10 Classic Doctor Who Spoofs That You Have To See

10. Doctor Fotheringown (1963)

Over 10 years before the Fourth Doctor offered Sarah Jane a jelly baby, in It€™s A Square World, Hartnell lookalike Clive Dunn, the bumbling Doctor Fotheringown, asks his host, played by Michael Bentine, €œWould you care for a peppermint?€ The presenter of the spoof news item had just taken over the demonstration of a fail safe device for Doctor Fotheringown€™s rocket. Clearly bamboozled by his eloquence and knowledge, Fotheringown€™s retort belies his own intelligence. He invented the rocket that is to be placed into orbit first around the earth and then the moon, after all. Notable for the first joke about the name €œDoctor Who?€, this parody of the show is remarkably early and shows the extent to which the character of the First Doctor had become iconic. Pleasingly there are no Dalek references as the focus is on a mad inventor who, in appearance if not character, is a dead ringer for Hartnell€™s Doctor. Even the mannerisms are similar with Dunn clasping his waistcoat pockets, a gesture reminiscent of Hartnell with his jacket lapels. Stumbling over some of his lines adds another - this time accidental - similarity. The show itself is not the subject of the parody - it is used here to set up the BBC as the television centre and its staff becomes the butt of the joke once it is launched into space. Shades of he Wizard of Oz but the spinning, flying TV centre is clearly inspired by the TARDIS. It also features cameos from David Frost, Patrick Moore, Frank Thornton and Wilfred Brambell as Steptoe. The sketch remains in the archives and is included as an extra on The Aztecs Special Edition DVD.