Top Ten Tuesday: Doctor Who

Today’s prompt at The Broke and the Bookish is:  Top Ten Books If You Like X tv show/movie/comic etc. (basically any sort of other entertainment)

I chose Doctor Who, specifically the new series, because it is a goldmine of literary references.  I hope that non-fans will read this list, see some of their favorite books, and give Doctor Who a shot!

1. Shakespeare – Doctor Who devoted an entire episode to the Bard, chock full of references to his plays, poems, and life in general.  Season 3, Episode 2 – The Shakespeare Code.
2. Agatha Christie – Another entire episode was devoted to one of my favorite authors!  There were so many references, I doubt I caught half of them!  Season 4, Episode 7 – The Unicorn and the Wasp.
3. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis – The 2011 Christmas Special was a parody, of sorts, of this beloved classic.  Season 7, Episode 0 – The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe.
4. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – Two separate episodes are dedicated to Dicken’s famous story.  I love that the Doctor is a fanboy!  Season 1, Episode 3 – The Unquiet Dead, and Season 6, Episode 0 – A Christmas Carol.
5. The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne – The parallels between the introduction of Tigger and the introduction of the 11th Doctor are brillant!  Season 5, Episode 1 – The Eleventh Hour.
6. The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling – There are multiple actors who’ve appeared on Doctor Who and in the Harry Potter films (including the 10th Doctor himself), which is tons of fun, but the references to Rowling’s books are most prevalent in the an episode I’ve already mentioned.  Season 3, Episode 2 – The Shakespeare Code.
7. The Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – References to the great detective are only natural, considering Steven Moffat’s involvement with both Doctor Who and Sherlock.  Yet another Christmas Special!  Season 7, Episode 6 – The Snowmen.
8. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger – Steven Moffat wrote an episode based off of the premise of this book.  Even more noticeable, a major character’s entire story arc seems to borrow heavily from it.  Spoilers!  Season 2, Episode 4 – The Girl in the Fireplace.  (I am not personally a fan of this book, but many people love it, and it has close ties with Doctor Who).
9. Neil Gaiman – Gaiman is such a fan of the show that he actually wrote an episode.  Season 6, Episode 4 – The Doctor’s Wife.
10. The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien – There are multiple hints that the Doctor is a wizard.  Once, he is referred to as Gandalf.  Season 3, Episode 13 – The Last of the Time Lords.

If you enjoyed my list, you’ll like this article: Doc Of Pages: Seven Reasons Why Doctor Who is a Literary Hero.

I’m linking up: