Doctor Who Prop Hunt

I’m back after a short break. And this first post back corrects a mistake I have made in the past. Below are two large bronze pillars known as Syrian Candles. They look very similar but as you can see there are slight differences between the two. Unfortunately I have incorrectly credited both of these candle styles as being the one that appears in the TARDIS during the Sixties. But actually it’s only the left one that comes from Hartnell’s ‘ship’, the one on the right is an imposter. So let’s take a look at this counterfeit candle and where it can be found. CARRY ON SPYING, 1964 Here is where I first noticed there was a difference between the two. TARDIS CONSOLE ROOM, 1963 And here for comparison is a picture of the original TARDIS console. You can clearly see the bulb like bulge appears in the middle of the pillar rather at the top as it does in Carry On Spying. That prompted me to go back to my previous posts and I found a trio of Doctor Who stories I miscredited. The below stories a...

A basic rule of thumb for my posts is that I have at least four appearances for a prop. Sometimes it’s more than that but having four things as a minimum gives me something to write about. But sometimes you just find a couple of things. Presented here are a group of objects I have only found in a couple of places. If you have any ideas about these things please let me know.  INVASION OF THE DINOSAURS, 1974 On the fake spaceship is a group of three consoles. The one on the left of this picture turns up…. THE STANLEY BAXTER PICTURE SHOW, 1975 …in this Stanley Baxter sketch. This parody of ‘70s disaster movies can be found on YouTube and is worth a watch. ARC OF INFINITY, 1983 I was recently looking at Arc of Infinity for something else when this slimline grey console caught my eye. I knew I’d seen it before. Turns out it’s a proper movie star. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, 1980 In this screencap from Empire you can see a row of three slim grey consoles. They definitely have the same profi...

Hello folks! It’s time once again to take a look at some new finds for stuff I’ve already posted about. As is often the case, I am indebted to those who have suggested things I had missed. Last week I posted about the Cyber-Ship from The Invasion. This prop also appeared in Spearhead From Space, The Mind of Evil and Colony in Space.   THE KROTONS, 1968 This was suggested by @scribblinggin.bsky.social It’s not identical to The Invasion prop but definitely shares the same lineage. In my post on these props I mentioned an appearance of a similar object in Ace of Wands. Just like that variant, this prop from The Krotons has the central sphere sandwiched between two thick disc shapes, elements that are common to the Invasion ship. THE POWER GAME, 1969 Here is one that closer resembles the ship from The Invasion. This sixties boardroom drama is the last place I would have thought to look for a prop. So thanks goes to @zoesfeatherboa.bsky.social for pointing me in this direction. And if ...

This week I take a look at the Cybership from The Invasion. A prop that turns up in four Doctor Who stories (as far as I know) and a couple of other places too. So let’s fire those missiles and dive right in. JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN, 1968 The earliest appearance I am aware of is from this Hammer Films science fiction anthology series. Just the fact this was TV production from Hammer makes me think this is not the origin of the prop/s. It could well have turned up on a film somewhere but as of yet I have not seen it anywhere else. THE INVASION, 1968 It’s the first Doctor Who appearance, and it’s the ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ cameo as the Cybership at the end of The Invasion. It’s not the clearest of screen grabs. But you can just about see the rectangular blocks and central sphere top left. If you squint.  SPEARHEAD FROM SPACE, 1970 We get a much clearer view of the prop in the next season. However if you compare to the Journey to the Unknown image above, it’s lost its topper and ha...

This one has been a long time coming. It’s a look at these two black consoles from The Horns of Nimon. I first mentioned these props way back in January of 2025 where I noted a very similar prop I had found in The Goodies  I later found another one in Blakes 7. But I never included it in an update as I thought there must be more of them out there. And, importantly, they must of come from somewhere as they definitely were not created for Who. Well, a thread on Bluesky from Zoe’s Feather Boa prompted a refreshed look for their origins. And, by gum, I’ve found it. THE HORNS OF NIMON, 1979 Here is first of the two consoles in Nimon. The consoles clearly share common design sensibilities. They are curved in shape and in a shiny black plastic finish. Both also feature circular controls studded with lights on their left and the right sides. THE HORNS OF NIMON, 1979 Here is the other one. It has some of the features listed above but there are plenty of differences. The two square monitors ...

Back in August I posted a round up of props from Gerry Anderson’s UFO I’d found in a variety of non Who shows . It was a sort of coda to the many many posts I’d published about these props in Doctor Who. But I was just scratching surface as these props were ubiquitous throughout the Seventies and Eighties. So here is another round up of stuff I’ve come across during the last 9 months. I’ve organised it by prop. So in some cases I’ll return to the same shows/episodes as they feature more than one prop.  UFO’s rectangular panels of flashing lights and buttons came in a variety of configurations in both straight and curved versions. Straight variants appear in The Green Death, The Monster of Peladon, Genesis of the Daleks, The Robots of Death, The Invisible Enemy, Underworld, The Armageddon Factor, Destiny of the Daleks, and Resurrection of the Daleks.  STAR MAIDENS, 1976 This British / German co-production was filmed in the UK at Bray Studios. In this screen grab you can see a ...