 Incorporating Nixon into the plot was accidental ; Moffat wanted to set the story during the moon landing and looked up the United States president during the time . He was initially disappointed that it was such a " rubbish one " and briefly considered using a generic , unnamed president , such as the one seen in " The Sound of Drums " . However , he thought it " didn 't feel right for a story partly about real events " and realized it could be fun to use Nixon . He believed there was something " comically awkward " about him , and it would be interesting for the Doctor to have to work with someone he did not like . The episode makes references to the Watergate scandal and David Frost . 
