--- title: "How long to watch classic Doctor Who? about 290 hours" description: "Classic Doctor Who takes about 290 hours — 695 episodes made between 1963 and 1989. What that assumes, how it breaks down, and how long at a realistic pace." url: https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/doctor-who-classic/ site: "At One Place" --- # How long does it take to watch classic Doctor Who? **How long to watch classic Doctor Who: about 290 hours** 695 episodes made between 1963 and 1989 Classic Doctor Who was made as 25-minute serial parts rather than standalone episodes, so 695 episodes is roughly 290 hours — comparable to The Simpsons. The complication is that you cannot watch all of it: the BBC wiped its videotapes through the 1960s and 1970s, and around 97 episodes no longer exist in any form. What survives of the missing stories is off-air audio recorded by fans on domestic tape recorders, later paired with stills or animation. A genuinely complete watch of what exists is therefore about 250 hours, not 290, and the difference is the single most important fact about this number. ## The numbers - **Total:** 12 days 1 hour - **In hours:** 290 hours - **Non-stop:** 12.1 days without sleeping - **Covers:** 695 episodes made between 1963 and 1989 - **At a realistic pace:** an episode a day - **That works out as:** about 695 days ## What this assumes 695 episodes at about 25 minutes, the standard serial part length. This counts episodes made, not episodes that survive. > About 97 episodes are missing from the archives, so roughly 598 are actually watchable — some 40 hours less than the figure given. ## Other tv series | What | How long | | --- | --- | | The Simpsons | 12 days 8 hours | | Friends | about 87 hours | | Breaking Bad | about 49 hours | | Better Call Saul | about 50 hours | | The Office (US) | about 74 hours | | The Office (UK) | about 7 hours 23 minutes | | Game of Thrones | about 69 hours | | The Sopranos | about 79 hours | | The Wire | about 59 hours | | Grey's Anatomy | 13 days 21 hours | | Seinfeld | about 66 hours | | Modern Doctor Who | about 157 hours | | Star Trek: The Original Series | about 67 hours | | Star Trek: The Next Generation | about 134 hours | | All of Star Trek | 22 days 1 hour | ## Common questions ### How long does it take to watch classic Doctor Who? about 290 hours — 695 episodes made between 1963 and 1989. ### What does that assume? 695 episodes at about 25 minutes, the standard serial part length. This counts episodes made, not episodes that survive. ### How long at a realistic pace? an episode a day — about 695 days. ## Related pages - [How long to watch The Simpsons?](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/the-simpsons/) - [How long to watch Friends?](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/friends/) - [How long to watch Breaking Bad?](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/breaking-bad/) - [How long to watch Better Call Saul?](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/better-call-saul/) - [How long to watch The Office (US)?](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/the-office-us/) - [How long to watch The Office (UK)?](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/the-office-uk/) - [How long to watch Game of Thrones?](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/game-of-thrones/) - [How long to watch The Sopranos?](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/the-sopranos/) - [How long to read the Harry Potter series?](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/harry-potter-series/) - [How long to watch One Piece?](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/one-piece/) - [How long to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe?](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/marvel-cinematic-universe/) - [How long to read the Bible?](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/the-bible/) - [How long to watch the Harry Potter films?](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/harry-potter-films/) - [How long to watch Naruto?](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/naruto/) ## Sources - Calculated on this page — At One Place (/about/)