STORIES THAT NAME-CHECK THEMSELVES
Five minutes and nine seconds into the second episode of Doctor Who, the Doctor says ‘Doctor Who’. You’d be surprised how often the stories name-check themselves in the scripts…
Until The Savages, Doctor Who episodes had their own individual titles and soon got into the name-checking game.
The Cave of Skulls
0:17:33 – Za: ‘I will take them to the Cave of Skulls.’
The Firemaker
0:09:50 – Ian: ‘… in our tribe, the firemaker is the least important man.’
The Roof of the World
0:01:58 – Barbara: ‘It could be the Andes… Himalayas – the roof of the world.’
The Singing Sands
0:12:15 – Marco Polo: ‘Travellers of the Gobi Desert have good reason to fear the singing sands, Barbara.’
Five Hundred Eyes
0:07:48 – Marco Polo: ‘Have you heard of the cave of the five hundred eyes?’
Mighty Kublai Khan
0:16:41 – Vizier: ‘The Great Warlord and Master of the World, mighty Kublai Khan is pleased to grant you an audience.’
The Day of Darkness
0:09:54 – Tlotoxl: ‘The day of darkness is the perfect time.’
The Daleks
0:02:35 – Dalek: ‘Survivors of London – the Daleks are the masters of Earth.’
Conspiracy
02:02 – The Doctor: ‘There’s some sort of conspiracy going on, my child…’
The Zarbi
0:10:19 – Vrestin: ‘The Zarbi will treat them as enemies.’
Crater of Needles
0:17:02 – Menoptra Voice: ‘We jettison craft at altitude five above Crater of Needles.’
The Centre
0:01:45 – Animus: ‘You will be brought to the centre.’
The Lion
0:18:16 – El Akir: ‘The Lion is in our cage.’
The Knight of Jaffa
0:13:34 – King Richard: ‘In the name of God, St Michael, and St George, we dub you Sir Ian, Knight of Jaffa.’
Four Hundred Dawns
0:13:55 – Maaga: ‘Some four hundred dawns ago, we were investigating this particular section of the galaxy.’
Airlock
0:19:12 – Maaga: ‘You are in the airlock.’
The Traitors
0:10:16 – Mavic Chen: ‘If the traitors are not caught at the landing zone, then Central City must be cordoned off until they are found.’
The Sea Beggar
0:23:34 – Admiral de Coligny: ‘The Sea Beggar! It’s a title I’d be proud of!’
The Bomb
0:07:34 – Monoid Three: ‘What about the bomb?’
The Dancing Floor
0:00:30 – Toymaker: ‘Hunt the key to fit the door that leads out on the dancing floor.’
Johnny Ringo
0:05:57 – Pa Clanton: ‘Get me Johnny Ringo. Get him quick.’
The OK Corral
0:04:40 – Wyatt Earp: ‘Tell ’em, the OK Corral.’
After The Savages, episode titles disappeared, but the name-checks kept coming.
The Savages
Episode 1, 0:17:38 – Dodo: ‘What, to keep out the savages?’
The War Machines
Episode 3, 0:02:55 – Green: ‘He is a threat to the security of the War Machines!’
The Smugglers
Episode 2, 0:17:20 – Blake: ‘I’m after the smugglers.’
The Moonbase
Episode 1, 0:12:46 – Earth Control: ‘In the meantime, the Moonbase is to be put in quarantine.’
The Abominable Snowmen
Episode 1, 0:17:47 – Travers: ‘The Yeti. You know, the Abominable Snowmen.’
The Dominators
Episode 3, 0:08:14 – Jamie: ‘Aye, well the Dominators don’t know anything about your gentleness.’
The Invasion
Episode 2, 0:20:32 – Cyber-Director: ‘The invasion must succeed.’
The Krotons
Episode 1, 0:01:20 – Selris: ‘You are now the companions of the Krotons!’
The War Games
Episode 7, 0:07:10 – Security Chief: ‘This Doctor arrived here on this planet we have chosen for the war games.’
Inferno
Episode 1, 0:09:20 – Sir Keith Gold: ‘Yes! As a matter of fact, some of the technicians have nicknamed this place the Inferno.’
The Mind of Evil
Episode 6, 0:10:03 – The Doctor: ‘It’s the mind of evil, Jo!’
The Claws of Axos
Episode 4, 0:05:24 – The Doctor: ‘The claws of Axos are already deeply embedded in the Earth’s carcass!’
The Daemons
Episode 3, 0:09:42 – The Doctor: ‘They were all inspired by the Daemons.’
The Curse of Peladon
Episode 1, 0:17:48 – Hepesh: ‘The legend of the curse of Peladon has been handed down through countless centuries.’
The Sea Devils
Episode 4, 0:09:00 – The Doctor: ‘All right, well let’s forget about the Sea Devils.’
The Mutants
Episode 1, 0:14:06 – Marshall: ‘Hmm… the Mutants!’
Carnival of Monsters
Episode 1, 0:04:11 – Vorg: ‘Roll up and see the monster show! A carnival of monsters, all living in their natural habitat, wild in this little box of mine.’
Frontier in Space
Episode 1, 0:09:21 – Draconian Prince: ‘The treaty between our two empires established a frontier in space.’
Robot
Episode 2, 0:01:06 – Sarah: ‘There’s a great robot in there!’
The Brain of Morbius
Episode 4, 0:10:47 – The Doctor: ‘The brain of Morbius in that body makes a terrifying combination.’
The Talons of Weng-Chiang
Episode 6, 0:15:39 – Greel: ‘Let the talons of Weng-Chiang shred your flesh!’
Underworld
Episode 2, 0:09:18 – The Doctor: ‘Welcome to the Underworld.’
The Pirate Planet
Episode 2, 0:23:14 – The Doctor: ‘Buried inside Zanak, the Pirate Planet …’
The Leisure Hive
Episode 1, 0:04:40 – Romana: ‘The survivors build a recreation centre called the Leisure Hive.’
Meglos
Episode 1, 0:12:26 – Meglos: ‘I am Meglos – only survivor of this planet.’
Full Circle
Episode 1, 0:17:13 – Draith: ‘Tell Dexeter we’ve come full circle…’
State of Decay
Episode 2, 0:08:27 – The Doctor: ‘I’ve never seen such a state of decay.’
The Keeper of Traken
Episode 1, 0:03:01 – The Doctor: ‘The Keeper of Traken’
Logopolis
Episode 1, 0:06:13 – The Doctor: ‘Logopolis’
Castrovalva
Episode 2, 0:36:23 – Nyssa: ‘Dwellings of Simplicity. Castrovalva. Where’s that?’
Kinda
Episode 1, 0:03:27 – Todd: ‘The Kinda pose no threat whatsoever to the security of this expedition.’
Black Orchid
Episode 1, 0:11:24 – Lady Cranleigh: ‘The Black Orchid.’
Arc of Infinity
Episode 1, 0:15:42 – Nyssa: ‘Not much. Just the name the ancients gave to this region. The Arc of Infinity.’