The Series 14 finale ‘Empire of Death’ was loaded with Doctor Who Easter eggs for the eagle-eyed viewer. Here’s a rundown of some of the best ones…
Old Doctor Who costumes
This was one of our favourite Doctor Who Easter eggs. In ‘Empire of Death,’ the Doctor, Ruby and Mel go inside a memory TARDIS, which (as the name suggests) is made up of memories. And Doctor Who has a long and rich history, so it’s no surprise that it’s loaded with artefacts from the series’ past – far too many to list here.
What got us excited, though, was the appearance of the Seventh Doctor’s sweater, which Mel hugs while the TARDIS is in flight. And yes, this is one of the Lovarzi versions, if you were wondering. You may also have spotted the brief appearance of the Fourth Doctor’s scarf, which was used to hold down the TARDIS controls.
But perhaps the most poignant of these Doctor Who Easter eggs is the moment where Mel stumbles upon the Sixth Doctor’s jacket and neck tie. The Sixth Doctor, of course, was the very first version of the Time Lord that Mel met, so it’s understandable that she has an affection for it.
Pyramids of Mars
Obviously, with the return of Sutekh, ‘Empire of Death’ has a strong link to the classic Doctor Who story ‘Pyramids of Mars.’ And this was firmly cemented in the series finale, as there is a moment where the Doctor actually views clips (or ‘memories’) from this adventure, and watches the Fourth Doctor converse with his companion Sarah Jane Smith.
It’s always nice to see Doctor Who Easter eggs which so firmly connect to the series’ past, as it solidifies the show’s timey-wimey continuity, and indeed Doctor Who has a tradition of embedding old footage into its stories. The earliest example is in the final episode of ‘The Wheel in Space,’ where the Doctor shows his potential new companion Zoe a clip from ‘The Evil of the Daleks,’ just to make sure she really wants to travel with him!
Other stories which have done a similar thing include ‘Earthshock,’ ‘The Five Doctors’ and ‘Resurrection of the Daleks.’ And in 1986, the Doctor actually got to sit down and watch himself for 12 weeks in a row, as ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’ was all about the Doctor looking back on some of his past adventures to determine whether he had acted ethically in the Time Lords’ eyes.
The time vortex
This is one of the more subtle Doctor Who Easter eggs. The time vortex has appeared many times in the series, and often takes different forms, but in ‘Empire of Death’ it was modelled on one specific version. This time vortex was the same one which graced the Matt Smith title sequence from 2010 to 2012, comprised of rolling clouds and lightning strikes.
To this day, we’re not entirely sure why there is lightning in the time vortex, but this is Doctor Who. And it looks great!
The planets
‘Empire of Death’ also featured a host of smaller Doctor Who Easter eggs which tested the knowledge of even the most experienced fan. In the episode, the Doctor reels off a list of planets which have fallen to Sutekh’s dust. And later, he references some of the other worlds which have been restored as a result of his intervention.
The first of these is Telos, which was the location of the Cybermen‘s tomb in the classic Second Doctor story ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen.’
Then there’s Karn. This may have been one of the easier Doctor Who Easter eggs to unravel, as it made a (relatively!) recent appearance in the 2013 minisode ‘The Night of the Doctor.’ The planet is home to the Sisterhood of Karn – keepers of the Flame of Eternal Life. Karn made its first appearance in the 1976 story ‘The Brain of Morbius.’
(C) BBC
Next is the Ood Sphere. Neighbour to the Sense Sphere from the 1964 story ‘The Sensorites,’ the Ood Sphere was (as you could probably guess) home to the Ood, and made its first appearance in 2008’s ‘Planet of the Ood.’
The next of the Doctor Who Easter eggs is a rather famous one – the planet Skaro, home to the Daleks and their demented creator Davros. Skaro put in an appearance for Doctor Who‘s 60th anniversary celebrations in 2023, as the Time Lord went there accidentally and visited the moment of the Daleks’ inception. It’s also worth noting that Skaro was the first alien planet to ever feature in the series, and dates back to 1963.
Next there’s Vortis – another planet from the 60s which featured in the 1965 story ‘The Web Planet.’ It’s home to a race of curious, oversized insects!
(C) BBC
The inclusion of Tigella, however, is one of the more obscure Doctor Who Easter eggs, as it’s from a late Tom Baker story from 1980 called ‘Meglos.’ In this adventure, the Doctor came up against a talking cactus!
And speaking of obscure, the next planet is Vox, which featured in a 2008 comic book adventure called ‘The Poison Planet,’ starring the Tenth Doctor.
The next of the Doctor Who Easter eggs is the planet Messaline. Also from 2008, this was the planet in which the Doctor encountered his own daughter, played by Georgia Moffat. The episode was (unsurprisingly) titled ‘The Doctor’s Daughter.’
(C) BBC
Then there’s Calufrax, which was first mentioned in ‘The Pirate Planet‘ when the Fourth Doctor was searching for the Key to Time. This isn’t one of the Time Lord’s favourite worlds, though; in the story, he describes it as a “mean little planet” which is “paralysingly dull, boring and tedious.”
The next planet is Spiridon, which was where the Third Doctor battled the Daleks in the 1973 story ‘Planet of the Daleks.’
And the last of the Doctor Who Easter eggs (as far as planets were concerned, anyway) is Shan Shen. This was the planet visited by the Tenth Doctor and Donna in the 2008 episode ‘Turn Left,’ although the name is only mentioned fleetingly in the episode itself.
So there we are – just some of the Doctor Who Easter eggs buried in the Series 14 finale. Did you spot any others? And which was your favourite? Let us know in the comments below.
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