Dr. Hooves

Dr. Hooves is a background Earth pony with an hourglass cutie mark. The character was given the fan-given name, Doctor Whooves, in reference to an incarnation of the doctor from the television show Doctor Who. This name was, for a time, adopted by the show's crew, and only later was the character explicitly given the name "Time Turner" in a 2012 set of trading cards. Hasbro acknowledged the character's popularity in the Comic Con 2011 promotional poster, where he is explicitly posed in a way that his cutie mark is clearly visible. Time Turner shares his design with Lucky.

Depiction in the series
Dr. Hooves appears in the background of multiple episodes. His only speaking role as an Earth pony is when he rejects Apple Bloom's offer of buying apples in Call of the Cutie, and gets pressured into buying one in return for getting her to leave him alone. He was placed in the scene by storyboard artist Sabrina Alberghetti for his colors and design.

"If I buy some apples, will you please leave me alone?"

- Time Turner to Apple Bloom

He makes a somewhat prominent appearance in Green Isn't Your Color, carrying Photo Finish's palanquin together with Twilight Sky. In The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, he makes another somewhat prominent appearance where he is in charge of spinning the hourglass that starts the competition between the Flim Flam Brothers and the Apple family. During this scene he wears a green tie. He was intentionally placed into the scene by the storyboarding supervisor for the episode. Time Turner later appears a few times in Hearts and Hooves Day. He is seen running past Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle while accidentally splashing mud on them in the musical sequence. He reappears in Apple Bloom's imagination while running around in a panic, as well as in three village shots, once standing next to an unknown stallion and twice standing next to Derpy on the bridge. He also appears in It's About Time, laughing at Twilight's idea of time travel. His latest cameo was in A Canterlot Wedding Part 2, where he was seen cornered in an alley with Golden Harvest and "Tornado Bolt", as well as running across the street from a changeling.



Re-use of design and color
Time Turner's character design and color scheme is sometimes used for other pony kinds. A Pegasus pony sharing his character model with a lighter version of his color scheme appears in Sonic Rainboom, Green Isn't Your Color, Hearth's Warming Eve, Hearts and Hooves Day, and Hurricane Fluttershy. Another Pegasus pony sharing his character model, color scheme, and cutie mark is featured in Sonic Rainboom. Rainbow Dash switches numbers with him when she tries to delay her performance in the Best Young Flyer competition. The character is voiced differently than in its previous speaking role. At the end of the second episode of season one, when Twilight Sparkle talks to Princess Celestia, there are several ponies with Time Turner's color scheme and design in the background.

Depiction in comics
Time Turner appears in comic book issue #1 on page 3. He is featured on the issue's Detroit comic book stores exclusive Cover RE. On the issue's Lone Star Comics exclusive variant Cover RE, he is featured on the cover of a magazine titled Hoof Beat, showing him with a caption beginning "Time-Turner answers YOUR questio..." and a speech balloon containing the word "spoilers".

Depiction in merchandise
Time Turner was first officially named on the My Little Pony trading cards unveiled in BronyCon 2012. He appears on a card together with Mayor Mare, and his description bills him as her official town timekeeper, "the pony responsible for keeping Ponyville's clocks in sync, setting the hourglass for cider competitions, and pretty much all things timey-wimey." The cards were designed specifically with the brony demographic of older fans in mind, and the writer-consultant for the set has said the consultants submitted "at least a dozen direct fandom nods". Time Turner appears in the 2011 Comic Con poster along with many other ponies from the cast.

Following the trading cards' July 2012 retail store release, the character has appeared as Time Turner on an August 2012 Mighty Fine T-shirt. Despite this, he still appears on multiple other Mighty Fine products as "Dr. Hooves" and as "Doctor Whooves".

In August 2012, "Doctor Whooves" t-shirts and a "seat belt belt" became available for sale at Hot Topic, with the t-shirts featuring what appears to be a Sonic Screwdriver in Time Turner's mouth.

Appearances
Times are approximate and taken from videos with no prolonged transition for commercial breaks.

Gallery

 * Time Turner image gallery