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The Big Bang Theory was an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady. It ran for twelve seasons from 2007 to 2019.

The series revolved around the lives of, initially, the five main characters: Dr. Sheldon Cooper and Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, two physicists who share an apartment and work at Caltech university, their neighbour, Penny, a waitress and aspiring actress, and Sheldon and Leonard's similarly geeky and socially awkward coworkers; aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz, and astrophysicist Rajesh "Raj" Koothrappali. The show's main cast expanded in later seasons to include neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler, microbiologist Bernadette Rostenkowski, and comic book store owner Stuart Bloom.

A common element of the show are the male characters' interests in popular culture such as fantasy and science fiction, leading to a multitude of references to real world franchises, from Star Wars and Star Trek, to Dungeons & Dragons and, of course, Doctor Who; the series is shown to be a favourite of Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj, with Penny, Amy, and Bernadette usually displaying indifference or even outright disdain for the series, with references to it occurring multiple times throughout the show's run.

Seasons 1 to 6
In The Dumpling Paradox (Season 1, Episode 7), when Penny stays over at his and Leonard's apartment for the night, Sheldon is dismayed to find her still asleep on the couch the next morning, as it disrupts his Saturday morning ritual of getting up at 6:15am and watching Doctor Who on BBC America. Sheldon eventually gets to turn the show on to watch "the last 24 minutes" of the show, admitting that at that point it was more like "Doctor Why Bother".

In The Justice League Recombination (Season 4, Episode 11), the group go to a costume party at Stuart's comic book store for New Year's Eve. Stuart himself is dressed as the Fourth Doctor at the party.

In The Beta Test Initiation (Season 5, Episode 14), Sheldon and Leonard are watching an unidentified Doctor Who episode with Amy and Penny. Amy remarks that "for somebody who has a machine that can travel anywhere in time and space, Doctor Who sure has a thing for modern-day London" (contrary to this statement, the music that can be heard coming from the television is actually from Silence in the Library, which is not set in "modern-day London"). Sheldon responds by warning her that "that's the kind of sass that can get a person uninvited to this year's Who Con". Penny, meanwhile, complains to Leonard that she was hoping to spend the night doing something more interesting than watching TV, to which Leonard asks, "even Doctor Who?" which Penny affirms. This prompts Sheldon to revoke her invite to Who Con.

In The Holographic Excitation (Season 6, Episode 5), the Halloween party at Stuart's comic book store includes a TARDIS in the back room that apparently doubles as a photo booth. During the party, Leonard and Penny emerge from it after having evidently had sexual intercourse. Earlier in the episode, Sheldon and Amy attempt to figure out a couples costume to wear to the party that they both like; included on a list that Sheldon makes up of potential couples to dress as is "the Doctor and a Dalek".

Season 7
In The Romance Resonance (Season 7, Episode 6), Howard performs a romantic song dedicated to Bernadette for their anniversary. The song's first line is; "If I didn't have you, life would be blue. I'd be Doctor Who without the TARDIS".

The Itchy Brain Simulation (Season 7, Episode 8) reveals that Raj has the "To Victory" Dalek poster from Victory of the Daleks hanging up in his apartment. It can be seen in the final shot, partially reflected in his mirror as he screams "what is wrong with you?!" at himself after messing up a date.

In The Convention Conundrum (Season 7, Episode 14), Sheldon attempts to set up his own comic book convention after he is unable to get a ticket to San Diego Comic-Con. He draws up a list of potential celebrity guests to invite, among them is Matt Smith.

The Proton Transmogrification (Season 7, Episode 22) contains two references. First, a Dalek schematic poster is shown to be hanging in the hallway outside of Sheldon's bedroom door; it is not clear whether it was there in previous episodes, as the poster could only be seen from a camera angle that is not usually shown in Sheldon's room. Later on, when asked if he has ever lost someone, Sheldon says that has had to say goodbye to "eleven Doctor Whos".

The Skywalker Incursion (Season 8, Episode 19)

The Separation Oscillation (Season 9, Episode 2)

The 2003 Approximation (Season 9, Episode 4)

The Mystery Date Observation (Season 9, Episode 8)

The Sales Call Sublimation (Season 9, Episode 12)

The Line Substitution Solution (Season 9, Episode 23)

The Collaboration Fluctuation (Season 10, Episode 19)

The Proposal Proposal (Season 11, Episode 1)

In The Relaxation Integration (Season 11, Episode 3), Sheldon is trying to figure out the best possible date for him and Amy to have their wedding. The date that he initially comes up with is 19 May 1996, a date that has clearly long since passed, as Amy exasperatedly tells him. Sheldon ultimately realises that the date is not ideal, as he identifies it as the day Jon Pertwee, "the third Doctor Who", died (in reality, Pertwee actually died on the 20th).