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{{First pic|Courtney uses Tumblr.jpg|[[Courtney Woods]] posting to [[Tumblr]] with her mobile phone. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kill the Moon (TV story)|Kill the Moon]]'')}} | {{First pic|Courtney uses Tumblr.jpg|[[Courtney Woods]] posting to [[Tumblr]] with her mobile phone. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kill the Moon (TV story)|Kill the Moon]]'')}} | ||
'''Mobile phones''', also known as '''cell phones''', | '''Mobile phones''', also known as '''mobiles''' ([[TV]]: ''[[Boom Town (TV story)|Boom Town]]'') were personal communicators. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Absent Friends (audio story)|Absent Friends]]'') [[United States of America|Americans]] sometimes called them '''cell phones''', or just '''cells'''. ([[TV]]: ''[[Arachnids in the UK (TV story)|Arachnids in the UK]]'') | ||
== Earth culture == | == Earth culture == | ||
On the [[planet]] [[Earth]], they became popular in the early [[21st century]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'', ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]'', ''[[Smith and Jones]]'') They were crucial elements of teenagers' social lives. After realising that [[Martin Trueman]] had stolen his mobile and was now among the [[star]]s, [[Clyde Langer]] exclaimed, "I'm nobody. I'm no one! It's a social disaster." ([[TV]]: ''[[Secrets of the Stars (TV story)|Secrets of the Stars]]'') | On the [[planet]] [[Earth]], they became popular in the early [[21st century]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'', ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]'', ''[[Smith and Jones (TV story)|Smith and Jones]]'') They were crucial elements of teenagers' social lives. After realising that [[Martin Trueman]] had stolen his mobile and was now among the [[star]]s, [[Clyde Langer]] exclaimed, "I'm nobody. I'm no one! It's a social disaster." ([[TV]]: ''[[Secrets of the Stars (TV story)|Secrets of the Stars]]'') | ||
== Functions == | |||
Mobile phones had a number of functions. They could: | |||
* make phone calls, ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]'' et al.) | |||
* take [[Photograph|photographs]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Love & Monsters (TV story)|Love & Monsters]]'' et al.) | |||
* access [[news]] websites, ([[TV]]: ''[[Rise of the Cybermen (TV story)|Rise of the Cybermen]]'', ''[[The Magician's Apprentice (TV story)|The Magician's Apprentice]]'') | |||
* send and receive [[Text message|text messages]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'' et al.) | |||
* access and post to social media such as [[Tumblr]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Kill the Moon (TV story)|Kill the Moon]]'') [[Twitter]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Magician's Apprentice (TV story)|The Magician's Apprentice]]'') or [[Reddit]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Praxeus (TV story)|Praxeus]]'') | |||
* track location data ([[TV]]: ''[[The Zygon Invasion (TV story)|The Zygon Invasion]]'' et al.) using [[Global Positioning System|GPS]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Spyfall (TV story)|Spyfall]]'') | |||
* play [[music]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Knock Knock (TV story)|Knock Knock]]'') | |||
* act as a [[clock]], or ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pyramid at the End of the World (TV story)|The Pyramid at the End of the World]]'') | |||
* install [[App|apps]] to add additional features, such as acting as a [[torch]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Invocation (audio story)|Invocation]]'') recognising [[Constellation|constellations]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Legend of the Sea Devils (TV story)|Legend of the Sea Devils]]'') or performing [[thermal imaging]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Gathering (TV story)|The Gathering]]'') among others. | |||
Mobile phones could be connected to each other and to the [[Internet]] via a mobile network, ([[TV]]: ''[[Rise of the Cybermen (TV story)|Rise of the Cybermen]]'') which could be distributed by [[Satellite|satellites]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]]'') They had [[Battery|batteries]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Smile (TV story)|Smile]]'') and could be charged by mobile phone chargers. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Town Called Mercy (TV story)|A Town Called Mercy]]'') | |||
[[The Doctor]], at various points, was able to modify mobile phones to perform other tasks such as activating [[Superphone|universal roaming]], ([[TV]]: ''[[42 (TV story)|42]]'' et al.) writing [[Computer virus|computer viruses]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]'') tracking signals from [[DNA bomb|DNA bombs]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)|The Woman Who Fell to Earth]]'') or accessing [[Sontaran]] data banks. ([[TV]]: ''[[War of the Sontarans (TV story)|War of the Sontarans]]'') | |||
== Interference == | == Interference == | ||
When [[Jack Harkness]] rescued [[Rose Tyler]] in his [[Chula warship|ship]]'s [[tractor beam]], he told her that her mobile phone interfered with his instrument. Rose responded that "no one ever believes that." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Empty Child (TV story)|The Empty Child]]'') [[Toby Silverman]] and [[Celeste Rivers]] also took the mobiles of [[Sarah Jane Smith]], [[Rani Chandra]] and [[Clyde Langer]], also claiming that they interfered with the equipment. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eternity Trap (TV story)|The Eternity Trap]]'') [[Ryan Sinclair]] displayed similar horror when all his online accounts were deleted when the [[Thirteenth Doctor]] reformatted his phone to track the signal linking the [[DNA bomb]]s to the [[Gathering coil]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)|The Woman Who Fell to Earth]]'') | When [[Jack Harkness]] rescued [[Rose Tyler]] in his [[Chula warship|ship]]'s [[tractor beam]], he told her that [[Rose Tyler's mobile phone|her mobile phone]] interfered with his instrument. Rose responded that "no one ever believes that." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Empty Child (TV story)|The Empty Child]]'') [[Toby Silverman]] and [[Celeste Rivers]] also took the mobiles of [[Sarah Jane Smith]], [[Rani Chandra]] and [[Clyde Langer]], also claiming that they interfered with the equipment. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eternity Trap (TV story)|The Eternity Trap]]'') [[Ryan Sinclair]] displayed similar horror when all his online accounts were deleted when the [[Thirteenth Doctor]] reformatted his phone to track the signal linking the [[DNA bomb]]s to the [[Gathering coil]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)|The Woman Who Fell to Earth]]'') | ||
== The Doctor and mobile phones == | == The Doctor and mobile phones == | ||
The [[Ninth Doctor]] | The [[Ninth Doctor]] owned [[Ninth Doctor's mobile phone|a mobile phone]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Have You Seen This Man? (short story)|Have You Seen This Man?]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[Boom Town (TV story)|Boom Town]]'') The [[Tenth Doctor]] later kept [[Martha Jones' mobile phone|another phone given to him]] by [[Martha Jones]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords (TV story)|Last of the Time Lords]]'') The Twelfth Doctor, during his travels with Clara Oswald, began carrying a cellphone. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Zygon Invasion (TV story)|The Zygon Invasion]]'', ''[[Extremis (TV story)|Extremis]]'') | ||
The Doctor also lent [[Elvis Presley|Elvis]] a mobile phone at some point before their [[Thirteenth Doctor|thirteenth incarnation]]. By [[1 December]] [[1955]], Elvis let [[Frank Sinatra]] borrow his mobile, against the Doctor's wishes. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rosa (TV story)|Rosa]]'') | The Doctor also lent [[Elvis Presley|Elvis]] a mobile phone at some point before their [[Thirteenth Doctor|thirteenth incarnation]]. By [[1 December]] [[1955]], Elvis let [[Frank Sinatra]] borrow his mobile, against the Doctor's wishes. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rosa (TV story)|Rosa]]'') | ||
=== Companions and mobile phones === | === Companions and mobile phones === | ||
During her travels with the Doctor in her youth, [[Sarah Jane Smith]] was exposed to mobile phones but he refused to give her one, despite her wishes, claiming it was [[Anachronism|anachronistic]]. During her later years, she | During her travels with the Doctor in her youth, [[Sarah Jane Smith]] was exposed to mobile phones but he refused to give her one, despite her wishes, claiming it was [[Anachronism|anachronistic]]. During her later years, she sardonically remarked that, despite such a claim, he had proceeded to gift her [[K9|a robot dog]] from the year [[5000]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Vortex Butterflies (comic story)|Vortex Butterflies]]'') | ||
In [[October]] [[1987]], [[Serena Paget]] was surprised that [[Melanie Bush]] had a mobile phone as they were not common at that time. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[We Are The Daleks (audio story)|We Are The Daleks]]'') | In [[October]] [[1987]], [[Serena Paget]] was surprised that [[Melanie Bush]] had a mobile phone as they were not common at that time. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[We Are The Daleks (audio story)|We Are The Daleks]]'') | ||
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The Eighth Doctor set up mobile phone-like devices for [[companion]]s Anji and [[Fitz Kreiner]] when they spent a selective amount of time on certain planets. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Book of the Still (novel)|The Book of the Still]]'') | The Eighth Doctor set up mobile phone-like devices for [[companion]]s Anji and [[Fitz Kreiner]] when they spent a selective amount of time on certain planets. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Book of the Still (novel)|The Book of the Still]]'') | ||
Rose Tyler attempted to use her mobile phone from [[2005]] when she was in [[1987]], bewildering [[Pete Tyler]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Father's Day (TV story)|Father's Day]]'') | Rose Tyler attempted to use her mobile phone from [[2005]] when she was in [[1987]], bewildering [[Pete Tyler]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Father's Day (TV story)|Father's Day]]'') When [[Jack Harkness]] first met, and rescued, Rose, he asked her to turn off her phone as it was interfering with his [[tractor beam]]'s ability to safely compute a descent pattern. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Empty Child (TV story)|The Empty Child]]'') | ||
Sarah Jane's teenage friends used mobile phones to keep in contact as well. This resulted in their phones being destroyed by their enemies on many occasions, with Sarah Jane's adoptive son, [[Luke Smith]], having gone through seven phones alone in two years. ([[TV]]: ''[[Invasion of the Bane (TV story)|Invasion of the Bane]]'', ''[[Warriors of Kudlak (TV story)|Warriors of Kudlak]]'', ''[[Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? (TV story)|Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?]]'', ''[[The Last Sontaran (TV story)|The Last Sontaran]]'', ''[[The Day of the Clown (TV story)|The Day of the Clown]]'', ''[[The Mark of the Berserker (TV story)|The Mark of the Berserker]]'', ''[[The Mad Woman in the Attic (TV story)|The Mad Woman in the Attic]]'', ''[[The Curse of Clyde Langer (TV story)|The Curse of Clyde Langer]]'', ''[[The Man Who Never Was (TV story)|The Man Who Never Was]]'') | |||
=== Superphones === | === Superphones === | ||
{{video|The Doctor Calls in Favour from UNIT (HQ) - Doctor Who - Planet of the Dead - BBC|thumb|The [[Tenth Doctor]] uses a mobile to phone [[UNIT]], trapped on a [[San Helios|deserted planet]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'')}} | |||
[[Rose Tyler]], [[Martha Jones]] and [[Donna Noble]] had their mobiles adjusted by the Doctor to "universal roaming"; ([[TV]]: ''[[42 (TV story)|42]]'') Rose by the [[Ninth Doctor]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]'') and Martha ([[TV]]: ''[[42 (TV story)|42]]'') and Donna ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor's Daughter (TV story)|The Doctor's Daughter]]'') by the [[Tenth Doctor]]. These were called [[superphone]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]'') They could call nearly anywhere in time and space ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]'', ''[[42 (TV story)|42]]'') and work in areas with no service, such as the [[Cabinet Room]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]'') The Tenth Doctor also modified [[Barclay (Planet of the Dead)|Barclay]]'s phone in this manner so he could communicate with UNIT. ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'') | [[Rose Tyler]], [[Martha Jones]] and [[Donna Noble]] had their mobiles adjusted by the Doctor to "universal roaming"; ([[TV]]: ''[[42 (TV story)|42]]'') Rose by the [[Ninth Doctor]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]'') and Martha ([[TV]]: ''[[42 (TV story)|42]]'') and Donna ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor's Daughter (TV story)|The Doctor's Daughter]]'') by the [[Tenth Doctor]]. These were called [[superphone]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]'') They could call nearly anywhere in time and space ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]'', ''[[42 (TV story)|42]]'') and work in areas with no service, such as the [[Cabinet Room]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]'') However, Rose was unable to phone her mother [[Jackie Tyler]] from [[Krop Tor]], which the Doctor described as being five-hundred years from [[Earth]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Planet (TV story)|The Impossible Planet]]'') The Tenth Doctor also modified [[Barclay (Planet of the Dead)|Barclay]]'s phone in this manner so he could communicate with UNIT. ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'') | ||
Martha's superphone was left with the Tenth Doctor. ([[TV]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords (TV story)|Last of the Time Lords]]'') later being integrated into the TARDIS following its repairs. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]''{{facts}}) | |||
Later incarnations of the Doctor also similarly modified the phones of others who travelled with them: | |||
[[Clara Oswald]] used her mobile on the ''[[Orient Express (spacecraft)|Orient Express]]'' to call [[Danny Pink]] on [[21st century]] [[Earth]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Mummy on the Orient Express (TV story)|Mummy on the Orient Express]]'') She subsequently used it to contact the [[Twelfth Doctor]] - both audio and video calling - on numerous occasions. ([[TV]]: ''[[Dark Water (TV story)|Dark Water]]'', ''[[Before the Flood (TV story)|Before the Flood]]'', et al.) | |||
[[Courtney Woods]] was able to use her mobile phone to post to [[Tumblr]] in her own era while aboard the [[Twelfth Doctor]]'s [[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] in the year [[2049]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kill the Moon (TV story)|Kill the Moon]]'') | [[Courtney Woods]] was able to use her mobile phone to post to [[Tumblr]] in her own era while aboard the [[Twelfth Doctor]]'s [[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] in the year [[2049]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kill the Moon (TV story)|Kill the Moon]]'') | ||
The "superphone" modification was a refinement of the [[temporal interocitor]], a communication device invented by the [[Fifth Doctor]] and [[Nyssa]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Renaissance of the Daleks (audio story)|Renaissance of the Daleks]]'') | The "superphone" modification was a refinement of the [[temporal interocitor]], a communication device invented by the [[Fifth Doctor]] and [[Nyssa]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Renaissance of the Daleks (audio story)|Renaissance of the Daleks]]'') | ||
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== References == | == References == | ||
Upon seeing a [[Sontaran]] [[teleport pod]] in the [[Rattigan Academy]], the [[Tenth Doctor]] told [[Luke Rattigan]] that "it might be [[Earth]] technology, but that's like finding a mobile phone in the [[Middle Ages]]", pointing out that the presence of such futuristic technology was an [[anachronism]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]'') Missy later made a reference, saying her fights with the Doctor were "basically texting." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Magician's Apprentice (TV story)|The Magician's Apprentice]]'') | [[UNIT United Kingdom|UNIT]]'s [[Sergeant|Sgt]] [[Catherine Petts]], not exactly taking the [[Sycorax|alien]] contact that had been reached seriously following the disappearance of ''[[Guinevere One]]'', she mentioned that they had a "[[television channel|TV channel]]", and that it was on "[[Terrestrial television|terrestrial]], [[digital television|digital]], [[cable television|cable]], [[satellite television|satellite]], swanky mobile phones, and even behind [[BBC Red Button (Guinevere One)|the bloody red button]]." ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Guinevere One (short story)|Guinevere One]]'') | ||
Upon seeing a [[Sontaran]] [[teleport pod]] in the [[Rattigan Academy]], the [[Tenth Doctor]] told [[Luke Rattigan]] that "it might be [[Earth]] technology, but that's like finding a mobile phone in the [[Middle Ages]]", pointing out that the presence of such futuristic technology was an [[anachronism]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem (TV story)|The Sontaran Stratagem]]'') Missy later made a reference, saying her fights with the Doctor were "basically texting." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Magician's Apprentice (TV story)|The Magician's Apprentice]]'') | |||
== Other planets == | |||
Devices similar to the mobile phones of Earth were also used by other species and civilisations. [[Rickston Slade]], of the planet [[Sto]], frequently used a device that resembled a partly transparent flip phone while on board [[Max Capricorn Cruiseliners|Max Capricorn's]] [[Titanic (spaceship)|Titanic]], called a [[vone]]. He used this vone to talk to [[business]] associates. ([[TV]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned (TV story)|Voyage of the Damned]]'') | |||
== Other realities == | |||
On [[Pete's World]], most individuals used the [[Cybus EarPod|EarPods]] produced by [[Cybus Industries]] which functioned as an alternative to mobile phones. Despite this, when [[Rose Tyler]] used her mobile phone on this world, it connected to the [[Cybus Network]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rise of the Cybermen (TV story)|Rise of the Cybermen]]'') In addition to the EarPods, Cybus also produced a [[smart phone]] line, called [[Cybus SmartPhone]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Secret Lives of Monsters (short story)}}) | |||
In [[Rob Tyler's universe]], due to a ban on technological advancement since [[World War II]], there were no mobile phones. When [[Rose Tyler]] visited this universe, her mobile phone allowed [[the Agency]] to navigate around the government coverups. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Flood (RTDC audio story)|The Flood]]'') | |||
In one [[Alternate timeline (73 Yards)|alternate timeline]], when attempting to understand [[The Woman (73 Yards)|the figure]] following [[Ruby Sunday/Other realities#Encountering Roger ap Gwilliam|Ruby Sunday]] from [[73 (number)|73]] [[Yard (unit)|yards]] away, [[Carla Sunday]] suggested using a mobile phone while speaking to the figure. As she approached the figure, Carla remained on a call with Ruby. However, this caused the phone call to break-up, and Ruby was unable to hear anything from the other end as she witnessed her mother succumb to the figure's influence. ([[TV]]: {{cs|73 Yards (TV story)}}) | |||
== Behind the scenes == | == Behind the scenes == | ||
Once treated in the series as a major event akin to being entrusted with a [[TARDIS key]] (Rose Tyler, Martha Jones), the upgrading of a companion's phone to [[superphone]] status is now often taken as a given in [[BBC Wales]] ''[[Doctor Who]]''; the evident upgrading of Clara's phone, for example, has never been depicted on screen. | Once treated in the series as a major event akin to being entrusted with a [[TARDIS key]] (Rose Tyler, Martha Jones), the upgrading of a companion's phone to [[superphone]] status is now often taken as a given in [[BBC Wales]] ''[[Doctor Who]]''; the evident upgrading of Clara's phone, for example, has never been depicted on screen. | ||
[[Category:Mobile phones| ]] | |||
[[Category:Earth technology]] | [[Category:Earth technology]] | ||
[[Category:The Doctor's devices]] | [[Category:The Doctor's devices]] | ||
[[Category:Communications technology from the real world]] | [[Category:Communications technology from the real world]] | ||
Latest revision as of 13:33, 27 May 2024
Mobile phones, also known as mobiles (TV: Boom Town) were personal communicators. (AUDIO: Absent Friends) Americans sometimes called them cell phones, or just cells. (TV: Arachnids in the UK)
Earth culture[[edit] | [edit source]]
On the planet Earth, they became popular in the early 21st century. (TV: Rose, World War Three, Smith and Jones) They were crucial elements of teenagers' social lives. After realising that Martin Trueman had stolen his mobile and was now among the stars, Clyde Langer exclaimed, "I'm nobody. I'm no one! It's a social disaster." (TV: Secrets of the Stars)
Functions[[edit] | [edit source]]
Mobile phones had a number of functions. They could:
- make phone calls, (TV: The End of the World et al.)
- take photographs, (TV: Love & Monsters et al.)
- access news websites, (TV: Rise of the Cybermen, The Magician's Apprentice)
- send and receive text messages, (TV: Journey's End et al.)
- access and post to social media such as Tumblr, (TV: Kill the Moon) Twitter, (TV: The Magician's Apprentice) or Reddit. (TV: Praxeus)
- track location data (TV: The Zygon Invasion et al.) using GPS, (TV: Spyfall)
- play music, (TV: Knock Knock)
- act as a clock, or (TV: The Pyramid at the End of the World)
- install apps to add additional features, such as acting as a torch, (AUDIO: Invocation) recognising constellations, (TV: Legend of the Sea Devils) or performing thermal imaging, (TV: The Gathering) among others.
Mobile phones could be connected to each other and to the Internet via a mobile network, (TV: Rise of the Cybermen) which could be distributed by satellites. (TV: The Sound of Drums) They had batteries, (TV: Smile) and could be charged by mobile phone chargers. (TV: A Town Called Mercy)
The Doctor, at various points, was able to modify mobile phones to perform other tasks such as activating universal roaming, (TV: 42 et al.) writing computer viruses, (TV: The Eleventh Hour) tracking signals from DNA bombs, (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth) or accessing Sontaran data banks. (TV: War of the Sontarans)
Interference[[edit] | [edit source]]
When Jack Harkness rescued Rose Tyler in his ship's tractor beam, he told her that her mobile phone interfered with his instrument. Rose responded that "no one ever believes that." (TV: The Empty Child) Toby Silverman and Celeste Rivers also took the mobiles of Sarah Jane Smith, Rani Chandra and Clyde Langer, also claiming that they interfered with the equipment. (TV: The Eternity Trap) Ryan Sinclair displayed similar horror when all his online accounts were deleted when the Thirteenth Doctor reformatted his phone to track the signal linking the DNA bombs to the Gathering coil. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)
The Doctor and mobile phones[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Ninth Doctor owned a mobile phone. (PROSE: Have You Seen This Man?, TV: Boom Town) The Tenth Doctor later kept another phone given to him by Martha Jones. (TV: Last of the Time Lords) The Twelfth Doctor, during his travels with Clara Oswald, began carrying a cellphone. (TV: The Zygon Invasion, Extremis)
The Doctor also lent Elvis a mobile phone at some point before their thirteenth incarnation. By 1 December 1955, Elvis let Frank Sinatra borrow his mobile, against the Doctor's wishes. (TV: Rosa)
Companions and mobile phones[[edit] | [edit source]]
During her travels with the Doctor in her youth, Sarah Jane Smith was exposed to mobile phones but he refused to give her one, despite her wishes, claiming it was anachronistic. During her later years, she sardonically remarked that, despite such a claim, he had proceeded to gift her a robot dog from the year 5000. (COMIC: Vortex Butterflies)
In October 1987, Serena Paget was surprised that Melanie Bush had a mobile phone as they were not common at that time. (AUDIO: We Are The Daleks)
Anji Kapoor carried her mobile with her when she began travelling with the Eighth Doctor, and was even able to use it when she travelled into her future. (PROSE: Escape Velocity, Trading Futures)
The Eighth Doctor set up mobile phone-like devices for companions Anji and Fitz Kreiner when they spent a selective amount of time on certain planets. (PROSE: The Book of the Still)
Rose Tyler attempted to use her mobile phone from 2005 when she was in 1987, bewildering Pete Tyler. (TV: Father's Day) When Jack Harkness first met, and rescued, Rose, he asked her to turn off her phone as it was interfering with his tractor beam's ability to safely compute a descent pattern. (TV: The Empty Child)
Sarah Jane's teenage friends used mobile phones to keep in contact as well. This resulted in their phones being destroyed by their enemies on many occasions, with Sarah Jane's adoptive son, Luke Smith, having gone through seven phones alone in two years. (TV: Invasion of the Bane, Warriors of Kudlak, Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?, The Last Sontaran, The Day of the Clown, The Mark of the Berserker, The Mad Woman in the Attic, The Curse of Clyde Langer, The Man Who Never Was)
Superphones[[edit] | [edit source]]
Rose Tyler, Martha Jones and Donna Noble had their mobiles adjusted by the Doctor to "universal roaming"; (TV: 42) Rose by the Ninth Doctor, (TV: The End of the World) and Martha (TV: 42) and Donna (TV: The Doctor's Daughter) by the Tenth Doctor. These were called superphones. (TV: World War Three) They could call nearly anywhere in time and space (TV: The End of the World, 42) and work in areas with no service, such as the Cabinet Room. (TV: World War Three) However, Rose was unable to phone her mother Jackie Tyler from Krop Tor, which the Doctor described as being five-hundred years from Earth. (TV: The Impossible Planet) The Tenth Doctor also modified Barclay's phone in this manner so he could communicate with UNIT. (TV: Planet of the Dead)
Martha's superphone was left with the Tenth Doctor. (TV: Last of the Time Lords) later being integrated into the TARDIS following its repairs. (TV: The Eleventh Hour[additional sources needed])
Later incarnations of the Doctor also similarly modified the phones of others who travelled with them:
Clara Oswald used her mobile on the Orient Express to call Danny Pink on 21st century Earth. (TV: Mummy on the Orient Express) She subsequently used it to contact the Twelfth Doctor - both audio and video calling - on numerous occasions. (TV: Dark Water, Before the Flood, et al.)
Courtney Woods was able to use her mobile phone to post to Tumblr in her own era while aboard the Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS in the year 2049. (TV: Kill the Moon)
The "superphone" modification was a refinement of the temporal interocitor, a communication device invented by the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa. (AUDIO: Renaissance of the Daleks)
Later alternatives[[edit] | [edit source]]
By 2050, mobile phones appeared to have been replaced by the vid-com. (TV: Liberation, The Cambridge Spy, Angel of the North)
References[[edit] | [edit source]]
UNIT's Sgt Catherine Petts, not exactly taking the alien contact that had been reached seriously following the disappearance of Guinevere One, she mentioned that they had a "TV channel", and that it was on "terrestrial, digital, cable, satellite, swanky mobile phones, and even behind the bloody red button." (PROSE: Guinevere One)
Upon seeing a Sontaran teleport pod in the Rattigan Academy, the Tenth Doctor told Luke Rattigan that "it might be Earth technology, but that's like finding a mobile phone in the Middle Ages", pointing out that the presence of such futuristic technology was an anachronism. (TV: The Sontaran Stratagem) Missy later made a reference, saying her fights with the Doctor were "basically texting." (TV: The Magician's Apprentice)
Other planets[[edit] | [edit source]]
Devices similar to the mobile phones of Earth were also used by other species and civilisations. Rickston Slade, of the planet Sto, frequently used a device that resembled a partly transparent flip phone while on board Max Capricorn's Titanic, called a vone. He used this vone to talk to business associates. (TV: Voyage of the Damned)
Other realities[[edit] | [edit source]]
On Pete's World, most individuals used the EarPods produced by Cybus Industries which functioned as an alternative to mobile phones. Despite this, when Rose Tyler used her mobile phone on this world, it connected to the Cybus Network. (TV: Rise of the Cybermen) In addition to the EarPods, Cybus also produced a smart phone line, called Cybus SmartPhone. (PROSE: The Secret Lives of Monsters [+]Loading...["The Secret Lives of Monsters (short story)"])
In Rob Tyler's universe, due to a ban on technological advancement since World War II, there were no mobile phones. When Rose Tyler visited this universe, her mobile phone allowed the Agency to navigate around the government coverups. (AUDIO: The Flood)
In one alternate timeline, when attempting to understand the figure following Ruby Sunday from 73 yards away, Carla Sunday suggested using a mobile phone while speaking to the figure. As she approached the figure, Carla remained on a call with Ruby. However, this caused the phone call to break-up, and Ruby was unable to hear anything from the other end as she witnessed her mother succumb to the figure's influence. (TV: 73 Yards [+]Loading...["73 Yards (TV story)"])
Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]
Once treated in the series as a major event akin to being entrusted with a TARDIS key (Rose Tyler, Martha Jones), the upgrading of a companion's phone to superphone status is now often taken as a given in BBC Wales Doctor Who; the evident upgrading of Clara's phone, for example, has never been depicted on screen.
