10 Doctor Who Easter Eggs Only Hardcore Fans Spotted
3. A Familiar Tune (The Power Of The Doctor)
The many continuity references in The Power of the Doctor have been well-documented.
The Master’s line about having to “dress for the occasion”? A blatant reference to The TV Movie. The titling of his scheme as “The Master’s Dalek Plan”? A playful allusion to the 1965 epic, The Daleks’ Master Plan. And the recorder he plays in his guise as the Doctor? A nod to the instrument originally played by the Second Doctor.
Except, there’s more to that last example than meets the eye.
Viewers with a musical ear might recognise the tune played by the Master in this scene as The Skye Boat Song – a folk song of Gaelic origin, perhaps best known as the theme tune to the hit TV series Outlander.
An even smaller portion of the audience will know that this isn’t the first time this piece has been performed in the Doctor Who universe. In fact, it was played by the Second Doctor himself, on the very same recorder, in 1968's The Web of Fear.
The Master wasn’t in The Web of Fear, so it’s not clear how he would've known to play this tune. Perhaps there was some sort of imprint left on the recorder itself, which gave him a clue. Or perhaps it was just a coincidence.
Regardless, it’s a great easter egg, connecting episodes 54 years apart from one another.