Doctor Who Prop Hunt

International Electromatic Company. State your business! This week I take a look at the ‘stupid primitive machine’ from the reception of IE. The Doctor and Zoe may not appreciate this ‘brainless tin box’ but it is a distinctive prop and one that turns up a bit in sixties TV. And it’s not alone as there are a few variants to look for. THE INVASION, 1968 Let’s start with its memorable appearance in The Invasion. We get a good look at the whole thing so we can see what to spot in its other appearances. There are two panels at the top which have handles and almost look like they can open. Under that we have the standard whirly tapes and then in the body of the machine is a wedge shaped control panel. SOMETHING IN THE CELLAR, 1969 Something in the Cellar is an episode from the seminal 60s anthology series Out of the Unknown. It’s from OOTU’s third season and was broadcast in February 1969. In the episode a Professor, haunted by the memory of his Mother, builds a computer in his basement. TH...

After several weeks of looking at stuff from the seventies and eighties, this post will take us straight back to the sixties. I’ve been looking for this pill shaped object that seems to have been a favourite of designers during the Troughton years. I feel this might have been a real world item once upon a time but I’m at a loss as to what it could have been. If you have any ideas I’d be very grateful if you reached out.  In the meantime here is a list of the appearances I have spotted.  THE MOONBASE, 1967 A couple of the appearances I have found are pretty hard to spot. And this first one is one of them. I’m almost certain that the pill shaped props appear on the walls of the sickbay. However they are too high up and the walls are too far back. So we do not get a good look at them in either the publicity stills or the existing episodes themselves. I’ve circled the prop I think is the correct one above. So I’ll leave it to you to decide if I’m right or not. FURY FROM THE DEEP, ...