Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a long-running BBC science fiction television program starring the mysterious time-traveling adventurer known simply as The Doctor. With various traveling companions, The Doctor explores time and space in a TARDIS — a time machine that looks like an old police box — and periodically regenerates, allowing for frequent recasting.
The program originally ran from 1963 to 1989. A TV-movie was made in 1996, and the program was successfully relaunched in 2005. The original series aired in the US for many years on PBS stations, and the seasons featuring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor (who wore a signature long scarf) were rerun many times in local markets. The show has also given birth to spin-offs on TV, theatrical features, comics, audio plays, novels, and webcasts.
==Muppet Mentions==
* In the 1995 Seventh Doctor novel Return of the Living Dad, the Doctor asks a serious minded character if she's ever considered abandoning her responsibilities and just making people happy. When she replies no, he comments, "You must have hated The Muppet Movie."
* In the 2005 Ninth Doctor novel Winner Takes All, the Doctor jokes that Cookie Monster is actually an alien.
* The 2006 short story "Incongruous Details" features the Sixth Doctor citing The Muppet Show as a classic after Emily Chaudhry derides Will for playing the show's rendition of "Memory Lane" from episode 219 as performed by Rowlf the Dog and Gonzo during a WWII air raid (The Doctor says he favored the latter Muppet).
* In the 2006 episode "Tooth and Claw," the Doctor tells his companion, Rose Tyler, that he's going to take her to the year 1979, to see Ian Dury in concert. "1979, hell of a year!" the Doctor exclaims. "China invades Vietnam... The Muppet Movie -- love that film! -- Margaret Thatcher, uggghhh... Skylab falls to Earth -- with a little help from me, nearly took off my thumb. And I like my thumb, I need my thumb. I'm very attached to my thumb." The Doctor and Rose leave the TARDIS and discover that they're a century off course. "Eighteen-seventy-nine," the Doctor shrugs. "Same difference."
* A Tutter doll is seen on companion Donna Noble's desk during a flashback to her past with Lance in the 2006 Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride".
* The 2007 DVD release of "Arc of Infinity" includes a behind-the-scenes feature, "Anti-Matter from Amsterdam." In an outtake of Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, a hairdresser fixes Davison's hair as he remarks that it's "a bit Miss Piggy." 
* A 2012 episode is called "The Angels Take Manhattan," which echoes the title of the Muppets' third movie, The Muppets Take Manhattan.
* The Twelfth Doctor hosts a podcast in the 2019 audio drama "Dead Media" per the request of an individual named Petra whom he describes as having Muppet-like hair. He titles his episode "The Monster at the End of This Podcast" ... "in tribute to the only children's picture book that became a major religion (although that's still a decade away)."
* The 2023 Christmas special features a goblin character named Janis. Showrunner Russell T Davies stated on Instagram that "the Doctor calls her Janice because she’s got blonde hair like Janice from the Muppets."@russelltdavies63 on Instagram, December 13, 2023
==References==
===The Muppets===
* The Veterinarian's Hospital sketch from The Muppet Show episode 422 includes the following exchange:
::Nurse Janice: Who, doctor?
::Dr. Bob: It's not who doctor, it's Doctor Who. That's another show.
* The Pigs in Space comic in The Muppet Show Annual 1978 features a food fight with several sci-fi references. Amongst them, a robot can be seen exclaiming "Egg-sterminate!," a pun on "Ex-term-inate!," the battle cry of the Doctor's cyborg enemies, the Daleks.
* The Muppets Take the O2 features a "Pigs in Space" sketch acting as an extended Doctor Who spoof. Titled "The Stolen Mirth" (referencing "The Stolen Earth") or "Mirthshock" (referencing "Earthshock"), the Swinetrek is visited by the Doctor (the Friday night performance featuring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, and the Saturday performances with Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor). Using his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor divines a plot device within the Swinetrek's controls that sends Captain Link to the ship's "Regeneration Chamber." The device alters his appearance to that of several other Muppet characters all dressed as various other doctors: Sam the Eagle as the First Doctor, Gonzo as the Second Doctor, Pepe as the Third Doctor, Fozzie Bear as the Fourth Doctor, Scooter as the Fifth Doctor, Lips as the Sixth Doctor, Bunsen as the Seventh Doctor, Uncle Deadly as the Eighth Doctor, Rizzo as the Ninth Doctor, Kermit as the Tenth Doctor, Walter as the Eleventh Doctor, and Floyd as the Twelfth Doctor. He finally settles as a duplicate of Piggy as Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor ("Brilliant," the captain utters). The Doctor returns later in the show to amend Gonzo's time-travel act gone wrong.
** The sketch is followed by the actor playing the Doctor breaking character to gush about meeting the Muppets, while Scooter tries to get him to leave. On Friday night, Tennant replied to Scooter's request, "But I don't want to go." Scooter resignedly replied, "Nobody ever does."
===Sesame Street===
* In the animated segment "Live at the Lunar Lounge," a being resembling a Dalek appears among the alien crowd.
* A t-shirt made by Mighty Fine in 2011 depicts Oscar the Grouch leaning out of a small blue police box with the caption "It's Bigger On The Inside." This is a reference to The Doctor's spaceship having been built with alien technology that allows for the space inside to be bigger than it is on the outside; as has been suggested with Oscar's trash can. To add on to this, Oscar is wearing a fez; the Eleventh Doctor is known to like fezzes.
* A miniature toy TARDIS can be seen in the "Share It Maybe" video released online by Sesame Workshop in 2012. The TARDIS toy can be seen above a cubicle wall while Cookie Monster is looking at the copy machine.
* In a 2012 Entertainment Weekly video, Grover portrays the Eleventh Doctor, with Cookie Monster as Amy Pond, in a musical spoof of the show.
* At New York Comic Con 2012, Elmo mentioned seeing "Dr. Spock." Gordon replied "Doctor Who?" eliciting laughter from the audience. Elmo replied that he had seen both.
* Episode 4504 of Sesame Street with a Comic-Con parody theme features a spoof of the series, as Doctor Two. Mando appears dressed as the Fourth Doctor. The special guest is an Anything Muppet "New Doctor Two" resembling the Eleventh Doctor (in face, bowtie, and jacket). A version of the Doctor's police box (his TWODIS) is also present at the convention and used to transport several aliens, including Muppet versions of the Daleks and the Cybermen.
* At a Nerd HQ panel at San Diego Comic Con in 2014, Murray Monster said he'd love to be the 13th doctor or a companion, saying he has the same color [hair/fur] as Amy Pond.
===Comics===
* The booklet for the 2009 HeroesCon in Charlotte, North Carolina, featured a Doctor Who-themed cover with Dr. Bunsen Honeydew as the Doctor and Beaker as his companion (wearing the schoolgirl outfit the Doctor's companion Romana wore in the story "City of Death") standing in front of the TARDIS. The artwork was provided by Roger Langridge, writer and artist for The Muppet Show Comic Book; Langridge is also a former illustrator for Doctor Who Magazine.Roger Langridge blog post, May 05, 2009
* In the Farscape comic book issue "All Fall Down," Roiin's ship's thrusters begin to fail, so he hits the ship and the thrusters begin to work again. John Crichton comments, "Percussive maintenance! Nice, to see you keeping up the time-honored tradition of Han Solo and the Doctor."
* In the 2009 comic The Muppet Show Comic Book: Pigs in Space, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew goes through a list of items that have already been invented. One of them is the sonic screwdriver, famous as the Doctor's tool of choice.
* The 2010 comic book Muppet Sherlock Holmes notably featured several references to Doctor Who:
** In issue #1, Holmes, played by Gonzo, shows a certificate that is not valid in, among other places, Torchwood, referencing the secret organization Torchwood from Doctor Who and the eponymous spin-off series. 
** In issue #2 of Muppet Sherlock Holmes, Holmes, Dr. Watson and Inspector LeStrade (Gonzo, Fozzie Bear and Kermit the Frog) are on a stakeout outside Irene Adler's home. LeStrade is hidden inside a Police Call Box, and say: "Erm, guys, I think I'm lost in here... It's a lot bigger on the inside than you'd think..." This is a reference to the Doctor's TARDIS, which is disguised as a police box that's bigger on the inside.
** Later on, in issue #4 of Muppet Sherlock Holmes, one of the objects that is dredged out of the lake is a police call box, referencing the Doctor's TARDIS again.
* In The Muppet Show Comic Book: The Four Seasons #4, Link Hogthrob responds to Dr. Julius Strangepork, "Lots of planets have a north." This is a reference to the episode "Rose" (2005), when Rose Tyler questions the Doctor's Northern English accent.
==The Dark Dimension==
A direct-to-video film, referred to as The Dark Dimension, was planned to be released in 1993 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the series. The film was to have featured redesigned Cybermen (robotic creatures from the series) built by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Nigel Johns and Chris Fitzgerald worked on the design and build of the creature. Test footage was shot over the course of three weeks, including model and title effects, but the film was never made.NZDWFC - TSV 44: Inside the Dark Dimension By Jon Preddle
==Notes==
* Muppet artist Amy Mebberson has frequently drawn mash-up art for Doctor Who and the Muppets at comic book conventions. (GALLERY)
==Connections==
*Douglas Adams was the script editor for Season 17 (1979) and wrote "The Pirate Planet" (1978), "City of Death" (1979), and the never-completed "Shada," which would have aired in 1980
*John Alexander played a robot clown in "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy" (1988)BBC Programme as Broadcast form
*Lauren Ambrose appears in the spin-off Torchwood as Jilly Kitzinger in the fourth season "Miracle Day" (2011)
*Roger Ashton-Griffiths played Quayle in "Robot of Sherwood" (2014)
*Michael Attwell played Isbur in "The Ice Warriors" (1967) and Bates in "Attack of the Cybermen" (1985).
*Annette Badland played Margaret Blaine the Slitheen in "Aliens of London," "World War Three," and "Boom Town" (2005)
*Bill Bailey played Droxil in "The Doctor, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (2011)
*Colin Baker played the Sixth Doctor (1984-1986)
*Frances Barber played Madame Kovarian in seven episodes of Series 6 (2011)
*Tim Barker played Harold V in "The Happiness Patrol" (1988)
*John Barrowman played Captain Jack Harkness in many episodes of Doctor Who (2005-2010, 2020), and his own Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood (2006-2011)
*Timothy Bateson played Binro the Heretic in "The Ribos Operation" (1978)
*Geoffrey Bayldon played Organon in "The Creature from the Pit" (1979), as well as an alternate universe version of the First Doctor in the audio dramas "Auld Mortality" (2003) and "A Storm of Angels" (2005).
*Robert Beatty played General Cutler in "The Tenth Planet" (1966)
*Ailsa Berk provided monster choreography for episodes of the 2005 series.
*Honor Blackman played Professor Lasky in "The Trial of a Time Lord" (1986)
*Hugh Bonneville played Captain Avery in the episodes "The Curse of the Black Spot" and "A Good Man Goes to War" (2011)
*Ben Browder played Isaac in "A Town Called Mercy" (2012)
*David Bulbeck played a Foamasi in "The Leisure Hive" (1981), a Castrovalvan in "Castrovalva" (1982), and a Lazar in "Terminus" (1983)
*Daniel Burnett was a creature effects technician on "Last Christmas" (2014)
*Peter Burroughs played a jester in "The King's Demons" (1983)
*Fiona Cazaly fabricated costumes for the current series, including Cybermen (2013-2015)
*Navin Chowdhry played Indra Ganesh in "Aliens of London" and "World War Three" (2005)
*John Cleese played an art critic in "City of Death" (1979)
*Tim Condren performed stunts in "The Time Meddler" (1965) and played a guerrilla in "Day of the Daleks" (1972)
*James Corden played Craig Owens in "The Lodger" (2010) and "Closing Time" (2011)
*George Costigan played Max Capricorn in "Voyage of the Damned" (2007) 
*Sue Crosland was a stunt performer, doubling for an Axon woman in "The Claws of Axos" pt. 2 (1971), Romana in "Destiny of the Daleks" pt. 1 (1979) and for Sarah Jane nearly driving into a tractor in the K-9 and Company pilot (1981)
*Graham Crowden played Soldeed in "The Horns of Nimon" (1979)
*Alan Cumming played King James in "The Witchfinders" (2018)
*Warwick Davis played Porridge in "Nightmare in Silver" (2013)
*Peter Davison played the Fifth Doctor
*Marcus Dods conducted incidental music for the four episode story "The Aztecs" (1964)
*Lindsay Duncan played Adelaide Brooke in "The Waters of Mars" (2009)
*Christopher Eccleston played the Ninth Doctor (2005)
*Tracey Eddon doubled for Ace in "Remembrance of the Daleks" (1988)
*David Forman coordinated stunts for several episodes of the 2005 series.
*John Franklyn-Robbins played a Time Lord in "Genesis of the Daleks," part one (1975)
*Stephen Fry played C in "Spyfall" (2020)
*Alistair Fullarton played a dancer in "The Masque of Mandragora" (1976)
*Michael Gambon played Kazran Sardick in "A Christmas Carol" (2010)
*Stephen Garlick played "Hippo" Ibbotson in "Mawdryn Undead" (1983)
*Mark Gatiss has written several episodes from 2005 onward (eight to date) and played Professor Lazarus in "The Lazarus Experiment" (2007) and Gantok in "The Wedding of River Song." He has also written numerous Doctor Who novels, audio books, and spoofs.
*Nick Gillard was the stunt arranger for "Mawdryn Undead" (1982, also stunt double for Turlough) and "Silver Nemesis" (1988)
*Louise Gold played President Grosseteste in the audio drama "Tales from New Earth" (2018)
*Brett Goldstein played Astos in "The Tsuranga Conundrum" (2018)
*Rupert Graves played John Riddell in "Dinosaurs on a Space Ship" (2012)
*John Gregg played Lycett in "The Ark in Space" (1975)
*Sheila Hancock played Helen A in "The Happiness Patrol" (1988)
*Peter Hawkins performed Dalek and Cybermen voices in twelve stories from "The Daleks" (1963) through "The Wheel in Space" (1968).
*Anthony Stewart Head played Mr. Finch in "School Reunion" (2006), voiced Valentine in the web series "Death Comes to Time" (2001) and Baltazar in the animated serial "The Infinite Quest" (2007), narrated the TV documentary Project: WHO? (2005) as well as seasons 3 and 4 of Doctor Who Confidential, and provided voices for several audio dramas
*Arthur Hewlett played Kalmar in "State of Decay" (1980) and Kimber in "Trial of a Time Lord" (1986)
*John Hurt played the War Doctor in "The Name of the Doctor", "The Night of the Doctor" and "The Day of the Doctor" (2013)
*Derek Jacobi played Professor Yana (aka The Master) in "Utopia" (2007) and did voice acting for Doctor Who spin-off adventures in other media.
*Matthew Jacobs wrote the TV movie Doctor Who (1996)
*Katherine Jenkins played Abigail Pettigrew in "A Christmas Carol" (2010)
*Toby Jones played the Dream Lord in "Amy's Choice" (2010) and voiced Kotris in the audio drama series "Dark Eyes" (2012)
*Michael Kerrigan directed the Doctor Who story "Battlefield" (1989) and the Sarah Jane Adventures episodes "The Day of the Clown" and "Secret of the Stars" (both 2008)
*Michael Kilgarriff played the Cyber-Controller in "The Tomb of the Cybermen" (1967) and "Attack of the Cybermen" (1985), an Ogron in "Frontier in Space" (1973), and the title character in "Robot" (1974)
*Hus Levant played Edwin Green in "The Mark of the Rani" (1985)
*George Little played Haround ed-Din in "The Crusade" (1965)
*Fulton MacKay played Dr. Quinn in "Dr. Who and the Silurians" (1970)
*Philip McGough played Sgt. Calder in "Resurrection of the Daleks" (1984)
*Ian McKellen voiced the Great Intelligence in "The Snowmen" (2012)
*Ian McNeice played Winston Churchill in "Victory of the Daleks," "The Pandorica Opens" (2010), and "The Wedding of River Song" (2011)
*Steven Mackintosh played Gazak in "Timelash" (1985)
*Joseph Marcell played John in "Remembrance of the Daleks" (1988)
*Miriam Margolyes voiced the Meep in "The Star Beast" (2023)
*Jean Marsh played Joanna in "The Crusade" (1965), companion Sara Kingdom in "The Daleks' Master Plan" (1966), and Morgaine in "Battlefield" (1989)
*Trevor Martin played the second Time Lord in "The War Games" (1969), the Doctor in Seven Keys to Doomsday (stage, 1974), Kaido, Ungar and others in The Paradise of Death (BBC Radio, 1995), and Professor Capra in Flip Flop (Big Finish Audio, 2003)
*Aleksandar Mikic played Yuri Kerenski in "The Waters of Mars" (2009)
*Stuart Milligan played ‎Nixon in "The Impossible Astronaut" and "Day of the Moon" (both 2011) 
*Kylie Minogue played companion Astrid Peth in "Voyage of the Damned" (2007)
*David Morrissey played Jackson Lake in "The Next Doctor" (2008)
*Stanley Myers composed incidental music for "The Reign of Terror" (1974)
*Bill Nighy played Dr. Black in "Vincent and the Doctor" (2010)
*John Owens played Thorpe in "The Dæmons" (1971)
*Geoffrey Palmer played Edward Masters in "Doctor Who and the Silurians" (1970), the Administrator in "The Mutants" (1972), and Captain Hardraker in "Voyage of the Damned" (2007)
*Angie Passmore operated (puppeteered) the Megara in "The Stones of Blood" (1978)
*Bill Paterson played Professor Bracewell in "Victory of the Daleks" and "The Pandorica Opens" (2010)
*Steve Pemberton played Strackman Lux in "Forest of the Dead" (2008)
*Victor Pemberton wrote "Fury from the Deep" (1968) and audio drama "Doctor Who and the Pescatons" (1976), as well as playing Jules Faure in "The Moonbase" (1967).
*Courtney Pine played himself in "Silver Nemesis" (1988)
*Nigel Plaskitt played Unstoffe in "The Ribos Operation" (1978)
*Gary Pollard was a creature effects/prosthetic sculptor on various episodes in seasons 7-9 (2013-2014), including working on the Teller in "Time Heist" (2014)
*Hugh Quarshie played Solomon in "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks" (2007)
*Diana Rigg played Mrs. Gillyflower in "The Crimson Horror" (2013)
*Shane Rimmer played Seth Harper in "The Gunfighters" (1966)
*Michael Robbins played Richard Mace in "The Visitation" (1982)
*Ricco Ross played the Ringmaster in "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy" (1987)
*Deep Roy played Mr. Sin in "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" (1977) and the Possicar delegate in "Trial of a Time Lord" (1986)
*Thomas Sangster played Tim Latimer in "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood" (2007) and voiced Kyle in "The Mind's Eye" (2007) and a miner in "The Bride of Peladon" (2008) audio dramas
*Peter Serafinowicz voiced the Fisher King in "Before the Flood" (2015)
*John Sessions voiced Gus in "Mummy on the Orient Express" (2014) and voiced Tannis in the web serial Death Comes to Time (2001) 
*Kiran Shah played the Figure in "Listen" (2014) and an Emojibot in "Smile" (2017)
*Kerry Shale played Dr. Renfrew in "Day of the Moon" (2011)
*Cyril Shaps played John Viner in "The Tomb of the Cybermen" (1967), Dr. Lennox in "The Ambassadors of Death" (1970), Professor Herbert Clegg in "Planet of the Spiders" (1974), and the Archimandrite in "The Androids of Tara" (1978)
*Reece Shearsmith played Rassmussen in "Sleep No More" (2015)
*Hugh Spight operated Daleks (and the Black Dalek in the final installment) in "Remembrance of the Daleks" (1988) and played a robot clown in "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy" (1988)BBC Programme as Broadcast form
*Elizabeth Spriggs played Tabby in "Paradise Towers" (1987)
*Imelda Staunton voiced the Interface in "The Girl Who Waited" (2011)
*Gordon Sterne played Professor Heldorf in "The Ambassadors of Death" (1970)
*David Tennant played the Tenth Doctor
*John Thirtle puppeteered the Megara in "The Stones of Blood" (1978)
*Russell Tovey played Midshipman Alonso Frame in "Voyage of the Damned" (2007) and "The End of Time" (2010)
*Cy Town operated Daleks in eight stories (1973-1988) and played various non-speaking roles
*Yee Jee Tso played Chang Lee in the TV movie Doctor Who (1996)
*Reg Turner played extras and walk-ons in six serials (1972-1979)
*Meredith Vieira played a newsreader in "The Wedding of River Song" (2011)
*Bradley Walsh played Graham O'Brien (2018-2022)
*Zoë Wanamaker voiced Cassandra O'Brien in "The End of the World" (2005) and "New Earth" (2006)
*David Warner played Professor Grisenko in "Cold War" (2013) and an alternate universe version of the Third Doctor in the audio dramas "Sympathy for the Devil" (2003) and "Masters of War" (2008)
*Spencer Wilding played the creature in "The God Complex" (2001), the Wooden King in "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" (2011), and Skaldak in "Cold War" (2013)
*Mark Williams played Brian Williams in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" and "The Power of Three" (2012) and voiced Maxwell Edison in audio drama "The Eternal Summer" (2009)
*Richard Wilson played Dr. Constantine in "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" (2005)
==Sources==
==External links==
* Doctor Who Week on ToughPigs
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