Cupboard Love

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This weeks props are cupboards that adorned many a set during the Pertwee era, made a bit of a comeback in the Davison era, and have even appeared in Nu Who. Often paired with a row of circular oven like knobs as seen below, these cupboards made for a quick and easy set dressing for everything from spaceships to submarines.


Here are all of the Doctor Who appearances I have been able to find. As always, if you know of any others please do get in touch. 
THE AMBASSADORS OF DEATH, 1970

The earliest example I have found is from Pertwee’s first season. The cupboards, along with the circles, can be seen behind the seats in Recovery 7. Keep in mind their orientation here. For this story the circular controls are above the cupboards. But, as we will see in other examples, there was a lot of variety in how these were displayed.
THE SEA DEVILS, 1972

This story features the cupboards on two sets. First, in the above picture, in Trenchards office (complete with telephones) and second….
…. on board the Submarine. As you can see, on this set they have been installed sideways.
THE MUTANTS, 1972

The cupboards (complete with a half sized cupboard panel) can be seen at the top of this Skybase set. In this instance they have been displayed with the circles at the bottom.
THE GREEN DEATH, 1973

As far as I can tell this is the only example of the circles appearing without the cupboards. They can be found at the top right of this image.
INVASION OF THE DINOSAURS, 1974

And here the cupboards appear without the circles.
THE MONSTER OF PELADON, 1974

The circles and cupboards are reunited for their final Pertwee appearance. In fact they have been tarted up with a splash of colour. 
PLANET OF EVIL, 1975

As far as I can see this is their only showing during Tom’s years. The cupboards can be seen behind the stairs at the back of the space probe set.
EARTHSHOCK, 1982

The first of three Davison appearances. Both circles and cupboards are present and correct onboard Briggs’ Freighter.
MAWDRYN UNDEAD, 1983

This one is a little weird as the cupboards have been installed back to front. If you look closely you can make out the shape where the shallow handles would be. And below the flat cupboard panels, just visible between Nick and Pete, are the inverse of the circles.
PLANET OF FIRE, 1984

This is another unusual appearance. The cupboards can be seen on the left of the image deliberately smashed up in this Trion spaceship set.
KILL THE MOON, 2014

And finally, and to my amazement, here they in Nu Who! Still looking pretty good I reckon. That’s it for this one. I’ll leave it open for part 2 for other shows that use this prop plus any DW appearances I missed. See you soon.





















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