Cultural references to the Doctor Who universe

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You may be looking for Doctor Who pastiches or Doctor Who parodies.

Occasionally, elements of the Doctor Who universe are referenced in the broader popular culture. This page exists to throw a spotlight on some of these casual references made in television, comics, films and other media.

References by decade

• Cultural references to the Doctor Who universe/1960s
• Cultural references to the Doctor Who universe/1970s
• Cultural references to the Doctor Who universe/1980s
• Cultural references to the Doctor Who universe/1990s
• Cultural references to the Doctor Who universe/2000s
• Cultural references to the Doctor Who universe/2010s
• Cultural references to the Doctor Who universe/2020s

Television

• fIn Misfits, a UK sci fi series, a character has a Dalek toy on his desk.

The Fourth Doctor appears in The Simpsons.

• The Fourth Doctor has appeared several times in The Simpsons.

Sheldon cosplays as the Fourth Doctor in The Big Bang Theory.

• Doctor Who is referenced several times in episodes of The Big Bang Theory.
• In "The Dumpling Paradox", Sheldon tells Leonard that every Saturday, he awakens at 6:15 and watches Doctor Who. Later in the episode, he says that he will watch the last twenty-four minutes of Doctor Who, though at that point "it is more like 'Doctor Why Bother?'". In "The Justice League Recombination", Stuart is seen wearing a Fourth Doctor costume. In "The Beta Test Initiation", Penny, Amy, Sheldon, and Leonard are seen watching Doctor Who. Though the screen is not shown, you can hear parts of the episode. In "The Holographic Excitation", Raj announces he may have a TARDIS at his Halloween party. This TARDIS can be seen later on in the episode.
  • Also in the same episode, Sheldon and Amy are brainstorming couples costumes for the party, and one of the ideas seen on Sheldon's board is "The Doctor & a Dalek". Additionally, several TARDIS posters can be seen in Stuart's comic book store, as well as a Dalek in Leonard and Sheldon's apartment.

The Doctor & A Dalek is one of Sheldon's favourite couples. (The Big Bang Theory)

• In an episode of South Park titled Funnybot, the Germans build a robot designed to be funny in reaction to being labelled unfunny. This robot looks and speaks like a Dalek, it even has a plunger and is found going on murder sprees saying, "Exterminate!"
• In an episode of the Nickelodeon cartoon Sanjay and Craig, the snake, Craig, is talking into a walkie-talkie and speaking popular radio phrases — but one of the things he says is: "...wibbly wobbly timey wimey."

Hyperspace. (Family Guy)

• In the American animated sitcom Family Guy:
  • In the season 7 episode "420", Brian says that ever since weed was legalised "crime is down, productivity is up and the ratings for Doctor Who is through the roof".
  • The Star Wars Episode IV spoof "Blue Harvest", incorporated footage from the Tom Baker-era opening credits in the scene in which the Millennium Falcon enters hyperspace.
  • In season 9's "Welcome Back, Carter", Peter names an owl "Doctor Hoo".
  • In season 12's "Meg Stinks", Peter loses his hand and says he can regenerate, regrowing his hand similar to The Tenth Doctor in The Christmas Invasion. Then, the disarmed hand regrows into another version of Peter, ala Journeys End.
  • Most notably, the season 15 episode "Inside Family Guy" contains a scene in which the Griffins are watching a TV episode called "Doctor Who Farted", where the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant providing his voice) attempts to cover up the fact that he passed gas inside his TARDIS.
• In the animated Netflix series BoJack Horseman, Sarah-Lynn’s drug provider is Dr. Allen Hu. The titular character, BoJack, is the only one who recognises the connection, showing surprise that neither Sarah-Lynn nor Todd are familiar with the "extremely popular BBC science fiction show about the time travelling Doctor who saves civilisations".
• In the Arthur episode "Carried Away", a dog called "Dr. Howl", a cousin to Arthur's pet dog Pal, appears. The character wears a brown hat and red scarf, giving him an appearance similar to the Fourth Doctor, and he travels through space in a blue dog house-shaped ship called the BARCDIS ("Ballistic Astro Rocket for Carrying Dogs in Space") which is bigger on the inside and contains a console similar to that of its inspiration.
• Doctor Who is referenced in a number of skits in the stopmotion animated series Robot Chicken:
  • A season 2 sketch entitled "Do You Get It?" is a short clip of the Fourth Doctor standing on first base in the middle of a baseball field. The skit ends with the Doctor asking the audience "do you get it?”. The skit is a visual pun referencing the classic Abbott & Costello routine "Who's on first?": the joke being that (Doctor) Who's on first (base).
  • Another season 2 entitled "Ogre Returns" sketch shows a boy during show and tell showing his toy TARDIS and Fourth Doctor doll to his class explaining what "TARDS" stands for, only to be interrupted by Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds who promptly shouts, "NERD!"
  • The season 7 skit "Doctor Who Meets the Nerd" sees the Doctor (a non-specific incarnation who possesses traits of the Third, Fourth, and Twelfth Doctor's) taking on the shows reoccuring Nerd character as his new companion, only for the Doctor to be left exasperated when the nerd proceeds to nitpick at the low production values of the stone age setting he's been taken to (a reference to the low production values of the shows classic era). The Doctor finally decides he's had enough when a Dalek appears and the nerd simply pushes it over.
  • A season 9 episode features a collection of skits under the title "Taking A Guess At Shows We Don't Watch", in which the writers offer their interpretations of what a show they've presumably never seen is about based on the title. The last of these skits sees a father and son involved in a fatal car accident, with the father screaming for a doctor to see to his son. An ethnic man claiming to be a doctor arrives, introducing himself as "Dr. Sunjayvandanacandanapecarpecar", with the father responding in confusion to his long name. The title card at the end reveals that the show being misinterpreted is in fact Doctor Who.
• In the BBC sitcom Miranda (featuring Tom Ellis as Gary Preston), in the episode "The Perfect Christmas", Miranda attempts to flirt with Dr. Gail (played by Adam Rayner) at her mum's Christmas party. After he explains that he recently moved to the area, Miranda jokingly responds with "in your TARDIS, Doctor?".

Comics

Monica's Gang

• In the parody of Back of Future, at a time several different time machines from different franchises appeared, one of them was the TARDIS.

Marvel UK

• Marvel UK created more than one character who appeared in titles owned by the company, including Doctor Who Magazine. The characters of the Special Executive (troubleshooters employed by the Time Lords, who had appeared in 4-D War and Black Sun Rising) appeared with Captain Britain in the "Jaspers' Warp" storyline written by the Special Executive's creator, Alan Moore.
• The Doctor Who comics version of Merlin appeared briefly in Captain Britain in a sequence demonstrating that Merlin had several alternate appearances and personalities that he could adopt as he saw fit. The Doctor has also appeared in cameos in several prose novels based in the Marvel Universe.

Death's Head. (COMIC: The Crossroads of Time)

• In The Crossroads of Time, published in Doctor Who Magazine, the Seventh Doctor ran into (literally) Death's Head, who was thrown from the Transformers Generation 1 universe into the Time Vortex; he sent Death's Head to the future Earth of Dragon's Claws (a Marvel UK title that may be set in the Doctor Who universe, since Dogbolter and Keepsake are both residents of this Earth). Later, the Doctor guest-starred in Death's Head's comic book from Marvel UK, a crossover that ended with the Doctor depositing Death's Head in the main Marvel universe (Earth-616) atop the Fantastic Four's headquarters, Fours Freedom Plaza - providing a direct link between the Doctor Who universe and Marvel's universe. Death's Head himself interacted with mainstream superheroes from the Marvel universe, which provides another, indirect, link between the mainstream Marvel Universe and the Doctor Who universe.
• Both Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four and Alistaire Stuart of Britain's Weird Happenings Organisation (WHO, a nod to Doctor Who) have obliquely mentioned being friends of the Doctor.
• In an issue of The Spectacular Spider-Man concerning paradoxes, alternate realities and time travel, the words "BAD WOLF" are grafittied on an alley wall.

DC Comics/Wildstorm

• The Wildstorm title Albion, scripted by Leah Moore and plotted by her father Alan Moore, featured a Cyberman and an Ice Warrior. It is unclear whether the Cyberman was meant to be "real" or a costume, as the scene was set in an SF-themed bar (although the "real" Robot Archie is also on display). Like The Establishment, which featured a Doctor Who pastiche character, Albion was deeply rooted in English popular culture.

2000 AD

• The 2000AD strip Caballistics, Inc. features Doctor Who references so often that they are practically part of the series' format. However, it also depicted a character clearly intended to be Tom Baker being murdered by Scottish nationalist demons. (Although this would appear to undermine the frequent suggestion by Caballistics, Inc fans that the series is unofficially set in the Doctor Who universe, one should remember that more than one version of Tom Baker has been featured as an in-universe character in Who-related media.)

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

• Alan Moore's crossover series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen links the Silurians to the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Additionally, the TARDIS appears in the background of the Black Dossier.

The Second Doctor appears in Century: 1969.

• In the second volume of series' final installment, Century: 1969, the Second Doctor makes a cameo in the background. The comic strip of Karkus is visible in a bookshop on the same page. A Dalek appears to Mina Murray during a drug-induced hallucination sequence at Hyde Park.
• Additionally, in the third volume, Century: 2009, the Eleventh Doctor and the First Doctor both appear in a cameo. Captain Jack appears a few panels above this cameo. Additionally, the James Bond character M makes a reference to United Nations Intelligence Taskforce and "our Cardiff enterprise", namely Torchwood Three.
• In the fourth and final volume of the series, Tempest, the Dalek Fleet is shown launching an attack on a future Earth. Mina states that Earth had just ended its war against the Romulans in 2160, inferring this to be the 22nd century Dalek invasion.

Sergio Bonelli Editore

• In La donna che cambiò la storia d'Italia (The woman who changed Italy's history), 14th volume of Storie da Altrove, a spin-off of italian comic series Martin Mystère, the TARDIS, K9, Donna Noble, the Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond, Captain Jack Harkness (with Torchwood's logo), a Silurian, a Dalek and a Weeping Angel appear in the background in different panels. The main character's cover name throughout the story is "Lady Christina de Souza" and another character directly quotes Tenth Doctor's explanation of time heard in Blink. The villain mentions being addressed as "The Oncoming Storm" and that his name "burns in the stars, in the Cascade of Medusa herself".
• In Gli enigmi del giovane Martin, 29th volume of Speciale Martin Mystère, the Fifth Doctor and the Master appear as a cameo in the Altrove base. A woman is seen asking the whereabouts of "Captain Harkness".
• In Congiura nei cieli, 322th volume of regular series of Martin Mystère, a writer named Canton Everett is pursued by the Men in Black. All the stories listed above are written by Carlo Recagno, himself a declared Doctor Who fan.
• In La dama che incantò Arsenio Lupin, 15th volume of Storie da Altrove, once more written by Recagno, a panel depicts the Seventh Doctor fighting harpies together with Sherlock Holmes, reprising the identical pose the duo had on All-Consuming Fire's cover. Holmes recalls having met a friend the last time at Bernice Summerfield's wedding. A woman similar to River Song is seen fighting Yog-Sothoth alongside Holmes in the subsequent panel. Additionally, Lupin uses Tenth Doctor's catchphrases "I'm so sorry" and "Allons-y!", and refers to the Countess Cagliostro as "Hell in high heels".
• In Il matrimonio di Sergej Orloff, 330th volume of regular series of Martin Mystère penned by Recagno, Altrove's commander Tower is seen in Peru leading an Altrove joint mission with UNIT, led by Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. A Time Lord is seen in the background of Altrove's base. In a flashback, a Mu soldier is seen wearing an outfit identical to those worn by Ice Warriors.
• The TARDIS appears a few issues (and on a cover or two) of CONSTANTINE.

Prose

• In the novel High Wizardry (1990) by Diane Duane, part of the Young Wizards series, a "Mysterious Stranger" helps the protagonist out of a sticky situation. He seems oddly familiar.
• Barbara Hambly's Star Trek novel Ishmael contains references to Doctor Who and cameo appearances by the Second Doctor, the Fourth Doctor and Leela.
• Lady Jennifer Buckingham from The War Games appears in the second volume of Kim Newman's crossover-intensive Anno Dracula universe. Charles Beauregard, the hero of several Anno Dracula stories, is referred to in All-Consuming Fire. One of Newman's books in the Dark Future series makes references to an alternative timeline, ultra-nationalist, pro-English version of the Doctor Who television series in which the Doctor visits famous events in English history while fighting off extraterrestrial threats to the Crown. Newman's Life's Lottery, a playful exploration of the concept of alternate universes, references Inferno in some detail (and a character fantasises somewhat colourfully about Jo Grant).
• Michael Moorcock, an admirer of Doctor Who, had "Doctor Who" and a Dalek appear, amongst many other fictional characters, in his The Condition of Muzak.
• Richard Calder's Dead trilogy features numerous dark alternative time lines involved in a sex war between men and woman. At least one features a version of Doctor Who. The last scene of the final volume, Dead Things, shows the young protagonist watching a scene of the "Daleks exterminating the slave girls of Skaro" on television.
• The Red Dwarf novels have a number of references. Kryten, for example, owns a sonic screwdriver.
• The Bunny Suicides book, Bunny Suicides return, involves a Doctor Who themed suicide.

Web Comics

Homestuck

• In the webcomic's 8th soundtrack album release, AlterniaBound, the song, Arisen Anew, themed around Aradia, The Maid of Time's, regeneration, uses an audio clip of the Tenth Doctor's famous "Wibbly wobbly... time-y wimey... stuff" quote from the episode Blink.
• The webcomic's main antagonist, Lord English, is a parody of the 4th Doctor. Additionally, his past-self, Caliborn, has theming based-around the number 11 and dresses like the 11th Doctor, including the suspenders and infamous bowtie.

Out-of-universe references

A number of TV series have made reference to the Doctor Who franchise itself:

• Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory has said that he wakes up and watches Doctor Who every Saturday morning.

Stuart dressed as the Fourth Doctor. (The Big Bang Theory)

• The Big Bang Theory also featured a costume contest hosted by the character Stuart Bloom (who owns the comic book store) dressed up in Fourth Doctor garb.
• In another episode of The Big Bang Theory, a poster of Vincent Van Gogh's "The Pandorica Opens" can be seen prominently displayed in a comic book shop.
• In the episode "I Do Again" of Eureka, Zoe refers to her Aunt Lexi's boyfriend as her 'gorgeous Doctor WHO', meaning he's a doctor with the World Health Organisation, however, Vincent mistakes it as a reference to Doctor Who, exclaiming that he loves the tv show.
• In the Eureka episode "Reprise", Zane call Jo's house as a TARDIS house, referring to how the house is bigger on the inside.
• In the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance, two characters are trapped in a phone box and the title character asks why they built another time machine.
• In the UK version of Queer as Folk (created by Russell T Davies), the character of Vince makes various references to Doctor Who throughout the programme, and is bought a replica of K9 for his birthday. In episode three, a guy he brings home for a one-night stand lands up instead watching his Genesis of the Daleks tapes. In the same episode, Cameron comments on "the one with the shop dummies" and "that one with the maggots". He said the show scared him as a kid. Vince ends up breaking up with Cameron when he can't list "all the Doctor Whos", whereas Stuart, Vince's long-time friend, can list all 7 actors in order, even remembering that according to Vince, "Paul McGann doesn't count."
• The comedy Spaced (starring and written by Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes) features a comic book store. The door to its back room is painted to look like the TARDIS doors.
• In the American comedy Community, the character Abed Nadir compares himself to various science fiction characters, including K9, while describing himself as a dispassionate observer of those around him.
• Community would later make frequent references to the fictional TV show Inspector Spacetime, an obvious parody of Doctor Who. A British programme, Inspector Spacetime is said to be the oldest sci-fi show on television, dating from 1962, centring around "The Inspector" and his companion, who travel through time and space in a red telephone booth. The main recurring villains are mechanical Dalek-like creatures named Blorgons, and a brief glimpse of the opening credit sequence is strikingly similar to the Doctor Who credits from the Ninth/Tenth Doctor era. In an episode of season four, Abed wears a TARDIS shirt, indicating that he was also a fan of the real Who.
• The British comedy Outnumbered (which starred Claire Skinner, Samantha Bond, David Troughton and Mark Benton) has made several references to Doctor Who. The first was when Ben (one of the main characters) ended up stating that he was scared. While listing all the stuff he could be scared of, he asked, "What about those Krillitane bat-things from Doctor Who?" In another episode, Pete and Jake (a couple of other main characters) were flipping through TV shows that Jake liked but Pete didn't approve of and ended up with Doctor Who Confidential, which Pete didn't like because he compared TV shows to pork pies; they're something people like but don't want to know what went through the making of it. Ben later referenced it in a third episode when he walked into the kitchen saying, "Doctor, there is no escape! Exterminate!".