During the latest series of Doctor Who Blogtor Who will look at all the nods and references to adventures which have gone before. So even if you are not already a Mastermind expert on all things in the Whoniverse you can appreciate the little detail as well. Perhaps you are a very knowledgeable Whovian already but did you spot them all?
Alternative Earth
There have been lots of these in Doctor Who over the years. For example, the Fourth Doctor took Sarah Jane Smith to the Earth of 1980 left desolate following the release of Sutekh. Fortunately the duo were able to defeat Sutekh and prevent this alternate timeline from occurring (Pyramids of Mars, 1976). When time collapsed following River Song’s refusal to kill the Eleventh Doctor all of Earth’s history happened simultaneously (The Wedding of River Song, 2011). Other versions of Earth different to our own have also been seen in stories such as ‘Inferno’ (1970) and ‘Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel’ (2006). These alternatives existed in a parallel universe. Another “great big parallel world” was also created around Donna Noble having chosen not to ‘Turn Left’ (2008).
Daleks, Cybermen and Weeping Angels
Part of the Monks’ propaganda machine claimed that they have aided mankind in defeating perhaps the top 3 alien threats seen in Doctor Who. Curiously the footage used of the Daleks was from ‘Into the Dalek’ (2014) which took place on the spaceship The Aristotle, not on Earth. Similarly, the footage of a Cyberman being destroyed was from ‘Nightmare in Silver’ (2013) which again did not take place on planet Earth but on a futuristic amusement park.
Bill’s Mum
No not Moira. In ‘The Pilot’ we learned that Bill’s Mum had sadly passed away when she was young. However she still remains an important influence in her daughter’s life. The Doctor’s Christmas present to Bill was some photos of her mother, which she had not had up until that point. It is implied that the Twelfth Doctor went back in time to take these photos for Bill (The Pilot, 2017). Bill put one of these photos on the wall of her room during (Knock Knock, 2017). When Bill was trapped in her spacesuit she also called for her mother (Oxygen, 2017).
Magpie Electricals
The television shop in ‘The Idiot’s Lantern’ (2006) was owned by Mr Magpie. Since then Magpie Electricals has been an ongoing reference for the Doctor Who design department. Electrical items such as televisions, amplifiers and computers have had their real branding covered by a Magpie Electricals sticker. This week however we saw another Magpie Electricals shop with more modern televisions than those seen during the 1950’s.
Winston Churchill
In addition to the images of Mother Teresa, the Mona Lisa, Prince Charles and Diana manipulated by the Monks, there is also an image of Winston Churchill as played by Ian McNeice. McNeice took on the role of this iconic figure for 2010’s ‘Victory of the Daleks’ opposite Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor. This included an appearance during the conclusion of the previous episode ‘The Beast Below’ (2010). Churchill would later feature in episodes ‘The Pandorica Opens’ (2010) and ‘The Wedding of River Song’ (2011). Ian McNeice also took on the role for Big Finish audios with The Churchill Years released in January 2016.
