Were any of the classic series TARDIS-es windows lit from the inside?

Started by mantan1701, Jun 21, 2014, 08:31 pm

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mantan1701

So I know that the 2005 series onward had the TARDIS window panels glow with the light from the inside, I was wondering aside from promo shots if any of the classic Who episodes showed the windows lit from the inside? Or even better, has anyone made any 1:1 scale classic exteriors that shows some examples of how to achieve a good glowing effect that doesn't look like a bunch of LED's lighting it up?

Volpone

I don't recall the windows ever being lit in the classic series.  In fact to my knowledge it wasn't until the 1996 TV movie that the top POLICE BOX signs were lit (and even then they didn't light the windows).  The easiest way to get a good lighting effect to the windows is just to put a light inside the TARDIS.  One of the blueprints on this site says what kind of bulb a police box is supposed to have.  I did the math (or rather a Website did) to convert Watts to lumens and while the 180 lumen LED camp lantern that hangs in my TARDIS is not nearly as bright as it is supposed to be it is almost too bright for the effect I want.  It works fine. 
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

mantan1701

Hi neighbor! Kelso here ;) Anyways, my idea for a build was to make it have the classic look, but lit up like it would fit in the 20th century or even fit with the new series, so the Police Box sign would be lit with incandescent backlights, and the interior would have a singular hanging bulb to give the windows a soft glow. Cheap, but effective. I've been curious about this for quite a while and would love any reference pics to personal builds that did something similar.

galacticprobe

The Classic Series TARDISes were very rarely lit from inside. Mostly, the windows were either blacked out (as seen very clearly in "The Three Doctors"), or just left open and frosted.

Two occasions I can readily think of where both windows and top signs were lit were 1) in the opening of "The Ark In Space", where the lamp flashes as the materialization sound grows (in total darkness), and then at the materialization sequence completes, the top signs light up as do the windows; this was most likely done with a light inside the prop with the light just filtering out through the windows as you could see the actors moving about inside. Also 2) in "Pyramids of Mars", when the TARDIS lands on Mars, the windows are lit in probably the same way because you can once again see the shadows of the actors moving about inside.

There may be others, but those two are the only ones that stick out in my mind.

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"

Volpone

Quote from: mantan1701 on Jun 21, 2014, 10:53 pm
Hi neighbor! Kelso here ;) Anyways, my idea for a build was to make it have the classic look, but lit up like it would fit in the 20th century or even fit with the new series, so the Police Box sign would be lit with incandescent backlights, and the interior would have a singular hanging bulb to give the windows a soft glow. Cheap, but effective. I've been curious about this for quite a while and would love any reference pics to personal builds that did something similar.

Well, if you ever feel like making the trip down to Gresham you're welcome to examine mine in-depth.  Otherwise the second half of my build diary may have some stuff for you:  http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=3204.45  If I were building another, I wouldn't use the construction technique I did on this one but after the renovation it looks pretty good and it certainly exposes some of the challenges of building an outdoor box in a wet environment. 
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

davidnagel

Does "Curse of Fatal Death" count? That box was lit from the inside. Windows and all I believe. Though I may need to go back and rewatch!

I know for sure that the insides were lit because we can blatantly see the white insides of the box when Atkinson and Sewell exit in part one.
Regards
David

galacticprobe

Well, unless I'm wrong, the TARDIS used for "The Curse of Fatal Death" was the Yardley-Jones Mark II, spruced up a bit after being in storage for so long, so I guess it could at least "half" count. The outside was prettied up for the Comic Relief production (though they had a flashing - actually more like "blinking" - blue light on top that, from what could be seen, looked like a blinking version of the rotating blue light used during Season 18).

Remember, with the exception of the Cushing movies, the TARDIS props used for the TV series insides were always painted black. I don't know just how much they worked on the inside of the prop for "Fatal Death", so what glimpse we do get to see of it could just be the bare fiberglass after the prop's initial cleaning up, as if you look closely when the Doctor and Emma come out, the inside isn't completely "white", but more of a "buff" color that one would expect from bare fiberglass.

Most of this is just guesswork on my part based on what I can see in that special. If I'm wrong about anything I know someone (or some many ;)) will correct me.

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"

Kingpin

Quote from: volpone on Jun 21, 2014, 10:25 pmIn fact to my knowledge it wasn't until the 1996 TV movie that the top POLICE BOX signs were lit (and even then they didn't light the windows).


The windows weren't illuminated on the full-size Hudolin TARDIS prop, but they were on the miniature used in the vortex sequences.

asimov

Hi all,

Personally I think it is a silly idea that the Tardis windows light up. For a start there would be no light coming from inside, as it is inside another dimension.

Also the Tardis changes shape to blend in with it's surroundings. A real police box does not have super powerful lights inside to light up the windows, so why would the Tardis do this.
The original Williams Hartnell story definately had the right idea. It was in a junkyard and if you weren't looking for the police box you probably wouldn't have even noticed it was there. Now in modern doctor who they would have had it lit up like a Christmas tree for no reason, attracting all kinds of attention.

------------------------------------------------------
Asimov

galacticprobe

Personally, I would think the only windows to light up (on a New Series TARDIS) would be those on the front doors as they are a direct access from inside to outside; you can see both ways through those windows, as we've seen in various episodes, most notable "The Doctor's Wife" and "The Girl Who Waited" (probably others, but I'm not going to wrack my brain trying to "fan boy" every instance). The other windows? Well, there's no sign of them from the inside (that we've seen... yet), so those would be dark, unless this lighting of the sides and read windows is one of the Old Girl's tricks to not look "too odd".

In the Classic Series, we had those massive interior doors between the outer doors and the TARDIS interior, so the door windows wouldn't be lit; same as above goes for the sides and rear windows (except for the stories mentioned higher up in the thread).

As for the comments on blending in as a real Police Box, I have to fully agree, with a caveat. Real Police Boxes did have lights inside them, and some were probably lit at night. Granted, the windows would not have been anywhere near as bright as they've got the windows lit now (for if they were lit that brightly inside, then the bobbie would have gone blind within minutes of being in there), but at least at night "some" light would have shone through the windows all round. (And on that note, I think the props people got it pretty close for Series 1-5, but beyond that? Way too bright for blending in as real Police Box - which was how the Old Girl started out our adventures in the first place.

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"