Cultural references to the Doctor Who universe/1980s

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
RealWorld.png

Occasionally, elements of the Doctor Who universe are referenced in the broader popular culture. This page exists to throw a spotlight on some of these casual references made in television, comics, films and other media which happened during the 1980s.

In-universe references

These references functionally act as minor, unlicensed crossovers between the series and the DWU: some element of the Doctor Who universe makes a cameo, or is referenced, in such a way as to imply that it is real in the world of the story, or indeed that the story itself "unofficially" takes place in the Doctor Who universe.

Television

  • The Doctor outside his TARDIS in Arrivederci Roma.
    "Arrivederci Roma", the first episode of Channel 4's comedy programme Chelmsford 123, showed the TARDIS materialising in the background in one scene. The Doctor briefly stepped out before going back in and dematerialising.

Films

  • In the 1985 Lego stop-motion animation (brick film as dubbed by Lego enthusiasts), The Magic Portal has three Lego minifigures who find themselves outside of their Lego universe and in the human world, via the use of the mysterious titular "Magic Portal". They are then subsequently attacked by a squad of "Daleks" (who are in fact made from a combination of a tippex bottles and screws).

Comics

Marvel UK

  • In Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 218 (1987), Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Sergeant-Major Benton appear with the British Army.
  • Professor Alistaire Stuart and Brigadier Alysande Stuart of the Weird Happenings Organisation (W.H.O., a nod to UNIT and Doctor Who) are introduced in Excalibur Vol 1 6 (1989). Alistaire Stuart mentions meeting someone from Gallifrey in Excalibur Vol 1 25 (1990).
  • A Dalek appears in Excalibur Vol 1 14 (1989).
  • In Fantastic Four Vol 1 324 (1989), Kang the Conqueror's time-ship makes a "TARDIS!" sound effect

Other comics

  • In Warp #3 (1983), Valaria worships her insect goddess Kuthalu, which shares an identical appearance to a Wirrn.
  • In Masters of the Universe Adventure Magazine #3 (1987), a time travelling doctor named Hart-Nell passed through Chronos Canyon in his Time Box. This created "winds of time" with the magic embedded in the stones of Eternia.

Prose

Out-of-universe references

These references are to Doctor Who (or one of its spin-offs) as works of fiction. They merely establish that fiction about the Doctor or the Daleks exists in the fictional universe of the story, as it does in the real world.

Television