TV-MOVIES
The Doctor Who Theory That Would Change Mary Poppins Forever
By HELEN A. LEE
The Doctor from "Doctor Who" has always shown some magical qualities, which assist him in his fantastical — but generally kid-friendly — travels. If this sounds like another English character from a popular Disney musical, you might subscribe to a fan-based theory making the rounds among "Doctor Who" fans for years.
This theory posits that Mary Poppins and the Doctor are both Time Lords from the planet Gallifrey, not subject to regular rules of time and space. Backing up the theory is the fact that some incarnations of the Doctor and the Master have preferred the type of Victorian-style clothing that Mary Poppins wears, and both the Doctor and Mary can communicate with animals and small children.
An image, posted to Tumblr, shows someone in Cardiff dressed like Mary Poppins, where much of the rebooted "Doctor Who" is filmed and sometimes set. Also, in the Disney film, we first meet Mary Poppins sitting on a cloud, and the 12th Doctor also sits his TARDIS on a cloud in "The Snowmen" holiday special.
Other far-out, in-universe ideas have been proposed to explain the similarities, even though Disney's "Mary Poppins” was released in 1964, and Time Lords weren't introduced into canon until a 1969 episode of "Doctor Who." So, it's more likely that "Mary Poppins" influenced "Doctor Who," rather than the other way around.