We haven’t made one but we imagine the Venn diagram of Doctor Who fans and David Bowie enthusiasts would cross over considerably.
Bowie’s unique brand of music (which of course has sci-fi leanings) certainly has some shared characteristics with the inimitable Doctor Who – both are intelligent, inventive bodies of work that against all the odds managed to make the mainstream, constantly evolving over many decades.
Not to mention the fact that Bowie’s other-worldly appearance made him a dream Doctor for many fans. Come on, that man just was a Time Lord.
Here are some connections between that ever-changing alien and The Man Who Fell to Earth. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which of those descriptions is which…
Bowie Base One
When the Tenth Doctor found a human base on the Red Planet in ‘The Waters of Mars’, writers Russell T Davies and Phil Ford couldn’t resist naming it Bowie Base One – a reference to David Bowie’s song ‘Life on Mars.’
Of course, in this episode the Doctor answers the song’s question. Yes, there is life on Mars. And it is not friendly.
(Bowie’s song ‘Starman’ is also played by one of Rose Tyler’s neighbours on the Powell Estate in Russell T Davies’ 2005 episode ‘Aliens of London’.)
John Jones
If David Bowie can’t be the Doctor then what’s the next best thing?
Yes, the Eleventh Doctor comic series from Titan made David Bowie into a companion – or rather created a thinly-veiled version of him. John Jones (based on Bowie’s birth name of David Jones) was an alien with chameleonic powers who became a pop sensation on Earth in the 1960s. Ringing any bells?
Peter Capaldi’s outfit
As well as his music, David Bowie will also have a lasting legacy for his avant-garde fashion sense. Given that the Doctor is likewise known as a man to make bold statements with his clothes, it makes sense for at least one of the Doctor’s incarnations to have been inspired by the star.
Capaldi is said to have based his ‘no frills, no scarf, no messing’ outfit on Bowie’s look during his Thin White Duke era.
A source told NME in 2014: “[Peter] explained he drew inspiration for his Doctor Who look from his ‘scrapbook of ideas’. He thought Bowie was the perfect look.”
Doctor Who and The Spiders from Mars
After performing ‘The Jean Genie’ on Top of the Pops, Bowie and his band The Spiders From Mars were backstage at the BBC and bumped into some actors from Doctor Who story ‘Planet of the Daleks’ that was filming at the time.
Due to their space-age costumes, they thought the band were part of the cast too!
Sharaz Jek
And this is the big one.
(Takes a deep breath.)
David Bowie was almost on Doctor Who!
Director Graeme Harper’s first choice for the role of disfigured genius Sharaz Jek in ‘The Caves of Androzani’ was none other than Bowie, as he thought that a character who spent the whole time under a mask would have to have a distinctive voice and a balletic way of moving. Bowie might have taken the role too, but the filming dates clashed with the dates of his Serious Moonlight tour.
In the end the part went to Christopher Gable who, it has to be said, did a fantastic job and helped the character become one of the best villains of ’80s Who. However, the idea of Bowie appearing the show is such a tantalising one it’s heart-breaking that it never happened.
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Which other David Bowie references in Doctor Who have we missed? Let us know below…