Tim's currently discussing his idea of Boudicca's era. My own preference is only a few hundred years later: King Alfred and the events leading up to the establishment of Danelaw.

Something with Sir John Falstaff might be good too.

So what era would be your pick?

It's been done to death in other stories, movies and tv, but I'd like to see a Doctor Who version of the Pearl Harbour attack, with a paradox thrown in there for good measure to differentiate it from every other version ever made.

Rasputin and the Romanovs

Robin Hood would lend itself to a Who story pretty well, I think.

I think the Doctor would get on extremely well with Richard III. And he could clear up that nonsense about those wretched Princes in the process. Of course, this has already been done - in a rare stroke of brilliance - by Big Finish, but sadly The Kingmaker has been pretty well decanonised by The Shakespeare Code. What with it claiming that Richard became Shakespeare...

Tokagawa Shoganate Japan could be intresting...

There was an extremely tedious NA - Room With No Doors - set in historical Japan shortly before the Seventh Doctor snuffed it. (I have no idea if it was Tokagawa Shoganate Japan, owing to having no idea what Tokagawa Shoganate Japan IS.) Oh, and wasn't medieval Japan the last place the Ninth Doctor visited before he met his destiny at the Gamestation...? Maybe he just ought to steer clear of that country. It's starting to remind me of Tennant's unlucky suit.

These are good ideas. Like my idea, with Boudicca, how about sending the Doctor somewhere we've never seen him before.

I remember the DWM comic strip doing a story about Japan during the shogun era, I think just before the Meiji era.

That's another era the Doctor could go to.

Beatlemania (1962-65).

Something with Isaac Newton and the dawn of the Age of Reason.

Ancient Greece during the time of Socrates.

Christ's crucifixtion (#10 did say he'd been at the first Easter, after all....)

Christ's crucifixtion (#10 did say he'd been at the first Easter, after all....)

Yeah, but that's never gonna happen. The writers know to stay away from such controversial topics. I think this is one historical event that they'll leave well enough alone. Of course, the Doctor probably was present, but that is one adventure we'll never see.

Not necessarily. It's only the manner in which some approaches to that story that tend to be controversial, like The Last Temptation of Chris and The Passion of the Christ. Others aroused no controversy at all. And networks like The History Channel and the Discovery Channel always broadcast programs on the history behind religion, with no backlash at all.

That is true, but a show like Who would be best not to whack that hornets nest.

Of course, like I said, the Doctor probably did meet Christ. He's met tons of other historical figures (or so he says), so it wouldn't surprise me if he bumped into Christ as well.

Luigi, the difference between, say, The History Channel/ Discovery Channel productions is that they are documentaries. We're talking about Doctor Who here. If the Doctor was to visit Christ he'd be battling Daleks or Cybermen (or some other monster) and, as such, it outrage many christians. In other words, it would be a fictional story told amidst historical fact. I imagine it would be a similar story if he met, say, Buddah or Mohammed.

I'd hardly call the Crucifixion historical fact. As proven by the Doc's 'Between you and me, what really happened...' in Planet of the Dead. (As opposed to the Nativity, which now has his 'I got the last room' to back it up, infuriatingly.)

I imagine it would be a similar story if he met, say, Buddah or Mohammed.

Well, since Islam forbids Mohammed being depicted in any way, the writers wouldn't dare risk a story involving him. That would be asking for trouble big time.


I'd hardly call the Crucifixion historical fact. As proven by the Doc's 'Between you and me, what really happened...' in Planet of the Dead. (As opposed to the Nativity, which now has his 'I got the last room' to back it up, infuriatingly.)

Uh, Emily, that's hardly proof of whether the Crucifixtion happned or not. The Doctor is FICTIONAL! He doesn't really exist. I know this comes as a shock, but it's true. He's just a character on a popular TV show.

You DO realise that saying that is a bannable offense these days Tim? Have you forgotten who rules the roost around here now?

Tim: true, but for the show to work, the Doctor has to be treated as a historical character.

Who has already violated the fictional(ized) character being treated as real as early as "Marco Polo." Most modern historians believe that Marco Polo's famous book of travels was completely bogus.

Luigi--interesting you should bring up "Last Temptation of Christ." That was a film that was actually very respectful of Christ, written by a devout believer (Kazantzakis was a faithful member of the Greek Orthodox church). Scorecese's film was respectful of the source material. The controversy arose not over what the film and book said, but what fanatical Christians (who hadn't read the book or seen the movie) assumed it said. If Doctor Who were brave and/or stupid enough to set a show in 33 AD, all heck would break loose.

I'm pushing more for the Newton story. After reading Neal Stephenson's "Baroque Trilogy", I realize that era would have a lot of good story material, especially if they involved Newton's attempt to reconcile science and alchemy.

The Doctor is FICTIONAL! He doesn't really exist. I know this comes as a shock, but it's true. He's just a character on a popular TV show.

Say whatever you like. I KNOW you're wrong and tomorrow I'll have EVEN MORE proof...

Tim: true

Et tu Brute!

I'm pushing more for the Newton story. After reading Neal Stephenson's "Baroque Trilogy", I realize that era would have a lot of good story material, especially if they involved Newton's attempt to reconcile science and alchemy.

You don't need to go round reading non-Who stuff to realise Newton would be good value, you just need to listen to Circular Time, a rare success for Big Finish...

You DO realise that saying that is a bannable offense these days Tim?

Why? I've violated no rules here, I've flamed no one, or attacked them personally. All I did was state a fact, the Doctor is fictional. He is no more real that Superman, Tarzan, or Sherlock Holmes. I enjoy watching his adventures, but the truth is he's not real. He's just a character on a popular television show.

I've said this before, but in terms of history as presented in Who, I'd really like to see the Doctor visit the (so-called) Silurian era and find it hard to believe the TARDIS hasn't ever landed there. I wonder if that's what's happening this series.

Tim, Rodney is being sarcastic, and indulging in his favorite hobby of Emily-baiting.

Actually Mike- in this instance it's not so much Emily-baiting (as she would agree with me), but rather Tim-baiting....

If I started on a certain Tom Baker involving a house with a giant light and the behaviour of the Doctor in that, then that isn't just baiting, it's red rag to a bull type thing....

You KNOW that was the second of your two permitted Fang Rock mentions, and they're now banned till 2011...?

whoa whoa whoa. Not that I wish to argue with the mod or anything but I'm not allowed to mention Fang Rock AT ALL???!!! That's a little harsh. What if I decide to do a Rodcast on it, or what if it is referenced in a new episode?? I said NOTHING.

It would be interesting for the Doctor to visit Czar Nicholas II and his famiy after they were forced from power. It would be an interestng debate for the Doctor and his Companion to have. Perhaps the Companion would want to save the Romanov's, knowing their horrible fate, and the Doctor saying that history couldn't be changed.

If I could do it, I might save them. I would grab the Romanov's, bundled them into my time machine, and bring them back to the 21st Century. That way, history is preserved. When the Commies found them gone, they could make up any story they pleased, since they suppressed the info on what happened to the Czar and his family in the first place.

The Czar and his family would do well in our time. Now there are drugs that can help Alexei with his hemophelia (sp?). Granted that history would be slightly changed in that their remains would never be found, but I don't see any big changes. The Czar would still be deposed in 1917, and that is really all that matters.

Maybe it's just the monarchist in me, but I've always felt sorry for the Romanov's and what happened to them. If I could, I would save them in the way I described above.

The Wages of Sin novel dealt with that era, though not in the storyline you describe.

It's one of the few novels I bought. I think I even started it.

Tim:

I'd like to see that too - Anastasia's always been an interest of mine

Yeah, Judith, I saw your post farther up.

All I did was state a fact, the Doctor is fictional.

I should warn you that I now intend to follow in the footsteps of Amy Pond, and BITE anyone who says that...

whoa whoa whoa. Not that I wish to argue with the mod or anything but I'm not allowed to mention Fang Rock AT ALL???!!! That's a little harsh.

I AM a little harsh.

What if I decide to do a Rodcast on it

Rodney, in the coming nine months you have TWENTY-FIVE K9s to Muttcast, thirteen Whos to shed tears of joy over, and twelve Sarah Janes to cherish. Why the HELL (incidentally, 'hell' was used numerous times by our beloved new Doctor so it's now TOTALLY kosher!) would you bother with ANY Old Who, let alone F*** R***?

However, IF you can dig up the original terms of your ban, and if (as I suspect) it makes copious use of the word 'gratuitous', you MIGHT be able to lodge an appeal, in the unlikely event that you had something succinct, relevant and non-Tom-Baker-slagging-off to say about this particular story.

K9's and Who probably but I haven't even finished season 2 of SJA so unlikely I'll bother writing those up.

And just so I'm absolutely clear on this- I can slag off Tom's behaviour in any other story or any other Doctor's behaviour in any other story without reproach?

Anastasia's always been an interest of mine

No doubt because of the legend that grew up around her. That lady that claimed to be her, Anna Anderson, fooled a lot of people. she kept it up until she died in 1984. It would not be until the 1990's, with the fall of Soviet Union, the discover of the remains of the Romanov's, and DNA testing that Anna Anderson's claim was finally debunked.

I guess going back in time and saving the Romanov's might slightly change that in that no remains would be found. However, the DNA tests would still prove that Anna Anderson was not Anastasia (her DNA did not match up with that of Prince Phillip, who was related to the Romanovs.)

It seems like Doctor Who has regularly ignored the typical time travel ideas of visiting ancient Egypt and the dinosaurs, but I'd like to see Who's version of how the pyramids were built. And with CGI creating the impossible, we could see some cool Avatar-class T-Rexs and Triceratops for a change.
How about having the pyramids BUILT by the dinosaurs?! ;)

The Daleks Masterplan & The Pyramids Of Mars touched on how the pyramids were build.

I don't think today's CGI could improve upon the effects in Pertwee's Invasion of the Dinospwahwahwahwahwa.

Sorry. I tried to keep a straight face.

They've not done the Regency/Napoleonic era yet have they? Closest would probably be the French Revolution in Reign Of Terror.

Nor WW1 (aside from that region in The War Games).

What about ancient Egypt?

There's also North America and Australia before they were officially discovered (although they probably couldn't really do the latter anywhere near Cardiff).

Ancient Egypt--seen in "The Dalek Master Plan", also used in the NA "Set Piece."

I haven't even finished season 2 of SJA

WHAT! WHY?????

And just so I'm absolutely clear on this- I can slag off Tom's behaviour in any other story or any other Doctor's behaviour in any other story without reproach?

Oh, you'll get REPROACHED alright (unless it's Colin Baker) but of course you have the right to do so.

I'd like to see Who's version of how the pyramids were built

The Osirians fooled Scaroth of the Jaggeroth into thinking if he built them some pyramids, it would advance human evolution.

According to The Dying Days, anyway. Sometimes I miss thinking of the novels as canon.

Nor WW1 (aside from that region in The War Games).
Not on screen, but the Doctor mentions being there in Planet of the Dead.

They could have the Doctor meet Robin Hood, or perhaps whomever inspired the legend of Robin Hood.

Tim:
If you're interested in Imperial Russia - http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/

Way ahead of you there, Judith. I joined that board today

Someone suggested a Holocaust story but the writers wont go near that

Come to think of it, the reign of Alexander I might provide a good backdrop for a Who story.

But I'd hope the writer could resist the cliche of providing a science-fiction explanation of his mysterious fate.

Yeah, there are stories that he faked his death and spent the next forty years as a hermit in Siberia.

Maybe the Doctor is the one that helps Alexander pull it off. It can be a historical story, of sorts. No aliens, no science fiction (aside from the TARDIS, of course).

Here's another one - a story in the Soviet Union - how about Leningrad at the height of Stalin's Terror

Another good idea, Judith.

There's one Geordie I'd like to see given the "meets the Doctor" treatment but it's not likely

March 13, 1997: A gigantic black UFO, triangular-shaped craft with five lights on its belly, flew over Phoenix, Arizona, and was observed by hundreds of people, from several different locations.

September 19, 1961; Betty and Barney Hill were abducted by aliens south of the town of Groveton, New Hampshire.

Both incidents are somewhat famous and filled with unanswered questions, as are so many other UFO incidents, but it would be interesting to have the Doctor and Amy investigate a UFO incident. I know they do that alot (and he has on so many other occasions), but it's always been a known alien race landing, or some other alien story invented by a writer, and it's never referred to as a 'UFO'..

I'd like to see a real-life, well-publized UFO case explored for once.

"The Doctor and the X-File," eh?

That stupid cartoon Dreamland did Roswell...

Thanks. I had managed to forget that.

And 'Dalek' strongly implies the Doctor had already been there.

Back in April, I posted this:


It would be interesting for the Doctor to visit Czar Nicholas II and his famiy after they were forced from power. It would be an interestng debate for the Doctor and his Companion to have. Perhaps the Companion would want to save the Romanov's, knowing their horrible fate, and the Doctor saying that history couldn't be changed.

If I could do it, I might save them. I would grab the Romanov's, bundled them into my time machine, and bring them back to the 21st Century. That way, history is preserved. When the Commies found them gone, they could make up any story they pleased, since they suppressed the info on what happened to the Czar and his family in the first place.

The Czar and his family would do well in our time. Now there are drugs that can help Alexei with his hemophelia (sp?). Granted that history would be slightly changed in that their remains would never be found, but I don't see any big changes. The Czar would still be deposed in 1917, and that is really all that matters.

Maybe it's just the monarchist in me, but I've always felt sorry for the Romanov's and what happened to them. If I could, I would save them in the way I described above.


Well, it's not Doctor Who, but I ended up writing a story involving the Romanov's and time travel. It's called Bid Time Return. Here is a link if anyone is interested in reading it.

http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=14903.0

Emily - "That stupid cartoon Dreamland did Roswell..."

I've never seen that, but my idea was to get away from the tired, cliched Roswell stuff, and into present-day sightings, in a different part of the country, that actually happened and are documented. Not all UFO's are Roswell-related, and I would absolutely like Who to steer clear of that event, since UFO's have been spotted in virtually every country and over the course of decades, and not just 1947.

Amanda -"The Doctor and the X-File," eh?"

Doctor Who was doing X-File research before we ever heard of the term 'x-file'-- lots of spaceships and meteors were crashing all over Britain back then.
My line of thinking was that they'd see this UFO from 1997 in Arizona, and the producers could show us the aliens that flew it (Ice Warriors, etc), just to put a Who-spin on it

I took a swing at Queen Boudicca. It's not Doctor Who, but Rex and Hannah. If anyone is interested.


http://casahalliwell.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=fiction&action=display&thread=74

here's someone I'd like to see on Doctor Who - http://yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php?title=Convict_Transportation_to_Australia_-_Mary_Wade_Aged_10

There are quite a few ancient civilisations the Doctor hasn't really visited.

Ancient Egypt, visited on screen once, out of 3000 years of history
Mesopotamia, visited only once in the books.
Classical Greece, let the Doctor tell Athens about democracy.
China, book only again.
India, never seen on screen.
The Incas, likewise missed.
The Maya, Olmecs, etc Not even mentioned.

Bear in mind, spending a few hours running from Daleks in Ancient Egypt is like spend half an hour running round Westminster in !536AD. It's nowhere near enough to be able to write off the place as 'been there, done that'.


Perhaps one day the Doctor will do the grand tour.

Imperial China was the setting for Marco Polo, & Lin Futu was from an earlier period in Chinese history.

Ancient Greece was also tuched on in The Myth Makers, along with Bigon & the other classical Greeks in 4TDD.

Classical Greece, let the Doctor tell Athens about democracy.

Tell them WHAT about democracy?! The Doc isn't exactly a fan...

Yeah, he can be strong armed at times.

Huh. The BBC were asking for suggestions for which historical character the Doctor should meet next, but they were so inundated with suggestions (despite the fact they just promised to turn the winning suggestion into an online short story, not have Matt Smith meet her/him on-screen) that they shut down THAT particular competition, smartish.

Guelphs and Ghibellines anyone?

Or the (Second) Defenestration of Prague?

Guelphs and Ghibellines anyone?

Uh?

Or the (Second) Defenestration of Prague?

What, Prague made a HABIT of this? I only know about the pre-Thirty Years War one.

"Uh?"

Medieval Italian strife between supporters of the papacy and their opponents who wanted to see a restoration of the secular power of the Roman Empire. I forget which is which but Dante was one of them. It dragged on for centuries and is indirectly responsible for the existence of the '$' symbol.

I mention these purely because they appear on the list of existing historical scenarios for future Doctor Who stories drawn up by 'The Aztecs' director John Crockett in 1964. It was a different age...

"What, Prague made a HABIT of this? I only know about the pre-Thirty Years War one."

There was an earlier one, but that wasn't famous.

The Manhattan Project

Battle of Waterloo or Trafalgar.

Chicago's Haymarket Riot, provided they don't belittle it by putting aliens behind it.

The Doctor could come to 19th Century Canada and find himself involved in the Riel Rebellion. Or he could turn up during the War Of 1812.

About time he visited my country.

I'm sorry, you'll just have to face facts: the Doctor, the TARDIS and, indeed, everyone aside from Colonel Mace doesn't think Canada is worth bothering about.

Well, if it wasn't for Canada, there would be no Doctor Who. Sydney Newman, who created Who, was born in Toronto, Ontario, CANADA!!

On behalf of Canada, you're welcome, Emily.

I hope you're not claiming that this Sydney Newman person just MADE IT ALL UP...

Well, made up or otherwise, he's still the one who sold the concept to the BBC.

And I'm sure we all worship him like he's Satan and we're Ood. But still, that's no reason for anyone to go to Canada. I'm struggling to think of it getting a mention even in the spin-off media...

Ah! Thanks be to TARDIS Wiki:

http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Canada

So there ARE lots of mentions! Except that most of the so-called 'TV' ones are actually that-godawful-Australian-K9-abomination ones.

Without Sydney, there would have been no Who.

OF COURSE there would be Doctor Who. It's what we crawled out of the primordial slime FOR. It's a Fixed Point In Space And Time. If we didn't get it via Sydney Newman - worship the Chosen One, WORSHIP HIM! - we'd've got it via someone else.

AHEM!
My 2 Canadian cents here...
The New Series owes a debt to CANADA, because the CBC forked over money to help produce the first series with Christopher Eccleston! It's right there at the end of the credits of every episode!
Again...
You're welcome, Emily!

Hey, is it MY fault the Doc's TOTALLY SNUBBING your country, even now he's regularly turning up in the REST of North America...?

(Maybe he's just trying to keep you safe from his constant companion - DEATH?)

I think the Cybermen are afraid of hockey players!

How about the Doctor turning up during the Black Death. This could be one of those stories in which he has to tell his Companion that he can't do anything about this fixed event.

That would only have worked in the Hartnell era. These days the Doctor is an extremely pro-active hero, and even if he DOES say he can't do anything about a fixed event, that STILL doesn't stop him blowing Pompeii to smithereens/saving the Bowie Base survivors/dressing up in a Tesselecta suit to cheat death.

Perhaps, but it would be interesting to watch.

It'd probably turn out to be an evil alien plot. The Black Plague was their first attempt and the Doctor would have to stop them before they unleash Black Plague II with New & Improved Minty Fresh Death!

Oh god, not ANOTHER Visitation...

Come to think of it when the guy who did the fancomic The Ten Doctors wrapped that story up he went into a Doctor Who/Forever Knight fancomic that was set during the Black Plague & IIRC the Master created it.

Oh for heaven's sake. Why would the Master create anything as messy as the Black Death?

We've come a long way from the idea that the Doctor and friends can't use modern drugs to cure Greek philosophers...

When did the Doctor n'co fail to use modern drugs to cure Greek philosophers? In fact, when has the Doctor ever been well-organised enough to have a well-stocked medicine cabinet?

Oh for heaven's sake. Why would the Master create anything as messy as the Black Death?

Maybe he was bored and needed something fun to do? He is, after all, the one who had Earth's population decimated in The Sound of Drums just for the hell of it.

Yeah, this guy would have no qualms about creating, or helping a killer plague along.

Emily - Why would the Master create anything as messy as the Black Death?
No idea and I'm not really sure I'm remembering it correctly.

And doing a quick glance through the fancomic it seems I misremembered. Set during the Black Death and the Master is doing experiments, yes, but the first was not related to the second.

How about an adventure set during World War I, and I mean the REAL WWI, not some phony baloney on another planet (yes, War Games, I'm talking about you).

Romanovs and Revolutions!

Guelphs and Ghibellines?

Who?

How about Oh, Canada!?

"Who?"

Rival factions political factions in the medieval Italian city states. The kids are crying out for a story about them!

"I'd like to see a Doctor Who version of the Pearl Harbour attack, with a paradox thrown in there for good measure to differentiate it from every other version ever made."

Wouldn't that be the 1980 film 'The Final Countdown', co-written by one Gerry Davis?

I'd like to see the Doctor help Gene Roddenberry get Star Trek on the air.

*gets deleted by our Cybermoderator*

Rival factions political factions in the medieval Italian city states. The kids are crying out for a story about them!

Actually if they've seen Masque of Mandragora...they probably WILL be. One can't have too many medieval Italian city states.

I'd like to see the Doctor help Gene Roddenberry get Star Trek on the air.

*gets deleted by our Cybermoderator*

The Cybermoderator is currently busy settling down in front of info-stamps of the Doctor's adventures. AS SOON as she makes it out of the Void she will of course delete all Trekkie-loving fleshkind. In the meantime she apologises for the inconvenience.

How about India during the British Raj?

Unfortunately Tenth Doctor novel Ghosts of India kinda put me off.

The Doctor turns up in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary, on June 28th, 1914, the day Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, are assassinated.

Nah. He wouldn't pull a Time Lord Victorious over a couple of oppressive Austrian royals, so it would just be lots of inaction and Pompeii-style anguish (or, in the case of Hartnell, lack of anguish).

I want to see the Doctor visit the defenestration of Prague. The second one, not the first one. The first one was rubbish.

The TARDIS arrives on a grassy knoll in Dallas, Texas, November 23, 1963, no one else is there, and they leave because the Doctor & his companion decide it's such a lousy view of the motorcade. ;-)

"The TARDIS arrives on a grassy knoll in Dallas, Texas, November 23, 1963, no one else is there"

I imagine the grassy knoll would have been very busy on 23 November, given what had happened the day before.

Whoops! Guess all those things I've read linking Who & the assassination caused me to misremember them as happening on the same day.

Apparently Doctor Who was originally planned to debut on November 22nd, 1963. It was delayed a day, of course, due to JFK's assassination, fifty years ago today.

No, that's total rubbish. Doctor Who was always intended as a show to run on Saturday evenings - that was the whole starting point for the series. The news caused a delay of roughly 90 seconds beyond its scheduled broadcast time of 5.15pm. This can be instantly confirmed by the vast number of reference books of Doctor Who, or - more particularly - the Radio Times for that week, which was published before the assassination!

Didn't they repeat the episode on the next saturday because so many people had been watching the news about Kennedy instead of Doctor Who?

This can be instantly confirmed by the vast number of reference books of Doctor Who, or - more particularly - the Radio Times for that week, which was published before the assassination!

Omigawd, it's a conspiracy! The Radio Times KNEW what was going to happen! It was the RADIO TIMES on the Grassy Knoll!

Didn't they repeat the episode on the next saturday because so many people had been watching the news about Kennedy instead of Doctor Who?

Yup. I suppose we should try to forgive the philistines. They knew not what they did...

Kitten:"The TARDIS arrives on a grassy knoll in Dallas, Texas, November 23, 1963, no one else is there"

There are two good reasons that Who can't go here:

1) Eccy has already been here(IIRC in Rose, one of the old photos found on the internet showed Eccy as being here).

2) Red Dwarf has already done this one--AND NO ONE WILL EVER BEAT THEIR ANSWER IN THE CONSPIRACY THEORY DEBATE!!!!!!!

"A tiger got him." ;-)

BTW Kitten was just quoting another poster.

I've always favoured the suicide theory.

He was holding a gun, heard a car backfiring, was startled into dropping the gun on the floor of the limo, which went off and shot him up the nose.

How about the TARDIS turns up during the Korean War, right near a certain M*A*S*H unit.

Klinger sees the TARDIS arrive and realizes he could get the Section Eight he wants

Didn't they repeat the episode on the next saturday because so many people had been watching the news about Kennedy instead of Doctor Who?

They repeated it because the news about Kennedy overshadowed the start of the series, but people weren't literally watching the news instead of An Unearthly Child*. ITV was showing a networked drama serial called Emerald Soup at that time.

* Except in 'An Adventure in Space and Time', set in an alternate 1963 where they had multi-channel TV.

Funny thing as Doctor Who moves forward, many former recent events now qualify as historical, so they can write an episode around it.

When Who started in 1963, the Coronation of HRH, Queen Elizabeth II, was only ten years in the past. Much too recent.

By the late 2000's, that was no longer true, more than fifty years had passed, that made it historical enough to write Idiot's Lantern around it.

Should Who last another twenty years, will we be seeing historical episodes around events in my lifetime, like the Berlin Wall coming down?

Food for thought.

I still think my suggestion for the Doctor meeting the Dionne Quintuplets in 1939 would work.

---
Should Who last another twenty years, will we be seeing historical episodes around events in my lifetime, like the Berlin Wall coming down?
---
Well, we did just have Cold War, set in a Soviet sub in the 80s. Close enough for you?

For other events in semi-recent/living history, there's also been WW1 in Human Nature/Family of Blood, the 20s to 30s-Great Depression/inter-war period (Daleks in Manhatten, Unicorn & The Wasp), a few visits to WW2 (from Empty Child to Let's Kill Hitler) and of course Apollo 11 (Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon).

There's also a large number of things that could be a historical backdrop to the story, but couldn't actually appear because of the geographical issues around it (Tim's Korea/MASH idea for example), and an immense amount of things that the producers likely wouldn't touch with a Dalek's plunger stuck on a barge pole (say a Fires of Pompeii-type episode occurring in Chernobyl).

I still think my suggestion for the Doctor meeting the Dionne Quintuplets in 1939 would work.

Most of the current generation would have no idea who they are. Besides, two of the quints are still living, and they might have issues with the idea.


but couldn't actually appear because of the geographical issues around it (Tim's Korea/MASH idea for example

What would be the problem. The Korean War, or at least the shooting part, has been over for more than sixty years now (although the war is technically still on).

Most of the current generation wouldnt know who Madame Pompadaur from "Girl in the Fireplace" was, either.
Besides, I'm sure the surviving quints were hansomly paid for that god-awful tv movie "Million Dollar Babies".

Having Capaldi-Doc arrive in the thirties, and shown to be outraged at their exploitation at Quintland, would make a pretty powerful story.

And it would remind Americans that there is more to Canada than Christine McGlade and Duneedon/Trialveron.

Given your name, I'm surprised you weren't the one to suggest Dallas on November 22nd, 1963.

Nah- Red Dwarf has already done that.

I'm fairly sure that just because Red Dwarf did an episode about a well-known historical event 17 years ago that doesn't mean that event then becomes off-limits for all other fictions...

True, but it looks unoriginal and invites comparison, quite possibly unfavourable.

They could make a story where Kennedy's assassination is only a sort of background against which a far more neferious event takes place, one we know nothing about because it was twarthed by the Doctor.

It would also be an interesting historical irony to set one of the Doctor's adventures in that time frame, considering that the real assassination occured on the premiere day of Doctor Who's very first episode.

Clara could be one of JFK's lovers that he saw on the side.

They could make a story where Kennedy's assassination is only a sort of background against which a far more neferious event takes place, one we know nothing about because it was twarthed by the Doctor.

That's what the Eleventh Doctor novel Shroud of Sorrow did.

---
What would be the problem. The Korean War, or at least the shooting part, has been over for more than sixty years now (although the war is technically still on).
---
The problem would be that the area around Cardiff doesn't exactly look like Korea.

And that second point is another reason why the producers would be unlikely to touch it with a barge pole (with Dalek plunger or not) - there's a chance that something could restart down there, either accidentally or otherwise.

True, but it looks unoriginal and invites comparison, quite possibly unfavourable.
But why with Red Dwarf instead of the many dozens of other fictionalised accounts of the Kennedy assassination, including - say - the Doctor Who book 'Who Killed Kennedy' published a year prior to the Red Dwarf episode in question?

We don't mention that book around here Kate because it causes spasms on the part of our moderator. She doesn't like the fact the Dodo suffers a rather gruesome fate in it PLUS it was written someone who used to post here frequently.

I think you may be getting Who Killed Kennedy muddled up with Man in the Velvet Mask. Kennedy blows Dod's brains out; Mask merely gives her a sexually transmitted disease involving brain-eating maggots...

James Stevens used to post here regularly?!

Dodo always reminded me of Dodie from My Three Sons with that bowl haircut, that simpering baby-ness, the annoying personality...

The problem would be that the area around Cardiff doesn't exactly look like Korea.

And that second point is another reason why the producers would be unlikely to touch it with a barge pole (with Dalek plunger or not) - there's a chance that something could restart down there, either accidentally or otherwise.

Kevin doesn't seem to think so. He would know, he lives in South Korea.

The Doctor investigates the Dyatlov Pass Incident:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyatlov_Pass_incident

What about Vichy France?

Imagine Clara trying to get the 1940s French to accept gay rights:

We're gay! We're glad - oh no! I've been put in prison!

not to mention womens' rights...

What about Vichy France?

Eighth Doctor audio The Scapegoat was set in Nazi-occupied Paris.

It was pretty rubbish.

Just because ONE story set in a particular time and place was rubbish, doesn't mean all of them will be.

Judi's idea has merit.

Just because ONE story set in a particular time and place was rubbish, doesn't mean all of them will be.

True, but it means my memories of the festering pile of **** will contaminate any thoughts about using WWII France in Who unless and until something a LOT better comes along.

Judi's idea has merit.

I don't know - it's one thing for a patrician Pertwee to sneer 'Ah, a quisling from a family of quislings' in Day of the Daleks, it's quite another to picture a passionately angry New Who Doctor loose in Vichy France, with plenty of concentration camps over the border...what would he do? What COULD he do, given the strictures of the Web of Time? It could leave a really nasty taste in one's mouth.

They could always cover Vietnam ("The Doctor was never in the War - he just has Post South East Asian Movie Trauma Syndrome").

That would be as welcome as one where the Doctor visits Jesus....

Well, according to the TVM, the Doctor _is_ Jesus...

In the commentary track on the telemovie, the director said he was completely oblivious to the Christ imagery which he maintained was not intentional.

But, I mean, come on. Really now.

They could always cover Vietnam

Why not? It's been fifty years since that war. Doctor Who did their first World War II story fifty years after that war.

the war in Vietnam was a thirty year war (1945-75), first involving the French and then the Americans. my city's major afternoon newspaper greeted the fall of Saigon with the headline

"AFTER THIRTY YEARS OF WAR... SURRENDER!"

Short and to the point.

What area would you like to bring to the modern day?

The Jerusalem area, to 1 km outside the walls of the Old City, sometime between the arrival and trial of Jesus. This will freak out
* All Christians - we get to meet Jesus his own self and the Apostles.
* All Jews - the second Temple just reappeared.
* All Moslems - the Dome of the Rock just disappeared.
* All Israelis - they've had a major city disappear.

Let's go smaller.

Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 15, 1787.

The Constitutional Convention met there to sign the final draft, which was then submitted to the states for ratification. Most of the Framers are there, including Washington, Hamilton, Franklin, Madison, Gouverneur Morris, and many others. At first no one will believe they are real, but it will be confirmed.

At which point there will be a huge crisis, because they will nearly all disagree with certain interpretations of the Constitution which are now deeply entrenched in American laws, mainly involving the Commerce Clause. And since they wrote the Constitution, and Madison wrote the Bill of Rights, it's going to be very hard to ignore them.

This is not an actual historical era, but it could be interesting to have a Doctor Who story set in steampunk universe, either the result of time slipping off track at the beginning of the industrial revolution (and the Doctor having to set things right), or in some future human colony who though this would be a good theme to base their culture on.

Hogan's Heroes fan-fiction has tackled Col. Hogan and company doing missions in Dachau, Belsen, etc. ... and having to leave them in operation so they don't blow their cover.

Wouldn't that be a major downer in a sitcom about wily POWs and the lovably incompetent Nazis they constantly outwit?

It occurred to me that in 50+ years of televised Doctor Who, there has never been a story set in Ireland.

Now, to be fair, the program has ignored large chunks of the Earth, but to me, the omission of Ireland seems particularly egregious, what with Ireland being very close by, Irish actors being readily available, and Ireland being a place that has played rather a large part in British history.

Ireland, however, has barely gotten a whistle out of Doctor Who. Oh, there've been more than a few Irish actors on the show over the years, and a few Irish characters (though some have been atrocious stereotypes), and the famous joke about Gallifrey being a town in Ireland. But, otherwise, nothing.

It's not as though the program has never filmed outside of Britain - stories have been set and at least partially filmed in France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and even the United States. Apparently, the program can cross the Channel and even the Atlantic Ocean, but not the Irish Sea.

Additionally, if travel were a problem, the show has done stories set in many other countries, even though they were filmed in Britain.

Now, I understand why they might want to avoid certain periods of Irish history. We're not going to see a story set during the Troubles, any more than we're going to see a story set in Auschwitz or Amritsar. As interesting as it might be to see "The Provo Invasion of Earth" or "The Tombs of the Ulstermen", I understand that we're not going to see that. But surely there must be a period in Irish history that wouldn't be too controversial to present to the Great British public.

It's not as though we can blame Moffat for it, either - at least, not exclusively. None of his predecessors, from Lambert down to Davies, has done any different.

Yes, it can reveal that aliens were the basis for the legends of leprechauns. ;-)

Now, I understand why they might want to avoid certain periods of Irish history.

You pretty much have to go back to Celts or Vikings to avoid any period that doesn't have some element of Perfidious Albion to it.

Let's explore more world history. Going on location to China would be great -- they have some incredibly gorgeous locations, and a huge film studio that's got an extensive historical backlot the show could use -- but I'd be happy with a broader look at world history even if it were shot in Cardiff. There's so much more to the world than Europe and America.

Going on location to China would be great

Though not so much from a human-rights-respecting viewpiont. Though Russell T God sent 'em off to Dubai, the misogynistic state built on slave labour where being gay means a ten-year prison sentence (and more importantly, THEY SMASH YOUR BUS) so hey, it's not like human rights are exactly the top of anyone's agenda in Who. (Except Christopher Eccleston's, apparently, DAMMIT.)

There's so much more to the world than Europe and America.

Who has only recently discovered this 'America' place, give it time and no doubt some other unexpected continents will pop up...though honestly, why WOULD aliens want to invade anywhere but Britain?

Though Russell T God sent 'em off to Dubai, the misogynistic state built on slave labour where being gay means a ten-year prison sentence (and more importantly, THEY SMASH YOUR BUS)

Hey. It was important to film in Dubai. Nowhere else in the world has large featureless stretches of sand.

Incidentally, three of Doctor Who's first five visits to history were outside Europe or the USA (China, Mexico and Palestine). And that's not including the prehistoric episodes, which are impossible to pin down geographically but could well be in North Africa.

It's arguable that the Eurocentricity - Britocentricity frankly - we get later on is a sign of a series that's more about fighting monsters in recognisable settings. After all, what's the point of going somewhere like, e.g. Sengoku Japan, if it's just a backdrop for another alien invasion?

Hey. It was important to film in Dubai. Nowhere else in the world has large featureless stretches of sand.

Oh, absolutely.

Or, as the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppets put it, 'I don't know if you've ever been to the edges of Britain, you know, the edges of England or Scotand, or, come to think of it, WALES. They've got these places, what are they called, what are they called...oh yeah, BEACHES!'

They've got these places, what are they called, what are they called...oh yeah, BEACHES!'

Yeah, but the problem with beaches is that they usually have that big ocean thing ruining the large featureless stretch of sand aspect of the place.

I'm no expert, but couldn't you...maybe...just situate the cameras to point away from the stupid ocean thing? Towards all that lovely DEMOCRATIC Welsh sand?

Beaches are seldom wider than a few hundred meters, making this impractical. But if it's democratic sands they want, how about the center of Australia, or the Nevada desert, or the Atacama desert in Chili?

What about CGI? Surely the Doctor and Christina de Souza de Bionic Woman...oops, sorry, BAD puppets!...could run up and down ONE Welsh sand dune which the magic of the Mill (or whoever replaced them after the Mill went bust thanks to Who taking one of its numerous years off) could multiply a bit? No need to pollute the atmosphere (and to spend precious Who-y money that we could have used for better monster costumes or bribing Tennant to stay or something) flying all over the planet.

I think the Aboriginals would complain if they used the land around the red centre. After the Hindmarsh Island Bridge, I wouldn't be surprised at what is suddenly declared sacred.

Britain is also full of these things called quarries that are conveniently placed well away from the oceans and wouldn't have looked any less appropriate than Dubai.

Not insinuating anything, but I can't help but notice how often Doctor Who in the 1980s went on location in places where JN-T fancied a holiday.

What about CGI?

Well, that was used to create the lunar landscapes in Kill the Moon, so that's definitely an option. I wonder which is more expensive, on location in another country or CGI?

I think the Aboriginals would complain if they used the land around the red centre. After the Hindmarsh Island Bridge, I wouldn't be surprised at what is suddenly declared sacred.

Oh for -

- um, well, I suppose Who doesn't want to charge in like we're recolonising the place.

Especially as we don't have the best record on neo-colonialism.

Just ask the Macra.

Britain is also full of these things called quarries that are conveniently placed well away from the oceans and wouldn't have looked any less appropriate than Dubai.

Hear, hear.

RTG's avoidance of quarries verged on the pathological.

And we will NEVER NEVER NEVER see our Ninth Doctor set foot on an alien world thanks to this.

Not insinuating anything, but I can't help but notice how often Doctor Who in the 1980s went on location in places where JN-T fancied a holiday.

Well, you can't accuse RTG of THAT, he didn't set foot in Dubai, quite sensibly in view of the fact THEY'D'VE BANGED HIM UP FOR A DECADE.

What about CGI?

Well, that was used to create the lunar landscapes in Kill the Moon, so that's definitely an option. I wonder which is more expensive, on location in another country or CGI?

Didn't they do BOTH in Kill the Moon? Go to Lanzarote to film AND whip out the CGI magic?

Well, you can't accuse RTG of THAT, he didn't set foot in Dubai, quite sensibly in view of the fact THEY'D'VE BANGED HIM UP FOR A DECADE.

But he was stepping down anyway, and it's not like he's been doing anything worthwhile (i.e. Doctor Who-related) with his time since then...

OOH!

He wasn't to KNOW that Miracle Day would be a total waste of everyone's time.

And successfully nursing his husband through a very-nearly-guaranteed-to-be-fatal brain tumour was an amazing and worthy achievement, even I have to admit, though obviously I'd be the first to scream 'JUST LET HIM DIE!' if there was a prospect of RTG writing a Who script instead...

Ooh, wait, he blessed us with SJA: Death of the Doctor!! He wouldn't have managed THAT if he'd been crammed into a Dubai cell with fifty other people in the searing desert heat for TEN YEARS.

The Doctor becomes involved in the Philadelphia Experiment:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Experiment


I could see this happening on Earth Who, with all that alien technology lying around

Already done. In that Vashta Nerada computer game and audio Lost Story The Macros.

Not canon, doesn't count.

Besides, how many people have experienced those two things. Probably less than enough to fill a jury box.

Nonsense, I can't possibly be the only crazed fanatic out there.

Besides, how many people have experienced those two things.

Three things as there's also David McIntee's 'Autumn Mist' to take into account.

Oh gods, the only thing I remember about THAT is the Doc shagging some elvish queen or something...you can see why I'm not eager for a reread...

The Doctor turns up at Woodstock, 1969.

Hippi: (seeing the TARDIS materialize). Good weed, dude!

Nyssa at the birth of Tim McCree, 1966

Nyssa: "Oops, i dropped the new baby on its head!"

Doctor: "Oh, well, no harn done!"

Funny, Natalie, but how does this qualify as a Historical story

Sorry, I've been working on that joke for some time and i wanted to use it.

No problem.

The Doctor arrives in India, during the Raj.

Again, I have no idea if a novel or audio has already done this, but so what. I'd like the show to do it, and wouldn't it be cool if they actually shot it in India.

At long as it wasn't as racist as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom...

While that movie did take liberties, the Thuggee (sp?) cult was real. That's where the word "thug" came from.

Getting back to Doctor Who, my idea would be the Doctor taking on the Rakshasa (a Hindu demon) and finding out that they are, of course, aliens.

You should read Tenth Doctor novel Ghosts of India.

But if the Doctor went to India to stop a horrible invasion, wouldn't the invaders be... well... English? ;-)

VERY good point. I've always yearned to see a story in which the humans/English (it comes to much the same thing in Doctor Who) are the horrible invaders and it's the Doctor's sad duty to wipe them out, but unfortunately when he HAD the opportunity Troughton inexplicably massacred the poor dear Macra instead...

the humans/English (it comes to much the same thing in Doctor Who

Yeah, one can see the parallels. Just as the British Empire evolved into the present day Commonwealth Of Nations, Doctor Who had the Earth Empire evolve into the Galactic Federation.

Clearly the writers were drawing from history here.

An interesting snippet i found out about the Vietnam war in high school that DW could use was that American GIs tended to wear so much cologne that the VC and NVA could smell 'em a mile off. Of course cologne is just perfume for boys...

The Doctor becomes involved in the Flannen Island Lighthouse mystery, in which three keepers vanished without a trace in 1900.

The poem that Rodney hates so much (that Tom Baker quotes at the end of Fang Rock) was based on this incident.

A while back, Keith wrote:

I'd like to see the Doctor help Gene Roddenberry get Star Trek on the air.

This is an interesting idea and it would have an effect. Not so much the show itself, but the impact it had on the young fans who watched it. It's not a secret that Trek inspired a lot of those fans to become scientists (like Spock), engineers (like Scotty), and doctors(like McCoy).

Despite her limited role, Uhura (Nichelle Nicols) had an impact on young African-Americans. Many have cited her character as inspiration for them.

One was Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American female astronaut. Dr. Jemison had a cameo as Ensign Palmer, the transporter technician on the TNG episode, Second Chances (and there is a picture of Dr. Jemison and Ms. Nicols that was taken on the TNG set).

Other young African-American fans inspired by Uhura included Whoopi Goldberg (who had a recurring role on TNG as the enigmatic Guinan) and Barack Obama (yes, a U.S President was a Trek fan).

Now, would any of those folks have ended up where they were, without Trek and Uhura to inspire them?

Mind you, this is more a story that Legends Of Tomorrow would tackle, rather than Doctor Who. However, the idea does have merit, IMO.

I probably suggested that just to annoy our Star Trek hating moderator. ;-)

What about a story where someone kills a young Whoopi Goldberg and despite his reluctance at the thought, the Doctor saves her life?

I hate Whoopi Goldberg.

I probably suggested that just to annoy our Star Trek hating moderator. ;-)

You succeeded.

Next year will be the 30th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Good time for a Doctor Who story to be set around it, even if it's only a backdrop to whatever adventure the Doctor is having.

How about visiting the Regency? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Hungary_(1920%E2%80%9346)

Ah yes, the reign of Admiral Horthy. He was one of Hitler's buddies.

famously he was "the Admiral without a fleet, in a country without a coastline".

He probably carried the rank over from the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when they did have a coast (on the Adriatic, in what is now Croatia, I think).

I wouldn't have minded seeing a Hapsburg restoration, even today.

Reminded me of this little jewel of a scene, for some reason.

A Dad's Army type episode with the Doctor meeting the Home Guard?

The Doctor investigates what happened to Glenn Miller.

The Doctor investigates what happened to Glenn Miller.

Jodie: He crashed his plane. Well that's that mystery solved...

Until a body is found, the question remains open.

Perhaps Rimmer was right, and he was abducted by aliens!

Heck, even when a body is found people insist the person is still alive, but hiding, ala Elvis.

Elvis would today be in his mid-eighties and, like Sinatra by the end, would be using TelePrompters for his lyrics on the nostalgia circuit.

Unless he was a Time Lord and regenerated.

He's not regenerated, he's bleeding demised. He's passed on. This Elvis is no more. He has ceased to be. He's expired and gone to meet his maker. He's rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-Elvis!

I'd like to see the creation of Stonehenge, with a Doctor Who-slant on it. Perhaps it's a Sontaran computer in disguise or a portal for the Angels to invade Earth. There's still so much speculation about who created it and why that it could be an interesting story.

Elvis being inspired to write In The Ghetto by Bill Potts could make a good story in the spin-offs...

I'd like to see the creation of Stonehenge, with a Doctor Who-slant on it.

We got that in The Pandorica Opens.

Also The Time Meddler.

Also (sort of) SJA: Enemy of the Bane.

Elvis being inspired to write In The Ghetto by Bill Potts could make a good story

The Doctor's taking Bill to see the same people as he (tried to) take Rose?

Have you heard the word 'rebound'?

We got that in The Pandorica Opens.

We did?

I don't recall the creation of Stonehenge being mentioned. The Pandorica was just buried beneath it.

RIVER: If it is real, it's here and it's opening, and it's got something to do with your TARDIS exploding. Hidden, obviously. Buried for centuries. You won't find it on a map.
DOCTOR: No, but if you buried the most dangerous thing in the universe, you'd want to remember where you put it.

He still doesn't say that is why Stonehenge is there. It's implied, yes, but never fully addressed.

I rather like the way it's not spelt out in words of one syllable.

Having seen the Pandorica episodes only once I confess my ignorance. I don't even remember Stonehenge being mentioned.
I've seen The Time Meddler numerous times, but don't recall the thing being mentioned. Who did?

Ah, it's obviously long past time you treated yourself to some Pandorica-related happiness!

Time Meddler:

MONK: Doctor, it's more fun my way. I can make things happen ahead of their time.
DOCTOR: Is that so?
MONK: Yes, indeed. For instance, do you really believe the ancient Britons could have built Stonehenge without the aid of my anti-gravitational lift?

do you really believe the ancient Britons could have built Stonehenge without the aid of my anti-gravitational lift?

Yes, because they did do it, all by themselves, in our world, at least.

The Doctor investigates what happened to Glenn Miller.

Jodie: He crashed his plane. Well that's that mystery solved...

Until a body is found, the question remains open.

Perhaps Rimmer was right, and he was abducted by aliens!

Full marks *sigh* he and the Brig's dad were, by an astounding coincidence, the only two humans to get abducted by the Sylphines from the Domain of Oberos in the Realm of Light to fight the Nixxine Horde. You heard it here (well, in the Lethbridge-Stewart novel The Man From Yesterday) first.

Time to revisit my idea of setting a story in the British Raj.

Yas wants to know a bit about her heritage, so JODIE takes her back to the Raj. However, they get involved in an adventure involving aliens, who are posing as the Rakshasa, which are Hindu demons.

Wouldn't it be cool if they could actually shoot the story on location in India?

Oh-kay...spotted the title for Episode Six yet?

Since they've actually filmed episodes in South Africa, how about a story set during the Boer War? This war has been overlooked in all time travel shows I can think of (unlike World War II, which has been done to death).

Now, I know that the Boer War was a regional war, and had no effect on the world at large, but some of the people involved would later do so. A young Winston Churchill was actually a prisoner of the Boers and managed to escape them.

So how about JODIE and Co. accidentally changing the young Churchill's course and have to be there to make sure he survives, so he'll be there when his country needs him, four decades later.

And this would make a nice historical story, no aliens (well, aside from JODIE, of course).

There's a theory that the asteroid field that exists between Mars and Jupiter was once a planet.
I'd like to see an episode that confirms this and explains how the planet blew apart and became our asteroid field.

We already have it - all-time classic Image of the Fendahl.

all-time classic Image of the Fendahl.

You might be on to something there...

How about featuring Weimar Berlin/Germany?

The Doctor and Co. meet the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Yas can have a chat with Sacagawea.

And bring them fish & chips from Ivar's. ;-)

Seattle-based restaurant chain for those who are scratching their heads.

Naah, Luigi's Fish 'n' a Chip Emporium or nothing ;) Dave Lister loves it!

And bring them fish & chips

Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea would know what fish was, but the chips might have them scratching their heads.

Yas can have a chat with Sacagawea.

"The Indians from India are the same as the Indians from the USA, right?"

Hey, Emily, did an Audio do this idea as well?

As I have no idea what any of you are talking about, probably not. Though apparently that unspeakably ghastly Fifth Doctor audio Moonflesh was originally supposed to have a full cast of Native American characters before Big Finish realised in a fit of political correctness that they just couldn't FIND that many Native American actors.

The TARDIS materialises on present-day Earth but the Doctor finds it run by Silurians and Sea Devils and always has been. He nips back in time and finds the Meddling Monk has fixed their alarm clock (or has somehow convinced them it's just a moon {egg} and they don't have to hibernate). He then has to doom to oversleep forever in order to restore history.

That's Blood Heat, is't it?

Almost, except that history diverged when they murdered poor Pertwee in The Silurians rather than 'always has been'.

Of course, the Doctor has to fix this. Madame Vastra and Jenny have to get together.

A missed opportunity (since they're not going to show an episode in 2019), but the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing would have been nice to see-- Armstrong turns around and there's a TARDIS and a Cyberman beside the Lunar Module.

And all this was captured on NASA's missing tapes of the Moon landing. That's why said tapes are missing, the Doctor and Co. nicked them!

Wasn't the Doc desperate for the Moon Landings to be broadcast to EVERYONE IN HISTORY so they'd genocide the Silence?

Mind you, if said tapes contained any references to the Moon being an egg, you can understand how control-of-humanity-by-said-Silence might seem like the lesser of two evils...

File that whole "the Moon is an egg" under What In The Dead Gods Of Krypton Were They Thinking!?

How about "Doctor Who - A Different Tiananmen"?

That's not going to happen.

Too bad. Love to see Team TARDIS kick Chinese Communist arse...

Considering that China is helping to fund Doctor Who (according to Emily) one can see why this idea is not likely to happen.

the American silent movie scene - Tom Baker is a fan of Buster Keaton and wished he could have been alive in the era of the silents.

A recent novel I read stated that the girl would be free from someone's guardianship when she reached 18. The problem was that the book was set in the 1870s and legal adulthood in those days was only granted at the age of 21.

The Boer War (unless an Audio has already done it).

(unless an Audio has already done it)

They have. Using Churchill's exploits during said War.

Once again, the Audios have scooped me.

They could go back to the caveman days again...
...where they discover something strange, like, howabout, oh, let's see, maybe big, black, retangular monoliths, with people singing "EEEeeeeEEEEeeeeEEEEEEE!", perhaps?
Or has that be done before?

Samantha Reed Smith. They can use her instead of Swedish Greta.

They could go back to the caveman days again...
...where they discover something strange, like, howabout, oh, let's see, maybe big, black, retangular monoliths, with people singing "EEEeeeeEEEEeeeeEEEEEEE!", perhaps?
Or has that be done before?

That sounds vaguely familiar

Living in UDI Rhodesia would be OK. No Mugabe plus I'm not black. Also my Mum made me take elocution lessons when I was a kid so i sound like an old newsreel presenter.

For all the accounts of Atlantis in Who, I'm surprised there's been no visit to Doggerland.

It could fit in well with my long-expressed wish for a visit to the (misnamed) Silurian era.

For all the accounts of Atlantis in Who, I'm surprised there's been no visit to Doggerland.

To WHERE?

It could fit in well with my long-expressed wish for a visit to the (misnamed) Silurian era.

Ah, it'll come, sooner or later. Probably like Asylum of the Daleks, only with every Silurian/Sea Devil/Myrka costume ever...

Gee, you're the last person here I thought I wouldn't know Doggerland. It connected Britannia to the continent and was inhabited.

https://i.redd.it/nt9hrl2e79f21.jpg

Ooh, I'd forgotten about that! Yes, I've vaguely heard of it, I've just never studied prehistory and the fact we were once connected to the mainland just isn't something that ever gets mentioned in Britain...

But it was the original Brexit...

Kevin, surely you must know that, unless it appeared on, or was mentioned on, Doctor Who, Emily will have no knowledge of such a place.

Many people think that, if you time travelled to Sarajevo, 1914, and stopped the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife, Sophie, you would prevent the First World War. Actually, you'd only be postponing said war, as the geopolitical forces that led up to it has been building for a long time before.

What I would do is get King George V, Tsar Nicholas II, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Emperor Francis Joseph in a room together and tell them everything (bringing along documentation to back me up).

Tell them about the Soviet Union, Stalin's purges, Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, the Cold War, the Berlin Wall, the whole enchilada. I would basically be saying: "If you guys go to war now, THIS is what will result from it. Misery and suffering for decades to come."

Perhaps that would make them think before declaring war on one another (considering the war would cost Nicholas not only his own life, but the lives on his wife, children, and younger brother).

If geopolitical forces had been leading up to it for a long time, what good would trying to persuade key individuals against it do?

Well, those were the guys making the actual decisions. Influencing them could have changed a lot of things.

In which case it wasn't about geopolitical forces.

Yeah, most of those Monarchs were autocrats. One order from them, to their military forces to stand down, and said military forces would have done so.

I've always believed that the First World War left the world worst off, a butcher's bill that we're still paying, 103 years later.

Be nice if one could go back and make sure it didn't happen.

Tim - What I would do is get King George V, Tsar Nicholas II, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Emperor Francis Joseph in a room together and tell them everything (bringing along documentation to back me up).

And if you did change everything, the documentation would change along with your reason for going back into the past. ;-)

I imagine several, if not all, of those figures would look at your documentation and think, "Well, if I do this differently...?"

I'm currently reading a book, The War In Cartoons, and in the explanation for the cartoon Der Tag, George Hecht explains, ""Der Tag" - the day when war would be declared - was for many years the favorite toast in the German army and navy. Many prominent Germans have openly admitted that war was deliberately planned and looked forward to. For forty years they have been developing a perfect military system and constructing a large navy in anticipation of the war which was to achieve world domination for Germany."

If that's correct even arranging for Kaiser Bill to "slip on the soap in the shower" wouldn't have stopped the eventual war as it seems too many higher ups were in favor of one.

---

quote:

I imagine several, if not all, of those figures would look at your documentation and think, "Well, if I do this differently...?"

---

Or maybe we could try to expand in the future, like expand on Vicki\Steven\Zoe's homes.

Or maybe a catgirl planet! Of the anime kind.

Or maybe we could have a Companion from the 22nd or 23rd century!

Uh, Gaia, the title of this thread means it deals with historical periods.

While your suggestions are interesting, they do not apply here.

Yeah then I want to see 12th century in the country of Georgia.

Maybe a companion from there?

Still waiting for the Doctor to visit my county, during its history.

The adventure could happen during the War Of 1812, for example. Have the Doctor show up during the American attack on York (now Toronto).

Chibnall's got one story left in which we don't know anything. Residential schools are right up his alley.

Or the Doctor could show up during the Riel Rebellion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-West_Rebellion

I know the subject matter would be controversial, but said rebellion was a historical event.