Home
TV
Sci-fi
Doctor Who fans may have been using the wrong episode titles for decades

Doctor Who fans may have been using the wrong episode titles for decades

Doctor Who and the Mysterious Titling Conundrum

Huw Fullerton

Published: Tuesday, 10 September 2019 at 4:07 pm

What do you call the formative episodes of BBC sci-fi classic Doctor Who? It might seem like an easy question to answer – they have names, after all – but one Doctor Who author and fan has now revealed that exactly WHAT some serials of Who’s classic series are called is up for dispute.

Confused? Well, apparently all Whovians have been too for the last half-century. You see, according to Jonathan Morris – an author of multiple Who books, audio plays and a longtime fan of the series’ history who recently unearthed the Dutch Dalek Scandal – records suggest that a lot of Doctor Who’s earliest serials starring the First and Second Doctors have been misnamed for decades.

Morris argued that, based on shooting scripts, Radio Times listings (you’re welcome) and some onscreen title cards, a huge collection of classic episodes (for example The Savages, The Macra Terror, The Mind Robber and The Web of Fear) originally started with the prefix “Doctor Who and…” despite no-one actually using that nomenclature today.

Still confused? OK, we’d better let him explain it himself on Twitter…

Want to see this content?

This page contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as Twitter may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose 'Accept and continue' to allow Twitter and its required purposes.

Accept and continue

Want to see this content?

Accept and continue

Want to see this content?

Accept and continue

Want to see this content?

Accept and continue

Want to see this content?

Accept and continue

Want to see this content?

Accept and continue

Want to see this content?

Accept and continue

Want to see this content?

Accept and continue

Want to see this content?

Accept and continue

Phew! Long thread over.

Put simply, this run of Doctor Who episodes is so confusingly and inconsistently named, we’d probably need a Time Lord ourselves to iron it all out and set the record straight. Assuming Gallifrey has access to IMDB and Wikipedia to make edits anyway.

Doctor Who returns to BBC1 in 2020

Authors

Radio Times commissioning editor Huw Fullerton. He sits in front of a shelving unit, looking at the camera and smiling. He wears glasses and has a moustache

Huw FullertonCommissioning editor

Huw Fullerton is a commissioning editor for Radio Times magazine handling comedy, entertainment and specialist drama. In a previous regeneration, he covered all things sci-fi and fantasy for RadioTimes.com.

Visit us on Twitter

Get the Christmas double issue

Too much to watch at Christmas? Let Radio Times do the choosing to find something the whole family will enjoy.

Subscribe by 3 Dec