Media Time Travel: The Beatles on Doctor Who in 1965

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As a kid, H.G. Wells' The Time Machine as a favorite of mine. In some ways, the Internet is evolving into something like a time machine, allowing us to "time travel" to different media eras with the click of a link.

Previously-unavailable or hard-to-get archival material is suddenly and easily accessible, such as classic commercials and TV shows long "lost" to the typical viewer.

We are time shifting our media usage through findability. Watched when we want, how often we want. As Microsoft used to say, "Where do you want to go today?"

How trippy!

Being both a Beatles fan and a Doctor Who fan, my thanks to BoingBoing for spotting this YouTube submission. Apparently, the only existing video footage of The Beatles performing "Ticket to Ride" was used on the BBC's Doctor Who in 1965. Take a look at how much styles do change...while also enjoying a little time-travelin' ticket to ride:

"The Beatles had a guest appearance on Doctor Who in 1965 -- singing "Ticket to Ride." Afterwards, a traveller from the future remarks that she's heard of the Beatles, having visited their memorial in Liverpool, but that she didn't realize that the Beatles also performed "classical music." This is black-and-white Doctor Who comedy gold. A fan adds, "The original recording of that particular Beatles performance has been lost along with a lot of the BBC library which was tragically thrown out in a great video tape purge in the 1970s. That Doctor Who footage is now the only visual record of that performance."