10 Most Meta Doctor Who Moments EVER

8. The Fourth Doctor's Acute Observation

Doctor Who Time Crash
BBC Studios

In this self-deprecating moment from Destiny of the Daleks, the writers decided to lampshade the show's minimal budget and limited array of filming locations. Having installed a randomizer in the TARDIS to help him evade The Black Guardian, the Doctor lands in a mystery location. Thanks to the randomizer, they could be anywhere in the entire universe! What marvels and wonders await outside those doors? The possibilities are truly infinite! Sadly, however, the budget is not.

Romana opens the TARDIS' viewing port to see where they've landed, and she's greeted with the most disappointing of sights: a dull grey cliff-face, just like most other alien planets in the series. The Doctor, however, is jubilant at this most comforting view, exclaiming joyously "Oh look, rocks!" before the viewing port closes again. This brilliantly acknowledges the recurring joke among fans that every alien planet in Doctor Who looks pretty much the same, since the limited budget means they're all filmed in quarries. This is in fact Skaro, home planet of the Daleks, but it could easily be mistaken for any old unremarkable asteroid. The Doctor's excitement at seeing the same thing for the millionth time drives the self-deprecation home and implicitly thanks the viewer for suspending their disbelief.

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Patch is a pop culture enthusiast and purveyor of puns. He writes about media in a vague attempt to justify the alarming amount of time he spends consuming it. Nobody's convinced... but nobody's told him that yet. He spends his spare time working on Portal 2: Desolation, an ambitious fan-made sequel to Valve's beloved puzzle games.