Everything I Learned In Life, I Got From Doctor Who

#2 Tea is the Best

The Doctor likes a bit of coffee, oh yes. Patrick Troughton's Doctor was always after a cup, and Jon Pertwee wouldn't have managed all that tinkering in his lab without some pure, strong caffeine to keep him going!

But seriously though, tea is much more vital, much more important. Not just because it's beautiful, but also because it is responsible for the safety of our Universe. Fact. Was it coffee that brought the Tenth Doctor back to consciousness in 'The Christmas Invasion'? Did a spillage of Nescafe's finest bring him to his senses? Nope. It was tea. Tea from a flask, brewed by a single mother on a council estate in London. Without her brew, the Doctor would have remained in the land of nod while half the population jumped from the rooftops to their doom.

And it's the one thing that can cheer the good old Doctor up. In 'Genesis of the Daleks', he and Harry are captured by the Kaleds, and the Doctor asks for some tea. Denied, he mutters somberly to his companion: “No tea Harry...”. There is one unimpressed Time Lord, and from that moment on, the fate of the Kaleds is sealed.

So, there you have it. Tea. The saviour of the Universe, favourite drink of our favourite Time Lord, and an all round tasty brew. I can be safe in the knowledge that if the Doctor should whisk me away, I'll know that somewhere aboard the TARDIS, there's a kettle. Life without tea, for me, would be no life at all...

By way of a conclusion, I'll leave you with this gorgeous moment from 'The Awakening', which sums up the beauty of 'Doctor Who' and tea at the same time:

Will: What be tea?

The Doctor: Oh, a noxious infusion of Oriental leaves containing a high percentage of toxic acid.

Will: Sounds an evil brew, don't it?

The Doctor: True. Personally, I rather like it.

('Doctor Who' – The Awakening, Eric Pringle)

And for more information on tea, and it's unique relationship with 'Doctor Who', you can go here: http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Tea.