UFO Sightings, Part 1

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A while ago now I posted about props that had started life in UFO and had ended up in The Green Death. And now I’m returning to this topic as there are loads more Gerry Anderson props in Doctor Who. This is the first post in what is likely to be a three, or more, part series trying to track them all down. 

This first post is all about the long rectangular panels like the one pictured above. In previous posts I had mentioned their appearances in both The Green Death and Destiny of the Daleks. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg as they pop up all over the place. UFO featured a range of these panels, all differing significantly in the layout of their lights and switches. But they can be divided into two basic groups, ones that are straight and ones that are curved. The curved panels featured heavily in UFO’s Moonbase as, not surprisingly, it was a circular set. The straight ones feature all over the place but often appear on desks.


Here are all of the straight panel appearances I have found in classic Who.
THE MONSTER OF PELADON, 1974

As you can see from this image, Monster featured one of the desk based pairs of panels plus wall mounted examples.

GENESIS OF THE DALEKS, 1975

A couple of straight panels from Genesis, one from the Kaled base and one from the Thals. They seem to be very oddly presented. Just placed on tables with little attempt made to make them appear as a part of a coherent set.
THE ROBOTS OF DEATH, 1977

This panel features a circular pattern of lights. It’s a panel, along with a curved version, that will prove to be a popular choice for Doctor Who Designers.

THE INVISIBLE ENEMY, 1977

One of the more inventive uses for these panels. Unlike Genesis where they were just plonked on desks, Designer Barry Newbury built two panels into larger props. It makes them feel like they part of a coherent design.
UNDERWORLD, 1978

Not the clearest image but you can just about see two panels mounted to the wall at the back of this set.
THE ARMAGEDDON FACTOR, 1979

Panels set into the walls of the Mentalis computer room, including the popular circular lights variant.
RESURRECTION OF THE DALEKS, 1984

‘I can’t stand the confusion in my mind’! The panels are still going strong into the mid Eighties. And yes, one of them has the circular light pattern.

That’s it for the straight ones, now for the curved ones
THE TIME WARRIOR, 1974

Here is the curved version of the panel with the circle light pattern. If you look in the back there is also a couple of straight panels.
INVASION OF THE DINOSAUR, 1974

By Jon’s head you can see a couple of panels including one with the circular pattern. These might look like straight panels but I believe they are the curved ones that have been set into the larger prop.
THE ARK IN SPACE, 1975

Designer Roger Murray-Leach made excellent use of the curved panels having them jut out from the set walls. You can see from this image he used several different versions of the panels including the now ubiquitous circular design. 
REVELATION OF THE DALEKS, 1985

Like the straight panels, the curved ones made a Dalek related mid Eighties come back.

That’s it for this one. I’ll be back next week for part 2.

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