Season 13 - 20 Sharp Console Altered - Console Orientation

[Teletran]

When the Doctor is thrown into the vortex, he tells Jo to go to control panel # 3.  That panel was two away from the panel he used with the 3 demat levers (which would make that Panel 1).

So they were using the three medium sized levers rather than the two large ones at this point? interesting.
The drive levers seem to have multiplied over time, the season 20 console had two sets and the 2010 console seems to have about five.

[galacticprobe]

So they were using the three medium sized levers rather than the two large ones at this point? interesting.
The drive levers seem to have multiplied over time, the season 20 console had two sets and the 2010 console seems to have about five.

Remember, Pertwee's Doctor had his TARDIS disabled when the Timelords stranded him on Earth. He continually tore the console down and reassembled it - on several occasions having completely removed it from the TARDIS - to try and get it working again. Is there any wonder why controls that previously operated one function now operated a different one? Even Tom Baker's and Peter Davison's Doctors tinkered with the console while trying to repair or "improve" the TARDIS. (Remember what Tom's Doctor did to the console in "The Horns Of Nimon"? He had its guts and wires all over the console room. Near the end of the story he even had the central column lying on its side atop the console!)

Davison's Doctor didn't tinker with things quite so badly, until "The Five Doctors" that is. Then there was a completely rebuilt console with dozens of controls on each panel. It's no wonder why it may have taken five or six buttons/switches to start the demat sequence. Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy tinkered with things a bit as well (and had some sparks fly from a panel or two) so some controls might have needed rewiring to other switches.

Eccleston's Doctor operated the console in a "hand is faster than the eye" manner so it was difficult to see which control he actually used for the Demat control. Tennant's Doctor consistently used that lever on the framework that was on the side opposite the main doors. And since not as much time was spent inside this TARDIS, without any sort of "operator guide" to this console, unlike its predecessors, it will be difficult to determine which control was used for which function.

Matt Smith's Doctor's console is a TARDIS-rebuilt-herself console, and like the others probably has one or two controls used for the Demat sequence. Aside from the keyboards on this model, many of the other levers and controls have to do with setting coordinates, speed, direction of travel (future/past/present but in a different location, etc.). But at least for this console we have "THE TARDIS HANDBOOK" which identifies a few of the controls just mentioned. We'll just have to keep our sharp eyes peeled to learn what other controls operate what. Like that "zigzag plotter" from "The Lodger"; not mentioned in the "HANDBOOK", but it's obviously used to stabilise the TARDIS if she's stuck in a "materialisation loop" because an outside force is interfering with Materialisation. (And with this console we also have foot pedals to contend with: something not found on any previous console. What could they be? Accelerator? Brake? Clutch?)

Dino.

[beanster]

I've been compiling a series of screen shots for the console/ tardis interior from all existing episodes and I noticed the other day that from 8m 30s to 10m 45s in part 1 of the Armageddon Factor the console appears to rather saucilly spin itself some 60%, where it remains for the rest of the story.

Ooo, damndable continuity.

FYI the naming convention I'm using is (story number)-(serial number)-(season, story, episode)-(initials)-(screen grab number)

[warmcanofcoke]

I've been compiling a series of screen shots for the console/ tardis interior from all existing episodes and I noticed the other day that from 8m 30s to 10m 45s in part 1 of the Armageddon Factor the console appears to rather saucilly spin itself some 60%, where it remains for the rest of the story.

Ooo, damndable continuity.

FYI the naming convention I'm using is (story number)-(serial number)-(season, story, episode)-(initials)-(screen grab number)

Doh' .... Looks Like I'll have to review that episode myself and possible remake the chart.....

looks like the lighting is different too ... maybe they had to strike the set after a days filming for some other production, and then put it back the next day

[galacticprobe]

I think you'll go insane if you try to break the orientation down ep by ep rather than just story by story. I would suggest you look at the orientation for the majority of the story, and use that as the orientation.

So, since the console orientation was different only for about two minutes in early moments of Part 1 of "Armageddon", and after that one-panel (60-degree) rotation it stayed like that for the rest of Part 1 through Part 6 of the story, I'd recommend ignoring that one little inconsistency.

Just MHO,
Dino.

[Rassilons Rod]

I've split as much as I can about the Hartnell to Pertwee console to another thread.

[BeeblePete]

We took quite a detour, didn't we? Thanks for shifting that :-) Unfortunately, for updating the chart in this thread we're left with a ubiquitous panel order on one hand and a canonical sequence on the other! So I made a really strong cup of tea and just built two charts.

The research in these is still warmcanofcoke's work, hard won through stacks of framegrabs. What I've done here is condensed the layout of the data and altered the chart keys to reflect the observations made by DoctorWho8, rassilonsrod and others.

- Pete

[warmcanofcoke]

good work 

[Rassilons Rod]

Interesting that DWM left out (what I would call) the single feature most influenced by the original console... The circles which were where the pingpong lamps were on the original (3 per side)...

As said by Warm, good work. Thanks!

[galacticprobe]

Interesting that DWM left out (what I would call) the single feature most influenced by the original console... The circles which were where the pingpong lamps were on the original (3 per side)...

If you're referring to the layout for Panel 6 in DWM, I think by that point the panel had been reworked enough and had more controls added to it and spread out so much that there wasn't room for those circles. That layout shown above is more of the later Davison era, closer to "The King's Demons" timeframe.

The circles were still there during the "Key to Time" series (see the photos higher up in this thread, and Crispin built that console magnificently). I believe they may have still been there into the early Davison episodes: at least to the end of Tom Baker's tenure, but once again, I say someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Dino.

[DoctorWho8]

The diagram is of the Season 20 incarnation of the T Baker/Davison console.  The decorative designs were not there.
Bill "the Doctor" Rudloff

[themindprobe]

Double-checking screen captures from every story, the reference image seems correct (ignoring rotation of prop relative to the door) with two exceptions.

Rather than a unique panel configuration, The Two Doctors features the same one as seen for most of seasons 19 and 20:



clockwise, 1 4 [6] 3 2 5 (TMC order)

The other exception is that the configuration for The King's Demons apparently changed halfway through taping.


Earliest appearance: clockwise, 1 4


Later: clockwise, 1 (note the identifying pyramid) 2