The closest the modern iteration of the show has gotten to doing something like this before was most likely in “The End of Time,” a two-part episode from 2009-2010 that included an actor playing then-president Barack Obama. That time around, the political leader’s face was obscured, perhaps because it would seem a bit too on the nose to actually try to portray the sitting President on “Doctor Who.” Both episodes could certainly be accused of jumping the shark, but “The Devil’s Chord” pulls its tricky portrayal off thanks to its strong lead performances and a clever script by Russell T. Davies (who coincidentally also wrote “The End of Time”).

As for The Beatles themselves, they’re initially not used as much as expected (the show clearly didn’t actually license any of their songs, as we just hear them talk, play a funny fake tune, and tinker at the piano), but they get the chance to let the music flow during the episode’s climax. When demon-like Maestro says the world can only be saved by the discovery of a secret chord that can bind them, there’s much made of the fact that only a musical genius can get it right. Fifteen and Ruby can’t, and it seems like Paul can’t on his own either, but when John Lennon takes a spot beside him at the keyboard, the two make magic together.