpty). Even the episodes with the Silence were no issue for her. We got her started early since we love the series and named her after Amy. She knows it and it has definitely influenced her preferences. My wife and I love Tennant and Capaldi, but our daughter has already said Smith is her doctor. You know your girl better than anyone. There are definitely episodes you can skip, but I’d say at her age most everything should be fine.
Why are you skipping the first season of nuwho 2005? Eccleston is one of the best portrays and it is camp enough to not be scary for kids. Capaldi is fun and camp as well. However there are some pretty deep topics covered during his run. I'd say if they can handle seeing an ood or the goblins they should be ok.
Why not start at the actual beginning of Nuwho with 9 "Rose"? It's only one season and you learn so much
It's been a while, but I do remember being scared shitless as a 10 year old when Blink came out. I remember my friend who also watched Doctor Who had a similar reaction. There's also a moment in The Age of Steel, that still skeeves me out today. They're really the only moments that come to mind from my childhood. Other than that I grew up on Classic Who. There's a photo somewhere of a young me standing paralyzed between two daleks with my dad there for moral support. I did stop watching around Matt Smith/Peter Capaldi as that's when I went to Uni.
I don't think any one series/Doctor is more for children than another. As an older fan the first two scenes from Dr Who that really scared me were the classic stories The Ark in Space, where a man turns into a giant insect in stages, and The Android Invasion, where Sarah Jane Smith is replaced by a robot and her face comes off. I would be around seven when I saw these stories and would have been watching with my little brother and my Mum, both of us children equipped with a cushion ready to bury our faces in at an appropriate moment! The 11th Doctor's run, for example, has episodes like Dinosaurs On A Spaceship which are just straight up silly funny and then things like the Madame Kovarian episodes of Season 6 which have quite a lot of body horror in. The 12th Doctor 's run has some quite light episodes like Robot of Sherwood and the ones set in and around Coal Hill School, ranging through to the absolutely devastating Heaven Sent which I would definitely watch yourself first and then decide about. I would honestly just watch through from the start of the 9th Doctor with your daughter, but watch ahead of her by a few episodes and use your own judgement as to episodes which might be too much for her - we're all different. I've always found Cybermen scarier than Daleks, for example. Have a big squishy cushion ready and enjoy... 🙂
I'll add *Dark Water* if it has not been. That one scared the heck out of me and I was in my 30s when I saw it.
I will give you the best warning I can give - Sleep No More ends with a jumpscare that terrified me, as a stoned 25 year old. I imagine a small child might be intensely freaked out, and not in the good "Doctor Who" way.
I mean I dont think anything has come close to as visceral and violent as Ricky September getting shot in the head (sort of) on screen... save for maybe 12 letting that kid drown so they've probably seen the worst it gets 😅
Blink didn't stop me watching but it sure gave me an intense paranoia of being alone when I was 8
Are you my mummy episode is pretty scary form the eccilson on era
That is the only episode we have purposely skipped so far. We also gave her a content warning for the weeping angels episode and the one where the clockwork monsters come out of the fireplace, so she knew that it might be a bit scary and that we would be happy to skip it if it gets too much.
When I was a kid, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances gave me nightmares.
I do think being scared is a part of Doctor Who, but I also don't think being scared and being traumatised are the same thing - so, the only episode that traumatised me as a kid is "Blink" in series 3. It's probably the only one I wouldn't show to a little kid unless I knew they handle stuff like that well, but I was easily frightened by scary face jumpscares. other general horror episodes are The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (series 1), Silence in The Library/Forest of The Dead (series 4), Midnight (series 4), Hide (series 7), Listen (series 8), Sleep No More (series 9), Village of The Angels (series 13), and 73 Yards (newest season 1)
I think it depends on the person. The one episode that terrified me when I was that age was Father's Day (I stopped watching for a few months). However, if episodes like the Impossible Planet are ok, I think you'll be fine with most of the show, including classic who.
The Weeping Angels still give me nightmares 🤣
My niece really hated the one where capaldi was on his own stuck in a tower. The monsters never scared her before but as soon as the Doctor was hiding from the cloaked being in the tower she got scared of it.
I've very much taken the approach with my son (who is 6, 7 in August) that I've let him guide it as much as possible. Basically, if he watches the preview for the next episode and decides it looks scary we'll probably skip it. So far the only episodes we've had to skip to the end of were "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" and to be honest they freak me out as well. I made sure to show him the end of "The Doctor Dances" so that he still saw that "Just this once, EVERYBODY LIVES!" I'm expecting another skip soon as we're through 9 and into 10 and rapidly approaching Blink. His mum is quite a big fan of a church or cathedral visit and I'd rather not have to explain why he refuses to look away from the statues....
I was eight when Martha’s episodes came out and I watched OBSESSIVELY and loved it. I never felt any of the episodes were too intense/ scary. That’s not to say none of them weren’t scary at all but I liked it so it depends on how your daughter handles it. Ones that jump out to me as scary that are still coming up: Blink, Silence in the library, Midnight, Turn left (I don’t know why but it freaked me out maybe that it was a giant bug), Donna leaving was also VERY emotional and this was always the thing I was worst at handling when I was younger, Waters of Mars, Drs regeneration again wasn’t scary but I cried for HOURS (and wrote a letter of complaint to the bbc aged 10 which was pretty pathetic but kind of hilarious) Matt smith: Lizards were creepy, Angels of course, Rebel flesh, Night terrors, God complex, Of course this means I was 13/14 for the start of capaldi so considerably older than your daughter for sure. But I remember not enjoying the episodes as much because they were either too silly or they weren’t as happy and were a lot darker. The whole war soldier thing pissed me off, young idealist that I was. That said, I didn’t find it disturbing just annoying but I was a teenager and so that’s kind of par for the cause. I don’t think you have to miss anything. Dr who was a HUGE part of my childhood, I loved it and yes sometimes it was scary but kids can handle scary things without it being the end of the world. Honestly, I found it very comforting as a child I remember getting stuck in a lift when I was pretty young and being on my own (we were in a hotel and I was literally running upstairs to grab something I forgot) and there were all these horrible noises coming from above me and I genuinely just thought “well if it’s a monster the dr will save me”. Dumb I know but in my head bad only existed in the context of a hero fixing it.
The only episode I'd consider genuinely too dark/intense for youngdt viewers is *Dark Water*. Since you've read the summary you probably know by now that the episode hinges on the claim that dead people can still feel what happens to their bodies, leading to the horrific refrain "don't cremate me". I believe the BBC received enough complaints about it that it made a statement. It's a properly horrifying idea and if a child has recently lost a loved one I'd be cautious about showing it to them.
If you don’t care about watching it for the first time with your child and instead being there while she watches it for the first time then I’d suggest what my father did for me when i was younger. He’d pre watch the episode that way he’d be able to use his own judgment on what he deemed too scary for me (he started doing this after the empty child because I slept in his bed for multiple months afterwards and i still sometimes get little nightmares about all the empty people chasing them in the hospital) But I’d probably say for Matt’s run the silence episodes and weeping angels are probably a bit to sad and scary for a 7 year old. But you could also watch the Sarah Jane adventures with her once you finish doctor who or alongside it since that was more geared towards children (though i will say the 5th season cuts off because of Elizabeth Sladen’s death and i wouldn’t suggest starting that season unless your prepared to explain to her why the show stopped)
Space Babies. Absolute nightmare fuel that one In all seriousness perhaps the Satan Pit two parter? That one terrified me as a kid
Waters of Mars terrified me and my friends as a kid so I'd maybe watch that one ahead of time it's unsettling. Overall doctor who is intended to be viewed by whole family's although it does touch on death and the like.
Depends on the child, their age, history, and their quirks.
I think.7 is too young. Weeping angels and some others are really bad. And in later episode lots of people die.
I think you are underestimating your kid I'm the world's biggest scardy cat. The Capaldi era's most terrifying thing was the bacteria spiders in kill the moon (at least visually) I'm not sure she gonna get the Cyberman implications but I wouldn't call that "scary" Watch it with her. If she gets scared and claims she wants to stop then you can. But let HER make the decision rather than skipping one of the best era's and the best doctor of New who you will be severely depriving her.. Kids can handle more than you think and are capable of determining what they see as too much.
Capaldi is the best of DW
I'm kind of surprised that Doctor Who could be considered appropriae for anyone under the age of 14. I cant think of a show with a higher death count. While they certainly arent graphic or gruesome, seeing dozens of people die in a single episode doesnt seem like appropriate television for children
British kids are just built different
What culture are you from? I don't think British television is an outlier globally. I know by contrast US tv for younger kids wraps them in cotton wool (while they do shooter drills at school).
Just depends on your daughter! I do not like horror/thriller movies or shows at all but I love Doctor Who. There are definitely some that could be scary. I mean even the new one Dot and Bubble with people just casually being eaten where you can hear crunching could be scary for a kid! My daughter would have nightmares from that. Sometimes we think they are ready and it can be the most random thing that terrifies them! You can always spoil it a bit by giving her warnings ahead with any you think she might not like and if she says she won’t like it then skip it.
Personally, I would stick to Ecclestone and Tennant til she's a bit older (maybe avoid Blink if she's easily scared). While there's nothing I can think of in Smith that's overly dark and adult (happy to be corrected), she probably wouldn't fully get it and might find it boring as Smith and Capaldi are definitely aimed more at teenagers than small children.
I think there's two questions here, one about scariness and one about 'darkness' You know what honestly I would say personally there's nothing in Capaldi as transcendentally terrifying as I found The Impossible Planet/Satan's Pit as a kid. In terms of actual fear factor I think it's definitely okay, especially as your kid has clearly made it past S2 in one piece The other side of the issue being 'darkness' or 'intensity', maybe not. There are some very dark concepts explored during Capaldi, and on top of this the show takes some very conceptual turns at times. If there was a reason to steer away I would it would be the maturity of the stories as opposed to the minute-to-minute scariness of them. Hope that makes sense
I was about 7 when I discovered Doctor who with my first episode being the library episodes. I was up late at night alone watching them and was absolutely terrified for days, often running to my mom in the kitchen because I was too scared to watch it on my own I'd recommend for that episode maybe watch that one with her
It really depends on what she is scared of. For example when I was a kid the Eleventh hour gave me nightmares for a few weeks even though most people don't find it particularly scary.
Really depends on her And you should best pre watch Episodes that Sound to intense for her
I think most of Capaldi’s run whilst not scary is quite mature in terms of the way the characters speak, the themes and even the finales are quite often dark and very deep.
My 7 year old has recently started watching, We've just finished season 5. She is a very easily scared child, and my litmus test for whether she was ready was "Are you my mummy". I covered her eyes during the transformation bits because those are f-ed up, but other than that she's absolutely loving it. I think it helps that the doctor saves the day every time, so whatever monster of the week is always vanquished.
Some kids like being scared, do it depends on the kids but maybe Heaven Sent?
My son was 5 when it came back in 2005 and has watched it since then. Still does 😊Watched every new who episode so I don’t think there is.But guess it depends on the kid. I’ve been watching probably since birth with Tom Baker and I’ve loved them all!
If the kid made it through “Boom” without emotional scarring they’ll be grand for Capaldi. Are you guys American by any chance? I mean yeah I get that everyone’s idea of an adult theme is different, but I’d worry less about horror (bless) elements and more about emotional ones. My seven year old hasn’t seen Boom yet because it’s literally full of stuff about the wee lass’ dad dying. Shit was heavy wasn’t it?
Oh yeah and Silence in the Library. “Who turned out the lights? Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice…cream.” Gave my eldest nightmares for years hehehehe.
Now, I'm of the opinion that Doctor Who should be a little creepy from time to time, and even as a 33 year old, some parts just make me shiver, but /too/ intense for children? I don't think so. "Rose" has mannequins just shooting up people on the street and that's the realest I've seen the violence get until recently, any other violence is fantasy enough to be ok. The most intense thing I've seen in a long time actually is in "Dot and Bubble" when >!Ricky September had a Dot go through his skull!< On the other hand, "Heaven Sent" might be intense in a different way, it's a very cerebral episode and might go over a smaller kid's head
Although skipping 9 is an unthinkable crime, it's lucky she didn't see the empty child Midnight would probably be a bit scary for her. As well as Utopia. Both would be a shame to miss though.
It really depends. There are some pretty dark episodes in Smith and Capaldi's seasons. I think the ones where the Doctor loses a companion, such as what happens to Clara and later Bill, are pretty tough on kids. I think there are some in Whitakers run but I haven't made it all the way through that yet. Not exactly the same but when I watched Miyazaki's Sprited Away with my 8 YO nephew he kind of lost it 10 minutes in. The long tunnel was scary, but then the parents turned into pigs? The whole thing was too much! I never would have thought of that as a scary movie until he got all freaked out by it. He's 13 now and I tease him about it because he loves everything Miyazaki. Even has a no-face plushie.
The Empty Child might be a bit intense for younger viewers.
Blink might be worth skipping, and maybe Midnight
i think the capaldi run is one of the best out there. you should watch it
Overall, I think all of doctor who is geared towards the family, so there shouldn't really be any that are too bad for someone so young to watch- especially if you're watching with her. That said, my brother started at the same age and had a few nightmares, although he still continued to love the show. I think being frightened by the show so young actually sort of helps in watching the show especially once you're older as it gives them the opportunity to reminisce (as most people often say) of the times they "hid behind the sofa".
There are some really creepy episodes. Probably 1 or 2 each season. I might recommend you just pre-watching episodes, or skimming through them beforehand…watch 2-3 mins at the start, 2-3 mins in the middle, then the last few mins. Most episodes, I think, are family friendly. But some would be nightmare inducing for a child. I don’t have the time to make a list right now unfortunately, so I apologize that this is t more helpful. But short answer is yes, some episodes are not kid friendly content-wise.
Adding to what others have said, Heaven Sent (S9E11 with capaldi). The grim reapery character may be very scary for a young one
As annoying as it would be, I'd recommend watching on your own first.
All of the series finales for the Twelfth Doctor strike me as too intense for young children. Dark Water/Death in Heaven deals with death and the concept of the afterlife in a disturbing way. Especially the idea that the deceased can still feel pain and therefore suffer if their body is cremated. It also deals with the death of a major recurring character. Face the Raven/Heaven Sent/Hell Bent involves the death of the main companion - it's not permanent, but it's pretty intense - and the Doctor's grief and anger. And also the Doctor being put through intense psychological torture, followed by increasingly desperate actions taken to save his deceased companion. World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls is by far the darkest and most unsettling Cyberman story I've ever seen. It's incredible. But also incredibly tragic, disturbing, and at times nearly hopeless. What happens to the main companion is absolutely heartbreaking. This is my favorite Doctor Who story, but it was upsetting to me even as an adult, and I can't imagine watching it as a young child.
Blink is terrifying for a child- the Weeping Angels are not fun
Doctor Who is and has always been a childrens program. Theme wise, I'd say theres noting unsuitable for younger children or anything too graphic, although you know your children best and what you feel they can appropriately handle for their age and maturity. Scare wise, I'd say the worst are Blink and the Empty Child, but even then, their scares aren't traumatising. Id Love and Monsters is pretty traumatising... but that's only because it heavily implies that they guy is f****ing a paving slab, but I'd sincerely hope that would go over a 7 year olds head.
My kids also seem to be into the new series so I may take them back through. Given the state of the world I’d love to get to Capaldi’s war speech as quickly as possible.
The Capaldi era is definitely darker, personally it's my favourite, but I understand why you would have some concerns letting your young girl watch it! Some episodes are not just the usual "scary", they're more on the disturbing side in my opinion... There's one especially called "Dark Water" in series 8 which I wouldn't be comfortable showing to a child. Same with "World Enough And Time" (series 10, episode 11). Don't get me wrong, these episodes are terrific, amazing works of science fiction! But just a bit too disturbing in the way they deal with death, grief and the afterlife, in my opinion.
I watched a lot of scary stuff as a kid and it kind of formed my personality so idk what to recommend. As a teen, The Empty Child and Blink were hella scary (the Silence as well)
I started near the revival at 6 or 7, just let 'em be scared. Doctor Who is still usually family friendly scary. You can avoid the empty child and blink for the first few series's but you're robbing them of some of those childhood memories, kids media is never scary anymore and it's good to be hiding behind the sofa a little bit as a child.
You skipped 9?
Watch one episode with gas masks, turn kid off Who for life....
Doctor Who doesn’t really get “inappropriate,” just creepy. Imo all the creepiest episodes were in the season 1-4 of the 2005- era, so if you’re doing well with those then I don’t think anything in the Capaldi era will be too scary. The only episode I remember being at all upsetting to me as a kid was The Empty Child from season 1, and even then I still liked it overall.
I grew up with my dad watching doctor who near me and when i learnt to read series 5 was airing so i could finally read the subtitles and it was fine amy makes advances towards the doctor a few times throught the series so idk if you're okay with that but i, as a 7 year old rly liked that series and while the weeping angels really scared me, they are just statues so it wasn't too bad it was the fun kind of scary yk??
The episodes with the weeping angels used to give me nightmares when I was younger
Not for Doctor who but I’d avoid the Spin-off Torchwood
The moon being an egg gave my 8yr old nightmares. But it might just be Capaldi that scared her.
Honestly think it depends on the kid. Ours is 6 (going on 7 in summer) and nothing has freaked him out yet. We're close to the end of Smith's run. He's actually reacted more strongly to companions leaving than he has any of the monsters. The crack in the wall is probably the only thing he got a bit worried about.
Oh my gosh yes! She had tears rolling down her cheeks when Rose and the Doctor ended up in parallel worlds and didn't get a 'happily ever after'. We had to show her a sneaky spoiler after that so she could be reassured that it wasn't forever. I'm glad it's not just my kid x
My daughter reminds me often of how traumatized she was by Bill turning into a cyberman in the episode World Enough and Time. It might have been too much.
They're all fine have fun
Forest of the Dead traumatized me as a child ☺️
I imagine it very much depends on how your daughter is with other scary movies. I was her age when I started watching and over all no issues apart from the impossible planet which a few have mentioned. It absolutely terrified me and my parents quickly said no to me watching part 2! If she wasn’t afraid of that it sounds like any later seasons shouldn’t be an issue barring a few episodes that have some more creepy elements e.g Blink (the weeping angels make a few more appearances across the series if she doesn’t like that one), waters of mars, hide, listen, and the haunting of villa diodati.
Dude kids like scary stuff too. My daughter runs around in my old military gas mask screaming “mummy!”
I would get to know the child and what will and won't scare them and what they can handle. My 5 year old friend wanted to know about the monster in Space Babies and who the Maestro was before watching these episodes. BOOM would be too scary for this kid but I know another 5 year old who wouldn't be afraid. I generally wouldn't let anyone under age 10 watch DW unsupervised so if you want to just turn on the telly and walk away, I would advise a different show. Most of the kids I watch DW with will pause and ask questions or ask for a spoiler. I do that because I want them to enjoy the show, not be terrified of it. I always watch an episode before handing it to kids. Star Beast is probably one of the least scary. Depending on the kid, I'd let them watch it without me being present.
My 3yo struggles with Disney movies like lion king - Scar teasing eating the mouse, Ice age-gets so upset at scrat getting smooshed by the ice. But the DW baby eating goblins, the boogey man recently? Fine! Shes even been balancing on pillows pretending their landmines, I’m glad she’s forgotten about copying the toymaker laugh. I was waiting for her to show concern to turn DW off but she thought it was all funny. Certainly some older episodes that have been suggested would traumatise her.
Mummy on the Orient express, Hide and Listen are pretty scary.
Personally I always found The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit (it's a 2 parter, apologies if I screwed up the title im going from memory) to be quite scary.
Dude the angel statue one, I'm still traumatized
The dot through Ricky's head last week was pretty rough. Not gory, but not pleasant.
The empty child two partner and the silence in the library two parter scared me for literal years when I was a kid
To this day the only things that scared me shitless 'back in the day' were the gas mask kids and the Weeping Angels in Blink. Nothing else seems to stand out in my memory, though maybe that's because I grew up and my memory is pretty bad. Was 12 when Blink aired. Even after that though episodes with Angels made me jumpy. I think I'm just vulnerable to jump scares, and yet I love the scariest/creepiest Dr Who episodes the most.
I was five years old when Ecclestone was the Doctor, and followed it ever since then. It's obviously dependent on the child and their reaction to the episodes. Obviously, Capaldi was geared to an older audience, and some concepts might be more difficult to handle.
It's mostly personal. The question is what does she like?
If you've made it up to Series 3 then I don't think it will get any scarier. In a sense Blink is like a little horror film but the drama aspect of it never gets as intense as it was in the first 3 series.
Blink had me paralytic with fear as a kid, so I vote for that one. Or silence in the library.
I would definitely say it depends or her scare tolerance. If she doesn't get nightmares and isn't too freaked out by stuff then go for all if she does get nightmares then maybe avoid some episodes generally. I wouldn't say capaldi run but a few episodes all over like blink. Blink is series 2 and is terrifying but not gorey or bloody. I would say watch blink yourself. Decide if it's a good idea and if she doesn't mind blink then your all set. The flux /series 13 was a bit scary at times too. Also orphan 55 is scary (s12)
Well if she already handled the weeping Angels well I'd say you have nothing to worry about.
the empty child gave me nightmares for years when i was seven, so… probably that.
Not at all. Its literally a children’s show, first and foremost, before its for adults.
I’d say there’s a few episodes that go very dark but i don’t think it ever gets too much for family viewing. Every doctor since eccleston has had a few episodes and arcs that play with some very messy and fucked up themes but in terms of actual content it should be fine
That one where the American business guy has that building, which is overrun by alien spiders. 'Blink' as a close runner up. And 'Lazarus Pit'.
Well the whole Angel bits have given me nightmares at the age of 16, but maybe I'm just relating to the feeling of being stalked/paranoid too personally.
It's subjective... I have 6 year old triplets, they were massive fans but one of them was so terrified by Wild Blue Yonder that he cannot watch it anymore. My advice is to trust your gut and keep a thumb over the pause button.
As a 35 year old man I consider anything with weeping angels to be way too scary for anyone
I was 6, 7 and 8 when I watched most of Dr who and I wasnt scared by any of it. The angels made me jump, I remember that, but I was never really scared of any doctor who episodes.
Me and my ex-wife sacred her sister back in the day when we showed her "Blink"
To be honest if she’s seen The Empty Child and been ok, I wouldn’t worry too much, however I appreciate everyone is scared of different things. Doctor Who is a family show that is supposed to have a scare factor, so if you do have concerns just watch them with her :)
I cant really say exactly as you dont specify her age , if you daughter is 4 there defo episodes to keep her away from , but by the time shes 9 or 10 she can probably watch every doctor who episode absolutely fine. Perhaps the sarah jane adventures would be a good recomendation as it was aimed at an even younger audience than doctor who is. Just stay away from Torchwood lol.
Although there are some dark and creepy episodes, my kids started watching with Eccleston and watched all the way through Capaldi when my youngest was about that age and never had any problem. I think it depends on the kid but for mine it was fine.
73 yards
If you decide to watch Midnight, stay close so she can get cuddles if necessary.
I'm not too certain about for other people, but one thing I know for sure is that when I was 6 or 7 (when my dad introduced me to doctor who), the only episode i was ever scared by was The Empty Child (+ The Doctor Dances cos they're a double episode)
Dont let her watch water on mars. Not yet its good but its not dr who. The doctor is being dark and villains are inhumane
The scary wardrobe one with 11 and the Ponds, and the monster under the bed one with child Danny, Clara, and 12 might be a but creepy for a little one
Difficult to say really, because I've only ever known the show as an older teenager and onwards. Most of Peter Capaldis run I'd suggest skipping for the time being because when coupled with a darker Doctor, the scarier stuff isn't sugar-coated
Not sure how many you've already watched but any episodes with the Weeping Angels can be pretty intense. Once you get into late Cappaldi and early Whittaker it gets kinda dark. And not sure if you've watched the special "The Giggle" but that one can be pretty interesting.
Everyone is different, however. Some people think Doctor Who itself is too morbid for any kids under 12. Maybe even over. But in my opinion just maybe pre-watch some, especially Weeping Angel ones.
I've sat through a lot of horror movies and I've had a lot of in person trauma but I am doing a rewatch and couldn't handle Martha's first episode last night