History Trivia / DoctorWho

* IKnewIt:
** In his recap of the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E12BadWolf second-to-last episode]] of the first season of [=NuWho=], Jacob of ''Website/TelevisionWithoutPity'' incorporated a lengthy rant on Gnosticism and the [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory parallels thereto]] in the revived series. He concluded from this analysis that, among other things, the season finale would have to involve the Doctor as the Devil battling a "fake bastard God" and being saved by a female character ("I hope it's the TARDIS, but it's probably Rose") as the incarnation of the goddess of wisdom. In his recap of the actual [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays finale]], he doesn't so much gloat as express relief that he doesn't look insane.
** The return of the Master in the new series. Granted, this got more and more obvious as the show went on, but some fans had this figured out from the trailer. Others had this worked out even before that [[EpilepticTrees based on what DVD box sets of the classic series the BBC was releasing.]] (The box set in question being the "New Beginnings" trilogy, which returned the Master to recurring character status in the original series.) Others rejected this theory because they felt that Creator/TheBBC wouldn't be "that obvious".
** In possibly the most extreme example, the possible connection between Jack Harkness and [[spoiler:the Face of Boe]] was predicted ahead of time.
** [[FounderOfTheKingdom Rassilon]] turning out to be evil in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime The End of Time]]" was this for many fans. "[[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors The Five Doctors]]" and much ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' material had already depicted him as fairly shady.
** There was a theory that in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E5FleshAndStone "Flesh and Stone"]], the reason that the Doctor was wearing the jacket that he had just lost wasn't because of continuity errors, but because he was actually the Doctor from the future who had come back in time to talk to Amy. Those who subscribed to this theory were entirely correct.
** Creator/ArthurDarvill had several guesses as to River Song's true identity before it was revealed on the show, and would sometimes bug Creator/AlexKingston with them on set (she being the only person other than Moffat who knew). Eventually he guessed right, and she just said [[spoiler:"Hello, Dad."]] He wasn't the only one who predicted this, though, as quite a few fans speculated the same thing.
** And on the subject of River, it was widely suggested that the "good man" that River killed would turn out to be [[spoiler:the Doctor himself]] — it was. He survived.
** How many jokes were there about [[spoiler:the Statue of Liberty being a Weeping Angel]] before [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E5TheAngelsTakeManhattan "The Angels Take Manhattan"]]? ''A lot''. How horrified was everyone that the jokes were right? ''Very''.
** A few fans successfully guessed the revelation regarding Clara in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E13TheNameOfTheDoctor The Name of the Doctor]]": [[spoiler:that the modern London Clara is the original and somehow ends up splintered across time to save the Doctor's life countless times.]]
** After he first appeared in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E13TheNameOfTheDoctor The Name of the Doctor]]", fans speculated that [[spoiler:the War Doctor was a previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor from between his eighth and ninth incarnations]]. The minisode "[[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor The Night of the Doctor]]" proved this to be true.
** Missy's identity, which was revealed at the end of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E11DarkWater Dark Water]]", was correctly guessed ahead of time by savvy fans.
** Although the actual mechanics remained unspoiled, many fans predicted Clara's death at the end of Series 9 as early as the end of Series 8, though granted some expected her to die (as was actually originally planned) in the 2014 Christmas special.
** The official synopsis of post-Series 9 ChristmasEpisode [[Recap/DoctorWho2015CSTheHusbandsOfRiverSong "The Husbands of River Song"]] triggered predictions/fears that it would reveal [[spoiler: the circumstances of the Doctor and River Song's last night together]], and it did. However, the episode ended on a twist no one saw coming: [[spoiler:said night on Darillium lasts '''24 years''' in Earth/human time]]!
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E11WorldEnoughAndTime "World Enough and Time"]]:
*** Some fans figured Creator/StevenMoffat would kill off Bill because he was about to leave the show and would likely sweep the chessboard clean for Creator/ChrisChibnall. That, and they know [[AnyoneCanDie what to expect]] with Moffat by this point, and it made sense he would have one last crack at killing off a beloved character... though from there other fans correctly guessed that there would be more to Bill's fate than the {{Cliffhanger}} teased!
*** Because of the fake-out regeneration in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E8TheLieOfTheLand "The Lie of the Land"]], when the Doctor appeared to be dying in the opening sequence, a lot of people expected another tease of a regeneration, only for real this time.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E12TheDoctorFalls "The Doctor Falls"]]:
*** Quite a few fans predicted that Bill would be rescued from her fate by Heather from [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E1ThePilot "The Pilot"]] given the latter character's established shapeshifting and time-and-space travelling abilities ''and'' the fact that [[LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt just killing off a companion for good just isn't in the revival's wheelhouse]]. Eagle-eyed viewers even caught a hint of {{Foreshadowing}} in the previous episode when she appeared in the window Bill was glancing out of!
*** After David Bradley's return was spoiled by newspapers, many fans correctly guessed he would appear as the First Doctor — after his turn as William Hartnell in ''Film/AnAdventureInSpaceAndTime'' — in the final scene.
** [[Recap/DoctorWho2017CSTwiceUponATime "Twice Upon a Time"]]: Long before the special aired, most fans figured that the Captain, who was not named in the pre-publicity, was somehow related to {{the Brigadier}}. The reveal of his name near the end confirmed him as a member of the Lethbridge-Stewart family.
** [[Recap/DoctorWho2019NYSResolution "Resolution"]]: Despite the advertising going to considerable lengths (until Christmas Day, anyway) in avoiding the revelation of who or what "the most dangerous creature in the universe" was, that description was enough for many to figure out [[ArchEnemy just who the Doctor was talking about]].
** When the first photos of Creator/NeilPatrickHarris's character in the 60th anniversary specials were revealed, the most common guess was he was playing the Celestial Toymaker, a First Doctor foe who [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome hadn't be seen]] since then, based off of him wearing what looked like toymaker attire and being in a workshop. This was confirmed to be the case on September 22.

** Averted with Barbara Wright, also in [[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS4E5E6DeathOfTheDoctor "Death of the Doctor"]]. Sarah Jane mentions that Barbara and Ian are married, still teaching, and haven't aged since TheSixties. This episode aired in 2010. Barbara's actress, Creator/JacquelineHill, died in 1993.
*** FridgeHorror kicks in when you realize that them not aging is really surreal and will likely never be explained, and this show has already explored the angst of human immortals. At least they have each other.
*** [[spoiler:Ian makes a reappearance in [[Recap/DoctorWho2022CENThePowerOfTheDoctor "The Power of the Doctor"]], where he looks his chronological age, suggesting it's finally caught up with him - which is a FridgeHorror all its own.]]

*** Creator/TomBaker came up with the Fourth Doctor offering Sarah Jane jelly babies and they [[CatchPhrase ran with it]]. [[note]]While Baker may have been a big fan of Jelly babies, they were first seen in possession of the Second Doctor, who offered one to the Brigadier the second time they showed up.[[/note]] The fact that Tom Baker's favourite jelly babies were the orange ones was eventually written into the character in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E6TheInvasionOfTime "The Invasion of Time"]]. Also, the AttentionWhore characteristics written into the character from Season 15 onward were added in when the crew realised they weren't able to stop Tom Baker [[LargeHam hamming it up for attention]] any more.

She suggested Thirteen's first words of "Oh, brilliant!", as it really is something she says a lot herself. She also stated prior to her first full series that she'd try to fit in another expression she often uses, "Ace!"[[note]]Funnily enough, this was already something of a CatchPhrase for the companion ''named'' Ace, much to the confusion of anyone unfamiliar with the saying.[[/note]]\\\

** Fandom MemeticMutation would have it that the Dalek that shoots the Doctor in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth "The Stolen Earth"]], nicknamed "Dalek Fred", didn't shout [[{{Catchphrase}} "EXTERMINATE!"]] before doing so. Re-watching the episode reveals otherwise.

** The Fourth Doctor's regeneration into the Fifth had the conceit that the Doctor was deliriously thinking he was still in his own past regenerations, allowing Creator/PeterDavison the opportunity to [[ContinuityCavalcade show off his gift for impressions]] as he played the first four Doctors.

** Creator/AlexKingston was the ''only'' person aside from Creator/StevenMoffat that knew the extent of River Song's arc and the events which occurred in it before the readthroughs. In her debut story [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E8SilenceInTheLibrary "Silence in the Library"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E9ForestOfTheDead "Forest of the Dead"]], Creator/DavidTennant had no idea what was going on and was forced to come up with own ideas as to who the Doctor believed River Song to be. He famously said he acted under the assumption that the Doctor believed River was an older, [[GenderBender gender-bent]] regeneration of his because even though that made no sense, it was the most logical thing he could think of. Similarly, Creator/MattSmith (The Eleventh Doctor), Creator/KarenGillan (Amy), and Creator/ArthurDarvill (Rory) were completely unaware and were given the heads-up only when filming was about to happen for the scene in which River's identity was revealed in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar "A Good Man Goes to War"]].

** When the first photos of Creator/NeilPatrickHarris's character in the 60th anniversary specials were revealed, the most common guess was he was playing the Celestial Toymaker, a First Doctor foe who [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome hadn't be seen]] since then, based off of him wearing what looked like toymaker attire and being in a workshop. This was confirmed to be the case shortly before the specials aired.

** Creator/RussellTDavies wrote the Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures novel ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresDamagedGoods Damaged Goods]]'', and had Vince in the British ''Series/QueerAsFolk'' be a ''Who'' fan.

* TheWikiRule: [[http://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Doctor_Who_Wiki TARDIS Data Core]].

[[folder:Trope Names]]
!!{{Trope Namer|s}} for:
* AliensOfLondon: [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E4AliensOfLondon Episode of the same name.]]
* BiggerOnTheInside: Well, aren't ''you'' going to say it about the TARDIS? Everyone else does.
* Bowties Are Cool ([[Administrivia/NotATrope trope status now revoked]]): {{Catchphrase}} of the Eleventh Doctor which went [[MemeticMutation memetic]] overnight. Unfortunately, it proved to be nothing more than an over-glorified and empty statement that [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs people wear bowties]].
* TheBrigadier: Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, recurring character in the classic series.
* ChangedMyJumper: I've changed my jumper! ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E3TheUnquietDead "The Unquiet Dead"]])
* DoctorWhomage
* EverybodyLives: Everybody lives, Rose! Just this once, everybody lives! ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E10TheDoctorDances "The Doctor Dances"]])
* FiveRoundsRapid: Chap with wings, there. Five rounds rapid. ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E5TheDaemons "The Dæmons"]])
* ImmuneToBullets: Just once, I'd like to meet an alien menace that wasn't immune to bullets! ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot "Robot"]])
* LivingShadow: [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E8SilenceInTheLibrary "Silence in the Library"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E9ForestOfTheDead "Forest of the Dead"]]
* MindProbe: No, ''not'' the mind ''probe''. ([[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors "The Five Doctors"]])
* TheMissusAndTheEx: Welcome to every man's worst nightmare. ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion "School Reunion"]])
* TheNthDoctor: The concept of regeneration employed by the show, where a character's actor is replaced, with justification for the change in appearance.
* PerceptionFilter: [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E11BoomTown "Boom Town"]]
* ReverseThePolarity: {{Catchphrase}} of the Third Doctor.
* ASharedSuffering: [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E6TheDoctorsDaughter "The Doctor's Daughter"]]
* TheSlowPath: [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E4TheGirlInTheFireplace "The Girl in the Fireplace"]]
* TimeAndRelativeDimensionsInSpace: Or "Dimension", depending on what era.
* WMG/TimeLord (WMG page)
* TimeyWimeyBall: Of wibbly-wobbly... er... stuff. ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E10Blink "Blink"]])[[note]]"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff."[[/note]]
[[/folder]]

** Creator/JodieWhittaker was nearly cast in a guest role in Series 5. When Chris Chibnall became showrunner, she asked if she could play a villain under heavy prosthetics in Series 11, but then he told her there was another role she might be interested in...

*** Some fans figured Moffat would kill off Bill because he was about to leave the show and would likely sweep the chessboard clean for Chris Chibnall. That, and they know [[AnyoneCanDie what to expect]] with Moffat by this point, and it made sense he would have one last crack at killing off a beloved character... though from there other fans correctly guessed that there would be more to Bill's fate than the {{Cliffhanger}} teased!

** According to Chris Chibnall, the show was actually canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the cancelation apparently only lasted for an hour.

** According to Chris Chibnall, the show was actually canceled during the COVID-19 pandeomic. Though the cancelation apparently only lasted for an hour.

* CreatorChosenCasting:
** Creator/ColinBaker was cast as the Sixth Doctor without an audition, as he was the only actor considered for the part.
** Creator/RussellTDavies didn't audition anyone for the Tenth Doctor, as he knew that Creator/DavidTennant would be perfect having worked with him on ''Series/{{Casanova}}''.
** Creator/StevenMoffat cast Creator/MattSmith based on his audition for ''Series/{{Sherlock}}''. He originally planned that the Eleventh Doctor would be older, but he felt that Smith perfectly embodied the role. He planned to cast Creator/PeterCapaldi, who would succeed Smith.
** Creator/ChrisChibnall cast Creator/JodieWhittaker having worked with her on ''Series/{{Broadchurch}}''.

* DiedDuringProduction:

** The 1985-86 hiatus.

* DarkHorseCasting: Most of the Doctors have had varying degrees of experience and recognition. Probably the least well-known at the time of casting was Creator/MattSmith, who didn't even have an Website/{{IMDB}} page prior to the series, despite some television roles[[note]]This is largely due to the website's recurring difficulty in tracking different people with the same name.[[/note]] Creator/ColinBaker was primarily well-known for acting in theatre, Creator/SylvesterMcCoy was better known for performance art and presenting than acting and Creator/DavidTennant was little-known at the time of his casting.

** After his surprise return in Series 12, John Barrowman got a bit salty about how the show finally had someone in charge who appreciated Jack, apparently a dig at Steven Moffat never taking advantage of his long-standing offer to drop anything on his plate and return to the show whenever they wanted him.

!!Trivia "tropes"

** The show's original producer Creator/VerityLambert was critical of the show after her tenure. She particuarly disliked the Pertwee-era, finding the idea of the Doctor working for the military unbelivable. By the late eighties, she felt it had become self-parody.

** While no one has nice things to say about the classic series' cancelation, Sylvester McCoy was particularly taken back, having already had his arm twisted to stay on a fourth year.