10 Times Doctor Who Shamelessly Ripped Off Hollywood
Star Wars, Alien, James Bond... if it's famous, Doctor Who will copy it.
The people who create our favourite TV shows and movies are heavily inspired by the TV shows and movies that they watch themselves. We see evidence of this all over the place, whether it's something as small as a background easter egg, or something as big as a movie copying an entire concept, like Happy Death Day's slasher spin on the Bill Murray classic Groundhog Day.
Doctor Who doesn't shy away from this sort of thing either, and because it's been on the air for so long, we've had multiple generations of creators bringing decades and decades of their own inspirations to the Doctor's adventures.
As a result, it's normal for most Doctor Who stories to contain at least one or two movie references, but putting these smaller nods to one side, there are times when the show blatantly rips off whole plots, scenes, and designs from some of the most famous Hollywood hits of all time.
Not that there's anything wrong with paying homage to something, and hell, some of these were even done in a tongue-in-cheek manner. But regardless, copying is copying, and Doctor Who is definitely guilty of a bit of Hollywood pilfering.
10. The Rings Of Akhaten Copied The Mos Eisley Cantina Scene From Star Wars
Star Wars is such a beloved franchise that it's probably influenced dozens of Doctor Who writers in countless small ways, but a blatantly obvious nod to the galaxy far, far away can be found in the 2013 episode The Rings Of Akhaten.
In this story, the Eleventh Doctor and Clara visit a far-flung civilisation called Tiaanamat, where they spend lots of time wandering around its markets and winding streets, which are overflowing with a large assortment of unique alien creatures.
It's a scene that will feel familiar to Star Wars fans, and that's because the idea of having a wide jumble of alien races gathered together in a single location was pulled directly from the iconic Mos Eisley cantina sequence in the original Star Wars movie, which also has a wide jumble of alien races gathered together in a single location.
This episode also contains a second example of Doctor Who taking a major visual cue from Star Wars. Remember those mopeds that the Doctor and Clara ride on at various points? They were designed to mirror the speeder bikes seen in 1983's Return Of The Jedi, and were suggested by producer Marcus Wilson.