Ncuti Gatwa’s upcoming role as the Fifteenth Doctor on Doctor Who along with the future episodes heading to Disney+ is further expanding the show’s massive US and Canadian fanbase. There are a ton of newbies who want to understand “that blue phone box show.” The show’s modern era (2005-present) is a common entry point for newer fans. However, many want to go back to the very, very beginning, a.k.a. the Classic era (1963-1989). There are also longtime fans who 1) grew up watching Classic Who and love to see it and 2) became fans via the modern era but want to explore the Classic Doctors. Thankfully, Tubi is providing a free gateway into Classic Doctor Who, bringing all of the available episodes to its platform.
Until now, the Classic era episodes were only available to UK and US fans via BritBox, a paid streaming service courtesy of the BBC and ITV. We can presume Classic episodes will remain there for now. But with a zillion streaming services in the universe, some people simply don’t want to pay for another one. That is totally understandable. So the Classic era episodes of Doctor Who on Tubi are a good thing, indeed. In addition to the show’s episodes, there is also Classic Doctor Who: The Animated Lost Stories, which includes animated reenactments of live-action episodes lost to time. (Many of them are from the Second Doctor’s era.) All episodes will run on a dedicated FAST channel and are available on-demand.
Tubi will also offer a “New to Who” collection to help new fans board the TARDIS with relative ease. Now is the time to expand our recruiting efforts, Doctor Who fans. We need more people to become one of us because, well, we are an awesome collective. The Classic Doctor Who episodes are free on Tubi right now, so stream away my friends.