Posted in: BBC, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: bbc, comedy, doctor who, Jenna Colman, peter capaldi, russell t davies, steven moffat

Doctor Who: Travels to the Past Saw Some of Show's Funniest Moments

In Doctor Who, time travel stories to the past were intended to teach kids about History - and featured some of the show's funniest moments.

It's funny that when we think about Doctor Who, we usually think of aliens like the Daleks or Cybermen invading contemporary London or traveling to some sleek but dystopia future but stories set in the past are thought about slightly less. Time travel was always the first and main selling point of Doctor Who. The thing is, past history stories often feature the best-written, wackiest, and funniest stories in the series.

When Doctor Who was created in 1963, its brief was in line with the BBC's ethos to educate and inform through entertainment, and the series was designed to teach kids about history and Science. For history, it would involve The Doctor and companions traveling to an important period like Revolutionary France or Rome or Pompeii just before the volcano erupted. The first story in the series was about traveling back to the prehistoric era and helping the cavemen discover fire, after all – which kicks off the rest of human history.

In Doctor Who, Comedy is the Ultimate Disguise and Sugar-Coating

There might be a reason historical stories are outnumbered by stories set in the present – period dramas are expensive! In the film and television industry, a period drama immediately adds 40% to the budget because of the sets, locations, costumes, and props that need to be paid for. In the old days of Doctor Who, they either used hastily and cheaply constructed sets or standing sets from other dramas being shot at the time. What the writers often did was cover up any budgetary limitations with witty, funny scripts. "The Romans" was the first deliberately funny story in the 1960s era. In "The Chase," it turns out that The TARDIS and the Daleks materializing on the Marie Celeste was what caused the panicked crewmen to jump overboard and leave the ship "mysteriously" abandoned. The modern era that Russell T. Davies brought in doubled down on the knowing comedy in the historical stories, which Steven Moffat was more than happy to lean even deeper into, like Clara (Jenna Colman) fangirling over meeting Robin Hood or the Twelfth Doctor's (Peter Capaldi) funny and true lament about Jesus being whitewashed by the history books.

And guess what? Doctor Who still teaches kids about history – daring to sneak in those pesky facts!

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