Retroactive oh, HA! for the Joke of Rassilon

[gozer]

Once upon a time, there was a Doctor Who episode called "The Five Doctors", wherein Peter Davison's Doctor checks out a room with all kinds of "of Rassilon" objects in it as he wanders through the Gallifreyan capital city. The "of Rassilon" joke had become a mild running gag on the show (and in the fandom) at this point, that there were a multitude of objets Rassilon had left behind that had become venerated objects in Time Lord culture. Surely there must be a list somewhere of the many "of Rassilon" objects have made an appearance on the show over the years*!

In this instance, the object was "The Harp of Rassilon". The Doctor is a bit taken aback when he sees it, he reads the sign then says archly, "I didn't even know he was musical!" There's a beat, the scene ends and we cut to another scene. My reaction then was "Ha!" and "cute!", but I've long since suspected there was a joke I wasn't getting, and now I've cracked it!

Craig Ferguson (admitted pervy Dr. Who fancier and host of The Late Late Show") just revealed to a young British comic that, back in the day, "Is he musical?" was a socially-euphemistic coded phrase for "Is he gay?" (The answer being, "You should see him play the piano!" with an eyebrow quirk.) Given that the show-runner was JNT, who was certainly Out if not proud, there is no way that wasn't a double-entendre joke for the British public to smirk over.




*Ask the Internets, and ye shall find! From here: http://tardismanual.blogspot.com/2011/01/list-of-rassilon.html

The Black Scrolls of Rassilon
The Tomb of Rassilon
The Game of Rassilon
The Coronet of Rassilon
The Voice of Rassilon
The Mind of Rassilon
The Ring of Rassilon
The Seal of Rassilon
The Domain of Rassilon
The Harp of Rassilon
The Sash of Rassilon
The Crown of Rassilon
The Key of Rassilon
The Great Key of Rassilon (not the same as the apparently not-so-great "Key of Rassilon"

Also from Tardis Manual blogspot: On the DVD easter egg, there's a commentary featuring David Tennant, Helen Raynor and Phil Collinson, and they start to invent new possessions for Rassilon as the story progresses. Here's that list...

The Pisstakes of Rassilon

The Handle of Rassilon
The Coaster of Rassilon
The Curtain of Rassilon
The Clipboard of Rassilon
The Yo-Yo of Rassilon
The Casket of Rassilon
The Death Slide of Rassilon
The Ancient Nursery Rhyme of Rassilon
The Fridge Door of Rassilon
The Sheet Music of Rassilon