History YMMV / DoctorWhoS27E12BadWolf

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Creator/RussellTDavies fully admitted that this episode would not age well when the episode aired. As of 2022, the UK version of ''Series/BigBrother'' is still going, but has been increasingly been pushed aside by other game shows, and has been tossed around multiple channels (started life on ''Creator/Channel4'', then move to [=Channel 5=], then to [=ITV2=]) with an increasingly shrinking audience, while ''Series/TheWeakestLink'' was cancelled in 2012, but returned in 2021 with a new host. ''Series/WhatNotToWear'' is '''extremely''' obscure to modern viewers, never really being popular in 2005, and was cancelled in 2013, while ''Series/GroundForce'', a gardening show, was cancelled ''the week after the episode aired!''. The reference to ''Series/{{Wipeout|1988}}'' is obviously one to the '98 game show, but the ambiguity could equally apply to the newer ''Series/{{Wipeout|2008}}'' series.

** This wouldn't be the last time Patterson Joseph (Roderick's actor) appeared on TV playing the role of a quiz show contestant - he was also Simon on the "Numberwang" sketches in ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook''.

* MisaimedFandom: When the episode aired, fans and critics talked of how funny it was for the spoofs of the various reality shows to be used as an example of how vapid and horrible they were. This came as a surprise to Creator/RussellTDavies as he ''liked'' these shows and put them in as a ''tribute''.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Creator/RussellTDavies fully admitted that this episode would not age well when the episode aired. As of 2022, the UK version of ''Series/BigBrother'' is still going, but has been increasingly been pushed aside by other game shows, and has been tossed around multiple channels (started life on ''Creator/Channel4'', then move to [=Channel 5=], then to [=ITV-3=]) with an increasingly shrinking audience, while ''Series/TheWeakestLink'' was cancelled in 2012, but returned in 2021 with a new host. ''Series/WhatNotToWear'' is '''extremely''' obscure to modern viewers, never really being popular in 2005, and was cancelled in 2013, while ''Series/GroundForce'', a gardening show, was cancelled ''the week after the episode aired!''. The reference to ''Series/{{Wipeout|1988}}'' is obviously one to the '98 game show, but the ambiguity could equally apply to the newer ''Series/{{Wipeout|2008}}'' series.

** This wouldn't be the last time Patterson Joseph (Roderick's actor) appeared on TV as a quiz show contestant - he was also Simon on the "Numberwang" sketches in ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook''.

* {{Narm}}: Captain Jack's very over-the-top yell of "'''YOU KILLED HER, YOUR STUPID [[GoshdarnItToHeck FREAKING]] GAME SHOW KILLED HER!'''" becomes this when you know that [[HesJustHiding Rose isn't really dead]], and also for the fact that he sounds more like a teenager throwing a tantrum than a man who's just watched a friend die.

* {{Narm}}: Captain Jack's very over-the-top yell of "'''YOU KILLED HER, YOUR STUPID [[GoshdarnItToHeck FREAKING]] GAME SHOW KILLED HER!'''" becomes this when you know that [[HesJustHiding Rose isn't really dead]].

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Creator/RussellTDavies fully admitted that this episode would not age well when the episode aired. As of 2022, the UK version of ''Series/BigBrother'' is still going, but has been increasingly been pushed aside by other game shows, and has been tossed around multiple channels (started life on ''Creator/Channel4'', then move to [=Channel 5=], then to [=ITV-3=]) with an increasingly shrinking audience, while ''Series/TheWeakestLink'' was cancelled in 2012, but returned in 2021 with a new host. ''Series/WhatNotToWear'' is '''extremely''' obscure to modern viewers, never really being popular in 2005, and was cancelled in 2013, while ''Series/GroundForce'', a gardening program, was cancelled ''the week after the episode aired!''. The reference to ''Series/{{Wipeout|1988}}'' is obviously one to the '98 game show, but the ambiguity could equally apply to the newer ''Series/{{Wipeout|2008}}'' series.

* DesignatedVillain: While Roderik is a bit of a jerk he is, like all the other players, just trying to survive the game. And while Rose treats him as horrible because of the way he is voting, he points out he wants to go against her at the end so he doesn't get disintegrated. Bear in mind it's very likely all the contestants were forced into this game. Slightly justified, however, since he doesn't show any regret about killing other participants, but is actually quite gleeful about it. Every other participants we see is stressed and scared of the situation, and we even see them being supportive to each other, while Roderick only thinks about how much money he's going to win. It could be argued that he is basically just a PragmaticVillain.

* WereStillRelevantDammit: The episode features pastiches of the reality shows and game shows of 2005. This had a certain RealitySubtext - these reality shows were what pushed homegrown drama off the air and made producers so sceptical about bringing ''Doctor Who'' back, and now the Doctor is fighting them! - but also has a faintly desperate air, as if by dropping the Doctor into a world based on the current TV landscape he'll begin to belong there after all these years[[note]]Though, as mentioned above, Russell T. Davies ''didn't'' intend the episode to be a TakeThat towards these shows[[/note]].

* MisaimedFandom: When the episode aired, fans and critics talked of how funny it was for the spoofs of the various reality shows to be used as an example of how vapid and horrible they were. This came as a surprise to Creator/RussellTDavies as he ''liked'' these shows and put them in as a ''tribute.''
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Technically downplayed, as Creator/RussellTDavies fully admitted when the episode aired that he was under no illusions that it would age well. That being said, this trope doesn't apply ''quite'' as much as it could have done, as a decade after its initial airing ''Series/BigBrother'' UK was still going strong (albeit on a minor channel and watched by an increasingly shrinking audience), while ''Series/TheWeakestLink'' had ceased production but made enough of a pop cultural impact that it'll likely be remembered for many years to come. ''Series/WhatNotToWear'' has definitely fallen more into obscurity since 2005, however. The reference to ''Series/{{Wipeout|1988}}'' could equally apply to a newer [[Series/Wipeout2008 2008 U.S. obstacle course game show]] as well.

* DesignatedVillain: While Roderik is a bit of a jerk he is, like all the other players, just trying to survive the game. And while Rose treats him as horrible because of the way he is voting, he points out he wants to go against her at the end so he doesn't get disintegrated. Bear in mind it's very likely all the contestants were forced into this game. Slightly justified, however, since he doesn't show any regret about killing other participants, but is actually quite gleeful about it. Every other participants we see is stressed and scared of the situation, and we even see them being supportive to each other, while Roderick only thinks about how many money he's going to win. It could be argued that he is basically just a PragmaticVillain.

* {{Narm}}: Captain Jack's very over-the-top yell of "'''YOU KILLED HER, YOUR STUPID FREAKING GAME SHOW KILLED HER!'''" becomes this when you know that [[HesJustHiding Rose isn't really dead]].

* WereStillRelevantDammit: The episode features pastiches of the reality shows and game shows of 2005. This had a certain RealitySubtext - these reality shows were what pushed homegrown drama off the air and made producers so sceptical about bringing ''Doctor Who'' back, and now the Doctor is fighting them! - but also has a faintly desperate air, as if by dropping the Doctor into a world based on the current TV landscape he'll begin to belong there after all these years[[note]]Though, as mentioned above, Russell T. Davies ''didn't'' intend the episode to be a TakeThat towards these shows[[/note]].

* WereStillRelevantDammit: The episode features pastiches of the reality shows and game shows of 2005. This had a certain RealitySubtext - these reality shows were what pushed homegrown drama off the air and made producers so sceptical about bringing ''Doctor Who'' back, and now the Doctor is fighting them! - but also has a faintly desperate air, as if by dropping the Doctor into a world based on the current TV landscape he'll begin to belong there after all these years.

* {{Narm}}: Captain Jack's very over-the-top yell of "'''YOU KILLED HER, YOUR STUPID FREAKING GAME SHOW KILLED HER!'''" becomes this when you know that [[spoiler:[[HesJustHiding Rose isn't really dead]]]].

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Although it's the UK version of ''Series/BigBrother'' featured here, all the other game shows featured in this story had robots involved. The United States ''Big Brother'' is well-known for one robot in particular: the Zing-Bot... who is, unfortunately, a mainstay of the ''American'' version of the show, not the United Kingdom version. Sadly, Zing-Bot didn't exist until 2010. It would have been '''fantastic''' to see the Zing-Bot and the Doctor engage in SnarkToSnarkCombat and witness it upgraded into a real threatening piece of work, and ''very'' cathartic to see the Zing-Bot brought down by the Doctor himself, who's having none of it. If only they found a way to work him in (character licensing issues and all that). However, it probably would have made Zing-Bot fans upset to watch their beloved character get torn apart, so there's that.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Although it's the UK version of ''Series/BigBrother'' featured here, all the other game shows featured in this story had robots involved. ''Big Brother'' is well-known for one robot in particular: the Zing-Bot... who is, unfortunately, a mainstay of the ''American'' version of the show, not the United Kingdom version. It would have been '''fantastic''' to see the Zing-Bot and the Doctor engage in SnarkToSnarkCombat and witness it upgraded into a real threatening piece of work, and ''very'' cathartic to see the Zing-Bot brought down by the Doctor himself, who's having none of it. If only they found a way to work him in (character licensing issues and all that). However, it probably would have made Zing-Bot fans upset to watch their beloved character get torn apart, so there's that.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Although it's the UK version of ''Series/BigBrother'' featured here, all the other game shows featured in this story had robots involved. ''Big Brother'' is well-known for one robot in particular: the Zing-Bot... who is, unfortunately, a mainstay of the ''American'' version of the show, not the United Kingdom version. It would have been '''fantastic''' to see the Zing-Bot and the Doctor engage in SnarkToSnarkCombat. If only they found a way to work him in (character licensing issues and all that).

* MisaimedFandom: When the episode aired, fans and critics talked of how funny it was for the spoofs of the various reality shows to be used as an example of how vapid and horrible they were. This came as a surprise to Creator/RussellTDavies as he ''liked'' these shows and put them in as a ''tribute.''