A PIRATE PANEL?

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Hello folks! This week I’m looking at some late 70s props that may not be exact matches but definitely share some common DNA. And my starting point was this octagon panel.

As far as I can tell this prop is only seen in one Doctor Who story…

THE PIRATE PLANET, 1978

The octagon panel is on the Pirate Captain’s bridge, in the middle of this image. Unlike the other examples we are looking to look at, on this occasion it has been illuminated. 
REDEMPTION, 1979

The only other example exactly matching the Pirate Planet panel is this one from Blake’s 7.  As mentioned above, here they haven’t bothered to turn the lights on.

THE ARMAGEDDON FACTOR, 1979

Although I haven’t found any more exact matches, there are a few variants that feature the same elements. Look at the top and bottom of this prop from The Armageddon Factor, and compare to the inset image from Redemption. There are the same four, yellow coloured, rectangles. And in between those, a smaller white rectangle and small lights arranged in a triangle.

DESTINY OF THE DALEKS, 1979

The same group of yellow rectangles and smaller white rectangle can also be seen on these square panels from Destiny. Also common to all these props are three rows of square lights. In this version those lights are on top but….

CITY OF DEATH, 1979

…. here they are inverted. Someone has also switched the lights on.


That’s all I’ve found for this one. If you know of any more please let me know. 










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