The Doctor Who Experience
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy?
Review Since the revival of Doctor Who almost six years ago, the BBC’s marketing machinery has been in full flow, with the programme spawning action figures, DVD box sets, plenty of other merchandise, alongside Proms concerts and exhibitions.
I remember my first Doctor Who exhibition, at Longleat in the 1970s, where there was a Tardis control room, and a few other - slightly tatty - exhibits which, as a child who only got to see the show in colour by visiting friends, I found thrilling. With hindsight, though, it was pretty staid.
Today, for a programme that is coming up to having a half-century of history, there’s a lot of potential material for an exhibition. You could probably fill a whole museum if you wanted. In fact, the existing exhibitions around the UK are being wound down, and replaced with the Doctor Who Experience, opening this month at London’s Olympia 2, before a planned transfer to Cardiff in 2012.
I was lucky enough to have a ticket to a recent test pilot day. It’s worth stressing that, as certain aspects of the Experience weren’t finished, and it’s possible others may be tweaked or improved, based on feedback from the testers.
The Waiting Zone
That said, with only ten days between test pilot and public opening - which takes place on Saturday, 20 February - it’s unlikely there’s much more to come. An intriguing sign at the start of the exhibition urges visitors to set their phones to silent and to turned Wi-Fi on. This will apparently provide extra interactivity together with discount vouchers for the gift shop – through which you naturally have to exit – but unfortunately wasn’t working when I was there.
Next page: Carnival of Monsters
COMMENTS
London and then Cardiff
why are these things never located somewhere central to the country?
Danny 2
Didn't American children ever get so scared by a TV programme that they hid being their couches?
Probably not due to the warnings before each program..............
The following program contains scenes of death by falling from heights
The following program contains scenes of death by stabbing
The following program contains scenes of death by death ray (various)
The following program contains scenes of death by machine gunfire
The following program contains scenes of death by gassing\axphixation (sic)
The following program contains scenes of death by explosions
The following program contains scenes of torture & mutilations
The following program contains scenes of death by falling from heights
The following program contains scenes of death by stabbing
The following program contains scenes of death by death ray (various)
The following program contains scenes of death by machine gunfire
The following program contains scenes of death by gassing\axphixation (sic)
The following program contains scenes of death by falling from heights
The following program contains scenes of death by stabbing
The following program contains scenes of death by death ray (various)
The following program contains scenes of death by machine gunfire
The following program contains scenes of death by gassing\axphixation (sic)
The following program contains scenes of death by explosions
The following program contains scenes of death by drowning
The following program contains scenes of death by explosions
The following program contains scenes of death by virus or infections
The following program contains scenes of death by falling from heights
The following program contains scenes of death by stabbing
The following program contains scenes of death by death ray (various)
The following program contains scenes of death by machine gunfire
The following program contains scenes of death by gassing\axphixation (sic)
The following program contains scenes of death by explosions
The following program contains scenes of death by ood
Viewer discretion is advised, as it's a family show
We regret the episode of Doctor Who has been replaced by The A-Team,
The following program contains scenes of falling from heights, but no bodies
The following program contains scenes of people waving a knife about menacingly
The following program contains scenes of machine gunfire, people falling down but no blood
The following program contains scenes of explosions & people flying through the air & landing without injury
Viewer discretion is advised
We regret the episode of The A-Team has now been replaced by Hannah Montana
The following program contains no deaths
The following program contains family friendly humour (none)
The following program contains scenes too sickening for words
The following actress is now 18 & allegedly self-destructing according to her father, because she smoked something funny & should be removed from the airwaves immedietly.
A pint because scenes would be set in a pub, where booze was consumed & fags were seen to be smoked.
This post will probably be shortened.
Life Before RTD
What a shame that despite the promises suggested by the Giant Robot and Zygon pictures, this sounds like it continues the trend of trying to forget about the heritage of the 'original' Dr Who, like hiding a senile grandparent under the stairs when anyone calls. It's ironic that a programme that's based on time travel seems so embarrassed about its own past. Yes, some of it was appalling and lacked the flash-bang CGI that seems necessary in today's short attention span rating wars, but without William Hartnell there would be no Matt Smith.
Entry is how much?!!!!
* cough *
* cough *
* splutter *
Call me an old cynic
But for sixty five quid (or fifty five fifty for family of three) I would like it if you could educate my kid/s in the potential physics behind the many Whoism concepts to some degree, not just give them an expose' to the Who merchandising machine.
Caught me on a grumpy day.
