Doctor Who Series 8: 15 Obscure Easter Eggs You Probably Missed

12. The Miniscope Theory References A Third Doctor Adventure (Robot of Sherwood)

When landing in medieval England and discovering Robin Hood, the Doctor, despite believing in Santa Claus (as mentioned in A Christmas Carol and no doubt expanded upon this festive season), finds it hard to accept the man in tights is real. One of his theories about what's really going on is that he's accidentally landed the TARDIS in a miniscope. This goes all the way back to the Third Doctor adventure Carnival Of Monsters, where John Pertwee found himself inside a machine that houses shrinked down versions of people and their environments. Used for entertainment purposes, this device is dubbed a miniscope. Time Lords made their commercial illegal, but with Gallifrey still MIA there's always a chance a new baddie could start using one. A couple of elements from Carnival Of Monsters play into Series 8; one of the creatures held in the miniscope are Cybermen, who would feature in the series finale, while a miniaturised Doctor working through the circuitry of a machine is the general idea of Into The Dalek.