Doctor Who: Happy twentieth anniversary to The Curse of Fatal Death!

Twenty years ago, the brilliant Doctor Who parody The Curse of Fatal Death was broadcast, starring Rowan Atkinson (and many others) as the Doctor. We look back at why it stands out.

On March 12th, 1999, fans were treated to a brand new Doctor Who story, starring Rowan Atkinson as the Ninth Doctor! Except, not quite. Broadcast as part of charity telethon Comic Relief, The Curse of Fatal Death was naturally a parody of our favorite show.

Still, it was a very affectionate parody. There were a lot of nods to the original series. Not only did the parody feature the basics (the TARDIS, Daleks, and a very camp Master).

There were also several little touches, like music used from the Eighties era as part of the soundtrack, or the fact that the planet, Tersurus, had actually been mentioned in Fourth Doctor classic The Deadly Assassin. (Which I suspect the title of The Curse of Fatal Death was more than a tribute to.)

But while the story features a number of Classic Series references, what’s equally interesting is how much it foreshadows the New Series, too. You can see how much in the entire story below. (If you haven’t seen it yet, definitely watch it. It’s short, but fantastic!)

Unintentional foreshadowing

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You’ve probably noticed that the story was written by future showrunner Steven Moffat, and the special does feature several of his tropes. There are examples of timey-wimeyness in the Doctor’s and the Master’s attempts to outdo each other, particularly when trying to bribe the architect.

What’s particularly hilarious – in this case, unintentionally – is how the parody features a lot of ideas that were meant to be too ridiculous for Doctor Who at the time, but have since been explored far more seriously in the New Series. These include the Doctor falling in love with a companion; wanting to marry her and even regenerating into a woman.

All of these ideas were entirely played for laughs in the parody, (naturally,) and fans believed that they would never seriously happen if the series ever came back. The fact that these have been heavily explored in the New Series – sometimes, by Moffat himself – makes this parody even funnier to watch in retrospect.

Regardless, The Curse of Fatal Death is a lot of fun, and a great tribute to our favorite show. Rowan Atkinson is decent to watch as our favorite Time Lord, but I think it’s Jonathan Pryce who steals the show here, with his gloriously over-the-top portrayal of the Master. A hilarious and enjoyable parody that’s always worth watching. (And it’s admittedly fun to see Mr Bean’s take on the Doctor, too.)

Have you seen The Curse of Fatal Death? Did you watch it when it was first broadcast? What were your impressions of it then? What are your impressions of it now? Let us know in the comments below.