Trivia for
"Doctor Who"
The Fires of Pompeii (2008)

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• The Doctor tells Donna he had been to Rome once before, and that he "had nothing to do with that fire." This is a reference to the fact that the first Doctor (William Hartnell) visited Rome in the original series of "Doctor Who" (1963), in the 4-part serial "The Romans" (1965). Although the Doctor did not directly start the fire, he did hold a map a bit too close to an open flame, giving Nero an idea.
  
  
• Caecilius, Metella and Quintus are all named after characters who appeared in the first book of the Cambridge Latin Course, which is set in Pompeii just before its destruction.
  
  
• Much of this episode was shot at the Cinecittà studio in Rome, Italy. This marked the first time Doctor Who had been substantially filmed outside the UK since the 1996 revival TV movie was produced in Vancouver, Canada. (The last regular series installment to include substantial production outside the UK was the 1985 two-part episode "The Two Doctors").
  
  

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