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See the many other shows and movies that have referenced Doctor Who

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1 of 11 BBC America

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Doctor Who isn't just for British people or nerds. Even if you don't know the difference between a Cyberman or a Silurian, there's a good chance that you've unknowingly been exposed to the long-running sci-fi series at some point in your daily life. After enduring 50 years, Who has become so ingrained in pop culture that references abound — from Daleks on Rugrats to license plate holders reading "My other car is a TARDIS." There's no escaping the ubiquity of the Time Lord, so in honor of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary, we've gathered 10 of the best examples of the Doctor's mysterious timey-wimey power in our world. For more Doctor Who, also read:
2 of 11 Kobal Collection

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

In 1989, the world was introduced to two slackers (Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter), who have adventures through history and encounter the likes of Napoleon and Socrates. Their time-traveling device? An American phone booth inspired by the Doctor's blue police box known as the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space) spacecraft and time machine.
3 of 11 Comedy Central

Leela from Futurama

Matt Groening already had a habit of including references to the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) on The Simpsons, so when he created his space-age Futurama, it was a no-brainer to actually name one of his characters after somebody from Doctor Who. He chose the Fourth Doctor's companion — Leela, a primitive of the Sevateem tribe — as the inspiration for the purple-haired, one-eyed captain of the Planet Express. (The first part of her full name, Turanga, is named for the Turangalîla-Symphonie by Olivier Messiaen.)
4 of 11 Vivian Zink/NBC

"Inspector Spacetime" on Community

The show within a show is a thinly veiled parody of Doctor Who that follows the adventures of the Inspector and his companion who travel through space and time in a phone booth. The Blorgons are the mechanical creatures that resemble Daleks. Abed and Troy are such big fans, they even attend the "Inspector Spacetime" convention in the fourth season episode "Conventions of Space and Time," another reference to real-life Doctor Who conventions such as Gallifrey One. To further confuse this meta tangle, actor Travis Rickey, who portrays the Inspector, began a live-action web series titled "Untitled Web Series About a Space Traveler Who Can Also Travel Through Time."
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5 of 11 Adrian Rogers/BBC Worldwide

"Cyber"

Although the term "cybernetic" was first used in 1948, Doctor Who popularized the everyday use of "cyber" as a prefix to mean anything computerized, thanks to the Cybermen. These villains, dreamed up by scientist and Who writer-adviser Kit Pedler, were originally humanoid beings who progressively replaced their bodies with mechanical prostheses and therefore became increasingly cold, logical and emotionless.
6 of 11 HUB

Dr. Hooves on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

Like Community, My Little Pony has added their own version of the Time Lord to Equestria with an Earth pony named Dr. Hooves, aka Time Turner and Dr. Whooves. With his floppy brown hair, he bears a resemblance to the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant), has an hourglass cutie mark and is the time keeper in Ponyville. In the episode "Sweet and Elite, Dr. Hooves is seen partying with pony versions of the Third, Fifth and Eleventh Doctors (Jon Pertwee, Peter Davison, Matt Smith).
7 of 11 Teenage Rebel/Chameleon Circuit

Chameleon Circuit

The British band creates songs inspired by Doctor Who and is credited with launching the music genre known as Time Lord Rock, aka Trock. They've released two albums so far and most recently debuted their new music video for "The Doctor Is Dying," which refers to the Doctor's various incarnations, in time for the series' 50th anniversary. The chameleon circuit is a component of a TARDIS that allows it to change shape and blend in with its surroundings. The Doctor's TARDIS seen on the show has malfunctioned, which is why it continues to hold the shape of a 1960s-style British police box.
8 of 11 Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo's Humbolt penguins

Doctor Zoo? Newborn penguins born in the spring of 2013 at England's Chester Zoo were all named after Doctor Who characters: The Doctor, Dalek, Davros, TARDIS, Gallifrey and the runt of the litter, Sonic.
9 of 11 Epic Rap Battles of History

Epic Rap Battles of History: Doc Brown vs. Doctor Who

The popular YouTube series from Nice Peter and EpicLLOYD pits famous historical and pop culture characters against each other in a trash-talking rap battle. For the Doctor's bout, he faced another time-traveling doc, Doc Brown from the Back to the Future film franchise. The Doctor is portrayed to look similar to Ten but after a verbal "shot" by Brown, regenerates into a Doctor who looks like Four, whom Brown calls "Scarfy."
10 of 11 BBC America

Asteroid 8347 Lallaward

The Doctor's influence isn't only Earthbound! On April 21, 1987, C.S. and E.M. Shoemaker discovered the a main-belt asteroid and named it in honor of actress Lalla Ward, who is best known for playing Romana (actually Romana II since she's the second actress to play the role), a Time Lady from Gallifrey who was a companion to the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker). Ward is also the wife of evolutionary biologist and author Richard Dawkins.
11 of 11 CBS

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The "Lost" Cold Opening to The Late, Late Show's Doctor Who Episode In 2010, late-night talk show host Craig Ferguson dedicated an entire episode to Doctor Who. The musical opening set to the Who theme song was pulled because of rights issues, but later aired in 2011. The number featured various characters dressed to appear vaguely 1960s space-age mod, dancing and singing to a song whose lyrics detail the history and general plot of Doctor Who. Accompanied by hand-signing, Ferguson and his cronies sing, "One thing is consistent though and this is why the show is so beloved by geeks and nerds. It's all about the triumph of intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism." The song has become a rallying cry for Whovians everywhere.