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

Nikolas II and family by Boasson and Eggler St. Petersburg Nevsky 24. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Bolshevik Revolution, Russia (1917)

Imperial Russia is a particularly interesting historical destination as it’s beautiful and brutal at the same time. The third largest empire in world history, it spanned three continents until the fall of the Romanov family during the Bolshevik revolution in 1917. And many modern viewers probably know little about this time period, or what life then might be like.

Historical figure we might meet: The entire Romanov family is interesting, particularly Tsar Nikolas, Tsarina Alexandra, and their son Alexei, whose hemophilia was kept a closely guarded family secret. But the most intriguing figure – and let’s be real, certainly the most likely to be an alien or under the influence of one – is Grigori Rasputin.

A Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man, he had a…let’s just say interesting relationship with the Tsarina. He was a controversial figure and many resented his influence at court. He also may or may not have been magical or immortal in some way, since according to legend he survived being poisoned, shot, and drowned before he actually died. Definitely sounds like an alien, if you ask me.

Potential adventures: Let’s rescue a Romanov! Despite the fact that Grand Duchess Anastasia’s death was pretty conclusively confirmed in 2007 when DNA testing identified a body in a mass grave as being hers, the myth that she somehow survived the assassination of her entire family still lingers. (More than one person has claimed to be the Grand Duchess over the years, and there’s a whole Broadway musical on this topic.) Why not let the Doctor make it real? In actuality, it’s kind of a “Fires of Pompeii” situation, where so many people are unsure whether she actually died that it wouldn’t really hurt anything if she lived.