Doctor Who isn’t given enough credit for tropes and ideas that are now seen in recent UK period dramas. This TARDIS Talk presentation from Gallifrey One 2023 explores six of the themes and their connections to recent UK television period dramas.
Archive of my Gallifrey One 2020 TARDIS Talk. “The Shakespeare Code”, Thin Ice, and The Witchfinders have vastly different plots as historical episodes but one element unites them. While Martha, Bill, and Ryan had varied experiences, each of these episodes featured a Black companion interacting with British history.
The pandemic accelerated the existing trend of ITV moving away from big budget period dramas.