7 Doctor Who TV References You (Probably) Didn't Know About

6. The Extermination Of Mr Bean

No, unfortunately that isn't the title of a comeback special featuring the untimely demise of one of the most irritating characters in British comedy history (more's the pity!), and the picture above isn't a screenshot from the new Doctor Who trailer after more of the BBC's formidable budget cuts. It is, in fact, another unannounced appearance the Daleks made in a show which wasn't their own. This one also took place in 1992 (wow, they were really getting about that year weren't they!?) during the Mr. Bean Christmas Special, Merry Chrristmas Mr. Bean, and it served as another subliminal reminder that, even though Doctor Who had been taken off TV, seemingly for good, the Daleks were still never too far behind... This time, they were partaking in a battle - at the hands of the show's baffoon of a protagonist, no less - between an army tank and a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It doesn't sound too far fetched compared to some of their actual Doctor Who storylines, but then you realise it was part of a Nativity scene, which pushes the boundaries a bit further. Don't be too surprised when this is developed into the premise of a future Doctor Who Christmas Special, though. Daleks at the birth of Jesus? Who knew. As an established part of British mainstream culture, this Dalek figure was instantly recognisable and a few years later Mr. Bean's alter ego, Rowan Atkinson, would leave his own stamp on the Doctor Who mythology by starring as the leading Time Lord in the 1999 Comic Relief sketch, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death. Furthermore, Mr. Bean was written by Richard Curtis who wrote for Doctor Who in 2010 and, as the founder of Comic Relief, he also executive produced The Curse of Fatal Death which just so happened to be written by future showrunner Steven Moffat. How's that for timey-wimey trivia!? Moving on...