"Bohemian Rhapsody"
"Bohemian Rhapsody" was a song by Freddie Mercury (PROSE: Direct Action) that had an opera-like structure with falsetto singing, a hard rock section in the middle, and a slow, reflective ending. (PROSE: Sick Building)
In a parallel world, Wilfred Mott, Donna Noble, Sylvia Noble, Rocco Colasanto and everyone else living at number 29 on a street in Leeds sang in 2009 on the night that all ATMOS cars emitted gas. They also sang "The Wild Rover" that same night.
Its lyrics included:
- I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me.
- He's just a poor boy from a poor family.
- Spare him his life from this monstrosity.
- Easy come easy go. Will you let me go?
- Bismillah! No—
They were interrupted when UNIT soldiers outside were shooting the cars. (TV: Turn Left)
On Tiermann's World, the Tenth Doctor, Barbara and Toaster attempted to calm a horned bear by singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" to it. (PROSE: Sick Building)
During a storm in Elizabethan London, the Eleventh Doctor began to sing "Bohemian Rhapsody" before being shushed by River Song. (GAME: The Eternity Clock)
The Thirteenth Doctor sang the lyrics "I see a little silhouetto of a man..." when she spotted Rodney Minto in a crowd. (COMIC: The Power of the Mobox)
Behind the scenes
- The operatic part of the song that begins "I see a little silhouetto of a man..." has been featured in the gag reels for both Series 2 of Doctor Who ("sung" by a group of Sycorax), and Series 2 of Torchwood (sung by John Barrowman, Naoko Mori, Burn Gorman and Freema Agyeman).
- In The Christmas Invasion, the placement of the four Sycorax in their video broadcast was based on the "Bohemian Rhapsody" music video.
- Russell Tovey likened the Second Doctor's forced near-regeneration sequence at the end of The War Games to "Bohemian Rhapsody's" famous music video during his narration of The Ultimate Guide.
- Bohemian Rhapsody has been referenced in Doctor Who covers:
FD 1 Forbidden Planet Cover by Joshua Cassara & Luis Guerrero
Radio Times 29 February-6 March 2020