Popular culture and history will unite in the next presentation of the Then and Now lecture series.

Dr. William Robison will be presenting “Doctor WhoDat Hatches a Halloween Doctor Who Hapless Hortonless History Lesson” Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 1:00 p.m. in Pottle Auditorium.

Robison felt the popular television series’ subject matter would make for an excellent tie-in with a history presentation.

“I have been a Doctor Who fan since I lived in London in 1980-81,” said Robison. “When Sue Parrill and I wrote ‘The Tudors on Film and Television,’ we included every filmic depiction of Tudor England that we could find, and that included two episodes of Doctor Who, one in which the first Doctor watches William Shakespeare on a scanner and another in which the tenth Doctor actually visits Shakespeare. This got me to thinking about how often the Doctor visits people and places from Earth’s history along with his other travels in time and space.”

Episodes featuring Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were of particular interest for Robison.

“Of course, being a Tudor historian, I was intrigued by the occasional references to the Doctor having met Henry VIII and Elizabeth I,” said Robison. “In 2013, the 50th Anniversary special ‘The Day of the Doctor’ showed the tenth Doctor actually marrying Elizabeth. At that point I decided that I had to do a lecture dealing with all of the episodes in which the Doctor intersects with real historical events and personalities.”

Though the portrayal of historical persons and events within the fifty years of the Doctor Who series is not always accurate, Robison feels a lecture on it would relate well to the fun spirit of Halloween week.

“Of course, it’s not real history; it’s rather far-fetched science fiction,” said Robison. “However, my ‘More-or-Less Annual Halloween Lecture,’ which each year closes out the ‘Then and Now,’ is always a combination of scholarship and silliness, so this seemed like the perfect topic.”

Robison hopes students will enjoy the lecture and plans to end it with his usual candy-throwing to the audience.

“I hope they will have a good time, become fans of Doctor Who if they are not already, learn a little history and leave with some of the candy I throw to the audience each year,” said Robison.

For more information on remaining FANFARE events, check out the university website.