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Doctor Who: Flux builds upon this, by referencing and including lots of elements used in past series and reimagining them in a modern way. This isn’t to say that the series doesn’t stand on its own, but Flux often includes elements, plot points, or details that long-time eagle-eyed fans are looking out for. The story has been a great expansion on one of the best British Sci-Fi series, and an arc that long-time fans can really appreciate.
6 UNIT’s Mystery
UNIT was unceremoniously announced defunct back in the 2019 New Year’s Day special “Resolution,” and fans were eager to find out what had happened to it. “Survivors of the Flux” (Episode 5) managed to solve that problem for viewers, as it depicted the Grand Serpent (Craig Parkinson) maneuvering his way through UNIT’s history with a time travel device in order to weaken it and eventually get it shut down.
UNIT becoming defunct was a random plot point from three years ago, so newer viewers of Doctor Who that aren’t as familiar with the older series may not have spotted the importance behind this “Survivor of the Flux” side-plot. The organization has appeared alongside almost every version of the Doctor, so it’s great to see the mythos still being developed on years later.
5 Design Of The Cybermen
The Cybermen have had many different designs over the years, having appeared in many episodes throughout the show in both its classic and modern iterations. For a show that deals with time and space, it’s understandable that there’d be different looking Cybermen depending on the time period and location in general.
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The Flux design Cybermen follows “Nightmare in Silver,” “Ascension of the Cybermen,” and cameos in many more space-type episodes that has a more futuristic, robotic look to them. The armor gleams a little more, and the Cybermen feel further removed from the human race than ever. This seems to be the standard Cybermen look for space-faring fleets like those seen in Flux.
4 Observation Outpost Rose
Vinder (Jacob Anderson) is seen as being alone monitoring a part of deep space on a one-man space station known as Observation Outpost Rose. Newer fans who started with either the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) or later Doctors may not have caught this little call-back, but long-time fans definitely did.
Rose (Billie Piper) was the first companion of the revived version of the series, being the companion for both the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant). Rose is often considered to be one of the best Doctor Who companions, so a lot of fans were thrilled to have this little nod to her in Flux.
3 Gallifreyan Fob Watch
The inclusion of the Gallifreyan fob watch may not quite be a secret detail since it was very clearly signposted in the episode, but newer fans may not have understood its significance in the larger history in the show. Introduced back in “Human Nature” during Series 3, the Gallifreyan fob watches were established to be able to contain a Time Lord’s consciousness inside, allowing a Time Lord to masquerade as a different species such as in the case of being hunted. During this story, the Tenth Doctor was running from one of the modern series’ scariest monsters, hunters who were after his consciousness and TARDIS
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In “Survivors of the Flux,” it was also established that a Time Lord’s memories can also instead be stored in a fob watch, building perfectly on a pre-established device. However, it remains to be seen whether fans will ever know the nature of the memories inside the Doctor’s watch.
2 UNIT HQ
In “Survivors of the Flux,” viewers see the Grand Serpent (a one-off character that needs a return) infiltrating UNIT throughout its history. At one point, we get an exterior shot of UNIT headquarters, but newer fans won’t have noticed that this HQ building was the same one from when the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) worked for them as Scientific Advisor.
UNIT has a firm place in the hearts of all Doctor Who fans, and has been an integral part of the show ever since the late 60s. It’s great to see that Flux paid homage to the original headquarters building, and an era of the show that is still remembered fondly to this day.
1 Sontarans’ Probic Vent
In “War of the Sontarans,” the Sontarans are at one point knocked out cold from a hit to behind by Dan Lewis (John Bishop). This is after his parents point out to him that Sontarans have a “vent thingy” that can be used to knock them out.
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Originally designed as a part of the villains’ backstory, the probic vent prevents a Sontaran from ever turning their back on battle, as it offers a severe weakness that utterly incapcitates tem. Newer fans may not have noticed that the probic vent is a feature depicted in every Sontaran episode, right back to “The Time Warrior” during the Third Doctor’s run.
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