Doctor Who Series 11: 10 Huge Questions We Are Asking After The Witchfinders

1. Where Were The Closing Quotes From?

Doctor Who The Witchfinders
BBC

The Witchfinders ended in very traditional Doctor Who fashion. A companion turns down an opportunity to stay, with the King being surprisingly gracious about Ryan’s decision. They say their farewells, and to the wonder of those left behind – this time, a most unlikely pair - the TARDIS dematerialises. It the middle of it all we discovered that Graham is a Quentin Tarantino fan.

Throughout the series he’s actually been very knowledgeable has our Graham – he might even be able to give the chaser a run for her money on The Chase. The king naturally assumes he is quoting Ezekiel when in fact it’s the use of that same verse in the cult classic Pulp Fiction that he has in mind. It’s one of the funniest moments of the series, but it’s also another way of prioritising the secular over the sacred - downplay the religious legacy of King James in favour of the place of the Bible in popular culture.

The Doctor sums it all up with a quote from a ‘great man’, the science fiction author Arthur C Clarke: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” The aphorism has been the basis of so many Doctor Who stories over the years, and The Witchfinders is the perfect example.

What did you think of The Witchfinders? Let us know down in the comments.

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Paul Driscoll is a freelance writer and author across a range of subjects from Cult TV to religion and social policy. He is a passionate Doctor Who fan and January 2017 will see the publication of his first extended study of the series (based on Toby Whithouse's series six episode, The God Complex) in the critically acclaimed Black Archive range by Obverse Books. He is a regular writer for the fan site Doctor Who Worldwide and has contributed several essays to Watching Books' You and Who range. Recently he has branched out into fiction writing, with two short stories in the charity Doctor Who anthology Seasons of War (Chinbeard Books). Paul's work will also feature in the forthcoming Iris Wildthyme collection (A Clockwork Iris, Obverse Books) and Chinbeard Books' collection of drabbles, A Time Lord for Change.