Sunday, November 18, 2018

5 Times the Doctor Directly Influenced History

The Doctor has been traveling through time and space (and our TVs) for 55 years now. Not counting spin-off material, that gives us 284 adventures that we know about (as of today). He's gone to the creation of the Earth ("The Runaway Bride") to the end of the universe ("Utopia") and he's influenced history (both in the past and future history), but there's only a handful of times that he's influenced historical Real World events.


Man's Discovery of Fire ("An Unearthly Child")
After accidentally traveling to the Stone Age, the First Doctor, his daughter, and their unwilling companions (Ian and Barbara) get caught in the middle of a tribal feud. In order to gain their trust, Ian makes fire for them. Teaching the tribe to make fire wins them enough points that they're able to leave in the TARDIS (even though it takes them a while to actually return to present-day London).


The Destruction of the Dinosaurs ("Earthshock")
The Fifth Doctor and his TARDIS team (Adric, Tegan, and Nyssa) end up in the middle of a 26th Century Cyberman plan, which includes an explosive freighter crashing into Earth, to prevent an anti-Cyberman alliance. The Doctor's team manages to change the freighter's course... into the past. Before Adric can stop it, it crashes into the Earth, killing him and (as they've travelled millions of years into the past) the dinosaurs as well.


Mount Vesuvius ("The Fires of Pompeii")
In an attempt to show Ancient Rome to Donna, the Tenth Doctor ends up taking her to Pompeii, the day before its destruction. They got flipped around, due to some oracles and a missing TARDIS, they ended up in the middle of an alien plot. In order to stop the Pyroviles from conquering the world, but the Doctor has to cause Vesuvius's eruption, sacrificing Pompeii to save the world.


Vincent van Gogh's Paintings ("Vincent and the Doctor")
Following a possible alien to the 1890s, the Eleventh Doctor and Amy meet Vincent. As they befriend Vincent, they track down the alien. Along the way, they learn of Vincent's depression (which will eventually lead to his suicide) and they drop hints along the way of paintings that Vincent will do. These paintings may have very well happened without the Doctor and Amy's interference, but in this version of events the Doctor and Amy lead Vincent to the sunflowers ("Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers") and the church ("The Church at Auvers").


Rosa Parks ("Rosa")
SPOILER ALERT FOR CURRENT SEASON
Trying to get her brand new TARDIS team back to 2018, the Thirteenth Doctor ends up in 1955 Alabama right before Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat. A time traveling racist comes back from Stormcage Containment Facility (same place River Song was imprisoned, FYI) and tries to rewrite history to stop the end of segregation and all the progression that came since. However, as they stop the time racist, the Doctor and her companions realize that (by taking up seats on the bus) they helped make history happen.

What did I miss guys? What historical figures and events did you enjoy from the Doctor's adventures? What events would you like to see?

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