Beginning Tuesday, May 29th, popular streaming website Twitch will begin hosting classic episodes of Doctor Who. The marathon will stretch over 500 episodes, starting with the first Doctor and continuing on to the seventh. Many of these older ones are extremely difficult to find (superfans might be thinking of the “lost episodes”), so having an accessible worldwide medium available to view them for free is a big deal. There’ll be three screenings per day, though it’s not quite clear if that means three episodes a day or three showings of an episode each day.
Viewers will have more to look forward to than just the showings. TwitchPresents channel subscribers will gain access to a batch of Doctor Who emojis to use in chat, all themed around the first seven incarnations of the Doctor. Not to mention a sweepstakes. Every week, Twitch will give viewers a chance to win a variety of prizes, culminating in a trip to London Comic Con. BBC’s event page has an unlinked URL to copy-paste which leads to a download page for a PDF on the contest details… kind of a hassle, don’t you think, BBC?
Tune in a little early if you’re interested in the pre-show content hosted by Yogscast. They’ll bring in Doctor Who screenwriters and even one of the companions to introduce each season and tell some behind-the-scenes stories. This is all exclusive content not seen anywhere else.
Twitch has previously streamed marathons of other shows like Bob Ross: The Joy of Painting, Power Rangers, and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. You don’t need to be a subscriber or pay any fees to watch, so if you’re looking for a source to see the older and hard-to-find Doctor Who episodes, make sure to check the listing times so you can catch them. Until then remember: don’t get into a spaceship with a madman, there’s always a way out, run for your life, never run when you’re scared (contradiction alert), never be certain of anything, always take a banana to a party, and most importantly, don’t blink… or you’ll miss the episodes.