Judging from the interest surrounding Sunday's BBC special to reveal the next person to play the title role in the U.K. TV series Doctor Who, the Internet loves the show even more than a finely aged Sharknado. For fans, it was as if Christmas (traditionally the time for Doctor Who specials) came early, and they flocked to Twitter and elsewhere to fervently express their reactions to the selection of the lucky actor, Peter Capaldi.

To non-fans, the brouhaha may have been a little surprising. Doctor Who, once known for being one of the geekiest parts of geek culture, has found mainstream appeal since its re-launch in 2005 through modern storytelling, inspired casting and smart global marketing. It's even graced the cover of Entertainment Weekly twice — for the first time in 2012 and again in 2013 on two different collectible covers.

See also: 15 Passionate Whovian Reactions to the 12th Doctor

Nonetheless, like many geek franchises, Doctor Who can seem impenetrable at first glance. This is a show with 50 years of history, after all, with a lead character that's supposedly lived a lot longer than that. Even if you restrict yourself to the new series, that's still seven seasons of TV, plus specials. The Wire's five seasons look like a cake walk by comparison.

But it would be a mistake to forsake traveling with the Doctor because it looks intimidating. Who has ongoing storylines, sure, but it's much more episodic than, say, Game of Thrones. You can easily get a feel for the show by watching just a few key hours. And there's plenty of time — the next new episode, the 50th Anniversary Special, doesn't air until Nov. 23.

It helps that the show is widely accessible. You can find episodes on Netflix, Amazon Instant Video (free with Amazon Prime), iTunes and other services, besides the usual DVD/Blu-ray availability. And when new episodes are broadcast, they're aired in the U.K. and U.S. on the same day, so there's a lot less chance of the Internet spoiling things.

Until November, here are the 12 most essential episodes of Doctor Who ready and waiting for your next weekend binge viewing to get you up to speed on Time Lords, Daleks and extremely cool bowties. (And yeah, we cheated a bit by including two-parters as single episodes.)

12 Most Essential Episodes of 'Doctor Who'

Image: BBC America