10 Most Meta Doctor Who Moments EVER
1. The First Doctor's Festive Greeting
The seventh episode of The Daleks' Master Plan is the closest thing the classic series has to a Christmas Special, and the First Doctor relishes in the opportunity to show off his Christmas spirit with a festive greeting not just to his companions but also to us, the viewers. After wishing Steven and Sara season's greetings, the Doctor turns directly to the camera, raises a glass, and says "Incidentally, a Happy Christmas to all of you at home!"
This has got to be the most meta moment in the show's history, as it's the only time the Doctor appears to display explicit knowledge of being on TV. He's conscious that he's in a television programme, and that people are watching his adventures from the comfort of their living rooms. There's no other way to explain it, he must be fully aware that he's a fictional character. There are no other characters in the place of the camera that he could be talking to, and he's clearly not talking to himself because he addresses the viewer directly. It's awfully nice of you to wish us a Happy Christmas, Doctor, but why must you torment us with this cursed knowledge? Nobody knows for sure whether this line was in the script or a mischievous bit of clever improvisation from William Hartnell, but either way, once you've experienced this fourth-wall breaking meta moment the Whoniverse will never be quite the same again.