Doctor Who Prop Hunt

Last time I posted all about these small box panels that featured seemingly endless patterns of lights and knobs . Well, this panel design was also often incorporated into larger props. Here are all of the larger versions that I’ve found. Like the individual panels, there is a lot of variation in the layout of the lights, switches etc but they are all made up of the same basic elements. THE KEEPER OF TRAKEN, 1981 FOUR TO DOOMSDAY, 1982 In this case it’s the small cabinet to left of Bigon. EARTHSHOCK, 1982 WARRIORS OF THE DEEP, 1984 THE TWIN DILEMMA, 1984 ATTACK OF THE CYBERMEN, 1985

It’s guns galore this week as I look at pairs of pistols, matching muskets, and coupled cannons! Each gun featured appears in either two Doctor Who stories OR Doctor Who and something else. Enjoy. GALAXY 4, 1965 The long energy weapons of the Dravhins turn up ten years later in…. GENESIS OF THE DALEKS, 1975 …and the clear cube thing on the end turned out to be green. Who knew! EARTHSHOCK, 1982 The Eighties Cyber-guns, created by freelance costumes and effects company Imagineering, were later cannibalised to appear in….. WARRIORS OF THE DEEP, 1984 Careful Tarpok! You’ll have your hand off! INVASION OF THE DINOSAURS, 1974 The Doctor’s dino stun gun actually first appeared in…. MADAME SIN, 1972 …. a fairly obscure British thriller starring Bette Davis, Robert Wagner, and Denholm Elliott. Interiors for this movie were completed at Pinewood and it seems likely the gun ended up in their prop store after filming was complete. Studios like Pinewood and Elstree would often rent out props to oth...

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 b...

Nothing quite says ‘science fiction’ more than putting hexagons all over your walls. This design, first seen in The Mutants, pops up throughout the 70s and 80s. In this post I tried to catalogue all of its appearances in classic Doctor Who. Next week for part 2 I will cover the other shows it appears in.  THE MUTANTS, 1972 As mentioned, this story is widely considered to be the origin of this prop. I have checked to see if I can find an earlier appearance but have drawn a blank. THE MUTANTS ORIGINAL DESIGN DRAWING BY JEREMY BEAR As you can see in this original production drawing, the hexagons were always part of the design. THE STONES OF BLOOD, 1978 Rather surprisingly the hexagons don’t appear again for another six years. NIGHTMARE OF EDEN, 1979 Once they did return in the late seventies they were back for good. This one is quite subtle but it’s the first of two appearances in this season. THE HORNS OF NIMON, 1979 And here is the other. MEGLOS, 1980 For Meglos, Designer Philip Lin...