WARNING: The following contains SPOILERS for Loki, episode 1.

The first episode of Loki introduced viewers to a mysterious organization known as the Time Variance Authority — and, amusingly, they're essentially what the Time Lords in Doctor Who were originally supposed to be. Avengers: Endgame brought time travel into the MCU, but the concept largely served as a plot device — so much so that even the film's writers and directors couldn't agree on the precise model of temporal mechanics. Now the MCU is getting a lot more "timey-wimey" in Loki, with a variant of Loki encountering the mysterious Time Variance Authority.

The TVA serve as a sort of temporal police force, working to ensure the Sacred Timeline is maintained and a Multiverse does not emerge. They are the antithesis of everything Loki stands for: where he is a primal force of chaos, they are rigid and unbending, obsessively bureaucratic. This was perfectly illustrated by the process the TVA put Loki through when they first captured him, forcing him to sign to every word he's ever said before he was put on trial. Time travel should be a thing of wonder and grandeur, but the TVA strip it of all those elements, reducing it to a mind-numbing bureaucracy.

Related: Loki: Every MCU Easter Egg In Episode 1

The concept is actually similar to the original vision of the Time Lords in Doctor Who. The character of the Doctor was originally something of a mystery, with the idea he was an alien only developing as time passed. In 1969, viewers were finally introduced to the Doctor's people, the Time Lords. These were portrayed as an incredibly advanced race who possessed the secret of space-time travel, but like the TVA, they had come to take their vast powers for granted, losing all sense of wonder. As the Doctor explained to his companions Jamie and Zoe, he had found the Time Lord view of the universe to be utterly boring. "Well, it is a fact, Jamie, that I do tend to get involved with things," the Doctor explained, pointing out that he preferred to get stuck in events rather than simply observe.

Doctor Who Patrick Troughton The War Games

The Time Lords remained a background presence in Doctor Who for the next few years, making a notable appearance in the classic multi-Doctor story The Three Doctors, and the concept remained the same. All that changed in 1976's The Deadly Assassin, which saw the Doctor return to his homeworld of Gallifrey for the first time in the show's history. Time Lord society was dramatically redesigned, deviating from the kind of bland, bureaucratic TVA-style in favor of something a lot more Gothic. It was incredibly controversial at the time, with the fanbase divided over the different portrayal, but it has now become the standard version.

There is, then, a certain degree of irony to the fact that Loki — the MCU's first proper exploration of time travel — represents the TVA in a manner so very reminiscent of the Time Lords. Series director Kate Herron has openly admitted British TV strongly influenced the show (Teletubbies in particular helped inspire Loki), so it's possible this is no coincidence - and that Marvel decided to play an abandoned Doctor Who concept straight.

More: Why The Avengers Didn’t Care That Loki Stole The Tesseract In Endgame

Loki releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.

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