Doctor Who: Steven Moffat Bingo Cards

The latest series of Doctor Who premieres tonight!

Say what you will about Steven Moffat, but the man has made some truly wonderful stories. And, arguably, a few bad ones.

But if there's one thing you can say about the Moff, it's that there are a few characteristics that tend to spring up in his stories. Monsters in human clothes (Weeping Angels, Silence, Whispermen and others), people meeting each other out of order, phones, the Doctor wearing hats, bananas, The Time-Traveler's Wife....

So why not have a a bit of fun with it?

Ladies and gentlemen, I present Steven Moffat Bingo!

I came up with the idea sometime around last Christmas (when the appropriately-titled "Last Christmas" aired), only to discover the other day that the idea had been done before. Still, I'd already listed the tropes by that point and designed the Bingo Cards, so I pressed on.

So, without further ado, here are seven Bingo Cards and a helpful glossary of Moffat-ish tropes.


Click on the images to enlarge. Right click, choose "Save Image As," and then print off your cards (in portrait orientation for best results).

Glossary of Terms

1. The Doctor Wears a Hat
   Stetson, fez, you name it.
2. Victorian Era
   SPECIFICALLY the Victorian Era. Elizabethan? Doesn’t count.
3. The Doctor Befriends a Child
   Or tries to.
4. “Doctor Who?”
   In dialogue.
5. “Spoilers!”
   In dialogue.
6.  Plot-Related Time Travel
   Time travel isn’t just a prelude to a story, the story INVOLVES time travel.
7. The Slow Path
   Somebody time traveled forwards at normal speed for a long time.
8. Something Innocuous Becomes Scary
   A crack in the wall? Evil. Ticking? Evil. The smell of cheese? Evil.
9. “Timey-Wimey”
   In dialogue.
10. Someone Knows the Doctor’s Future
    Spoilers ahoy!
11. Doctor’s Sex Life Referenced
    Wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more.
12. Redesigned Classic Series Monster
    Your mileage may vary on whether or not the redesign looks good. 
13. “Time Can Be Rewritten.”
    In dialogue.
14. People with Names that are also Things
    Jeff Steel, Samuel Green, Sally Wolf…. 
15. Blatant Teasing/Trolling
    Moffat does it on purpose to watch us squirm.
16. Scotland/Scots
    Och, aye!
17. Monsters in Human Clothes
    Suits, robes, t-shirts, et cetera. 
18. Memory Wipes
    Wait, what?
19. Villainous Spacesuits
    Buzz Aldrin’s out for blood, by the looks of things.
20. Same Character, Multiple Names
    Old Jeff, Jeff-from-five-minutes-from-now, and Jeffy-J. But they’re all called “Professor.”
21. Sonic Screwdriver Used Non-Sonically
    I’m pretty sure sound waves can’t hack software.
22. Ineloquent Explanation
    There’s no words to explain something… but that won’t stop them from trying a few words.
23. 51st Century
    Long beyond Buck Rogers. 
24. A Stranger Knows the Doctor
    Current, future, or previous incarnation.
25. Phones as Plot Point
    Ring ring! Hello? Plot!
26. Bananas
    Bananas are good.
27. Made-Up Nursery Rhymes
    Tick-tock, goes the clock. Moffat rhymes. He just can’t stop. Ck.
28. Doppelgangers
    Two versions of the same person.
29. Mysterious Woman
    Who is she? Where did she come from? What does she know? How is she possible?
30. Everybody Lives!
    Body count of zero.
31. Lesbianism
    Implied or onscreen.
32. Christmas
    Have a merry one.
33. Companion Needs to be Rescued
    Isn’t that always the way?
34. Reset Button
    Either literally or figuratively.
35. Cougars Wearing Red Lipstick
    Though, to be fair, they rock the look.
36. Somebody Kisses the Doctor
    Smooch.
37. Somebody Appears to Die (But Doesn’t)
    Cough, Rory, cough.
38. Boastful Warning
    “You’re doomed because I’m awesome!”
39. Nod to the Classic Series
    “Jelly baby?”
40. TARDIS Swimming Pool
    Everyone loves a pool.
41. Villain is Technology Following its Programming
    Just following orders.

Have fun!