H.P. Lovecraft (1880-1937) was an American writer who wrote short horror and science fiction stories, mostly for magazines. He was pretty obscure in his day, but has gathered a large cult following. He is best known for a loose canon of connected stories known as the
Cthulhu Mythos.
I got into Lovecraft a few years ago. While I read his books, I felt a strange feeling of de ja vu. I realised that they reminded me of various Doctor Who stories. This lead me to return to my childhood enthusiasm for Doctor Who.
I don't know how familiar the writers of Doctor Who were with Lovecraft's work, but there is often a striking familiarity of theme between Doctor Who and Lovecraft's horrific fiction.
The New Adventure novels made very explicit references to the Cthulhu mythos, even going so far as to identify particular beings in the Whoniverse as equivalents of the Old Ones, the alien deities in Lovecraft's universe. According to the novel,
Millennial Rites, the Old Ones are the Time Lord's of the universe that existed before the current universe and posess incredible power.
In this post, I will list the Lovecraftian themes in each Doctor Who story.
The DaleksMythos themes:
Slimy Tentacled Horrors, Lost Civilizations, Unearthly CitiesLost alien civilizations are the key theme of Lovecraft's
At the Mountains of Madness. He also liked describing
strange, ethereal cities.
The Daleks features the unearthly metal city of the Daleks.
We only get a brief glimpse of the creature within the Dalek's metal casings, but it is clearly a typically Lovecraftian
Slimy Tentacled Horror.
The Keys of MarinusMythos themes:
Slimy Tentacled HorrorsThe TARDIS crew enter a city controlled by
tentacled brains.
The Web PlanetMythos themes:
Slimy Tentacled Horrors, Godlike/ Demonic Entities, Lost CivilizationsThe animus is identified as the Old One, Lloigor in the New Adventure,
All Consuming Fire. It posesses incredible power and is a
Slimy Tentacled Horror.
The Menoptera have abandoned Vortis, giving us a
Lost Civilization.
The ChaseMythos themes:
Slimy Tentacled Horrors, Unearthly Cities, Aquatic BeingsAridus is populated by creatures that used to be aquatic when it was covered in oceans. These include
Slimy Tentacled Horrors.
The Mechanoids live in a
strange, ethereal city made of metal.
The Time MeddlerMythos themes:
Cosmic InsignificanceAn important element in Lovecraft's writing is the notion that mankind is insignificant in its place within the cosmos and powerless before a range of unknowable cosmic powers.
The Dalek's MasterplanMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic Entities, MythologyKatarina considers the Doctor to be a
god within her mythology. She calls the Dalek's 'evil ones'. When the ancient Egyptian soldiers encounter the Daleks, they describe them as
'evil gods.'The Celestial ToymakerMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic EntitiesThe Celestial Toymaker posesses godlike powers.
The Tenth PlanetMythos themes:
Lost Civilizations, Cosmic InsignificanceThe entire earth is threatened by the return of the planet Mondas and its Cyberman inhabitants.
Mondas was known on earth in the distant past.
The Underwater MenaceMythos themes:
Aquatic Beings, Mythology, Lost CivilzationsFeatures the
mythical lost city of Atlantis. It also features humans that have been turned into
fish people that are rather like Lovecraft's Deep Ones.The Macra TerrorLovecraft's story
The Whisperer in Darkness featured
unseen crablike creatures that could disguise themselves as humans. The Macra Terror features a colony controlled by
unseen (for most of the story)
crablike creatures that hide behind a human image.The Tomb of the CybermenMythos themes:
Lost Civilizations, Ancient EvilThe
evil of the Cybermen is
buried in a lost tomb on Telos.
The Abominable Snowman/ Web of FearMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic EntitiesThe alien
entity, the Great Intelligence is identified in All Consuming Fire as the Old One Yog-Sothoth, mentioned in many of Lovecraft's works.
The Ice WarriorsMythos themes:
Reptilians, Lost CivilizationsLike the Elder Things of
At the Mountains of Madness, the
reptilian Ice Warriors have been
buried under ice for a long time.
The DominatorsMythos themes:
Cosmic InsignificanceThe Dominators want to turn Dulkiss into a source of fuel, caring nothing for its inhabitants.
The KrotonsMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic entities, Cosmic InsignificanceThe humanoid Gond regard the alien Krotons as
gods, or at least something close to that status. The Gond are simply slaves and pawns for the Krotons.
Spearhead From Space/ Terror of the AutonsMythos themes:
Slimy Tentacled Horrors, Godlike/ Demonic Entities, Cosmic InsignificanceThe earth is threatened by terrible forces from outer space, namely the Nestenes (and the Master in
Terror of the Autons).
The Nestenes are identified in
All Consuming Fire as the children of
Shub Niggurath, an Old One from the Cthulhu Mythos. When the Nestene appears in material form it is a
tentacled creature.
Doctor Who and the SiluriansMythos themes:
Reptilians, Lost Civilizations, Cosmic InsignificanceLovecraft describes a
lost city of intelligent reptiles in
The Nameless City. In this story, the Doctor encounters a
lost reptilian civilization from prehistoric times. Humanity is threatened by the revelation that it is not the first intelligent life-form to inhabit the earth.
The Ambassadors of DeathMythos themes:
Cosmic InsignificanceThe earth is threatened by a largely unseen and mysterious alien race.
The Claws of AxosMythos themes:
Slimy Tentacled Horrors, Godlike/ Demonic Entities, Cosmic InsignificanceA strange alien race nearly destroys the earth.
Although the powerful Axos creatures are
Slimy Tentacled Horrors, they masquerade as
angelic beings.
The Time Monster
Mythos themes: Mythology, Lost Civilizations, Godlike/ Demonic Entities
Features the
lost civilization of Atlantis and a
being from Greek mythology called Kronos.
The DaemonsMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic Entities, Mythology, Ancient Evil, Strange CultsDoctor Who does not get more Lovecraftian than this story. Azal is a
demonic and godlike being from the
ancient past. He is identified with various
mythological beings. He is worshipped by Satanic
cults.
The Sea DevilsMythos themes:
Aquatic Beings, Lost Civilizations, ReptiliansAnother lost reptilian civilization from earth's prehistoric past. This lot are from
under the sea.The Three DoctorsMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic Entities, Slimy Tentacled HorrorsOmega, once a Time Lord wields
godlike power in his antimatter realm. His Gel Guards remind me of the Shoggoths in
At the Mountains of Madness.
The Time WarriorMythos themes:
Cosmic InsignificanceThe people of the Medieval England is unaware of its place within a vast panorama of intergalactic warfare.
Planet of the SpidersMythos themes:
Strange Cults, Godlike/ Demonic EntitiesA strange Buddhist cult summons up strange
demonic spiders from another time and planet. The queen of these spiders is called the
Great One and posesses
godlike power.
Terror of the ZygonsMythos themes:
Slimy Tentacled Horrors, Aquatic Beings, Mythology, Ancient EvilThe presence Zygons have affected the
mythology of the Loch Ness area. They are
slimy aquatic creatures and can disguise themselves as humans, like the Migo in Lovecraft's
Whisperer in Darkness.
Planet of EvilMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic Entities, Cosmic InsignificanceFeatures demonic beings from an antimatter universe. Material from the antimatter universe has the potential to destroy the matter universe.
Pyramids of MarsMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic Beings, Strange Cults, Mythology, Ancient Evil, Cosmic InsignificanceA very Lovecraftian story. Sutekh is an alien who posesses
godlike powers. He regards humans as worthless and intends to destroy all life on earth. He and his fellow Osirians have entered Egyptian
mythology. Sutekh is worshipped by some humans.
The Brain of MorbiusMythos themes:
Ancient Evil, Strange CultsMorbius is an
evil Time Lord from ancient Gallifrey. He has a
cult-like following.Seeds of DoomMythos themes:
Ancient Evil, Slimy Tentacled BeingsLike the Elder Things of
At the Mountains of Madness, the Krynoid is buried under ice. This story is influenced by
The Thing, by John Campbell, which was probably inspired by Lovecraft's antarctic tale.
Lovecraft had some vegetable monsters, his Migo are fungus creatures (despite also being crab-like) and his Elder Things have vegetable qualities.
The Masque of MandragoraMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic Entities, Strange Cults, Mythology, Cosmic InsignificanceThe Mandragora Helix is a strange alient intelligence that takes over the
cult of the
ancient god Demnos.
Human science in this story is shown to be utterly ignorant of the bizarre wonders of the Whoniverse.
The Hand of FearMythos themes:
Ancient Evil, Lost CivilizationsThe alien Eldrad of Kastria survived only as an apparently fossilised hand;
buried for long ages on earth.The civilization of Kastria has been completely destroyed some time in the
past.
Horror of Fang RockMythos themes:
Slimy Tentacled Horrors, Cosmic InsignificanceThe jellyfishlike Rutan is typically Lovecraftian in appearance.
The earth is in danger of getting caught in the crossfire of the ancient Rutan-Sontaran conflict.
Image of the FendahlMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic Entities, Ancient Evil, Slimy Tentacled Horrors, Strange Cults, Lost Civilizations, Cosmic InsignificanceAnother very Lovecraftian story. The Fendahl gestalt creature is almost a kind of god of death. It is worshipped by a secret cult. The planet of Fendahl was destroyed by the Time Lords in the distant past. The Fendahl played some role in the evolution of humanity.
The Ribos OperationMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic Entities, Cosmic InsignificanceThe Doctor is given a quest by the godlike White Guardian and is warned to beware of his opposite number, the Black Guardian.
The people of Ribos are utterly ignorant of the vastness of the cosmos.
The Pirate PlanetMythos themes:
Cosmic InsignificanceWhole worlds and their populations have been consumed by the pirate planet Xanak.
The Stones of BloodMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic Entities, Mythology, Strange CultsThe alien Cessair of Diplos impersonated a goddess from Celtic mythology. She is worshipped by a Druidic cult.
The Power of KrollMythos themes:
Mythology, Slimy Tentacled Horrors, Strange CultsThe giant squid, Kroll, worshipped by the Delta Magnan natives reminds me a lot of Cthulhu.
City of DeathMythos themes:
Cosmic Insignificance, Mythology, Ancient EvilThe alien Jaggaroth created life on earth by accident, very much like the Elder Things of
At the Mountains of Madness. The Jaggaroth appears to have entered Egyptian mythology.
The Creature from the PitMythos themes:
Slimy Tentacled HorrorsThe creature in the pit appears to be a Slimy Tentacled Horror, though it turns out to be friendly.
Horns of NimonMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic Entities, Strange CultsA gang of extradimensional entities moving from planet to planet, starting cults.
Full CircleMythos themes:
Aquatic Beings, Cosmic InsignificanceThe Marshmen are a bit like Lovecraft's Deep Ones. It turns out the Alzarians have evolved from the Marshmen. I can hear echoes of
Shadow Over Innsmouth.
State of DecayMythos themes:
Ancient Evil, Godlike/ Demonic Entities, Strange CultsA
cult of vampires worshipping the
Ancient One, an evil creature that threatened the Time Lords in their dark time.
Kinda/ SnakedanceMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic Entities, MythologyFeatures a demonic being called the Mara. In Snakedance, this is shown to play a role in the mythology of the planet Manussa.
EnlightenmentMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic EntitiesFeatures godlike beings called Eternals.
Twin DilemmaMythos themes:
Slimy Tentacled Horrors, Godlike/ Demonic Entities, MythologyThe slug-like Gastropods were sent by the gods, according to the mythology of Joconda.
Remembrance of the Daleks/ Silver NemesisMythos themes:
Cosmic InsignificanceThe earh is caught up in vast cosmic events.
Greatest Show in the GalaxyMythos themes:
Godlike/ Demonic EntitiesThe Gods of Ragnarok are identified as Old Ones in
All-Consuming Fire. The Doctor has fought them across time and space (perhaps he means the Old Ones in general). Perhaps the Celestial Toymaker is one. The novel Conundrum states that the Land of Fiction in the
Mind Robber was created by the Gods of Ragnarok.
BattlefieldMythos themes:
Mythology, Godlike/ Demonic Entities, Cosmic InsignificanceThe earth is caught up in events from beyond this universe. The Arthurian legends are of extra-dimensional origin. Morgaine summons up a demon, The Destroyer, who eats worlds.
Curse of FenricMythos themes:
Ancient Evil, Godlike/ Demonic Entities, Cosmic InsignificanceThe evil god Fenric is identified as the Mythos deity Hastur in
All-Consuming Fire.
Ace finds out that major events in her life have been manipulated by Fenric.
Another fellow fundamentalist who is fascinated with Lovecraft and Dr. Who! o_O
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping in
ReplyDeleteThe new series has quite a bit of Lovecraft in it as well--The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit in particular is a loose adaptation of The Call of Cthulhu. I believe this was intentional, as the design of the Ood is very like the description of Cthulhu himself and they are the psychic receptors for the beast's reawakened thoughts (as were artists and lunatics in the Lovecraft tale). If you list all the similarities between the stories it's pretty clear the one sprang forth from the other.
ReplyDeleteI remember a Tom Baker episode where they were in the Tardis and started being chased through time space by creatures like The Hounds of Tindalos. They were even working there way in side the Tardis.
ReplyDeleteI suspect you are thinking of Pyramids of Mars
Delete:o
ReplyDelete