History JustForFun / InspectorSpacetime

* DramaticUnmask: In climax of the 60th anniversary special “Scriggle”, the Fourteenth Inspector (played by Christopher Obi) rips of his [[LatexPerfection perfect disguise]] to reveal he was the Fifteenth Inspector (played by Creator/RahulKohli) all along.

* ArmouredClosetGay: Almost the whole of steadfast, manly military man Captain James Haggard's story arc is his inspiring journey as he tries to come to terms with his own pansexuality. It's heartbreaking to watch him struggle with his internalised homophobia, but the writers pull it off brilliantly.

* ArmouredClosetGay: Almost the whole of steadfast, manly military man Captain James Haggard's story arc is his inspiring journey as he tries to come to terms with his own [[AnythingThatMoves pansexuality]]. It's heartbreaking to watch him struggle with his internalised homophobia, but the writers pull it off brilliantly.

** The 50th anniversary in 2012: "The Night of the Inspector" unites the Inspector's four most recent incarnations; and "The Golden Jubilee of the Inspector" 2012 Christmas Special sees them encounter [[HistoricalDomainCharacter historical personages]] like UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria and [[BadassNative Black Elk]] (in the suspenseful 1887 storyline during her 50th anniversary) and celebrities like Music/TomJones and [[DragQueen Dame Edna Everage]] (in the comic 2002 one during UsefulNotes/ElizabethII's).

* DoesNotLikeShoes: In "Fry and Laurie", everyone has to go barefoot at the solar medical facility due to extremely prejudiced sanitation rules, except for the Inspector, who dons a special set of health regulation meeting antiseptic booties. Joanna, however, is ''very'' happy to run around in her bare feet due to her [[EarthyBarefootCharacter country roots]], bellowing "Shoeless by the Sun!" while wiggling her toes in the astroturf.
** She actually leaves the facility still barefooted and the Inspector has to go back and pick up her shoes, accidentally going back too far in time and handing them off to her before they officially met, creating a StableTimeLoop. After the Inspector shows her inside the Booth and mentions the astroturf room of his own, Joanna just kicks her shoes off again and tries to explore the time machine barefoot... only to find herself reaching for her shoes in a heartbeat when she sees there's no rooms at all but the one space. Turns out the Inspector tricked her to curb that habit.
** Later becomes a CallBack and a BrickJoke in "First of the Inspectors": As Joanna leaves the Booth, she kicks her shoes off once more and gives them to the Inspector:
-->'''Joanna:''' A parting gift. Wore 'em out during my time on the Moon. Just like I'm sick of you, I'm sick of shoes. I've always wanted to [[WalkingTheEarth walk the Earth]], and I planned on doing it barefoot. What's the point of exploring greener pastures if I can't enjoy that green grass under my toes? But... if guess if you wanna find me, just place these kicks on my doorstep. I know your dress code. Shoes required in the Booth.
-->'''Inspector:''' Fine by me.
-->'''Joanna:''' I'm not in the mood to meet again soon. Just surprise me in the future, cowboy.
** Her abandonment of shoes becomes symbolic of her relationship with Minnie Smythe when Minnie also throws out her shoes and the two of them walk off into the sunset holding hands with the soles of their feet caked in mud. The two of them never wear shoes again, staying perpetually barefoot in every appearance after the Series 3 finale, which works out to their advantage in the Series 4 finale when the Blorgons are lured into a trap by their footprint heat signatures. In their final appearance in "The Last Minutes", they've become widely known as "The Barefoot Bounty Hunters" and even wear their wedding rings on their toes. As the Tenth Inspector is about to metamorphosise, he drops off their old discarded shoes and then limps away. They both figure out that this is his final goodbye to them and they won't be getting back on the Booth again.

* OnlyAFleshWound: Justified since the literally heartless Infinity Knights' [[BizarreAlienBiology decentralised vascular system]], first confirmed in the Third Inspector serial "Vanguard of the Void", means that he takes somewhat less damage from chest wounds and hydrostatic shock.

** OurGhostsAreDifferent: The so-called "ghost in the machine" haunting the starliner in "Journey of the Blessed" turns out to be [[spoiler: Maura]].
** OurMermaidsAreDifferent: In "The Ocean Demons", the Inspector discovers that [[TheBarnum P. T. Barnum]]'s "Feejee Mermaid" is not a taxidermal hoax but an extraterrestrial aquatic humanoid--and that its fellow half-fish aliens want it back.
** OurVampiresAreDifferent: The ones in "Vampires From Space!" have figured out that sunlight doesn't bother them during FTL interstellar travel.
** OurZombiesAreDifferent: Blackbeard's [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies Voodoo-reanimated pirate crew]] in "The Zombie Navy" is revealed to be [[spoiler: [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks amusement park]] [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot "robotronics"]] modified by the Circuit-Chaps]].

** In the first, and greatest, of the programme's many chase sequences, "The Marathon Pursuit" has the Inspector tracking Blorgons over time and space, including Virginia's Roanoke colony in 1590, London's Crystal Palace in 1936, and a [[TheWildWest Wild West]] railway heist[[note]] actually the film set of the 1903 {{Western}} ''Film/TheGreatTrainRobbery''[[/note]], until he finally apprehends them on the [[SingleBiomePlanet swamp planet Mucidus]] in the third millennium CE.

Early in the series' run whilst it was gaining popularity, an American studio obtained film rights to the series. The movie version notably [[AlternateContinuity isn't canon with the TV series]] and controversially changed many aspects of the series' mythology, for example changing the Inspector from an Infinity Knight to a human police officer literally named "Spacetime" and re-inventing the Blorgons as malfunctioning peacekeeping robots. For these reasons (and others) fans don't like to talk about this adaptation. (Except for the fact that its star Creator/ChristopherLee soon became the Second Inspector.)

* The series ''Schooled'', aimed at young children but with some concessions towards adults. The show focused largely on [[EdutainmentShow edutainment]] as opposed to interpersonal relationship drama, and was noted for its relatively strong ties to the main show's canon.

** [[TheFundamentalist Aliens as Fundamentalists]]: The Intelligent Designers of "Spectre Night" are convinced their [[AppliedPhlebotinum DNA-diviner]] can reveal a [[DanBrowned Gnostic message hidden in the genetic code]] of the kidnapped descendants of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.

* DistractedByTheSexy: Associate Petula was a frequent cause of this, sometimes deliberately [[WeNeedADistraction when her go-go dance routines were used to distract guards]], sometimes by [[SexyWalk simply walking past]].

* TheWatson: the Inspector's many Associates, including the newest, Temporary Constable Geneva. His recent Associates in the new seasons also include:

* HotScientist: Too many examples to count, of both genders, though the Wisewench of Barbartron IV is probably one of the high points, especially when compared to the FanDisservice displayed by her monarch-employer.

* KillEmAll: Very tragically in "A Spacetime Musical":
-->'''The Ninth Inspector:''' No... no... please don't give me a night like this. I don't want it... ''(quietly, holding back tears)'' Everyone's dead, Lily... Once again... Everyone's dead.

* DistractedByTheSexy: Associate Petula was a frequent cause of this, sometimes deliberately [[WeNeedADistraction when her go-go dance routines were used to distract guards]], sometimes by simply walking past.

** "The Internal Investigation of the Inspector" arc, obviously. By the end, the proceedings had gotten a [[KangarooCourt bit silly]], but that might have been the [[CourtroomAntic Inspector's plan]] all along.

** The 50th anniversary in 2012: "The Night of the Inspector" unites the Inspector's four most recent incarnations; and "The Golden Jubilee of the Inspector" 2012 Christmas Special sees them encounter [[HistoricalDomainCharacter historical personages]] like UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria and [[BadassNative Black Elk]] (in the suspenseful 1887 storyline during her 50th anniversary) and celebrities like Music/TomJones and [[DragQueen Dame Edna Everage]] (in the comic 2002 one during [[UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen Elizabeth II's]]).

* LizardFolk: “Reptaliens” (reptilian aliens) are a staple of the programme, e.g. the saurian Eocenes and their aquatic brethren, the Ocean Demons, the [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent abhorrent]] Serpentians, and the scaly-armored Venusian Sulphur Soldiers. Also, [[spoiler: [[UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen Queen Elizabeth II]] in the episode "The Humans of Westminster" (HMQ is not a fan)]].

* EverybodyLives: The Fifth Inspector's final serial "The Hills of Androgyny", where the Inspector saves the eponymous paradise from [[GreenAesop environmental destruction]] without a single death. Except her own. And of course, she recovered.

* EverybodyLives: The Fifth Inspector's final serial "The Hills of Androgyny", where the Inspector saves the [[MarySuetopia eponymous paradise]] from [[GreenAesop environmental destruction]] without a single death. Except her own. And of course, she recovered.