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?
Stolen TARDIS
Initially it is implied in ‘The Chase’ (1965) that The Doctor built the Ship himself. We later learned that The Doctor had borrowed, or rather stole, the Type 40 TARDIS during stories such as ‘The War Games’ (1969), ‘Frontier in Space’ (1973) and ‘Logopolis’ (1981). During the latter story The Doctor stated to Adric that she was in for repairs when he “borrowed her”. It was only in ‘The Name of the Doctor’ (2013) when we saw the First Doctor steal the TARDIS from the Gallifreyan workshop. However in ‘The Doctor’s Wife’ (2010) Idris, with the consciousness of the TARDIS inside her, claims that she stole The Doctor.
The TARDIS exterior
The TARDIS has appeared onscreen as a Police Box the majority of the time. In the second ever episode of the series ‘The Cave of Skulls’ (1963) we learned that the TARDIS is supposed to change shape. Unfortunately, the Chameleon circuit which is supposed to make the Ship blend into its surroundings has got stuck in the shape of the Police Box ever since landing in the junkyard on Totters Lane. The Sixth Doctor attempted to repair the Chameleon Circuit in ‘Attack of the Cybermen’ (1985) with limited success. Other than that occasion the TARDIS exterior has remained that of a Police Box.
The Vault
As of yet, we don’t fully know what ‘thing’ happened which caused The Doctor to make the promise to guard the Vault. Perhaps we will learn more of this story arc as Series 10 progresses?
Human Colony
Over the years The Doctor has visited a number of human colonies. The human colony on the planet Vulcan, for example, was visited by the newly regenerated Second Doctor during the story ‘The Power of the Daleks’ (1966). The Seventh Doctor and Ace visited Terra Alpha another Earth colony in ‘The Happiness Patrol’ (1988). Human beings also colonised Pluto as seen in ‘The Sun Makers’ (1977).
Advice and Assistance Obtainable Immediately
Although the TARDIS exterior has remained a Police Box the design has altered slightly from time to time. But on every variation, the words ‘Advice and/& Assistance Obtainable Immediately’ has remained constant throughout over 50 years of televised adventures.
Evacuation: Earth
In the 29th Century, the Earth was/will be scorched by solar flares. Humanity fled for the stars on ships such as Starship UK. The Eleventh Doctor visited Starship UK with Amy Pond in ‘The Beast Below’ (2010). Human beings would eventually return to their home planet but in the 61st Century the planet was bombarded by solar flames once again. This made the planet uninhabitable for 10,000 years. On this occasion humanity submitted themselves for suspended animation to repopulate the Earth once it became habitable once again. The Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan visited one of these arks that held the sleeping humans. They also encounter a ‘MedTech’, as in ‘Smile’ (2017), called Vira.
Medtech – The Ark in Space – Vira was a medtech