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

This week I’m looking at some computer panels from the early eighties. Like my last post, it’s a group of props that share a common design but are all a little different. They are grey boxes that are divided into two or three sections. And each section features a seemly random arrangement of coloured lights and black knobs. Here is a typical example… They are found in several stories from 1981 to 1984 and, apart from one instance, they all feature a unique pattern of lights and knobs. WARRIORS GATE, 1981 A couple of examples of the two sectioned, smaller, panels. Plus a three sectioned unit peeking out from behind Romana. THE KEEPER OF TRAKEN, 1981 A rare example where the panel is not mounted on a wall. We get a clear look at how these boxes are put together. LOGOPOLIS, 1981 The last of three examples from Season 18. SAND, 1981 In the same year as season 18, we get a couple of appearances in Blake’s 7. First in Sand and then in… BLAKE, 1981 FOUR TO DOOMSDAY, 1982 The first of a couple...

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, ...