Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder Breakdown - 37 Easter Eggs & References!

[@stordarth]

It's worth remembering that while Donna hasn't seen the doctor for 15 years, it has been muuuuuch longer for the doctor. He was 900 when 10 regenerated, but we know from 12 that he is now at least 2000 years old. That's over a millennium's worth of memories between the first and second doctor Donna. It's very believable that it is simply too much for Donna to remember now besides a few core moments.

[@JMsolidsnake]

Isn't he older then that cause of when he was trapped and kept dieing and reviving until he broke through the crystal and reached the Tardis by punching it over and over?

[@stordarth]

​@@JMsolidsnakeI have heard arguments both for and against this view. But the one point that makes me think he isn't is that the doctor was reset each time. Though he was inside the confession dial for that long, he only recalls the final loop where he breaks out. There is also the implication that the original doctor is long since dead if we take the events within the confession dial as actual physical occurrences and the current doctor is little more than a clone. I prefer to think of the confession dial as more of a mental prison, that keeps his real body in stasis while his mind is tortured. But if you prefer to count that time, then indeed it means he's over 2 billion years old, making Donna even less likely to be able to handle it all.

[@Melina_Evarblume_Seelie]

I'm pretty sure he was more than 900 years old (since he reset his age supposedly) when the original metacrisis happened and Donna had those memories, even though it caused everything that happened after.

[@charg1nmalaz0r51]

@@marcamusprime9513 Honestly this makes more sense, from within the dial it was millions of years, in reality it wasnt. But those years still passed for him so that counts for something even though he doesnt remember any of it, it was still a period of time that happened relatively

[@TheSpicer64]

The Doctor didn't age 5 billion years in the confession dial every time he died it created a copy of The Doctor who was first transported there. 5 billion years passed, but he only aged however long it took the woman to catch up to him

[@PandezPanda]

"My arms are too long" gave me real "who turned out the lights" vibes

[@JaymicTheUnyielding]

One musical easter egg I saw mentioned elsewhere: after the Doctor passes off what happened as "robots, chases, and waterfalls," Donna asks what really happened. He says, "a lot." As he does, Face the Raven plays in the background, implying that he's remembering Clara (the only other person he's called his best friend in the modern series).

[@sheersternfeld1914]

I think that the story of Clara is meant to mirror the story of Donna, so it's really interesting that they did that.

[@serinaclason]

I know that the fact there were no stars, actually took me to Peter Capaldi's 12 Doctor's quote "“No stars… I hoped there’d be stars.”

[@sheersternfeld1914]

In world enough and time, right?

[@SunnyShuklathedoctor]

​@@sheersternfeld1914the doctor falls.

[@sheersternfeld1914]

@@SunnyShuklathedoctor well, I was close enough, I guess?

[@chrisleneil]

The species name should be the Equinox: they are Equine, and also because the equinox is when day and night are of equal length (time is balanced), and the Captain is described as having a very calm mind which means that her thoughts were well-balanced. Really like the idea of a species of exceptionally emotionally-grounded space-faring horses.

[@sheersternfeld1914]

Oh, I love that!

[@queensmum]

Yesss I would love to see them featured in an episode, kind of like how the Ood and the Cat nuns became recurring species on the show. I didn’t notice the details about the writing and the big knobs suitable for horse hooves, the honey drive is also a cool concept. I kind of wish there ran with the more organic style space ship idea although the final design was nice. The flipping panels are sort of reminiscent of the tiny scales on butterfly wings which is pretty cool.

[@DragonXVI]

The Tardis takes the Doctor to where he needs to go not necessarily where he wants to go … depends on the mavity of the situation

[@Logan-hw7mn]

It drives me crazy they didn’t address this

[@ruheemaya7975]

In an interview I think they did, hopefully next episode has it mentioned in detail

[@Logan-hw7mn]

@@ruheemaya7975 any chance you remember the interview? Or at least who was being interviewed?

[@ruheemaya7975]

@@Logan-hw7mn Catherine and David, I think it's the behind the scenes of the episode

[@saltywench]

Donna absolutely remembers everything. She just knows him well enough to know she can't push him to talk by telling him she already knows. It would make him feel violated. She knows she needs to coax it out of him.

[@theblackwidower]

I don't think she does. How could she? She got those memories from The Doctor's hand after he threw some regeneration energy into it. So she got his memories up to the point he sorta-regenerated. How could she possibly get any of his further memories since he last saw her? What would be the mechanism?

[@soundgal_sine_qua_non]

I was so happy when the Doctor said "spoilers" so casually after not hearing it for so long. I have lots of phrases that have stuck around with me long after the people I used them with or learned them from are not actively in my life anymore. It's nice to think that a bit of River is still with the Doctor.

[@lcflngn]

Ikr? 9 yrs since my father passed, and just recently found myself using some of his particular pronunciations & terms. A little melancholy, but mostly just warming & lovely.

[@triforceofcourage100]

I love the fact that the Doctor quickly figuring everything out like he always does was flipped on its head and used as a bad thing here. Nice reversal

[@Swift96]

I don't think the Doctor knew there was a car in the floor. I think he just noticed the pressure plate, and stepped on it to see what it does.

[@TheRealWormbo]

@@marcamusprime9513 It's not an unlikely assumption to make in a long corridor like that.

[@grailwolf]

It might also be a standard thing in starship design that the Doctor has seen before.

[@MastarNinja]

@@TheRealWormbo That was most likely the desired interpretation of that scene. Pretty sure he said something like "If I'm right about this....." before he stepped on the pressure plate, which indicated that he realized who ever built that long corridor probably also built something to travel through it. I doubt he knew it would be a car specifically though.

[@CharmedPop]

I thought he may have reasoned it out. If he's familiar with the horse species, he may have realized that there was a car for Jimbo to drive and the only way he could drive it is if it appeared from underground since he looks too heavy to get up in the vehicle itself. The vehicle had to be Jimbo's too since it had a steering wheel which wouldn't work well with hooves.

[@wheelieblind]

@@CharmedPop I wondered how horse with hooves could even build a ship.

[@grahamcann1761]

The spinning wall also reminded me of "the sofa of reasonable comfort" ("Curse of the Fatal Death"). And, of course, the classic "put the candlestick back" scene in "Young Frankenstein". Plus I'm sure you could easily remember other "spinning wall scenes" from movies. (Including one early comedy with Bernard Cribbins.) As always, thank you so very much for the videos.

[@nancyjay790]

"Our situation has not improved."

[@davidbaker1243]

Also reminds me of Numberwang.

[@judithstrachan9399]

Or the girl in the fireplace.

[@almyvannucci392]

The fact that Isaac Newton was in the episode could be a reference to a conversation that the fourth doctor had with Romana in The Pirate Planet where he tells her that he threw apples at Isaac Newton's head.

[@sophiadc]

Well, THAT'S timey-wimey, wibbly-wobbly!

[@Croftice1]

You know, in this case it was the TARDIS, materialising on top of the tree, shaking the apples on Newton's head. So in a sense the 14th Doctor indirectly did, what the 4th claimed. Would the 4th Doctor remember it? Of course not, when it happens in his future, but then Newton could have a talk with him some time later after this event, from Newton's standpoint it already happend and apparently he had yet to meet the 4th Doctor. This is what's so cool about the concept of time in Doctor Who, past events take priority, it doesn't matter which incarnation "threw the apples on Newton's head", for Newton it happens, then the 14th Doctor just closes the loop, so to speak. Just like Under the lake/Before the flood. Who wrote Beethowen's symphony, if no Beethowen existed? The time traveler himself became Beethowen in the end, because past events take priority. Where did that stuff came from? Obviously from the time traveler, who "wrote" it instead of the real Beethowen. He already had it from his time (which was his past), so he brought it to the past, where he puts Beethowen's name to it, becoming the composer himself. It's not like "it just magically appears out of the blue", it always existed in the traveler's original time. This is how time works in Doctor Who. Time itself is our concept, but to understand time travel, past events, future events, you have to understand the basic flow of the time. There's no need for alternate or non-existent timelines whatsoever, one timeline and a bit of a loop is all you really need. But enough lecturing for today, or my welcome here will be shortlived. XD

[@whedonite81]

My sister has a theory that Donna does remember but can't make sense of it all yet because although it's only been 15 years for Donna it's been much longer The Doctor. It would be a lot of memories, like over a thousand years of memories for her human brain to process. It's likely all in her brain but muddled altogether and it will take her brain time to sort it out.

[@desertrose777]

I'm on the side that Donna does know more than she's letting on but was gently nudging the Doctor into opening up, and just from David's acting, I think the Doctor knows that she's lying or omitting the truth and isn't ready to talk yet. They both just got each other back, so they don't want to push too much, just like the no-thing Donna stated they haven't had a chance to talk, that opinion is from the real Donna's mind.

[@Ladymcmilk]

I agree! It felt like a parallel to Eleven asking Rory "do you ever remember it? Two thousand years?" Rory says no, the Doctor asks if he's lying. Rory says "of course I'm lying." I saw the scene between 14 and Donna as that same conversation, but the Doctor didn't ask if she was lying because he didn't want to know yet.

[@whophd]

The subtlety of the acting was incredibly accurate huh?

[@whophd]

@@Ladymcmilkbrilliant comparison! I like it how Moffat writes the lines like “IT WAS A CLEVER LIE!” and wipes out decades worth of contradictions about Cybermen firing guns in the TARDIS etc etc

[@kandi3361]

I felt like that donna still got all the memorys but cant comprehent due to having a normal human brain again, because those memories were in donna's brain and I don't think the "not thinks" simply mixed it up

[@toasterroast7678]

@@whophdwait what are you on about?

[@veggiet2009]

Regarding #12, when the doctor refers to it as a dispersal system, remember that the TARDIS looked like it had exploded, and then when it materializes it doesn't do so in the usual way, it looks like it emerges out of a cloud of particles in the room, it looks like in that case it actual did *disperse* itself in some sort of vapor within the room, rather than merely running away

[@mason-.]

24:12 Donna and The Doctor were also separated by glass when they reunited in Partners in Crime when they were both investigating the adipose company

[@Captain.AmericaV1]

*RiP Bernard Cribbins.* He was a great character in the Dr Who universe. 🙏

[@philmatin]

I liked seeing the Doctor and Donna just talking. It would have been nice to have seen the two characters just sharing stories whilst the Tardis rebuilds, almost like a flash back episode with a perfect opportunity for past doctors or companions to make appearances through additional scenes or showing things from their points of view. I think for any of us expecting a multi doctor story this was the episode that intrigued us. Looking forward to the Giggle next week. I hope we get to see more of Donna's family.

[@StephenLeGresley]

I still got heavy "Event Horizon" vibes from this special. 1) It's a really long ship with a very similar corridor. 2) It's travelled to unknown area of space and picked up some kind of dark entity that puts our protagonists in danger. 3) The evil force plays on their memories and emotions to break them down while they have to solve the mystery of what happened to the former crew. 4) In both cases the solution is to blow up the ship and they escape the explosion at the last minute. And OMG Bernard Cribbins, you wonderful gem. Rest in Love old Soldier, we can never thank you enough

[@angbald]

I thought the same thing with Event Horizon

[@judithstrachan9399]

Good idea about Wilf, too.

[@Hissyspit]

But Event Horizon took that from 2001 and Solaris.

[@QuantumVLOG]

Donna absolutely knows more than she's letting on, "its like looking at a furnace" implies the memories are there but maybe Donna doesn't know how she can process or help the Doctor go through it aside from just being a friend which could be why she was insisting on The Doctor popping in every now and then for tea

[@PileOfStones]

I think Donna does know and remember more than she lets on, she was being a good friend and saw The Doctor was visibly vulnerable about the new mysteries so she wanted to just give him privacy.

[@adamcarlson2192]

Came across that way too me as well... she could see the pain in her friends eyes, and didn't want to force him to relive it again.

[@maximilianlipp7246]

In fact the Doctor was even there in the new era- sort of. In the Timeless Child, which was mentioned in this episode, Tecteun told the Doctor that she found him on the edge of the universe, close to a portal to the next one...

[@rhysdehaan]

I genuinely thought Donna was going to die when the ship was exploding, because I hadn't seen anymore of Donna past this point in the trailers.

[@JoshPinder92]

Apart from all her scenes with NPH toymaker and with Kate Stewart in the helicopter and her and doctor running up n down hallway in a dollhouse

[@AngelaH2222]

...I'm wondering if this near death experience is what makes Donna able to say Nope to any more adventures with the Doctor, ..she can't risk dying now that she has her daughter

[@SeeJay81]

@@AngelaH2222 I mean she already said that in The Star Beast, that she won't go on any more adventures now that she has a family.

[@siohmy]

I think she is fighting for her life. She hasn’t woken up since she appeared to die when remembering the doctor. I think this was a step into the light moment.

[@polgarauk5606]

Probably been mentioned in the comments but you missed the fact that the little car closley resembles Bessie which was Jon Pertwee's third Doctors car.

[@kendiggs]

I would have bet *my very life* that when you revealed your thought about the rotating wall at 20:34 you were going to say YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. It was an absolute jaw-dropper when you went for Indiana Jones! 😂

[@Ryalst]

I know it’s a minor moment, but when The Doctor faked being poisoned, the way he delivered the line “No” it just had me laughing. It was the perfect “joke” between friends.

[@heatherfyffe3618]

My personal theory - which is probably way wrong but I like it anyway - when the entities said they wanted to travel to the doctor's universe to 'play his vicious games' - I don't think that was merely foreshadowing to us as the audience. I think the entire set of specials, all 3 episodes, are going to be revealed as the toymaker, toying with the doctor. From the regeneration with this face, to being sent to donna, to being flung out to the edge of space, to earth going crazy (as teased just at the end of the 2nd episode) - it's all the toymaker pulling the strings. It's not necessarily that none of it is 'real'. I think it's at least based in reality, but there's a LOT of illusion and manipulation happening too. Large portions of it are not 'real'. So I think the entities were not actually 'real', but were manifestations of the toymaker and his games. And when they said that line, it was the toymaker saying 'i want to come to your universe and play with you.' The toymaker, in previous episodes, lived outside of the universe. But - by all appearances in the previews - he's now fully in our universe and manipulating reality here. He got in somehow. Perhaps the thing with engaging in superstition this close to the edge of the universe where 'the walls are thin' was meant to be foreshadowing about the toymaker sensing the doctor from his position outside the universe and using that 'superstition' callout as a homing beacon to find his way in. Or, maybe, the entities were just his previous attempt, and now that they've been destroyed, he's learned and manages to do it better the next time. Or maybe they're not related to HOW he's getting in at all -- maybe they're just his creations to toy with the doctor. I mean, they do say something about how 'keeping them afraid' was part of the entities' plans because it kept their brains engaged so they could manifest more quickly. But, honestly, to me, their actions and behaviour are still odd. The way they talked to the doctor, to try to pry information from him or to twist the knife in about his past, etc, let's just say it won't surprise me if that was the toymaker messing with him, just to be cruel. So, yeah, anyway, it's probably nothing like this at all. But if it's revealed in the next episode that the toymaker has indeed been behind EVERYTHING... *including* the fact that the doctor looks like 10... if it turns out it was all an illusion and it's been ncuti 'underneath' the whole time... I will be SO insufferable with my whovian friends haha!! -- and yes I know the latest previews show Tennant glowing with regeneration energy. And I know that RTD has officially said that Tennant is 14 and Ncuti is 15. Which both seem to negate the idea that Tennant's appearance is just a 'skin' which the toymaker has put on as an illusion. BUT do you think he'd come out and say "okay Tennant is 14 and so is Ncuti"? We know that previews are misleading. And we know that there have been COUNTLESS times that the doctor appeared to regenerate but didn't - like the robot 11 before the impossible astronaut shot him, or like 12 after whassername (ack blanking) shot him with a blank, the doctor does seem to be able to give off regen energy at will, as a trick or illusion. It could be many things besides 14 regenerating 'normally' into 15. It could still be that. I know I'm probably way off base. I still like my theory though. :)

[@joelzabba8077]

Ellie thank you so much for wanting to break this down even though you’ve got a croaky voice. Your hard work does not go unnoticed! Such a legend 😊

[@sophiadc]

I think Donna didn't lie and all those memories are too much to comprehend at once. But I also think she does know more than she says. I think she knows that in those 15/1500+ years plus Doctor was traumatized and she's there for them if they ever want to open up. She can understand him the most of all other people alive at this time.

[@stephenmcclellan7320]

I loved the fact 14 made a Thunderbirds reference, it was such a throwaway line that easily could have been cut during editing but I'm glad they kept it because its that signature RTD dialogue that I love. I feel like Moffat intentionally distanced 11 and 12 from embracing human like behaviour and made the doctor more alien to cultural references. Whereas RTD constantly made references to pop culture like Eastenders, The Simpsons, Big Brother, Elvis, The Beatles, even This Is Your Life 😂 so the Parker and Lady Penelope reference felt like a classic 10 move

[@rcrcrcrcrc]

3 suggestions for the horse alien species name: 1) The Equuleus - Comes from the Latin for "little horse" and is also a constellation with no bright stars (appropriate for the end of the universe). 2) The Eponi. Taken from the Celtic/Gaulish goddess of horses. 3) The Godivi. The statue of Lady Godiva riding a horse in Coventry is named "Self Sacrifice". Very appropriate given how this heroic captain met her end.

[@AuroraNora3]

15:55 Worth mentioning what the Doctor said about it getting colder. The not-things got the extra mass by dropping the ambient temperature. This is because E=mc²

[@tomwood9401]

For me the revolving door but reminded me of the revolving fireplace in the episode about Madam du Pompadore. The glass partition door in this episode is the same partition door from The Star Beast

[@donnav]

I was thinking the same thing about the revolving door…the girl in the fireplace episode

[@judithstrachan9399]

Me, too.

[@LemonArsonist]

When the doctor wonders where the tardis goes when the HADS is activated I really liked that someone pointed out it works very well as a metaphor for the Doctor as the Timeless Child, who appeared and had this society form around them

[@phoenixragsdale4579]

A part of me really wants the Doctor pulling out the salt, to become a meme. Imagine a troll being mad at something petty or insignificant, and you respond with the Doctor whipping out the shaker, exclaiming, "Salt!"

[@bardinblue9830]

One minor correction: I reference to Marvin, the robot from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy... In the books, TV series, radio production, and movie... Marvin wasn't paranoid, as in, thinking everything was out to get him. Marvin was depressed. "Brain the size of a planet", and stuck doing menial work.

[@Grizzly01-vr4pn]

7:19 The Second Doctor also summons the TARDIS by whistling (in conjunction with a Stattenheim remote control) in _The_ _Two_ _Doctors_ .

[@dylxncarguy]

I think when the doctor goes through the wall because the wall turns and donna slides down, it's a reference to the episode "the keys of marinus" of the first season, where the doctor went behind the wall in the same way

[@darrenrichardson6146]

Number 17: Donna asking about the stars might also be an indirect nod to another Doctor Who writer. Bare with me. "The stars are going out tonight" are lyrics from a song by Take That called Rule the World. That song mad it's debut in a film called Stardust. That film was based on a novel written by Neil Gaiman. Who (co) wrote not only Good Omens starring David Tennant but also the Doctor Who episode "The Doctor's Wife"!

[@axlefoley6330]

Just on 14's feelings on the Flux and how it devastated them so much, It wasn't until just now but I also realised that 10 had a very similar thing when talking to the War Doctor and 11 about how many children were one Gallifrey the day they thought they burnt it. It could be coincidence but the Moment had a name for 10, the man who regrets. Perhaps this is RTD's way of nodding to The Day of the Doctor as well because 14 is definitely having similar reactions or perhaps it's David Tennant's way of nodding to it by playing it that way, just a thought. Donna - Here salt, The Doctor - that's too salty!, Donna - Oh! That's TOO salty! ah gotta love that Doctor, Donna bants. In regards to the spinning wall, whenever I see one in any media I always first think of Young Frankenstein by Mel Brooks, I know this isn't the first use of a secret spinning door, no was the last use (obviously) but it was the first time I can remember seeing it being done in a comedic way as a child, whilst I don't think RTD was referencing Young Frankenstein I just cant help but make the connection. I may have a name for the captain's species, Equi (pronounced eh - kwi), obviously coming from the word Equine which is what horses are, In fact if someone were to ask them what they are they could say they Equine and while they clearly have a language perhaps it could be augmented with stomps and snorts to imply context, Of course I am much better at coming up with a civilisation than naming them (just ask anyone I have DM for) I think having a species of horse people is really nifty and has a lot of possibilities. I am not gonna lie the water works started when I saw Wilf.

[@judithstrachan9399]

There’s a series of books about a horsey race, with some detailed language explanations (I think: it’s been a long time). It’s called the Acorna series & is by Anne Mccaffrey.

[@TrainedArcTrooper]

20:33 it reminded me of the scene in the doctor who skit with Rowan Atkinson when the master says something like “behold the spikes of death” and then the wall spins, and then the doctor just is sat on a sofa and says “behold the sofa of comfort”

[@CrackmeupKyle]

The best moment of the episode was Donna and the Doctors “Gravity of the Situation” moment haha

[@tacobowler]

I think they said those 15 years are in Donna’s mind (and the not-thing read it in her mind) but human Donna is actively ignoring that information.

[@VinnieBartilucci]

Yes - "It's like looking into a furnace".

[@music2012pink]

Exactly! It's too much to look at directly, she could pick little things maybe subconsciously, like absorbing heat from the "furnace"

[@neofluxmachina]

I need that Christmas sweater Ellie is wearing

[@allthesparklythings]

Me too!! Anyone know where they’re from please??

[@DanShinn]

Theres a couple of things i thought of after this 1. The rotating wall that the doctor and donna find themselves up against is almost certainly a reference to madam de pompadour’s fireplace which rotates in ‘the girl in the fireplace’ episode which is of course also on a spaceship. So also a nod to moffat and his writing 2. The “venom” reference could also be a vague nod to matt smith who’s in the morbius films which are also in the venom (sony) universe.

[@workot7]

Did they actually go there at all or was this a Toymaker game that trapped them there whilst the Toymaker set up whatever was going on / exploding when they got back to Wilf? Did it actually run away beacause it could get away from the game for a short spell so that the toymaker could highjack the sonic screwdriver without the doctor noticing? If so it did run away from damger bit not the danger od an exploding ship etc. Also did anyone else notice that near the end Donna says Mavity but the Doctor replies Gravity ?

[@nancyjay790]

When the faux Doctor goes to his hands and starts a weird undulating run, I thought of the scene in the movie "Glass" where James McAvoy's character does something similar. It's a very feral thing, like he's abandoned all humanity and gives in to rage to pursue and attack.

[@dazzamuk77]

I think the little yellow might have been a reference to Betsy John Pertwee's car when he played the Doctor

[@DarthTella]

the golf cart thingy is also very similar to the cart David Tennant was driving around in Much Ado About Nothing which also stared Catherine Tate.

[@theresabradley4716]

They were so brilliant in Much Ado About Nothing!

[@scubadawgy]

"RIP Captain McHorseface" LOL!! You crack me up Ellie!!

[@spikefertar7733]

So hyped and sad for this Saturday episode

[@thesagebrushkid1]

So I’m pretty sure the fact that the old skeletal captain is a horse is in fact an Easter egg itself. I believe it’s a nod to Mari Lwyd, which is an old Welsh festival to celebrate the dead in a way, and it uses a horses skull in a big way. I’ve really not done the description justice, but given how strong the Welsh connection is with Doctor who it makes sense. Well I hope it does coz I lost my shit when I saw it. I was all like “it’s Mari Lwyd! Russ has done it again, he’s giving us a nod with our creepiest of traditions! There’s lovely!”

[@danielferris7960]

I immediately thought this too, and I'm surprised that so few others have picked it up. It's also quite appropriate for the time of year as Mari Lwyd traditions are connected with Christmas or New Year.

[@thesagebrushkid1]

@@danielferris7960 didn’t even clock the Christmas connection! One thing I love about Doctor Who, particularly RTD Who is how much he references Wales. My favourite was in the fires of pompeii; “oh you’re Celtic. There’s lovely!” It’s such a simple phrase that you hear more often than you think in Wales, “there’s lovely”, and I doubt many outside of Wales would’ve clocked it. I laugh every time

[@jpwphoenix1701]

The whole thing with the ship being in a star-less void was actually used at least twice in “Star Trek Voyager”. In the episode “Night”, the ship’s crossing through a starless void, which the Malon use as a dumping ground for Theta Radiation (which in turn is poisoning another alien race who live there). Voyager then gets sucked into another starless void a couple of years later, where they’re forced to make an alliance with various other alien races who’ve been sucked into it too. Jonathan Del Arco, more familiar to viewers as Hugh the ex-Borg, guest-starred as a mute alien who lives in the void.

[@Rubberduckboy123]

Anyone else want Ellie’s Christmas jumper.❤

[@theresabradley4716]

I would love to know where she got it!

[@colinmoore7460]

The salt thing...some vampire stories have that as a weakness, they have to count the grains of salt, or all of the poppy seeds. Sir Terry Pratchett made use of this in Carpe Jugulem. As for the name of the equine spieces...pinch somthing from Marvels Power Pack comics and use something like kymellian.

[@JoeThornhill]

20:31 Aw, yeah. Direct reference. Love it. Though in my head I saw the part *after* the clip you showed when Henry's standing on one side going all the way round while Indy knocks out the Nazi on the other side.

[@PandezPanda]

20:20 the 360 spinning door made me instantly think of Curse of the Fatal Death "Say hello to the sofa of reasonable comfort" :D

[@SkydreamPony]

Number 34 first made me think of the scene in Curse of Fatal Death with the "spikes of doom" followed by the "sofa of reasonable comfort"

[@redragonbane4675]

Something thats likely more of a coincidence than an easter egg, the main corridor for the ship looks like a the inside of a ship from one of the mass effect games, just with a white color scheme instead of a darker one from the mass effect ship also, the doctor and Donna's first reunion with the adipose, they were on opposite sides of a room separated by a glass window and the window in the door

[@rileywells3045]

20:26 could have also been another curse of fatal death reference, were a similar thing happens with the wall turning around twice with the doctor and his companion

[@joeyunderwood]

during the Jimbo section you also forgot to mention that the current production designer Phil Simms worked on the 2005 Hitchhikers film, more than just a Douglas Adams reference, it’s the same designer.

[@andrewcornwell4943]

24:55 the Girl Who Waited the episode I thought of as well when he mentioned that. The Red Waterfall.

[@davidrohde2636]

I believe she does have all the memories but she wants the doctor to talk about it but knows that she shouldn't force him

[@Nethershaw]

I'm so glad RTD is back in charge. It's like the production quality changed.

[@golden_gloo]

I feel like Donna has a cloudy idea of what the Doctor's been through, to an extent that she thinks she doesn't really know but a few things may slip through subconsciously from time to time like how she knew he was the Doctor before her memory was restored.

[@PeterLangton97]

Number 35: don't forget the spinning thing also happened in 'the Girl in the Fireplace'!

[@ThatOneGuy9569]

I love how the thumbnail is connecting David tennant holding a salt shaker to 10 and Donna making out💀

[@mmazgus]

Well, I bet Rowan Atkinson will be one of the special guests in the Giggle. We've got some hints: - missiles in the wheelchair like in Johhy English - Ms Bean as the choiremaster And also one more reference with the Jimbo: that is the nickname of Jim Halpert from The Office (US) where, as we know, Catherine Tate acted. Fun fuct to that, in polish dubbing of Doctor Who in Disney +, actor who plays the Doctor plays also the Regional Manager in The Office (PL)

[@djedg10]

The title of the episode could be in reference to the final scene in The Underwater Menace. The Doctor says “into the wild blue yonder” as the TARDIS sets off and goes out of control as he attempts to pilot it, just as with the cliffhanger from The Star Beast.

[@magic-banana4097]

When the Donna doppelganger says "My arms are too long" could this be a slight reference to "Have you seen my mummy?"

[@luigiboi4244]

For the species of the alien captain I'd like to propose the species name of "Questrite", a play on the horse term "equestrian".

[@GoranNewsum]

The Doctor knows 57,000,000,205 languages, that's gotta be an important number!

[@lanapla]

The rotating door reminded me of The Keys of Marinus where they kept running into these kind of doors1

[@JonathanEzor]

So glad you're on the mend!

[@CharlotteAliceClaret]

This is my Captain species name suggestion: 'The Marequines' This is why: Female horse = Mare Horse species = Equine Military unit deployed in wartime known for it's expeditionary nature = The Marines 'Wild Blue Yonder' is a war song so it fits the narrative. This Captain is a female horse-like species who ventured into the Wild Blue Yonder, encountered a terrifying hostile threat and dealt with the situation by being smart, brave and sacrificing herself to ensure this threat didn't reach the universe. What an absolute badass!

[@MastarNinja]

I just realized this, but Wilf never SAW the Doctor regenerate. Wilf knows about regeneration through 10th and Donna, and knows how it essentially "kill" that iteration of our favorite Timelord because that's how 10th described it to him, but he doesn't know the Doctor can and has reused faces. As far as he knows, he believed he killed 10th for the past 15 years and his happiness in this scene was in part because he believed that this was still 10th and that he managed to survived somehow. Edit : And to clarify this comment, it adds a layer to Ellie's point. We knows that 10th had to regenerate because he saved Wilf, which Wilf is also aware of, but Wilf doesn't know that this is 14th. He wouldn't only happy to see that the Doctor is still alive after all this time, but also because he would have (falsely) realized that 10th had never died trying to save him.

[@royalewithcheese9291]

Additional fun fact: Sophia Myles and Ron Cook who played Lady P and Parker in the live action Thunderbirds film, both guest starred in series 2 of doctor who

[@CharmedPop]

I'm a little shocked I haven't heard anyone suggest the name for the horse creature be called Hoovians.

[@ethanleewallis1169]

The whole “Stars going out” thing I totally picked up on too and Miss avangelista face too💖

[@VinnieBartilucci]

Ellie said she wanted some spotty CGI, so she must have been happy here.

[@ethanleewallis1169]

@@VinnieBartilucci absolutely haha

[@jeffwalker7185]

Perhaps not an Easter Egg, but may be worth a mention is the exchange between Donna and the Doctor about Newton being hot and the Doctor realising what he had just said and Donna mentioning that it was pretty obvious (the Doctor is possibly gay). In RTD's Queer as Folk, the Doctor is a bit of a gay icon, and, I recall a sign of being gay in QAF was being able to name all the Doctors (from classic era Who as the show predates New Who). I am pleased you mentioned the possible link to The girl who waited - when the real Donna was left outside the Tardis and facing death, it reminded me of older Amy after the Doctor chose to save young Amy.

[@jay_Roe]

I've literally been wearing the same jumper today!! 😂

[@allthesparklythings]

Where did you get it from please?

[@IsiahBradley]

THANKS for this, Ellie!!!!! Great point/catch about/with AI!!!! I think you are right to ask if partitioning is RTD's major theme of these three specials!!!

[@TheShowMeShowChannel]

Great video! Great anniversary episode! And you mentioned London cabbies have “bigger brains” to contain “The Knowledge “ (which is a test they take to know ALL the streets) sounds like the start of a Doctor Who story. 😉 “Allonsy!”

[@raymondtate4883]

Somebody may have already mentioned this, but there are a lot of comments to sort through :). The revolving wall or door actually goes farther back to Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

[@angbald]

The tardis is sparking because it is "not meant to be". With all their traveling, The Doctor has ripped apart time and wounded it. Think of that star trek episode about warp damaging subspace.

[@Geeknlonely2.0]

Finally, a video that catches the Thunderbirds reference. You know Whoculture will get it. BTW, how many Horsey McHorseface comments are there for the alien race's name?

[@jakesinclair69420]

Just passed my driving test first time today!! So am going to be celebrating this weekend!! Whilst watching Doctor Who obviously!

[@peterjaimez1619]

"Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein" uses brilliantly a revolving door. Cheers

[@ReedaRecords]

This is probably just me but when Donna goes to drive the car instead of the doctor and says “alonz… as idiots say… zy” - it instantly reminded me of Neil Patrick Harris as Barney in HIMYM where his character often says “legend… wait for it… dary”

[@lucan09bc]

07:20 The 12th doctor doesn’t whistle and the tardis comes. Nardole pilots the tardis and materialises around him

[@llamasky6511]

Ironically I was watching the episode in the train back home from Southampton

[@chrismw8987]

I thought the revolving door was a nod to The girl in the fireplace- brilliant episode

[@WheelsonRails728]

A suggestion for the "horse-like" species seen in "Wild Blue Yonder" - Equusians!

[@prideperformaceproductions]

@20:20 reminded me of the spinning wall and "Sofa of reasonabe comfort, in the red nose day special with rowan atkinston, plus the endless corridor.

[@darrenrichardson6146]

Number 23: Honestly, these "No" creatures reminded me more of the 12th doctor's episode with those 2d creatures that were trying to break into our reality, very similar concept of origin IMHO.

[@BradleyJ]

The thunderbirds reference goes deeper because live action Lady Penelope was played by the same actress as Madame Du Pompadour

[@VinnieBartilucci]

We don't usually talk about the live-action Thunderbirds. But she had literally the only good line in the film - Baddie "I warn you, I know karate, Jiu Jitsu, and Krav Maga" Lady P: "And I...know Parker." (Parker jumps in front and kick's baddie's ass.

[@BradleyJ]

@@VinnieBartilucci agreed, it wasn't great but...I do need the monopoly edition it spawned for my collection

[@bryanfoster362]

Quite right 😊

[@andyt2510]

The shots of the outside of the spaceship reminded us of Red Dwarf - especially when that camera went out, it was reminiscent of Starbug. What could be fun for Children in Need or Comic Relief - if the BBC and Dave (and cast and crews) are up for it is a cross-over episode of Doctor Who and Red Dwarf, where there is a major issue on board the mining ship with Lister, Rimmer, Kryten and Cat in serious trouble and about to face their demise, and the Doctor turns up just in time to save them. The BBC could do it as a story for the Doctor and companion, with Dave telling the same story for the Boys from the Dwarf.

[@MarvelX42]

Not only is the H.A.D. system first mentioned in a second Doctor episode, the second Doctor is the first one to use just an ordinary screwdriver onscreen, BEFORE he uses the sonic screwdriver. The use of a normal screwdriver could just have easily been a nod to that and not to "The Next Doctor". Also the "horse like species" is very similar to the Korbinite species of which Beta Ray Bill is a member.

[@StargroundHQ]

Apparently Jimbo was designed by the same designer who designed Marvin the android in the hitchhikers film :)

[@GTTeancum]

So the alien -- was it one entity or two? Because seemingly there was only one individual on the ship before the airlock opened. But obviously there were two doppelgangers in the episode, so was it one entity split into two, or two separate ones?

[@amazingdisgrace1684]

I _think_ they meant it to be unambiguously two entities. But I like the idea that it started as one until it saw the Doctor and Donna together and decided to try multiple forms. That makes me wonder if it remained as a single consciousness controlling both bodies or if at some point it managed to become two completely separate versions of itself.