Doctor Who: 25 time periods Thirteen and Team TARDIS should visit

Brexit mural near the Dover/Calais ferry terminal (Photo: By Immanuel Giel – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Post-Brexit Sheffield, Great Britain (2022)

Time travel necessarily lends itself to two specific sorts of stories: Journeys to the past, in which our heroes explore things that have already happened, and trips to the future, in which we imagine what the world might look like after we’ve left it, and how the choices we make now might shape it.

The specter of Brexit is hanging over the United Kingdom at the moment; in fact, over all of Europe. And Doctor Who is uniquely positioned to be able to explore a lot of the hot button issues involved in Brexit in a delicate and meaningful way – after all, whatever the show chooses to do or change, it can always undo it afterward, or blame it all on aliens if necessary. And given that Sheffield is not London, the setting and its residents could offer an interesting perspective on events, as well.

Historical person our Doctor could meet:  Teresa May seems a bit on the nose, doesn’t it? But it could work. Perhaps it wouldn’t be too out of left field for the show to decide that Nigel Farage is a Slitheen or something similar.

Potential adventures: Perhaps its selfish or self-interested to want a Doctor Who episode focused on combating xenophobia and dangerous nationalism, but isn’t that part of what drove Brexit in the first place? Isn’t that what the Doctor’s good at, bringing people together? If the Doctor can’t – or shouldn’t – undo Brexit, then perhaps a simple lesson about tolerance is something everyone might benefit from.