WHO LOVE: Crossover Fun

Art by Pai-draws

"Doctor Who makes everything fun!"

I can't recall where I first heard (or read) this simple aphorism, but as a filter for most things it's so true.

My particular favourite area for viewing through a Whovian lens is the idea of comic book-style crossovers... but generally with other TV shows.

You can take the obvious shows where actors who've played The Doctor also appear and try to twist those into the Doctor Who canon:

For example, take the current Around The World In 80 Days with David Tennant as Phileas Fogg, who bears a more-than-passing resemblance to The Tenth Doctor's "John Smith" persona in Family of Blood & Human Nature. Perhaps Fogg is another example of The Doctor using the Chameleon Arch to spend some time as a human again.

There are also franchises that change their lead actors or feature characters with "Time Lord"-like abilities, such as Mary Poppins, Willy Wonka, and James Bond.

But then there are also the "random" crossovers with other shows that you happen to like.

This is pure nectar for gamers or fan fiction scribes.

I've run thought experiments around the idea of The Doctor travelling to Littlechurch in the 1950s to meet The Larkins (is Graham O'Brien related to Pop?) or Scatterbrook Farm in the here-and-now for an adventure with animated scarecrows that aren't trying to kill people.

And that's barely scratching the surface.

Obviously the entire Quatermass repertoire and Call The Midwife are both very different and yet perfect for an appearance by The Doctor.

To be honest, everything from 2016's Dickensian (which I suggested as a Doctor Who setting at the time), Sherlock, Dark Shadows, The X-Files, Warehouse 13, and any number of action-adventure, mystery thrillers, or straight-up horror movies and shows you can think of would work.

But let's not forget that The Doctor can travel to other galaxies as well in time.

He met the crew of the Enterprise in Star Trek crossover comics, but why couldn't the TARDIS land on Tatooine, Coruscant, or Kamino a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away?

Fantasy shows like The Outpost, The Witcher, and Legend of The Seekerand films like Hawk The Slayer and Beastmaster are simply set on 'other' worlds, making them perfect venues for a visit from our favourite Time Lord.

The Doctor can drop in and out of other franchises while still retaining his verisimilitude, where the reverse certainly isn't true.

The only limit is your imagination (and your tolerance for novelty headcanonisation).

[[Clearly, this article is a broad generalisation, with the emphasis on 'fun adventures'. There are some areas of life that aren't fun and shouldn't ever be included in a game about a 'mad man with a box']]