3. Christmas Day At Doctor Who's (2005)
Traditionally parody takes a work of art and places it within unfamiliar real life settings. The most serious of Doctor Who parodies in that respect comes from Australia in the 90s sketch show Fast Forward which used the show to make a political point. The UK equivalent is not so revolutionary, yet it is far funnier. Originally as much prank as spoof, Jon Culshaw used his remarkable Tom Baker voice on the radio to ring up various real life establishments. Once his show Dead Ringers crossed into the world of television, whilst keeping an element of prank, the sketches diversified and become more elaborate. Many of them featured various incarnations of the Doctor. The latest Radio 4 series includes the first TV spoof to date of The Twelfth Doctor with Lewis MacLeod (best known as the voice of the TV Postman Pat) providing a not altogether convincing voice. Among the highlights are the Living With The Enemy crossover featuring the Cybermen, a piece clearly inspired by Spike Milligans Pakistani Dalek, the Fourth Doctor in a furniture store confounding the shop assistant and customers with his disappearing acts, The Secret of England vs Germany (complete with episode titles) and this multi-Doctor Christmas Day at Doctor Whos sketch. Dead Ringers follows the habit of parodying production shortcomings. In a sketch featuring the Tenth Doctor and Rose, this time it is not the wobbly sets or hammy acting but the overly intrusive incidental music that falls victim to the parody. Yes, Culshaw is a fan with his ear to the ground on current topics for debate and complaint.