Doctor Who’s London David Lavery English Department
“The Beta Test Initiation” (Big Bang Theory 5.14)
“For somebody who has a machine that allows him to travel anywhere in space and time, Doctor Who certainly has an affection for modern day London”
“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”—Samuel Johnson (1777)
Doctor Who has been on the air since 1963 (it debuted the day after the assassination of JFK). Its most recent episode, “The Angels Take Manhattan” (September 29, 2012), was its 789 th.
Doctors Top Row: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker Middle Row: Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann Bottom Row: Eccleston, Tennant, Smith
DoctorActor (Years) FirstWilliam Hartnell ( ) SecondPatrick Troughton ( ) ThirdJon Pertwee ( ) FourthTom Baker ( ) FifthPeter Davison ( ) SixthColin Baker ( ) SeventhSylvestor McCoy ( ) EighthPaul McGann (a 1996 movie) NinthChristopher Eccleston (2005) TenthDavid Tennant ( ) EleventhMatt Smith (2010- ) The Doctors
Doctors
DoctorActor (Years) FirstWilliam Hartnell ( ) SecondPatrick Trouhton ( ) ThirdJon Pertwee ( ) FourthTom Baker ( ) FifthPeter Davison ( ) SixthColin Baker ( ) SeventhSylvestor McCoy ( ) EighthPaul McGann (a 1996 movie) NinthChristopher Eccleston (2005) TenthDavid Tennant ( ) EleventhMatt Smith (2010- ) The Doctors
Series# of Episodes Buffy the Vampire Slayer144 Twilight Zone156 Stargate SG-1214 Firefly14 The Prisoner17 Twin Peaks30 The X-Files202 Star Trek79 Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.27 Lost121 Life on Mars (UK)16 The Simpsons510 Doctor Who789 Cult Television Longevity
History in Doctor Who Episode (#)Historical Figure/Events “The Unquiet Dead” (1.3)Charles Dickens “Tooth and Claw” (2.2)Queen Victoria “The Girl in the Fireplace” (2.4)Madame de Pompadour “The Shakespeare Code” (3.2)William Shakespeare & Queen Elizabeth “The Fires of Pompeii” (4.3)Pompeii “The Unicorn and the Wasp” (4.7)Agatha Christie “Victory of the Daleks” (5.3) & “The Pandorica Opens” (5.12) Winston Churchill “Vincent and the Doctor” (5.10) & “The Pandorica Opens” (5.12) Vincent Van Gogh
“The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe,” the 2011 Doctor Who Christmas Special
New Who
New Who
Designed by Kelly Hays
My Doctor Who class at the BBC Television Centre, January 2012
Rory meets Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Data. Photo by Kelly Hays.
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“Large chunks of both Doctor Who and Sherlock are shot in and around Cardiff, and much play has been made of how this has turned the city into a sort of miniature, damp Hollywood (Llangollywd, perhaps). In Doctor Who, the entire universe looks like Wales. Sherlock, meanwhile, has the whole of modern London to play with. Just think of the use of the Thames and the skyline in “A Scandal in Belgravia,” the witty exteriors including a down-at-heel Baker Street and the beautiful Georgian interiors of Irene's bondage parlour. Ultimately, perhaps, it's this that makes Sherlock better than Who right now. The Doctor belongs to the universe. Holmes belongs to us. He's a Londoner.”
Bigger on the Inside
The TARDIS has a swimming pool, and in one episode it becomes necessary to jettison “squash court 7.”
“Rose” (1.1) The Doctor's London Aerial View of London The Doctor's London Aerial View of London
The Past The Doctor's London
“The Shakespeare Code” (3.2) The Doctor's London The Globe
“The Shakespeare Code” (3.2) The Doctor's London The Globe The Doctor: Come on! We can all have a good flirt later! William Shakespeare: Is that a promise, Doctor? The Doctor: Oooh, 57 academics just punched the air!
“The Shakespeare Code” (3.2) The Doctor's London The Globe
“The Shakespeare Code” (3.2) The Doctor's London The Globe
“The Next Doctor” (Christmas, 2008) The Doctor's London Victorian London
“The Empty Child” (1.9) The Doctor's London London During the Blitz
“The Doctor Dances” (1.10) The Doctor's London A Gas Mask During the Blitz
“Victory of the Daleks” (5.3) The Doctor's London Cabinet War Rooms
“The Idiot's Lantern” (2.7) The Doctor's London Alexandra Palace
The Doctor's London Alexandra Palace “The Idiot's Lantern” (2.7)
The Doctor's London Alexandra Palace “The Idiot's Lantern” (2.7)
The Doctor's London Alexandra Palace “The Idiot's Lantern” (2.7)
The Present ( ) The Doctor's London
“Rose” (1.1) The Doctor's London The London Eye
“Rose” (1.1) The Doctor's London Westminster Bridge, Big Ben
The Doctor's London London Bridge “Aliens of London” (1.4)
The Doctor's London St. Paul’s Cathedral
“Aliens of London” (1.4) The Doctor's London Big Ben
The Doctor's London The Thames “Aliens of London” (1.4)
“World War Three” (1.5) The Doctor's London 10 Downing Street
“World War Three” (1.5) The Doctor's London 10 Downing Street
The Doctor's London St. Mary’s Axe “The Christmas Invasion” (Christmas 2005)
The Doctor's London London Rooftops
“School Reunion” (2.3) The Doctor's London A School in North London
“Rise of the Cybermen” (2.5) The Doctor's London Battersea Power Station
“Love and Monsters” (2.10) The Doctor's London North London L.I.N.D.A. London Investigative N Detective Agency
“Doomsday” (2.13) The Doctor's London Canary Wharf
“Doomsday” (2.13) The Doctor's London A Portal Opens to an Alternate Universe in Canary Wharf
“The Runaway Bride” (Christmas, 2006) The Doctor's London A London Motorway
The Doctor's London A London Motorway
“The Runaway Bride” (Christmas, 2006) The Doctor's London Thames Flood Barrier
“Alias Smith and Jones” (3.1) The Doctor's London The Former Site of a Major London Hospital
“Alias Smith and Jones” (3.1) The Doctor's London A London Hospital on the Moon
“The Lazarus Experiment” (3.6) The Doctor's London Southwark Cathedral
“The Voyage of the Damned” (Christmas, 2007) The Doctor's London Buckingham Palace
The Doctor's London The Queen and Her Corgi “The Voyage of the Damned” (Christmas, 2007)
The Doctor's London Buckingham Palace “”The Voyage of the Damned” (Christmas, 2007)
“Partners in Crime” (4.1) The Doctor's London The Adipose Gather in London
“Planet of the Dead” (Easter, 2009) The Doctor's London The International Gallery/The National Gallery
“The Big Bang” (5.13) The Doctor's London National Museum
“The Eleventh Hour” (6.1) The Doctor's London London Skyline
The Future (now the Past) The Doctor's London
“Fear Her” (2.11) (June 24, 2006) The Doctor's London The 2012 Olympics
The Doctor's London Olympic Stadium “Fear Her” (2.11) (June 24, 2006)
The Doctor's London Olympic Stadium “Fear Her” (2.11) (June 24, 2006)
The Future The Doctor's London
“The Beast Below” (5.2) The Doctor's London Starship UK
Alternate Future(s) The Doctor's London
“Turn Left” (4.11) The Doctor's London London Skyline
“Turn Left” (4.11) The Doctor's London London Nuked
“The Wedding of River Song” (6.13) The Doctor's London Hyde Park
“The Wedding of River Song” (6.13) The Doctor's London Hyde Park
“The Wedding of River Song” (6.13) The Doctor's London Alternate Reality London Skyline
DOCTOR: Who are you? IDRIS: Do you not know me? Just because they put me in here? DOCTOR: They said you were dangerous. IDRIS: Not the cage, stupid. In here. They put me in here. I'm the... Oh, what do you call me? We travel. I go... (she makes the sound of the TARDIS)she makes the sound of the TARDIS DOCTOR: The TARDIS? IDRIS: Time and relative dimension in space. Yes, that's it. Names are funny. It's me! I'm the TARDIS. DOCTOR: No. You're not! You're a bitey, mad lady. The TARDIS is up and downy stuff in a big blue box.
IDRIS: Yes, that's me. A type 40 TARDIS. I was already a museum piece, when you were young, and the first time you touched my console you said... DOCTOR: I said you were the most beautiful thing I had ever known. IDRIS: And then you stole me. And I stole you. DOCTOR: I borrowed you. IDRIS: Borrowing implies the eventual intention to return the thing that was taken. What makes you think I would ever give you back? DOCTOR: You're the TARDIS? IDRIS: Yes. DOCTOR: My TARDIS? IDRIS: Our TARDIS!
IDRIS: Are all people like this? DOCTOR: Like what? IDRIS: So much bigger on the inside?
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