Chris Hardwick went Steampunk for Halloween on @Midnight
As a person living very far from home at the moment I am so thankful for the internet, and especially networks that post episodes of my favorite shows. It was love at first viewing of the Comedy Central show @Midnight, which is hosted by Chris Hardwick of the Nerdist podcast series. He is fabulously nerdy and a big fan of cosplayers, so it came as no surprise when he dressed up in clever costumes for several episodes of the improv comedy show leading up to Halloween.
In addition to Luke Skywalker Texas Ranger, he also got decked out by Clockwork Couture in a Steampunk Doctor Who ensemble. From a distance, you wouldn’t know he was posing at the Doctor, but as he told the audience, his splendid cravat actually had his name embroidered in Gallfrayan on it. Someone photoshopped Hardwick onto a TARDIS interior and I couldn’t resist posting it.
Steampunk Sourcebook: Doctor Who
If you are a Sci-Fi fan then you must have heard of Doctor Who. But just in case you haven’t, the Doctor is an altruistic alien who can go anywhere in time and space, but seems to have an affinity for jolly old England all the same 🙂
Did you know that there are lots of episodes that could serve for Steampunk inspiration?
The Unquiet Dead (Episode 159, 9th Doctor)
The Doctor and Rose Tyler team up with Charles Dickens to solve a ghost story in 1869.
Tooth and Claw (Episode 169, 10th Doctor)
In 1879 The Doctor lands in Scotland and Queen Victoria is in danger from a werewolf attack.
 The Girl in the Fireplace (Episode 171, 10th Doctor)
This episode would probably most accurately be called “clockpunk” because it features space-clockwork and 18th Century France.
The New Doctor (Episode 199 (Christmas Special), 10th Doctor)
The Doctor meets, well, The Doctor, or at least someone who claims to be, at Christmastime in 1851. The cybermen are at it again and together the Doctors must save Christmas.
From Doctorwhoreviews.co.uk
Vincent and the Doctor (Episode 210, 11th Doctor)
The Doctor takes Amy Pond to visit a Vincent Van Gogh exhibit, and they spy something in a painting that doesn’t belong there. So they head to 1890 to find out the origin of the terrible face in the window.
A Christmas Carol (Episode 213 (Christmas Special) 11th Doctor)
The Doctor must take a page out of Dickens’ book and soften the soul of a miser to save Amy and Rory.
The Curse of the Black Spot (Episode 215, 11th Doctor)
When the Doctor stumbles upon a becalmed pirate ship, he discovers a sinister force at work picking off the crew members one by one.
The Doctor’s Wife (Episode 216, 11th Doctor)
Ok, this one isn’t exactly Steampunk but it is my favorite episode and the old-meets-new vibe plus the junkyard in which it takes place appeals to my Steampunk side. Plus, it was written by my all-time favorite author, Neil Gaiman.
A Town Called Mercy (Episode 228, 11th Doctor)
This space-western fusion episode features a cyborg and the Doctor as sheriff of a small town.
The Snowmen (Episode 231, 11th Doctor)
It’s just snow, right? Wrong! In 1892 the snow comes to life and sinister snowmen are on the loose.
The Crimson Horror (Episode 237, 11th Doctor)
The Pasternoster Gang are called upon to investigate a string of mysterious deaths in 1893. When they examine an optogram (ie, the supposed image left on the retina at the moment of death) reveals the Doctor so they bring him into the mix.
Recurring Characters: The Paternoster Gang
In A Good Man Goes to War (Episode 218), the Doctor calls upon compatriots from across time and space to aid him in rescuing Amy Pond from Demon’s Run. Among they are Vastra, a Silurian (reptilian predecessors to the human race asleep in the center of the Earth), her maid/lover/badass Jenny Flint and a Sontaran (whom I call “the Mr. Potato heads of space”) named Commander Strax. In Victorian times they join forces and fight crime, sometimes alongside the Doctor.
In addition to A Good Man Goes to War, they also make appearances in The Snowmen, The Crimson Horror, and The Name of the Doctor (Episode 239).
I haven’t seen any of the original Doctor Who series, so I didn’t include them in this sourcebook. If you are a fan and you want to recommend an episode, please leave me a comment below!
For Whom the Gear Turns 