Doctor Who is one of the most inventive TV series in the world, so it makes sense for some of its stories to have unusual names. Here’s a rundown of some of the strangest Doctor Who episode titles in the Whoniverse…
Kerblam!
This is the first Doctor Who episode title to use onomatopoeia – that is, a ‘word sound,’ in this case ‘Kerblam!’ Meaning a loud thud or crash, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Doctor was about to step into the world of comicbooks, but no. This unusual Doctor Who episode title is actually the name of a supersized galactic retailer, not too dissimilar from the Amazon we have on Earth.
Actually, there were quite a few similarities, as ‘Kerblam!’ acted as something of a cautionary tale about warehouse workers and how large corporations treat their employees. Rightly or wrongly, ‘Kerblam!’ was nothing short of thought-provoking.
The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos
The first challenge for this Doctor Who episode title is to figure out its pronunciation! You could be forgiven for doing a double take; undoubtedly, this is one of the most elaborate and exotic Doctor Who titles in the show’s history, beaten only in length by ‘The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.’ Moreover, it’s more reminiscent of a Star Trek title, or even a high-brow science fiction novel.
Penned by Chris Chibnall, ‘The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos’ rounded off Jodie Whittaker’s first season as the Doctor. And according to Chibnall, it was something of a rushed affair, as he didn’t have time to carry out any rewrites. The version that ended up on screen came from his first draft.
Wild Blue Yonder
The next of our Doctor Who episode titles is a fairly recent one. Now, you may have been able to unpick this one (somewhat) if you were familiar with the song of the same name, which is the official anthem of the US Air Force.
But even then, it wouldn’t really give you much indication as to what the episode was about, and this, presumably, was Russell T Davies‘ intention. Very little was known about ‘Wild Blue Yonder’ before it aired, and as it came during the show’s 60th anniversary celebrations, fans were chomping at the bit to see if there would be a surprise return of past Doctors, or even an unveiling of the recovered ‘Wheel in Space’ episode two, or similar.
As it turned out, ‘Wild Blue Yonder’ was a very different kind of episode, and one that has (somewhat) divided fans. But you’ll understand the title when you see it.
The Bells of Saint John
This episode is all about aliens trying to take control of the human race by infiltrating the wi-fi, aided by an army of spoon-headed robots, although you wouldn’t guess it from the title. Certainly, the writer Steven Moffat has a penchant for coming up with Doctor Who episode titles that are somewhat obscure and have a puzzle behind them, and ‘The Bells of Saint John’ is no exception.
In the event, the name refers only to the briefest moment from the episode’s intro. The bells of Saint John does, of course, refer to the sound the TARDIS phone makes as it rings, as the receptacle is hidden behind a Saint John’s ambulance sticker. See what he did?
World Enough and Time
The next of our Doctor Who episode titles is another head-scratcher from Steven Moffat. ‘World Enough and Time’ is all about a spaceship which is pulling away from a black hole. And the spaceship is so big that the craft is experiencing time dilation – that is, one end of the vessel is moving at a faster rate of time than the other. So the use of the word ‘time’ in the title makes sense, although you might have to do some googling to unravel the rest.
So what, exactly, is the thinking behind this particular Doctor Who episode title? Well, as I’m sure you know, ‘World Enough and Time’ is a quote from the poem ‘To His Coy Mistress’ by Andrew Marvell, which begins: “Had we but world enough and time, this coyness, lady, were no crime. We would sit down, and think which way to walk, and pass our long love’s day.”
And the mistress in ‘World Enough and Time’ is, of course, Missy, who has joined the TARDIS team as a companion. Simples.
The Witch’s Familiar
Throughout Series 9, Steven Moffat paired up some of his Doctor Who episode titles. There was ‘The Zygon Invasion’ and ‘The Zygon Inversion.’ There was ‘Heaven Sent’ and ‘Hell Bent.’
And then of course there was ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’ and ‘The Witch’s Familiar.’ Younger, less informed viewers may therefore have been disappointed to learn that neither of these episodes featured any magicians or wizards; rather, these were references to the roles played by the Doctor and Missy respectively.
‘The Witch’s Familiar,’ therefore, only makes sense as a Doctor Who episode title if you know what a ‘familiar’ actually is. Apparently, it’s a connected spirit or an imp or an attendant of some kind, and it’s up to the viewer to decide who the ‘familiar’ is here. It could be Clara, who accompanies Missy for most of the episode. Or it could even be the Doctor. It’s an ambiguous question that’s never really answered.
Dot and Bubble
One could argue that any good Doctor Who episode title creates enigma and, as strange as ‘Dot and Bubble’ might be as a name, it did leave viewers intrigued. What was the dot? And what was the bubble? Were these characters, or something else? Personally, I thought it was a reference to instant messaging, with the dots representing the ellipses of someone typing, and the bubble of course being the conversation bubble.
In the end, I was close; ‘Dot and Bubble‘ was all about social media and the danger of living inside a bubble – a literal bubble, in the case of this episode. This was a Doctor-lite affair, but it still told a great story in its own right, albeit with a rather hard-hitting ending.
But do tell us your thoughts, reader. What do you think are the strangest Doctor Who episode titles of all time? Can you think of any from the classic era that you would add to this list? Let us know in the comments below.
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The Giggle has got to be up there as one of the worst titles.
Has anyone ever pronounced The Masque of Mandragora correctly first time?
I doubt it 😛