Batman can breathe in space! ;-)
That still doesn't qualify as flying a space rocket.
The Doctor recently made a reference to the musical "Hamilton" having an ever-changing cast, reminding us that the Doctor knows a bit about modern-day Earth culture, coupled with recent references to 'Ed Sheeran', and even the Eccleston Doctor flipping through a magazine commenting on the stories.
But it got me thinking that in the original series, there was virtually none of this sort of thing. I've been thinking over all the references that the Doctor ever made to Earth culture and cultural figures (as opposed to historical figures/politicians/royalty - for example, counting Houdini but not Darwin, Shakespeare but not Lister) and can't come up with very many - can anyone add to these?
Music:
Troughton (various) - tunes on recorder - I can only think of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'
Terror of the Autons - "I don't want to set the world on fire" (1938 song)
Three Doctors - was not aware of the Beatles song "I am the Walrus" (but presumably knew the Beatles after having heard their racket in The Chase)
Silver Nemesis - expressed an inexplicable liking for Jazz.
Poetry/Literature:
Revenge of the Cybermen - quoted Shakespeare
Planet of Evil - quoted Shakespeare
Seeds of Doom - recognised a quote from Franklin Adams, American humourist.
Talons of Weng-Chiang - Oscar Wilde (a hatbox?)/Kipling/Harry Champion
Horror of Fang Rock - quoted Wilfrid Wilson Gibson's poem 'Flannan Isle'
Timelash - knows of HG Wells.
Art:
City of Death - admired the Mona Lisa, and knew da Vinci
Comics (or possibly TV/film):
Inferno - knew of Batman (but maybe not much, as AFAIK Batman never flew a space rocket)
TV/film/theatre:
Revenge of the Cybermen - knew Houdini
Talons of Weng-Chiang - mentioned Little Tich
Timelash - knows of HG Wells.
An earlier ep referenced War of the Worlds & the Doc referred to "Herbert George".
City of Death - admired the Mona Lisa, and knew da Vinci
He wanted to meet da Vinci in The Masque of Mandragora.
In City of Death he mentions writing Shakespeare's soliliquy in Hamlet since Shakespeare had sprained his wrist writing sonnets.
Forget the episode, but he mentions dropping apples on Sir Isaac Newton's head.
AFAIK Batman never flew a space rocket
Batman can breathe in space! ;-)
AFAIK Batman never flew a space rocket
Batman can breathe in space! ;-)
That still doesn't qualify as flying a space rocket.
He mentions Dame Nellie Melba in The Power of Kroll.
References to Lewis Carroll or Alice in Wonderland, in The Android Invasion and The Five Doctors.
He also quotes from poetry by Thomas Moore in The Twin Dilemma as well as mentioning Longfellow in the same story, and, if he counts for these purposes, Beau Brummell, who's also mentioned in The Sensorites.
The Doctor knows who Lemuel Gulliver is in The Mind Robber and can recite parts of the text from 'Gulliver's Travels' in time with him. He also knows of the stories about Medusa, Perseus, and the Minotaur in the same story, as well as D'Artagnan from 'The Three Musketeers' - who actually was, or is based on, a historically real person anyway - and Sir Lancelot, and Rapunzel.
He also reads from 'The Old Curiosity Shop', by Charles Dickens, in Shada. Other books mentioned in the same story by the Doctor and Romana are 'Wuthering Heights', by Emily Bronte, and 'The Time Machine', by HG Wells, and the Doctor also refers to the poets William Wordsworth, Christopher Smart and Andrew Marvell.
He quotes from 'A Tale Of Two Cities' in The Trial of a Time Lord.
Lewis Carroll again, where the Doctor quotes from 'Jabberwocky' in both The Silurians and Ghost Light, where he mentions bandersnatchers and slithy toves.
He also refers to Ace as "Eliza" in Ghost Light, in circumstances where the implication is of a comparison with Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw's 'Pygmalion'.
He knows who CP Snow is, as well as William Shakespeare, Michelangelo, Louis Pasteur, Elvis Presley, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan's Mrs Malaprop, in Time and the Rani.
His comment about how it "has happened before" about the coronation of the substitute king in The Androids of Tara suggest an acknowledgement that he knows the plot of 'The Prisoner of Zenda'.
The Doctor name drops H.G. Wells in Horror Of Fang Rock, like he's personally met him.
Of course, in Timelash, he has no clue who the young Wells is.
Forget the episode, but he mentions dropping apples on Sir Isaac Newton's head.
Pirate Planet.
I seem to remember more than one Doctor reading The Time Machine - and the Master reading War of the Worlds. But Our Hero never was much of a reader, the philistine, even before he degenerated from books to Heat and Knitting for Girls.
Think about it,people.
The Third Doctor was trapped on Earth for years.
He had to do something to fill all his free time.
Yeah, but why did it have to be car repairs instead of READING.
Because the smegging Time lords blocked his knowledge of the security codes of the TARDIS.
(I think that the security codes are basically the passwords to use the TARDIS.)
The Doctor didn't want to stay on 20th century Earth-he was trapped there, and left with nothing better to do.
why did it have to be car repairs instead of READING.
Because the smegging Time lords blocked his knowledge of the security codes of the TARDIS.
And that meant he couldn't READ any more?
The Doctor didn't want to stay on 20th century Earth-he was trapped there, and left with nothing better to do.
Yeah, that's his story, though it's funny how much Pertwee gravitated back to his 'home' (as he referred to Earth/UNIT HQ in Planet of the Spiders) AFTER he was free to roam the cosmos...
To someone with a TARDIS, 20th century Earth must seem like a dull and boring place.
If given a choice, would you return??
You're forgetting the Doctor's tragic obsession with modern-day Earth.
(Or as the Master put it, 'Oh, he loves playing with Earth girls.')
Which would you choose- to be trapped on 20th century Earth, or to be free to go anywhere that you want?
The Third Doctor took off as soon as he could- and tried even harder to leave before he could.
The Third Doctor took off as soon as he could- and tried even harder to leave before he could.
Yes, and then he just kept coming back.
I don't think that it's 20th century Earth that bothered him- it's not being able to leave it when he wants.
I think that what matters to him is that he gets the choice about when to stay there or leave.