10 Doctor Who Moments That Broke The Fourth Wall

9. The Witch's Monologue (The Shakespeare Code)

Doctor Who The Shakespeare Code Lilith
BBC

The Series 9 episode Sleep No More is remembered for its daring execution, particularly with its use of a framing device that sees the villain of the piece, Rassmussen, relaying important information directly to the viewer.

But this wasn't the first time a NuWho villain delivered a menacing monologue straight down the camera lens. A criminally overlooked and oft-forgotten example occurs in Series 3's The Shakespeare Code, where - right before the title sequence - the evil Carrionite, Lilith, describes her plans for global domination.

Considering that her allies are devouring an unfortunate local at this present moment, there isn't another character in the room that Lilith could possibly be talking to. Rather, this seems to be a directorial flourish that links in with the Shakespearey-ness of the episode - as in, Lilith is performing in a stage play, directly addressing the theatre audience before her.

All around, The Shakespeare Code doesn't get the love it deserves. It's full of brilliant little touches like this, making it a standout episode in Tennant's second year.

In this post: 
Doctor Who
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!