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Film tropes in Doctor Who!

The Doctor and friends always get into adventures and when you’ve travelled as long as a Time Lord has, you’re bound to have some stories that sound as fantastical as the films!

After the attack of the killer birds in last week’s Praxeus, which was similar to Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, what other Doctor Who episodes have paid homage to the movies?

Tropes
 

Here are eight movie moments that have been given a Doctor Who-twist! Grab the popcorn…


1. CAR CHASES!

Car chases are always a thrilling affair, but what about when your car loses the driver, and starts driving backwards! The Doctor and fam had the ride of their lives when their car started careening out of their control… and that was just the beginning of Spyfall!


2. BANK HEISTS!

A good old-fashioned heist… albeit one in the Bank of Karabraxos, the most secure bank in the galaxy! This fortress for the super-rich was guarded by the Teller, a creature that could sense truth, and destroyed the brains of those with deception in their heads.


3. DEADLY DUELS!

A deadly duel? Standard.

A deadly duel with a Sycorax leader on a spaceship over a blood-controlled London on Christmas Day? Classic Doctor Who.


4. MURDER MYSTERY!

The Orient Express has seen many murders, but none have been committed by a mummy! It was the legend of the Foretold - whoever sees the Foretold’s stare has only sixty-six seconds before death. The Doctor learned the creature takes its victims out of phase to drain their energy and kill them, and only the victims can see the killer… talk about a mystery!


5. PIRATES PIRATES PIRATES!

Avast me hearties! The Doctor must walk the plank! Thank goodness he had swashbuckler Amy Pond to save him.

The pirates were haunted by a ‘Siren’ – in fact, a virtual doctor who was a little overly protective, putting anyone with even the smallest scratch in a coma.


6. DOUBLE TROUBLE!

When is the Doctor not the Doctor? When he looks exactly like an evil dictator!

Identical versions of yourself are eventually bound to crop up when you have all of time and space to travel around… and the Doctor found he had a striking resemblance to the Mexican dictator Salamander, who was causing natural disasters all over the world!


7. COWBOY CONUNDRUMS!

A western but with a Doctor Who twist! This time the Doctor donned a Stetson instead of his favoured fez and helped the town of Mercy from the Gunslinger. This lone cyborg cowboy was looking for its creator, an alien scientist hiding in the Wild West, living in fear of his terrible creation.


8. A JOURNEY INTO ADVENTURE!

Who doesn’t love a classic journey into adventure? And there’s no destination more magical than the very centre of the TARDIS!

The Doctor and Clara get separated when the TARDIS gets damaged by a salvage ship. The the only way to stop disaster and for the Doctor to save Clara is to go on the bravest expedition, deep where few have gone before… into the fantastical heart of the TARDIS…

To re-live the adventure of Series 12, watch Praxeus now on streaming or catch up services.

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