u/paolog

Following on from this discussion, I thought it would be fun to try to find the opposite: the show that has the most actors in common with Doctor Who.

Broadchurch is obviously high on the list, but my vote would go to Midsomer Murders. I caught an episode (S16, E4) this weekend that starred not only Jacqueline King (who played Donna's mum, of course) but also the legends June Whitfield and Bernard Cribbins.

The BBC is repeating the early series, (on BBC Four, I think) and you can really see how the show has progressed since then.

Aside from the Greek letters, the set is simpler (and maybe smaller: Victoria stands so close to the teams in the Connecting Wall round the back of her head is in shot for the close-ups of the team members) and she frequently repeats the rules, explaining the Missing Vowels round with the aid of the example NLYC NNCT.

But what is most striking is that the questions are so much easier. Connections are simple things like "trees". Despite this, the teams seem to struggle to find the answers. So as well as the questions having got more sophisticated over the years, the contestants have got smarter.