Doctor Who Prop Hunt

I always like to give props a memorable nickname, like the ‘wide blue’ and ‘tall blue’ reel to reel computer units. So I’ve called these items Space Washboards as they remind me of an old fashioned washboard. So far I’ve found these item around the late seventies, early eighties. But if you know of them turning up anywhere else please let me know. DESTINY OF THE DALEKS, 1979 The earliest appearance I can find is in the ruins of the Dalek City on Skaro. These sets are so rammed full of junk I have to assume the washboards were just stock items. That would indicate earlier appearances but so far I don’t know where. WARRIORS GATE, 1981 This is the first of a couple of 1981 appearances. ORBIT, 1981 And here is the other. It’s really common for Doctor Who props from this time to turn up in Blakes 7. So here it is being carried by Villa. TERMINUS, 1983 And a whole bunch of them can be found in this Season 20 story.  That’s it for now. Back soon.

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...

Hello folks! I’ve been away this week so I haven’t had any time to go looking for old props. But I do have a quick update I can share. A few weeks ago I wrote about these little toast rack like props that pop up during the Troughton era.  Well I’ve found a few more. So here we go. TIME SQUAD, 1978 I have to confess I’m not the world’s biggest Blake’s 7 fan. In fact I’m not really very familiar with it at all. But it is an obvious place to go looking for Doctor Who props and it’s in the series 1 episode Time Squad that I found the toast racks. They may well turn up in other episodes but, as I say, it’s not a show I’m familiar with. If you have any ideas please get in touch. WARRIORS GATE, 1981 I’ve circled the toast racks in this Warriors Gate screen grab as they are not the easiest to spot. In fact I think the scene depicted here is the only clear look we get in the whole story. It’s from part 3 and features Lazlo the Tharil with Romana in The Privateer. THE FIVE DOCTORS, 1983 And...