Doctor Who’s Harry Potter Reference Really Didn’t Work – Screen Rant

From Daleks to Captain Jack, the Doctor Who New Year's special featured many familiar faces. The Harry Potter reference, however, was a mistake.

Among the many fun and nostalgic Easter eggs in the Doctor Who festivespecial "Revolution of the Daleks,"one reference to Harry Pottermay not really work for many fans. Whenviewers last left the13th Doctor at the end ofseason 12, she'd been mysteriouslytransportedfrom the TARDIS to Judoon jail. She's there to serve time for an undisclosed crime committed by Ruth,a previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor played by Jo Martin. After a gleeful romp past fan-favorite bad guys from throughout the show's history,like the Weeping Angels, the Sycorax, and the Daleks, the Doctor lulls herself to sleep, reciting the opening lines of the first chapter of Harry Potter and thePhilosopher's Stone.

Harry Potterreferences are nothing new in the Whoniverse. Russell T. Davies, who revived the series in 2005, considered a Harry Potter/Doctor Who crossover episode, and there are several references to theWizarding World in Doctor Whoseason 3, episode 2, "The Shakespeare Code." Those references had a nice meta-effect, since David Tennant, who played the Doctor at the time, also starred asBarty Crouch, Jr in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It also matched the zeitgeist, with both Harry Potter and Doctor Who among the biggest franchises on the planet. The Harry Potter callback in Revolution of the Daleks, however, feels at best irrelevant, and at worst, tin-eared on the part of Doctor Who showrunnerChris Chibnall, who also wrote the script.

Related:Doctor Who Holiday Special May Tease Torchwood's Return

Itmay not seem problematic at first for the magical boy who lived under the stairs to come to the aid of a magical girl seeking comfortin a prison cell under the stars. However, in 2018, J.K. Rowling favorited some Tweets expressing anti-trans sentiment, and since then, has become an outspoken opponent to transgender rights. She's even been criticized by Harry Pottercast members for her comments. Not only is the 13Doctor the first to be played by a woman, but her iteration has become iconic and celebrated among theLGBTQ+ community.At the time the script was written in 2019, Chibnall knew full-well Rowling's troublesomeanti-trans views. The decision to still reference it, then, is contradictory and inconsistent, especially since the Chibnall-era clearly prioritizes themes of social justice in its storytelling.

The reference is also alarming in an episode that also features the venomous and slimy Jack Robertson, a Chibnall creation played by Chris Noth.Robertson is a thinly-veiled Donald Trump corollary, who himself is anotoriously reckless Tweeter with politically-incorrect views. With the Harry Potter reference coming in the same installment, then it furtherhighlights attention to just how harmful Rowling's views have been. It's sad that in 2021 a once-beloved storyteller like Rowling carries similar connotations to Trump, but 2020saw the possible end of the pure love and whimsy once carried for Harry Potter stories by children.

From that perspective, the Harry Potter reference did at least match the surprisingly elegiac tone of the Doctor Whoholiday special.It also far from ruined what was otherwise a strong, well-paced episodethat could be counted both among Chibnall's best scripts, as well as one of Whittaker's best performances in the role so far. Writing Doctor Who is always a balancing act between the past and the future, but by including a J.K. Rowling reference, Chibnall clearly forgot to considerthe present.

More: How The Doctor Who Holiday Special Sets Up Season 13

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Will Kennedy is a professional pop culture nerd, freelance writer, and senior music writer with Eugene Weekly. He lives in Eugene, Oregon, with his wife, daughter, and two cats. All of whom politely accommodate his obsessions with Doctor Who and The Smiths.

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Doctor Who's Harry Potter Reference Really Didn't Work - Screen Rant