Television: I am The Doctor, goo-goo-ga-joob
Or How The Beatles Played Second Fiddle With a Twist at the End
Who’s the guy in glasses? Credit: Disney+/Bad Wolf/BBC Studios
Why would anyone watch The Beatles (not being the Beatles), singing non-Beatles tunes and looking very much NOT like The Beatles? Well, if you’re part of the storyline in Doctor Who circa 2024, you might – might – be forgiven.
As with everything that concerns the Liverpudlian lads, the band’s inclusion in the ‘The Devil’s Chord’ episode of Doctor Who is not so much a showcase for them, but really more of a helper role in the narrative. If you’re somewhat the tiniest bit familiar with Doctor Who (I’ll let the experts handle that: go here for a history lesson), you should know that the beginnings for both entities began to bubble up in 1963.
Conveniently, we’re brought into this arc by way of companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), who in all her breathless fandom (her mother had a friend named Claire who loved The Beatles and her family had both Revolver and the White Album when she was ten years old!) asks to travel back in time (because, reasons) and Meet The Beatles! (sorry, I had to go there). When the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) navigates the TARDIS to February 11, 1963, Ruby is such a pop culture/fashion geek, she reminds the Doctor they should dress in period clothes, the better to blend in, my dear.
And then there were two. Credit: Disney+/Bad Wolf/BBC Studios
I’ll just interject here (and a couple of keen-eyed people have already done so… very loudly, I might add) that Ruby and the Doctor are kinda… sorta… way past the early ‘60s dress code and have jumped straight into post-Mod, sleek chic ‘60s dress code. You know, the kind the Beatles inspired. Anyway…
The duo sneaks into EMI Studios (historically correct as pointed out by the Doctor!) and their giddiness soon evaporates into dumbfounded confusion as they see The Beatles singing… not a Beatles tune.
Huh…?
What brought this on, besides the fact you have to understand the storyline? To cycle this back home, the reality of licensing Beatles songs is hefty. Really hefty: $10 million had to be paid out for the rights to use the songs in the 2019 Danny Boyle-directed Yesterday. Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davis explained to Empire on how you – the viewer – can make sense of this:
"I knew instantly you can never play Beatles songs on screen because the copyright is too expensive. So I’m thinking, ‘How would you do a Beatles episode without Beatles music?’ And that becomes the entire plot. That’s where the idea came from – copyright law!”
So, the whole presentation is entirely, intentionally awful. While some observers –okay, critics – can complain that there is nary a second of anything remotely related to The Beatles, music-wise – there’s another component that hits you with an eyeroll: who are these actors acting out as The Beatles?
The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and ‘Paul McCartney’ (George Caple). Credit: Disney+/Bad Wolf/BBC Studios
John Lennon – Chris Mason. Mason is a native Liverpudlian and has a Doctor Who connection via his role as Leo Humphries in Broadchurch: Chris Chibnall was that series creator and became the head writer/executive producer for Doctor Who in 2016 for a brief time. But, Mason wearing the NHS round specs in 1963? A big cup of nope.
Paul McCartney – George Caple. Another Doctor Who connection (why not?) as Caple was featured in the 2016 episode Survivors of the Flux in the thirteenth series, with Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. He’s got a nice scene with Gatwa, but his blue-eyed cherubness is a little off the mark.
George Harrison – Philip Davies. Not much to go on here, but there is no previous Doctor Who connection!
Ringo Starr – James Hoyles. Admittedly, he doesn’t have much screen time, but he’s stellar on Instagram! He could’ve been given way more than ‘blink and you’ll miss him’ as his look is the closest to reality. I mean, Doctor Who reality.
Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) and the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa). Credit: Disney+/Bad Wolf/BBC Studios
This series of Doctor Who may answer a lot of questions and storylines that go back as far as the beginning. But as far as The Beatles are concerned… yes, they helped save the day. And the future of music?
Seems like they could have had the “Beatles” doing one of the band's many early covers. Surely those songs could be licensed for a lot less than Beatles originals.