At the turn of the 1980’s, actors Tom Baker and Lalla Ward starred in four ads in-character in their respective roles of the Fourth Doctor and Romana II from the British science fiction series Doctor Who, promoting the then-cutting edge Prime Computer. Tom Baker has also been credited as writing the ads. The ads were made for Australian and New Zealand television, where the show was particularly big.
The chronologically first episode (the first two are untitled, but known by their collective tagline Step Into the 80's!) has Romana reveal to the Doctor that she had installed a Prime Computer into the TARDIS (which now looks like a White Void Room, possibly due to Romana redecorating it further). The greatly inpressed Doctor loves the surprise, and immediately begins testing what Prime — portrayed as having a very sophisticated AI — can really do.
Another short begins with Romana telling the Doctor out of nowhere that the universe is about to end. This is quickly solved (somehow) by having Prime supply the orbital coordinates of 900 planets in the constellation of Kasterborous. With the day saved, the Doctor tells Romana to be more quiet, apparently to not disturb the computer.
Dr. Who meets his match shows the Doctor planning to use Prime to design ships and run power stations, seemingly scheming to revolutionize the energy industry. This apparently gets Romana in the mood, as she cuddles up to the Doctor. On Romanas provocation, Prime suggests that they should tie the knot. The Doctor proposes to Romana, and she says “yes”(!)
In Dr. Who and the Aliens, Romana has been kidnapped by the eponymous aliens, whom the Doctor, with the help of Prime, deduces herald from Liprogopolis. In exchange for their hostage, the Doctor reluctantly agrees to reveal the name of his “supreme computer” to the Liprogopolisians... who just want to buy one. Romana is returned, the Doctor dismissing her kidnappers as ”just some overexcited Prime buyers.”
These shorts are notable for being possibly the only time the incumbent Doctor has appeared in-character (and not as a Lawyer-Friendly Cameo) in an ad for an unrelated product, and for their slightly Hotter and Sexier take on the Doctor and Romana’s relationship.
At last, these tropes are up to date:
- As You Know: The Doctor feels the need to tell Romana that Gallifrey is in the constellation of Kasterborous. You’d expect her to already know that, being from that planet and all...
- Big "WHAT?!": The Doctor’s reaction to hearing that the The End of the World as We Know It is just seconds away.
- Character Shilling: Prime gets this in spades. Though given that they are an anthropomorphized product in a series of ads made to market it, this is not exactly surprising.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Considering the Monster of the Week premise of the original show, Dr. Who and the Aliens might just be one of the most hilariously redundant titles in the history of the franchise.
- E.T. Gave Us Wi-Fi: One may suspect that something along those lines is going on when the Doctor mentions having seen Prime computers on Gallifrey, but he later describes them as being from Earth, implying that they’re just that good that even the Time Lords started using them.
- Exact Time to Failure: The Doctor has seventeen seconds to save the universe, with the increasingly panicked Romana providing a helpful countdown. He calmly does the deed with less than a second to spare.
- Hates Being Nicknamed: Prime does not appreciate being called ”kid”.Prime: DONT PATRONISE ME DOCTOR. I’M A PRIME COMPUTER.
- 👁 This example contains a YMMV entry. It should be moved to the YMMV tab.
I Am Not Shazam: Subverted. The Liprogopolisian who negotiates with the Doctor provides a rare case of him actually being referred to as “Doctor Who” on screen. The name is also used in the titles of the latter two ads. - I Have Your Wife: The Liprogopolisians take Romana — the Doctor’s companion — hostage and threaten to choke her if he doesn’t agree to their demands. Possibly a literal example, depending on whether or not the characters had already made it official between episodes.
- Inconsistent Spelling: The computer spells its own name as “PRIME”, but the label on it reads “PR1ME”. Both spellings were used by the Real Life company.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: The Doctor using Prime to determine the identity of Romana’s kidnappers turns out to be exactly what they needed to confirm that he did own such a computer.
- Off-Model: Not only does the TARDIS interior look nothing like it’s ever done in the original show, the police box exterior also has a different sign on it.
- Parrot Exposition: This exchange:The Doctor: In seven computer languages on five protocols?Romana: Protocols?The Doctor: Yes, that’s how it talks to other computers.Romana: Talks to other computers?The Doctor: Well of course it does, it’s a Prime.
- Production Foreshadowing: “Liprogopolis” sounds suspiciously similar to Logopolis.
- Relationship Upgrade: Between the Doctor and Romana, albeit (possibly) only within the context of these ads.
- Ruder and Cruder: Downplayed, but these ads do still contain a very rare instance of the Doctor swearing on-screen and in-character. (One barely audible instance of ”Damn.”
- Shipper on Deck: Prime, which offers the oh so eloquent suggestion ”MARRY THE GIRL DOCTOR”.
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: The Doctor wears his Burgund Season 18 outfit in the latter two ads, matching the changes to his wardrobe in the main show at the time.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Prime has quite a bit in common with K9 (who is absent from these ads), being a highly competent if somewhat snarky Robot Buddy.
- Unseen Evil: All that is seen of the Liprogopolisians is a furry arm threatening Romana.
- White Void Room: The interior of the TARDIS is portrayed as one. Confusingly, its exterior is also parked in one in Dr. Who meets his match.
- You Can Say That Again: The Doctor’s response to Romana calling the computer ”Clever Prime”. She proceeds to literally say it again.
