TV stories come in two main varieties: New Series and Classic Series. There are also two 1960s feature-length films as well as a few straight-to-video stories produced by a fan company called BBV, which we currently do not cover.
The Classic Series
The Classic Series ran from 1963 until 1989, and the one-shot TV Movie in 1996 is also considered part of it. These stories featured eight different incarnations of the Doctor. These were played by William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann. A large number of episodes from the 1960s only exist in audio.
Most Classic Series stories are divided into 25 minute episodes with cliffhangers. There are a few stories made in 45 minute episodes, and two longer non-episodic stories (The Five Doctors and The TV Movie).
Is it a Classic Series Story?
If you have a story on video cassette, then it's almost certainly a Classic Series story.
If a DVD carries the Pertwee/McGann Logo (shown above) then it's a Classic Series story.
Example Covers
 |
 |
 |
| Region 2 (UK) DVD Cover |
Region 1 (US/Canada) DVD Cover |
Region 2 (UK) DVD Cover |
The New Series
The New Series began in 2005 and is still going as of now. These stories feature Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith as the Doctor.
Is it a New Series Story?
The New Series has only been released on DVD, though some stories will see release on Blu-Ray. All New Series DVDs feature the "taxicab" logo (seen above). They can be found in two formats:
The "vanilla" releases feature several three or four normal episodes on a disc with no extras. The exception is the Christmas Specials, which take up a vanilla release by themselves.
Series Boxsets feature an entire series. These are packaged in "series" and not "seasons".
Example Covers
 |
 |
 |
| Vanilla DVD Cover | Boxset DVD Cover | Vanilla DVD Cover |
