Monday, August 21, 2017

Memories of costumes and props at the Doctor Who Experience

I was overjoyed when I heard that Jodie Whitaker would be the 'Thirteenth Doctor' providing a fresh new perspective to tell some out-of-this-world adventures, but saddened when I learned that the Doctor Who Experience would close its doors in Cardiff Bay this September. On my most recent visit to Wales the exhibit wasn't open the dates I was there, so here are some unpublished photos from my final visit on April 20, 2015, to the sci-fi extravaganza of the long-running British series with costumes, sets and props from across time and space.

Original costumes and props from Doctor Who
K9 TARDIS MK3 Doctor Who props
Doctor Who Day of the Doctor costume props
Doctor Who monster costumes
Doctor Who monster alien costumes
Doctor Who monster alien costumes
Doctor Who Bessie car
Doctor Who Smiler prop
Doctor Who Smiler prop
Doctor Who River Song props
Screen-used Doctor Who props
I'd seen many of these alien and monster costumes and screen-used props on previous visits to the exhibition across from the studios where the series was filmed, but there were a few gems I'd not seen in person before from classic Doctor Who episodes.

Costume worn by Kate O'Mara
as The Rani in Doctor Who
Kate O'Mara Doctor Who Rani costume
Doctor Who Rani Sontaran costumes
One of my favourite new finds was the fab costume worn by renegade Time Lord, 'The Rani', played in all her campy glory by Kate O'Mara in 1987's 'Time and the Rani'. She's not turned up in the revival series to date, so maybe she could regenerate and cross paths with the 'Thirteenth Doctor' in the future.

Gallifreyan Time Lord and soldier costumes
Gallifreyan Time Lord costumes Doctor Who
Gallifreyan Time Lord costumes Doctor Who
Gallifreyan soldier costume Doctor Who
Gallifreyan soldier costume Doctor Who
Gallifreyan guard costume Doctor Who
Gallifreyan guard costume Doctor Who
The Doctor Who Experience always had a wide variety of Gallifreyan costumes of display from the new revival series and even the 1996 TV movie which starred Eric Roberts as 'The Master', so be sure to check out these Gallifreyan Time Lord costumes from the Doctor's home planet in more detail.

Costume worn by Billie Piper as The Moment interface and prop
from The Day of the Doctor
Billie Piper Moment interface costume prop doctor who
Billie Piper Moment interface costume prop
Moment prop Doctor Who
Doctor Who Day of the Doctor props
Plus I'd seen this costume worn by Billie Piper as the sentient interface of 'The Moment' doomsday weapon from 2013's 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, but not the Gallifreyan weapon prop itself.

Original Yeti monster costume
from Doctor Who The Web of Fear
Doctor Who Yeti costume
Doctor Who Yeti costume
Following their debut in 1967 in 'The Abominable Snowmen' against the 'Second Doctor' (Patrick Houghton) and returned in 1968 in 'The Web of Fear' and this is apparently one of the only remaining costume examples from that era. It was so great to see this classic monster on display.

Screen-used K9 and TARDIS MK3 from Doctor Who
K9 TARDIS MK3 Doctor Who props
K9 MK2 Fourth Doctor Who prop
K9 MK2 Fourth Doctor Who prop
And I'll finish this excursion down memory lane with my most beloved character from the original series when I was growing up, the Doctor's faithful robotic dog companion, 'K9'.

This original version is a MK 2 model who featured alongside the 'Fourth Doctor' (Tom Baker) and 'Romana' (Lalla Ward) on Brighton beach in 1980's The Leisure Hive, whilst this rigid TARDIS police box was one of two used by the Fourth Doctor through to the 'Seventh Doctor' (Sylvester McCoy) for studio recordings.

Fellow Whovians can also enjoy all these other Doctor Who costumes and props I've seen on my own personal travels through time and space.

Doctor Who poster
Doctor Who 12 Doctors poster

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