Doctor Who: Why the series has the most unskippable intro ever

Some of us like to skip intros when watching a series. But, for many of us, the Doctor Who titles are completely unskippable.

Last night, I was watching Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina with my girlfriend. One thing was highlighted out to me: while I’m normally okay with just watching the intro and letting it run, her Netflix automatically skips it.

It’s definitely something that’s very common these days. A number of my friends either automatically skip the intros of TV series, or even manually fast forward, if they can.

Personally speaking, I do enjoy a good intro. Especially since they are so rare these days, at least on network television. Just the title itself, and that’s it.

Lengthy intros

Of course, Netflix shows are an exception to this. Daredevil, House of Cards and now Chilling Adventures of Sabrina all have very distinctive intros. They set the mood just right for the series, and ease the audience into the show.

Cable series are also great at this. HBO shows The Sopranos, Game of Thrones and True Detective (well, season one, at least) all had amazing intros for their series. These were openings that created the perfect tone and introduced something key to the series, particularly the location.

So why skip them? Well, in this day and age, with so many shows to watch and not enough time to watch them, it’s understandable to skip something like the intro. After all, you’ve seen it once, you don’t really need to watch it again. Especially if you’re binge watching, and just want to watch the show itself.

But, for many of us, there might be a key exception to this. And I’m sure you can guess what that is.

The unskippable intro

Curious, I asked my girlfriend if she ever skipped the Doctor Who intro. She described that as “blasphemy”.

It’s really hard to disagree with her. There’s just something about the Doctor Who intro that makes it such an essential part of an episode.

The theme tune is definitely a core part of it, perhaps the biggest part. Over five decades on, and that theme is still unique. It is completely unmistakable. There may be many variations of it, but it’s still a theme that stands out and draws you into the series.

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There’s also the excellent visual element. Even the original intro has a strong psychedelic appeal, and matches the strangeness and spookiness of the music perfectly.

Honestly, I think there’s just a magic to the intro that’s just hard to define. For this writer, who watched so many Classic Series episodes as a kid, it helps that it has such a strong connection to my childhood, and I think that’s true for many viewers. But even then, I’ve known a number of fans who didn’t discover Doctor Who until adulthood who still find the intro unskippable.

However, I think that’s the magic of Doctor Who. The best stories are the ones that can make you feel like a kid watching it – being hugely excited to watch the Doctor save the day and fight some monsters. The intro captures that magic perfectly, and I think that’s a key reason why so many of us consider it completely unskippable.

(Unless you’re Chris Chibnall. Who has deliberately skipped it. Twice.)

Do you find the Doctor Who theme unskippable? Is it a key part of the viewing experience for you? Let us know in the comments below.