Well, there are loads of references to history, recent and not, in the show. The Thatcher era, the AIDS crisis, and of course 1895. A big chunk of what got explored in the run up to TAB was about oscar wilde, the trials, queer history, etc. I found it very interesting, not having gotten that in school. I do remember the reagan/thatcher years, and lost friends, but there's so much i didn't know too.