FROM BOND TO SUPERMAN, VIA SOME ROBOTS

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This one has quite the pedigree. Not only does it feature in classic Who, it takes in that other great British institution - James Bond. And then, ten years after its debut, it appears with the most American of cultural icons - Superman. Ages ago I wrote about another James Bond prop that turned up in Who. Today’s prop is from the same Bond flick and shares some of the same DNA. I’m looking at the control panel on the left below. Next to it is the panel I previously looked at. Both props feature a sliding control with a silver spherical handle. 

LIVE AND LET DIE, 1973

And here’s today’s prop in its Bond appearance. Live and Let Die was filmed at Pinewood which maintained a prop store of items left behind from productions. This is how props from major Hollywood movies could turn up in Doctor Who just a few months later.
ROBOT, 1974

And here’s that first Doctor Who appearance.
THE ROBOTS OF DEATH, 1977

In its second appearance we get this lovely close up. You can see the Designer has added what looks like labels from one of those old embossing label makers. 
SUPERMAN III, 1983

And here it is with the Man of Steel. It’s that iconic scene of Superman battling himself in the scrapyard. Like Bond, this movie was filmed in the UK at Pinewood. And so, ten years after its debut, the panel is pressed into service again.  

That’s it for this week. See you next time. 













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