4th Doctor cosplay

[russellsuthern]

                                    INTERLUDE
                               __________________________


Before I go onto "Full Circle", I thought I'd share these photos with you:





They are of a costume Tom Baker wore for a publicity tour, but was never worn on screen.
Not too keen on the scarf, but I love the coat, & think it would have looked a lot better than the one that was ultimately chosen.

The images are from the Bonhams auction sale site, which states that the costume was sold for £24,600. !! 

At first I thought, who is going to spend that much money for a costume not even seen on screen??!

Then I found this picture:



Looking at the scarf, I'd say that's a riddle solved.

I'm sure you all know, but the chap pictured is none other than Peter Jackson of "Lord Of The Rings" fame.
I guess if anyone can afford it, he can!
He's a huge Dr Who fan, which is partly why he got Sylvester McCoy a part in the "Lord Of The Rings" movies.

I know the two Daleks he owns are actual screen used props, which are as rare as hen's teeth now.
I'm guessing his Cyberman is a screen used prop also, but I don't know anything about the TARDIS prop behind him. It looks a bit small & the lamp looks off centre?
If anyone knows anything about the prop, I'd love to know!

The only other thing I found of interest re: the costume was the waistcoat, which didn't look at all "Tom Baker" era to me.
In fact, it looks more like something William Hartnell would wear, as the picture below indicates:



I'm very interested in Tom's non-canonical costumes, (especially as I approach the end of season 18 in the thread.)
It's almost like looking at an alternative reality of the show.

Anyway, hope you all find the pictures as interesting as I did.

As always, any comments, opinions, information welcome.

Regards,

Russell

[Volpone]

Eh, it's fairly appropriate to the Leela era.  We've established in this thread that, before Peter Davison, the Doctor's clothes were more clothes than a costume/uniform.  The coats changed.  The trousers changed.  Heck, even the scarf got longer or shorter.  Tome wore different neckties in different styles.  Jon ran the gamut on smoking jackets with an assortment of shirts and cloaks.  Even Patrick's trousers, the check pattern varied from quite coarse to much more like William's.  Even William had the occasional clothing change--most notably in the "Web Planet" serial. 

[Volpone]

On a completely unrelated and totally inappropriate tangent, we had "Who" on PBS (public television) where I grew up, but the town I went to college in did not.  So it took me over 2 decades to see most of Colin Baker and all of Sylvester McCoy.  By the time I finally saw them, I really felt bad for the deal Colin got.  Got to see him at a convention between seasons and he was a trooper--really was carrying the show so it was shameful how he got thrown under the bus. 

Anyway, I'd heard so much about McCoy's run and how they added depth to the character so, after 20 years, it was really disappointing to see his episodes.  Or maybe frustrating was a better word.  I mean there were some serials that were terrible through and through, but there were a lot that were really, really good for the first 2 acts or so and then they just completely punted the last act.  "Battlefield," for example.  They trot out the Brigadier.  The set him up against Morgaine; make it out to be a final showdown.  Give us stakes, after watching the young LT piloting the helicopter die.  And then?...they pull some blue scaly Apocalypse monster out of nowhere who is unstoppable and dire and evil and...pretty quickly and easily dispatched with a silver bullet, as it happens. 

Or the WWII one with the Soviets and the Viking vampires.  Really wonderful first 2/3.  And then the ending is just rubbish. 

[russellsuthern]

Well,
like all Dr Who fan conversations, there are some things I totally agree with you on & other comments I must respectfully disagree with.

I agree that Colin was treated abysmally.
Crap clothes,scripts, no money, nobody caring anymore.

With a bit of love & care, Colin could have made a very good Doctor.

He got a bit of redemption in the audio adventures & is very active at the conventions, where, as you say, he is a complete trooper.
His love for the character & the fans really shines through.

Where we diverge, is the McCoy era.
Yes, he did get off to a shaky start, but nearer the end of his tenure are some of the best stories of the show- period.

Battlefield is a great adventure, & Curse of Fenric is just fantastic.

Rememberance of the Daleks & Ghost Light, are two of the best adventures ever!

Let's not forget that there were plenty of Tom Baker episodes that had a wonderful first few episodes, then crashed & burned in the final installment or two. ("Pyramids of Mars & Stones of Blood as cases in point.)

Class, discuss.... 

Best regards,

Russell

[Jam Jar Lurker]

I love the McCoy era. Very much a shaky start, yes; but Season 24 was full of creativity and ambition and was such a blast of fresh air optimism compared to what had come before that it's easy to be forgiving. And if the original run had to end, it couldn't have done so better than Seasons 25 & 26. Seeing the hyperactive McCoy appearing as himself you can easily forget how serious, subtle and layered his Doctor is.

Francïs

P.S. He once played the spoons on my head.

[moonbeam]

Totally agree about the McCoy era, I've been really enjoying watching them again on the blu ray collections. I've also just finished reading Andrew Cartmel's book the Script Doctor, a great read and it really puts you in the picture.
That's a great photo Francis, I'm definitely not jealous, not one bit......... 
(Oh alright then I am!)

[russellsuthern]

Great pic!

I have Tom & Peter's autographs. Colin & Sylvester are next on my "hit list!"

They are both great ambassadors for the show & really good with the fans. 

Regards,

Russell

[Jam Jar Lurker]

I've just discovered (literally 3 days ago) that my eldest brother was at primary school with Peter Capaldi. Would've been nice if he'd mentioned it before (though he has been living abroad for a while).

I've never been to a convention, but have managed to meet a small handful of Doctors and Others.

And according to her previous owner, the Doctors from Tom through to Peter Capaldi have stood inside my TARDIS during her time on the convention circuit.

Francïs

[russellsuthern]

Nice picture!

Out of interest, why have you never tried a convention?

Do you think you wouldn't enjoy it, or have you just never got round to it?

I was never the convention type for years (although I did go to the Longleat one.)

I was more of the "quiet" fan. I never got into organized fandom, never joined DWAS or visited any shows.

Believe it or not, I was quite the shy type & preferred to keep my love of Dr Who a bit more personal, if you see what I mean.

Eventually I tried a Birmingham Comicon where I met Tom Baker himself.

I loved it & have made the effort to do several shows since.

It was still a while before I plucked up the courage to go in cosplay, though, but I'm glad I took the plunge.

Now there are so many people in cosplay, I'd feel more out of place if I didn't wear it!

Anyway, I'd be very interested to know! 

Regards,

Russell

(Ps: Please do tell me where to get off if I'm being nosy!)

[Jam Jar Lurker]

By best friend at school became very involved in fandom, eventually moving to London and doing a lot of work for Big Finish. But in my late teens I became full of self doubt and shied away from a lot of things. So conventions weren't really on my radar. I was an avid reader of DWM until very recently, and big into the merchandise, but like you, I got into the habit of being a quiet fan.

Later on, another friend and I would attend some smaller, local events such as book signings, "audience withs", comic cons and memorabilia events. And my wife Amanda enjoys these too, so maybe if there was a Glasgow Who convention we would go now.

Meeting Terence Dicks was wonderful but a very unlikely event. It was only about 6 years ago. I was browsing the net at work one lunchtime and by a complete fluke discovered that he was appearing at a local library the very next evening. And this was middle of nowhere Airdrie, where they thought a sci-fi night would be a good thing to try, so paid to bring Terrance Dicks up from London to speak to sixty people.

So I got to meet a childhood hero in the very building where my Dad brought me as a kid to borrow Terrance's Target books... and I was able to give him a copy of one of my novels.

Francïs

[davidnagel]

Not my best but...

[russellsuthern]

David,

I think that's awesome work as always.

Feels like I'm really there!!! 

Many thanks,

Russell

[russellsuthern]

Okay, folks, Hope you are all well & sitting comfortably, because it is time to look at "Full Circle."

I think this is another great adventure.

It is intelligently written, well shot & acted with great location work & has a nice twist ending.

The Doctor sorts things out using his brain, not just waving his sonic around or blowing something up.

JNT continues his K.9 hating, unfortunately.

In Leisure Hive K.9 is blown up.
In Meglos he's repaired but his battery keeps running out & he even gets a hefty kick!!
In Full circle he gets his head knocked off!

Even back then I started to sense a pattern forming....

Even so, K.9 shares some lovely moments with Tom, especially when they are hidden by the river bank, watching the Marshmen rise up out of the water, so that's the scene I decided to recreate first:

Here's the original:



And my attempt:



This ones a bit more posed:



I couldn't resist a couple more proper poses with my K.9, as the costume looks so good against a bright green background:





Had to dodge some heavy showers to get these shots, but I loved posing in my season 18 gear with my K.9, so I hope you enjoy the resulting photos.

More coming soon!

Best regards,

Russell

[redfern]

Again, I think your more vivid waistcoat (vest) makes the ensemble "pop" a bit more than what we saw in the actual show, even when we just get a glimpse of it.

Sincerely,

Bill

[Angelus Lupus]

Not my best but...

Oh, it's easily as good as the CSO split-screen from the episode!