Who would have thought that Doctor Who cosplay could end so badly? When we think about aliens wreaking havoc in the cosmos, we rarely think about costumes and roleplay. But that’s what the Doctor came up against in the Series 14 episode ‘Rogue.’
Of course, back in the classic era, there wasn’t really such a thing as Doctor Who cosplay – at least not in the way that we understand it today. In previous years, fans may occasionally have put on fancy dress costumes to mimic their heroes at conventions, but in the 21st century this concept has been taken to a whole new level; in fact, it’s the reason that Lovarzi exists.
But what is Doctor Who cosplay, exactly? We suspect that, by being on this blog, you already know the answer, but for the uninitiated it’s the idea of dressing up as a character from a book, comic or TV show and actually living, talking and walking as if you were that character. It’s not just fancy dress; it’s more like method acting in wacky clothes.
And the episode ‘Rogue’ from Series 1 / 14 / Fnarg took the idea of Doctor Who cosplay and turned it into the basis for a science fiction story. Except, in this instance, it’s more like Bridgerton cosplay. The story is set in the early 19th century and sees the Doctor and Ruby visiting a ball at a grand house in Bath, Somerset, and Ruby is the first to remark that it reminds her of the TV drama series Bridgerton.
But she’s not the only one who sees the connection. The ball has been stealthily invaded by an alien species known as the Chuldur who, strange as it may seem, are also Bridgerton fans, having picked up on the TV signals that were beamed across space. They’ve never seen Doctor Who, alas, so there’s a conspicuous absence of Doctor Who cosplay, but they are keen to dress up in Regency costumes.
And that’s where things get sinister, because the Chuldur don’t simply want to dress up as other people – they want to become other people. And that means eliminating the original versions and taking their place, via a deadly burst of electricity which leaves their victims as ashy husks.
The eponymous Rogue, meanwhile, is a bounty hunter who is trying to track down and capture the Chuldur to put an end to their cosplay carnage.
It’s a wacky idea, and in some ways an original one; cosplay hasn’t been used as the basis for a Doctor Who episode before. There was even some actual Doctor Who cosplay in the episode itself (technically) as one of the Chuldur seemingly cosplayed as the Doctor’s companion Ruby, but of course (as is often the case with Doctor Who) there was a twist at the end.
That’s not to say that Doctor Who cosplay hasn’t featured in the series before. During the Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi eras, the Doctor was occasionally aided in his adventures by the ever-popular Petronella Osgood – a UNIT scientist who delighted in dressing up in some of the Time Lord’s past costumes. Over the years, Osgood was seen donning the Fourth Doctor’s iconic scarf, his question mark tank top, and even wore a variation of the Fifth Doctor’s costume.
Amusingly, the series also took this opportunity to poke fun at the classic Doctor’s penchant for question marks – something which hadn’t previously been addressed. The Twelfth Doctor quipped that he still wears question marks, only this time they’re on his underpants!
And Osgood was not the only one of the Doctor’s friends to partake in a little Doctor Who cosplay. The Time Lord’s companion Romana also dressed up as the eponymous hero in the 1979 story ‘Destiny of the Daleks,’ donning a pink and white parody of the Fourth Doctor’s costume.
And in the 2022 episode ‘The Power of the Doctor,’ Doctor Who cosplay formed the basis of the Master’s evil plan. He didn’t just want to destroy his arch enemy; he wanted to become her. This resulted in him performing a body swap, stealing her TARDIS and going around telling everyone he was now the Doctor… although why he needed to perform a full body swap in order to do this is a mystery. He also raided the Doctor’s wardrobe and put on the iconic 16 ft. scarf and question mark tank top. Oh, and a stick of celery, with Jodie Whittaker’s jacket.
Of course, in previous years, the series featured Doctor Who cosplay without actually calling it Doctor Who cosplay. Many of the series’ previous adventures have included duplicates and body-swaps, and perhaps the most famous example (and the closest to ‘Rogue’) is the 1975 story ‘Terror of the Zygons’ in which the eponymous villains took on the shapes of various people in order to wreak havoc in 20th century Scotland. As you do.
The Zygons, of course, famously returned in the 50th anniversary special, and later in ‘The Zygon Invasion’ and ‘The Zygon Inversion’ where they continued to perpetuate their cosplaying villainy.
Finally, how could we forget the other classic story ‘Horror of Fang Rock’ which saw a shape-shifting Rutan picking off the stranded inhabitants of an early 20th century lighthouse. And the Doctor himself was copied in the 1975 story ‘The Android Invasion,’ which was written by Dalek creator Terry Nation.
So ‘Rogue’ may not be the first ever story to feature disguises, duplicates and clones, but it is the first to use the term ‘cosplay,’ and to feature aliens who simply delight in dressing up as other people after watching a popular TV show.
Have you ever indulged in a little Doctor Who cosplay? And what did you think of ‘Rogue’? Let us know in the comments below.
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