Doctor Who: Turkey During the Holiday Season
By Leah Tedesco
On this day of Thanksgiving in the United States, let us talk turkey in the world of Doctor Who.
While it feels a bit odd for me, as a vegan, to be writing about the consumption of turkey on Thanksgiving, or any other day for that matter, one cannot deny its iconic connection to this time of year. In the United Kingdom, turkeys are traditionally associated with Christmas dinner. In the United States, on the other hand, Thanksgiving is the holiday of choice on which to devour the succulent bird. And today being Thanksgiving, we dreamt up the silly idea of discussing turkeys on Doctor Who, occasionally being either a topic that has been discussed, or a matter that has been dealt with on the show.
In the 2005 Children in Need Christmas minisode, the Doctor snarkily comments that, when it comes to Jackie Tyler and Christmas dinner, nut loaf would be more suitable than turkey.
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In the 2007 Christmas special, ‘Voyage of the Damned,’ Mr. Copper confuses turkey, the bird with Turkey, the country. He is under the mistaken impression that Christmas Eve was a time of war between the United Kingdom and Turkey. In this false history, the people of the former would eat those of the latter on Christmas Day.
In the 2013 Christmas special, ‘The Time of the Doctor,’ Clara Oswald is struggling to prepare Christmas dinner for her family, with the particular problem of the turkey not being anywhere near ready. The Doctor drops by at her request. While he says that the sonic screwdriver is not able to help, he lets her use the TARDIS’s console to speed up the process. Supposedly, the “vortex cooking” happens when the turkey is exposed to the time winds. He is not sure if it will “come up a treat, or just possibly lay some eggs.” The experiment leads to the turkey being successfully cooked.
Next: Billie Piper’s Life Before and After Doctor Who