The Tropes Directory is a collection of recurring themes and story elements that appear across Whoniverse stories. Each trope page lists all the stories where that trope features, making it easy to explore patterns! 3D Stories that are available to watch in 3D. View 4 stories AI gone wrong Stories were the main antagonist is actually just some kind of AI program that has gone wrong e.g. computers deciding that the human race are inferior, or the cause of all suffering. View 42 stories Alien Delegates Stories featuring alien delegates in political situations. View 13 stories Alien Migrants Stories involving aliens that are refugees or migrants, fleeing war or a better life. View 14 stories Amnesia Stories involving amnesia - either the Doctor, a companion, or an antagonist. View 47 stories Anachronisms Stories involving anachronisms, apart from the TARDIS Team. View 9 stories Assassin Stories with assassins in. View 22 stories Authority Figure Stories where the main character poses as someone in a position of authority. View 15 stories Base Under Siege A very classic Doctor Who trope - very popular during the Second Doctor’s era - stories where there is a base and it is under siege from enemies. View 65 stories Black Hole Stories involving black holes. View 10 stories Bleak Resort Stories involving a resort (holiday park, hotel, etc) where things get bleak. View 8 stories Blinovitch Limitation Effect Stories where the Blinovitch Limitation Effect is mentioned or comes into affect. View 7 stories Block Transfer Computation Stories involving Block Transfer Computation View 7 stories Body Possession Stories where someone is possessed by something. View 69 stories Body swap Stories where two (or more) people swap bodies. View 9 stories Bootstrap Paradox Stories involving Bootstrap Paradoxes. A paradox of time travel that occurs when any event, such as an action, information, an object, or a person, ultimately causes itself, as a consequence of either retrocausality or time travel. View 33 stories Breaking the Fourth Wall When a character makes it known that they are aware they are in a story, or there are cameras on them, etc. Like the First Doctor wishing everyone a Merry Christmas at home. View 59 stories By Royal Command Stories where the Doctor interacts with the reigning monarch. View 38 stories Capitalism is bad Stories where capitalism - the economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit - is a motivation of the bad guys. View 32 stories Caste Society Stories involving cultures that live in a caste society, where individuals are born into certain occupations, statuses, etc. View 16 stories Celebrity Historical Stories where someone travels in time and meets a famous person. View 98 stories Child Genius Stories involving child geniuses. View 10 stories Classic Companions This is probably too wide a net. But it was meant to be stories where classic companions come back and meet newer doctors. For example - Power of the Doctor, or the audio box set Tenth Doctor, Classic Companions. View 13 stories Clockwork Stories involving things that run by clockwork - usually robots. View 15 stories Cloister Bell Stories where the TARDIS’ cloister bell tolls. Something that happens all too regularly lately! View 39 stories Companion Death Stories where a companion dies. Even if they come back to life again. View 15 stories Companion Doppelgänger Stories where a there is someone in history who looks exactly like a current companion. View 43 stories Companion cloned Stories where a companion is cloned. View 4 stories Companion sacrifices themself Stories where the companion is willing to sacrifice themselves, whether they are allowed to go through with it or not. View 7 stories Companions meeting Stories where companions of the Doctor, who don’t normally travel together, meet. View 27 stories Consequences Stories where what happens is a consequence of something from a previous story, or a past action. View 46 stories Controlling the Beast Stories where there is a savage creature that is secretly under the control of a villain. View 8 stories Corridors Stories where there are a lot of corridors. View 13 stories Countdown Stories featuring a countdown of some sort, usually to up the stakes. View 21 stories Court Trial Stories involving court trials. View 16 stories Cryogenic Sleep Stories featuring cryogenic sleep. View 9 stories Cult Stories involving cults. View 14 stories Dalek-human hybrid Stories where Dalek-human hybrids are created or involved. View 7 stories Daleks pretending to be good WOULD YOU CARE FOR SOME TEA? View 12 stories Dance Number Stories that include a dance number! View 6 stories Dawn of Time Stories where the dawn of time is visited. View 18 stories Deadlock Seal Stories where a 'deadlock seal' is mentioned. View 24 stories Desert planet Stories set on planets that are desert. View 6 stories Dinosaurs Stories featuring dinosaurs. View 25 stories Disease Stories featuring a disease or virus. View 59 stories Distress Signal Stories where a distress signal is sent out - usually at the start. View 47 stories Doctor Doppelgänger Stories where there is someone in history who looks exactly like the Doctor. View 23 stories Doctor Who? Stories where someone asks the question "Doctor Who?" View 43 stories Doctor cloned Stories where the Doctor is cloned. View 5 stories Doctor imprisoned Stories where the Doctor is locked up. View 50 stories Doctor kisses Stories where the Doctor kisses someone. View 29 stories Doctor meets themself Stories where the Doctor meets themself from another time - either a past/future version of the same incarnation or another incarnation entirely. View 15 stories Doctor sacrifices themself Stories where the Doctor is willing to sacrifice themselves, whether or not they go ahead with it. View 9 stories Doctor under suspicion of murder Stories where the Doctor is under suspicion of murder. View 24 stories Dodgy Parking Stories where the TARDIS lands in a precarious position like the edge of a ravine in The Romans or with the door against a wall in Fear Her. View 9 stories Drugs Stories involving drugs. View 11 stories Earth Invasion Stories where Earth is invaded. View 50 stories Edge of the Universe Stories set at the edge of the universe View 7 stories End of the Universe Stories set at the end of the universe View 12 stories Environmental Message Stories where the moral of the story is one about environmentalism. View 50 stories Everybody Lives! Stories where there are no deaths, or everyone who died is ressurrected. View 6 stories Evil Doctor Stories where there is an evil version of the Doctor. View 2 stories Evil Toys Stories where toys are evil. View 5 stories Evil Twin Stories involving evil twins. View 3 stories Evil Vegetation Stories where the vegetation is malicious. View 44 stories Experimental format Stories filmed, recorded or written in a different, experimental way. View 36 stories Face Off Any time someone takes a mask off or their actual face off. View 6 stories Fake Regeneration Stories where it looks like there is going to be a regeneration, but it was faked. View 7 stories False Gods Stories where someone is pretending to be a god. View 4 stories Fencing Stories featuring fencing (the sport / combat method) View 12 stories First TARDIS trip Stories where a new companion has their first actual trip in the TARDIS to a new time or place. View 61 stories Fixed point in time Stories that mention a fixed point in time View 20 stories Flashbacks Stories that feature flashbacks - either to previous stories or to past lives. View 32 stories Frost Fair Stories set at a frost fair. View 4 stories Frozen Time Stories where time freezes. View 7 stories Games Stories where they play games. View 9 stories Ghosts Stories featuring ghosts, or at least something which is suspected to be ghosts, even if it turns out not to be. View 81 stories HADS Stories featuring the TARDIS’ Hostile Action Displacement System View 14 stories Halloween Stories set around Halloween. View 13 stories Heist Stories involving a heist of some sort. View 7 stories Hospital Stories set in a hospital. View 24 stories Human Colony Stories set on a human colony planet or ship. View 69 stories Human Zoo Stories set in a zoo that contains humans instead of / as well as animals. View 2 stories Ice Planet Stories set on a planet that is cold and icy. View 9 stories Imposter Doctor Stories that have a character pretending to be the Doctor. View 6 stories Impure Daleks Stories involving Daleks calling other Daleks impure View 4 stories Invisibility Stories where someone or something is invisible. View 12 stories It's bigger on the inside Stories where someone says “it’s bigger on the inside” or words to that effect. View 45 stories Jettison bits of the TARDIS Stories where the Doctor jettisons bits of the TARDIS to improve flight, or for another reason. View 4 stories LGBTQA+ Stories that either feature characters or experiences of LGBTQA+ people, or have been embraced by that community View 242 stories Life force Stories where such a thing as a “life force” is important. View 10 stories Lost the TARDIS Stories where, for whatever reason, the Doctor and companions cannot get back to the TARDIS. View 89 stories Lottery Stories that involve a Lottery. View 5 stories Master of Disguise Stories where The Master is disguised. View 37 stories Mavity Stories that mention the word 'mavity'. View 13 stories Meeting in the wrong order Stories with characters that meet in the wrong order. View 19 stories Melody Malone Stories that feature or mention River Song's alter ego, Melody Malone. View 4 stories Milkman Stories featuring a milkman. View 8 stories Mind Control Stories where someone is mind-controlled by someone else. View 175 stories Miniaturisation Stories where people, objects, or planets are miniaturised. View 41 stories Mining Stories set in or around mines, or mining stations or planets. View 42 stories Mission from the Time Lords Stories involving missions from the Time Lords. View 39 stories Mistaken Identity Stories where someone, usually the Doctor, is mistaken for someone else. View 31 stories Misunderstood Monster Stories where it is assumed the bad guy is bad, but they are just misunderstood. View 24 stories Monster Origin Story Stories that act as “prequels” to explain the origins of an already established monster. View 16 stories Monster Vision Stories where the camera appears to look through the eyes of the monster (or in other media, where we are told what the monster is thinking or feeling). View 11 stories Murder Mystery Stories that involve a murder mystery. View 42 stories Musical Episode Stories that involve lots of musical numbers. View 5 stories Mysterious planet Earth Stories where it’s unclear what planet they are on, until it turns out to be Earth. View 6 stories Nazis Stories featuring Nazis. View 12 stories Non-interference policy Stories involving a non-interference policy, either the Doctor or the Time Lords or someone else. View 4 stories Occult Stories involving the occult. View 33 stories Ocean world Stories where the entire planet is covered in ocean. View 7 stories Original Song Stories containing an original song. View 18 stories Pirates Stories featuring pirates. View 26 stories Political commentary Stories that feature political commentary. View 29 stories Pop Culture Stories that discuss pop culture. View 9 stories Post apocalyptic Stories set in a post-apocalyptic world. View 10 stories Pregnancy Stories involving pregnancy. View 10 stories Prison Planet Stories featuring a planet that is a prison. View 33 stories Profiting from time travel Stories where someone, usually the antagonist, is trying to profit from the use of time travel. View 12 stories Propaganda Stories that feature propaganda. View 4 stories Pure Historical Stories that are set in the past and have no aliens or future tech involved, apart from the TARDIS and her crew. View 79 stories Pyramid Stories that feature pyramids. View 4 stories Quarantine Stories where people, cities, or planets are placed under quarantine. View 7 stories Reality TV Stories that feature reality TV. View 10 stories Religion Stories with religion as a major theme. View 19 stories Reverse the polarity Stories where someone says “reverse the polarity”. View 44 stories Rewriting History Stories where someone is trying to, or succeeds in, rewriting history. View 38 stories Ritual Stories involving a ritual. View 8 stories Robots Stories featuring robots. View 245 stories Romance Stories featuring romance. View 14 stories Romans Stories that feature the Romans. View 22 stories School Days Stories which are set in and around a school. View 12 stories Self-destruct Stories where a self destruct is triggered - maybe on a ship, or a robot. View 14 stories Shakespearian Influence Stories that are influenced heavily by Shakespeare. View 34 stories Shape Shifting Stories involving shapeshifters. View 68 stories Shrinking TARDIS Stories where the TARDIS shrinks. View 3 stories Sign Language Stories featuring sign language. View 5 stories Slave Labour Stories involving slave labour. View 30 stories Space Station Stories set on a space station. View 83 stories Spaceship Stories set on a spaceship, or with a spaceship crash etc. View 178 stories Spiked Drink Stories where somebody’s drink is spiked (alcohol or drugs added without them knowing). View 9 stories Spoilers Stories where someone says “spoilers!” like River Song often does. View 20 stories Stone Circle Stories involving a stone circle. View 8 stories Stranded on Earth Stories where someone who usually travels through space and time is stranded on Earth. View 43 stories Supernatural Stories featuring the supernatural. View 9 stories TARDIS is damaged Stories where the TARDIS is damaged, so either it cannot move or it goes to an unusual place/time. View 54 stories Telepathy Stories that feature telepathy. View 15 stories Temporal grace Stories where the field of temporal grace inside the TARDIS, which is supposed to stop weapon fire, is mentioned or used. View 18 stories Temporary Companion Stories with a temporary companion, someone who fills the companion role but does not carry on travelling with the Doctor. View 21 stories The Dark Times Stories mentioning or set in the Dark Times. View 6 stories The Doctor Falls Stories where the Doctor falls over. View 57 stories The Doctor’s Name Stories that are about the Doctor's name, or where their name is mentioned. View 24 stories Time Agent Stories featuring or mentioning time agents. View 5 stories Time Eddy Stories that mention a time eddy. View 10 stories Time Loop Stories where a time loop occurs. View 38 stories Time Travel Pivotal Stories where the time travel is not simply used as a “magic door” but is actually pivotal to the story. View 113 stories Tomb Love a tomb. View 9 stories Transmat Stories where people are teleported using a transmat. View 34 stories Traps Stories where people are caught or try to avoid traps. View 26 stories Travelling Serial A serial where each part is in a different place or time. View 12 stories Under the Sea Stories set under the sea. View 30 stories Vampires Stories featuring vampires. View 35 stories Vegan Stories where veganism or vegans are mentioned. View 5 stories Vegetarian Stories where vegetarianism is mentioned or themes discussed. View 16 stories Video Games Stories about video games. View 5 stories Virtual Afterlife Stories featuring some kind of virtual afterlife. View 8 stories Virtual Reality Stories featuring virtual reality. View 3 stories Visiting Family Stories where a companion visits their family (using the TARDIS usually). View 16 stories War Stories set in, or after, a war. View 136 stories Wedding Stories featuring a wedding. View 26 stories Werewolves Stories featuring werewolves. View 5 stories Wild West Stories set in the Wild West. View 11 stories Working Chameleon Circuit Stories featuring a TARDIS with a functional chameleon circuit. View 8 stories World War I Stories set around World War I. View 26 stories World War II Stories set around World War II. View 44 stories Zombies Stories that feature zombies. View 9 stories
