Doctor Who

The Robots of Death - S14-E5

Trivia: The deactivation discs for the robots (or "corpse markers" as they are referred to in the script) are not as glamorous or hi-tech as you might think. They are, in fact, bicycle reflector discs, bought from Halford's Cycle Shops.

The War Games - S6-E7

Trivia: In one or two of the location filming scenes, Zoe is seen in the background struggling to hold her trousers up. Her belt broke, but filming was so far behind that the director said to carry on.

Pyramids of Mars - S13-E3

Trivia: The filming location for this story was Stargroves, a country mansion near Newbury in Berkshire. At the time, it was owned by Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones.

Remembrance of the Daleks - S25-E1

Trivia: This story is set weeks after the time frame in which the very first Doctor Who episode, "An Unearthly Child", took place. There is a scene in a house, with a TV in the corner, where the continuity announcer begins to announce the start of a new Saturday early evening science fiction story - it is the announcement which launched Doctor Who - which cuts out just before the title is mentioned.

Jeff Walker

The Daemons - S8-E5

Trivia: The helicopter that explodes into flames and crashes in this episode was simply a piece of stock footage taken from the 1963 James Bond movie From Russia with Love.

The Three Doctors - S10-E1

Trivia: "The Three Doctors" was the last appearance of William Hartnell as the First Doctor. The show was written to include all three actors that had played the role as a way of celebrating the show's 10th anniversary. However, by the time the show was made, William Hartnell was in failing health (due to the debilitating ailment, arterial sclerosis). Because Hartnell was so frail, he could only play the part of the Doctor seated in a chair, reading his lines from cue cards. (The plot device of Hartnell being "caught in a time eddy" was written in to explain why Hartnell was only ever seen in the story on TV monitors). Also due to Hartnell's failing health, his contribution to "The Three Doctors" was limited to one day's filming (Monday 6th November 1972) at the BBC's Ealing Studios. "The Three Doctors" was also the last time Hartnell did any acting: he died two-and-a-half years later, on 24th April 1975, aged 68.

The Invasion - S6-E3

Trivia: In the animated reconstruction, released in 2006, the words "Bad Wolf" can be seen on a wall at one point. The phrase was a major plot point in the first season of the new series, where it turned out in the season finale, "The Parting of the Ways", that companion Rose Tyler had scattered them across time and space as a message to herself while temporarily possessing the power of the entire Time Vortex.

Josman

Inferno - S7-E4

Trivia: A stuntman received a bad leg injury in episode 3 when he was hit by the car Jon Pertwee was driving. Jon felt so bad about it that he became ill himself, which threatened to disrupt filming. (Source: DVD commentary).

Daz

Day of the Daleks: Episode Four - S9-E4

Trivia: This Doctor Who story, first broadcast between April 8th and May 13th 1972, is called "The Mutants." However, the second ever Doctor Who story, first broadcast December 21st 1963 to February 1st 1964, was also known as "The Mutants." Looks as though no-one bothered to check if the title had already been used... of course, since that serial later came to be called "The Daleks", that likely explains it.

Inferno - S7-E4

Trivia: The actor who plays the man falling off the tower after being shot is actually the same actor as the soldier who fired the shot. (Source: DVD commentary).

Daz

The Caves of Androzani - S21-E6

Trivia: On the DVD commentary, Peter Davison remarks that when Christopher Gable whacked him across the face with the back of his hand, it actually hurt quite a bit, even though they'd discussed it beforehand. Davison believes that Gable couldn't see him properly with his mask on, although a more likely explanation is that Gable got too carried away.

Daz

Horror of Fang Rock - S15-E1

Trivia: "Horror of Fang Rock" is a story set in a lighthouse on the British coast. It is therefore ironic that this should be the only Doctor Who story to be shot at the BBC's Pebble Mill TV Studios in Birmingham, as Birmingham is about as far away from the British coast as it is possible to be in England.

The Faceless Ones - S4-E8

Trivia: In the animated version of this story, when we're at the police station, there are some wanted posters on the wall in the background. One of the wanted posters is for the original Master, Roger Delgado.

Captain Defenestrator

The Daleks' Master Plan - S3-E4

Trivia: One of the episodes of this serial, "The Feast of Steven", was broadcast on Christmas Day, 1965, making it the show's first technical Christmas special. Due to expectations of low viewer numbers on the holiday, the episode was made as a humourous romp through 1920s Hollywood, with no connection to the plot of the rest of the serial and the Doctor breaking the fourth wall at the end to wish the viewers a merry Christmas. This is one of two episodes known for certain to be completely lost, having been wiped in the BBC's archive purges.

The Enemy of the World - S5-E4

Trivia: This serial was believed lost until 2013, when all of the episodes were discovered and returned to the BBC. It was subsequently restored and released on DVD.

Trivia: Ridley Scott was the man originally contracted to design The Daleks, but proved unavailable. Raymond Cusick was then given the task. According to the book Doctor Who: The Early Years (1986), Cusick was given just one hour to design The Daleks.

More mistakes in Doctor Who

Terror of the Zygons - S13-E1

The Doctor: You can't rule the world in hiding. You've got to come out on the balcony sometimes and wave a tentacle, if you pardon the expression.

More quotes from Doctor Who

Answer: TARDISes are generally available for properly authorised use on Gallifrey; they're not usually assigned to a particular Timelord on a long-term basis. The Doctor stole his when he left his homeworld.

Tailkinker

More questions & answers from Doctor Who

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