Doctor Who: What mythology nods featured in Spyfall: Part One?

Along with giving us a brand new adventure, Spyfall also made sure to include plenty of references to Doctor Who’s long history. Here are the ones that stood out.

Unsurprisingly (especially when you consider the last few minutes), the first part of Spyfall featured a few nods to the long history of Doctor Who. Not many, but a few. Some referencing weapons that we hadn’t heard about on-screen in decades, while other mentions concern more recent history. Let’s take a look at each of these in detail. (Naturally, spoilers follow.)

UNIT and Torchwood

This was a very quick reference, but an important one, for a couple of reasons. When C (Stephen Fry) mentions that MI6 doesn’t officially believe in aliens, he mentions two of our favorite fictional organizations: UNIT and Torchwood.

It was definitely nice to hear of them again. Especially the latter, of which there have hardly been any mentions of in recent years. Sadly, the Doctor reminds us why that is with these crushing words:

"They’re all gone."

Officially, Torchwood was destroyed over ten years ago in Children of Earth. The team did come back in Miracle Day, but with neither the resources nor official backing that they once had. (The story has continued on audio at least thanks to Big Finish, but it’s unlikely that we’ll be seeing them on-screen again anytime soon.)

UNIT’s UK branch was quietly closed down much more recently, in 2019’s New Year’s Day episode Resolution. We don’t know the exact circumstances of how this happened, but the very strong implication is that it’s a result of Brexit.

This dual reference wasn’t made purely for fan service. It was also a neat little reminder to the audience that the world in Doctor Who has changed, and shows why MI6 is requesting the Doctor’s help and no other British organization, or at least, any organization we know that has experience with alien threats.

An impressive legend

At one point in the episode, there’s discussion over whether the rich and powerful Daniel Barton is in fact an alien, due to being only 93% human. O is quick to dismiss this theory, as he’s looked into Barton’s history, which is extensive. Then he makes this following statement:

"If he’s not human, that’s one very impressive legend he’s put together."

While there’s nothing here that seems to reference the show’s mythology directly, on re-watch, it definitely stands out when you know who O really is. Because it’s very easy to be reminded of “Harold Saxon”. Back in Series 3, the Master not only faked his identity, but he was able to create a whole history, as we briefly saw in The Sound of Drums. So it’s a very possible nod to that earlier (or later?) incarnation.

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Masterful references

Unsurprisingly, we got a couple of nods in the big reveal towards the end. A very subtle one was the Master describing himself as the Doctor’s “best enemy”. This particular description hasn’t been used often. In fact, the only example I can think of was in The Five Doctors, when the Third Doctor meets Anthony Ainley’s incarnation and describes him as such.

But perhaps the most satisfying reference was when the Master described how he killed the real O: “Tissue Compression”. Once upon a time, the Tissue Compression Eliminator was one of the Master’s favorite weapons, one used by all the incarnations featured in the Classic Series.

It essentially shrunk people to death – hence why the original O fitted perfectly inside a match box. While we didn’t see the weapon itself, it was definitely satisfying to hear it referenced in the series for the first time in decades. The fact that he even described the method as a “classic” is just perfect.

Lastly, one fitting mention wasn’t made in the episode itself, but in the credits:

"Dedicated to the memory of the Masterful Terrance Dicks."

Considering that he only passed away recently, a dedication to one of the most important people in Doctor Who history was always guaranteed. But the fact that the first episode of Series 12 also brought back the Master, a character that he helped to create along with producer Barry Letts, was also fitting. So this was definitely a highly appreciated dedication.

What was your favorite nod to the show’s mythology? Did you spot any other references or hints at Doctor Who‘s long history in Spyfall: Part One? Let us know in the comments below.