Last year, to commemorate Doctor Who’s 60^th anniversary, I decided to write a blog all about a number slightly less than 60. This year, to commemorate Doctor Who’s 61^st anniversary, I have decided to write another blog, but this time it’s about a number slightly less than 61. The fact that it happens to be the same number is just sheer dumb luck.

If you haven’t read it already, why not go and do that right now and then come straight back here. No really, it’s fine – we’ll wait…

…

…

… Oh wow, you’re back!

That’s funny, most people don’t usually come back. But you did! How very kind of you!

Not only did I correctly predict that Russell T Davies would bring back his favourite ‘random’ number, but I also correctly predicted that Steven Moffat would be making a return to writing scripts for Doctor Who. I definitely 100% did NOT have any insider knowledge to help me with this prediction and therefore consider myself to be a modern-day soothsayer. You want another prediction? Rumour has it that Steven Moffat is writing the Christmas Special this year, just between you and me. Ssh!

But enough about Steven Moffat (seriously, we’ve discoursed enough about the man to fill three whole internets!), we’re here to talk about Russell T Davies and the number 57. So how many times has it showed up in the past year? It’s actually more than you’d think.

The Star Beast

The opening entry of the 60^th anniversary specials doesn’t feature a direct mention of the number 57, but there are arguably two near-misses. Firstly, the episode’s run-time is a tidy 57 minutes (and 8 seconds). Secondly, the episode introduces us to Shirley Anne Bingham, who is UNIT Scientific Adviser No. 56. The Doctor retorts that he was Scientific Adviser No.1, which feels like a blatant erasure of Liz Shaw – who is hired before the Doctor in Spearhead from Space. Unless the Doctor is counting his assistance given to UNIT during The Invasion. Not only does this set up the inevitable Scientific Adviser No.57, but if we squint then 56 plus 1 equals 57. Wait, why are you booing me? I’m right!!

Wild Blue Yonder

Okay, here’s our first proper one of the RTD2 era.

DOCTOR: I don’t know. The Tardis translates but now it’s gone.

DONNA: No, the Tardis translates for me. I thought you knew 27 million languages.

DOCTOR: I know 57 billion, 205. But not this one.

Reader, let me tell you, when I first heard this line I cheered, I clapped, I whooped, I cried. This is the most satisfaction I’ve got out of the show for years (though the Chibnall era caption fonts come close) and I’m not ashamed to hide it. Numbers will never let you down. Also, notice how the digits two, zero and five add up to make seven. Very random. Very demure. Very mindful. We press on.

The Giggle

Alas, no direct mentions. But I can give you a couple of bits of trivia for you. First off, we hear a Tannoy announce that the outside platform is locked at Level 55, but it’s clearly not the very top of the building. We don’t know how high each floor of this brand spanking new UNIT Tower is but it’s just possible that there might be 57 levels to this building. Next there’s the Target novelisation of this episode, written by James Goss, that is split up into 55 ‘moves’ rather than chapters. But in addition there’s a “Move 1024” and a “Move 1 (again)”, which gives us… yep, 57 bespoke chapters. As long as you ignore the last page that says ‘Final Move’ – sssh! And lastly, this episode, first broadcast in 2023, marks the first televised return of the Toymaker, who has not been seen since 1966. And 2023 minus 1966 is… 57. How spooky!

The Church on Ruby Road

The number 57 is currently on their holibobs and therefore is out of office. It will return in May 2024. If your query is urgent, please contact Reception at Bad Wolf Studios who will redirect you to the best available person.

Space Babies

Jackpot! Ding, ding, ding!

RUBATHON: What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong? Because I am Rubathon Blue of the 57th Hemisphere Hatchlings, and I do not do wrong things, Dok-tah.

People have been saying this episode wasn’t the right way to start a new series of the show. But I’m afraid, on this occasion, I beg to differ…

The Devil’s Chord

Insert musical interlude episode here.

Boom

This episode isn’t even written by Russell T Davies. Next!

73 Yards

Genuinely, I got messages on the Website Formerly Known as Twitter that asked why the title wasn’t 57 Yards instead. I would have loved that! And we do get a near miss in the form of…

OFFICIAL: Hey. There are no unofficial photos, thank you.

PHONE: 55 yards.

OFFICIAL: Put that down! Get off the pitch!

PHONE: 56 yards.

DANNY: Ruby, just stop that and get back here. Ruby!

SECURITY: Excuse me. Hey. Could you get off the grass?

DANNY: I said, get off the pitch.

PHONE: 61 yards.

For an episode where numbers play a critical role, this felt cruel to me.

Dot and Bubble

Unequivocally the best episode of the series for fifty-sevens. Ricky and Lindy have to type in a series of 100 two-digit random numbers into a keypad lock in order to try and escape with their lives. This gives us one direct mention in dialogue and two screen appearances on the keypad.

RICKY: Lindy, do the numbers. Come here, take my place. Lindy, come here, do the numbers.

LINDY: Help me!

COMPUTER: Seventy three.

RICKY: Okay. Every five seconds, a new number.

COMPUTER: Forty five. Fifty seven.

RICKY: I’ll fight it off. Do the numbers.

COMPUTER: Fifty six.

RICKY: Come on. Come on.

COMPUTER: Forty five. Twenty one. Access granted.

LINDY: I’ve got it!

It really looks like they even used the same shot twice, just with different dialogue overlaying it?

Rogue

Also not written by Russell T Davies. So unsurprisingly, there’s no fifty-sevens. Next!

The Legend of Ruby Sunday/Empire of Death

We’re back at UNIT Tower for the two-part finale and we still don’t know how many levels there are. Ugh! And we don’t even get 57 different anagrams of Susan Triad/Sutekh’s name. A total washout then, much like the concluding episode in my honest opinion. (Why did I go to the IMAX cinema at midnight? I should have been tucked up in bed like a sensible adult!) But there’s one implicit number 57 present in the finale: Morris Gibbons. We can reasonably assume that he’s the next in line after Shirley Anne Bingham here and that makes him UNIT Scientific Advisor No.57. Huzzah!

Summary

The number 57 is alive and well in both the 60^th anniversary specials (thanks to Wild Blue Yonder) and Season One/Series 14 (thanks to Space Babies and Dot and Bubble), thus maintaining the streak of at least one mention of the number in every series of Doctor Who produced by Russell T Davies. If anything, the frequency of the number 57 has increased to an all-time high. It’s almost like RTD has gained self-awareness of the trope and started to parody himself, becoming more RTD than RTD. Perhaps Steven has even got him a few more Heinz cans in the office Secret Santa to celebrate? One can only hope for more references to the number 57 in Season Two/Series 15 in 2025… and beyond!

And a Happy Doctor Who Day to all of you at home!