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Original Console Control Panels

Started by tony farrell, Dec 14, 2014, 09:34 am

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handofomega

Always liked the add on version of panel 3 that appear here.   

td3_zpsc487f910.jpg[/URL]

galacticprobe

Dec 21, 2014, 06:28 am #46 Last Edit: Dec 21, 2014, 07:39 am by galacticprobe
Since we've started researching into (as the Topic name says) "Original Console Control Panels", I've noticed that in the DWM article they did some 'mix-n-match' with their panel drawings, throwing in some later Troughton additions, as well as some controls (like that Time Sensor - Panel 4, Control 6) that didn't exist on the console until after the post-"Inferno" Pertwee refurb.

As for those other controls on Panel 3 (#1-the telescopic microphone: a Pertwee post-"Inferno" refurb control, #3-the "segmented"(?) Voice Integrator: a solid strip that eventually vanished, #4-the "dial-switch" under the light near the edge of the panel where it used to be a toggle switch, #5-that box and dotted lines around the lower handle, unnumbered-those small dials and that odd rectangular meter in the place where those two strips of rubber matting should be), while they might "look" nice, they're not really in keeping with the intention of this thread - the "Original" panels. And with so many episodes missing from the Troughton era at the time, it's starting to make me wonder where the writer of that DWM article got his information.

I know it says in the beginning of that article "Digging deep into the Archives we have managed to compile an accurate plan of this machine and after extensive study of the first six years episodes managed to ascertain the use of ninety per cent of the switches and dials." First it makes me ask: what "Archives"? Then after looking at their inaccurate "accurate plan" - especially with that thing they've drawn for the Fast Return Switch (nowhere near accurate if they studied "Edge of Destruction" at all), that post-"Inferno" Pertwee refurb 'Time Sensor' being added when it did not exist yet, and as rassilonsrod just showed us those bits of rubber matting and the toggle switch under the light from the aired version of "An Unearthly Child" being replaced with strange meters and a dial-knob respectively, not to mention the complex meters the article has drawn on Panels 4 and 5 (when in the episodes the meters are much more simplified), and their grossly inaccurate placing of the two handles next to the Demat Lever on Panel 6 - I'm starting to think that the DWM article might be more in the neighborhood of (being generous) 75%? accurate with their "plan". (The operation of those controls then comes into question: what were those rubber matting "strips" supposed to be? What was that knob by the "Backwards L" used for?)

I think our references and research have given us a far more accurate plan of the original console as it appeared in the first few Hartnell stories (the addition of the Fast Return Switch in Part 2 of "Edge of Destruction" we can let in as the console was still "settling", so to speak). So maybe that DWM article's drawings should be treated like "The Pirates' Code" (more of guidelines than actual rules) when it comes to determining accurate drawings (or renderings) of the original console. Sure, their "artistic license" with the drawings might look nice, but they're not accurate, and really don't help with figuring out things like the rubber matting strips, or the actual labels on the large meters, etc., etc., etc.

I know what you're thinking - that my "Rivet Counter" is showing - but we are striving for an accurate rendering of the original console, and in that respect, some Rivet Counting is needed. ;)

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

tony farrell

Dec 21, 2014, 09:39 am #47 Last Edit: Dec 21, 2014, 09:43 am by Tony Farrell
Quote from: galacticprobe on Dec 21, 2014, 06:28 am

I think our references and research have given us a far more accurate plan of the original console as it appeared in the first few Hartnell stories (the addition of the Fast Return Switch in Part 2 of "Edge of Destruction" we can let in as the console was still "settling", so to speak).

I know what you're thinking - that my "Rivet Counter" is showing - but we are striving for an accurate rendering of the original console, and in that respect, some Rivet Counting is needed. ;)

Dino.


Hi Dino, in my article ( http://tardisbuilders.com/index.php?topic=4825.0) I stated "Here, in colour, is my version of the studio floor plans for the Tardis interior as seen in "Edge of Destruction" and "Brink of Disaster". At just over 43​ feet by 35​ feet, it was in these two episodes that the full scale of Brachaki's Control Room set can be seen!"

It was always my intention to use these two episodes as the basis for my Tardis Interior 'plans' because it is in these two episodes that we see every element of the set being utilised (and even across these two episodes, the elements don't appear in the same place - the fault locator/computer banks being assembled in a different order, the scanner down-lighters had a fascia fitted in the first episode but not the second).

It's a moot point whether I should have included the 'fast return' switch' (after all, it was simply fitted in Brink of Disaster as a plot device) or not because this wasn't part of Brachaki's original design but then, you could argue that about the fault locator/computer panels - the original design (if we assume the Pilot Episode was ever intended for transmission, which I doubt) were simple photo blow-ups of various lamps, valves, etc,.

You rightly argue that the original console was subjected to alterations down the years (mainly, but not exclusively, in the Troughton years). The question then really becomes "where do you stop"? From my point of view, it is with Edge/Brink because every element of Brachaki's design is present and because Raymond P Cusick hadn't yet had a chance to start cutting down (butchering) the original set.

I know that Marc/Rassilonsrod has produced a spreadsheet showing which parts of the Tardis interior were used in each episode. Perhaps this spreadsheet should be expanded (it should certainly be in the reference section somewhere for everyone to use).

For clarity, my definition of "original Tardis interior" is as seen in season one transmitted episodes and specifically as seen in "Edge of Destruction" and "Brink of Disaster"  because this is where Peter Brachaki's magnificent creation is seen in full!

Tony

Rassilons Rod

Tony, I suspect you have missed my Render on the previous page ;)
In the cities in the streets there's a tension you can feel,
The breaking strain is fast approaching, guns and riots.
Politicians gamble and lie to save their skins,
And the press get fed the scapegoats,
Public Enema Number One.

mister_hughes

Troughout the series the original console changed.
Some of the knobs were different the levers etc.
The inferno tardis console is a good example, the console looked broken and it was in a bad state:

Inferno mistake.jpgInferno mistake2.png

also in the early stages of the series the console changed, due to missind knobs, levers etc.
wrong knob.png

tony farrell

Quote from: rassilonsrod on Dec 20, 2014, 02:41 pm
Here's my new version of Panel 3.

I think I could use a little help with refining the door handles though ;)

2014_12_20_Panel_3wip.jpg



Oh, looking good!

tony farrell

Quote from: mister_hughes on Dec 21, 2014, 10:10 am
Troughout the series the original console changed.
Inferno mistake.jpgInferno mistake2.png
also in the early stages of the series the console changed, due to missind knobs, levers etc.


Thanks Mister Hughes but the intention here is to describe the original console as seen in Edge of Destruction/Brink of Disaster.

Tony

galacticprobe

Dec 22, 2014, 07:19 am #52 Last Edit: Dec 22, 2014, 07:35 am by galacticprobe
That console as seen in "Inferno" was indeed in a sorry state. The Column's innards were very much broken, and the controls on the panels were added to greatly (as on that one with the two meters far apart), and as for the panel with the two meters that were side by side, well, now there was a huge metal plate with lights and knobs on it covering most of that panel. The original "bones" may have been there, but that was about it.

So I guess one could argue that the last time the "original" console was seen was in "The War Games", Troughton's last story. But I have to agree with Tony; "Edge of destruction/Brink of Disaster" was the story that showed this magnificent prop off at its finest hour.

As to the bits of the set (Fault Locator/Computer Banks, etc.) being assembled in different orders, remember, this was at a time when 'Doctor Who' shared a studio with other programming, so after each day's filming the sets were broken down, and then reassembled the next day when filming resumed. I doubt (for something considered to be strictly a "kids' show" back then) that the props guys kept track of which panel went where when they broke the set down, and just put things up willy-nilly for the next filming session. And unlike today (which still has its slight flaws), I don't think anyone kept track of things like that for continuity and said "Oi! That panel over on the left of the Fault Locator belongs in the middle..." (etc., etc.).

And for the set getting "chopped" over the years to make it smaller and smaller... well, <pardon the pun> who knows? Maybe someone thought it took up too much real estate in the studio; maybe someone thought it was too much work putting up and taking down something that large every day; maybe someone thought it was only wasted space because most of the action was centered around the console. (That speculation could go on for many more reasons.) But I think the smallest it ever got was in the beginning of "The Invasion Of Time":
Leela-Console.JPG
Just look at this screen grab. That console is almost touching that back wall, and there's just enough space for Leela to walk between the console and the monitor wall! (Even scarfwearer's console room that he built in his house was larger than that!)

But getting back to the original point once again, Tony is right; the best of the best for the original console and console room was in the "Edge of Destruction/Brink of Disaster" story. And even though there were changes to the console during the Hartnell era, as mister_hughes pointed out, what we're going for here is "the original" (which IMHO should never have changed; it was my favorite console for decades, until the 2005 console tied it for my #1 favorite).

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

tony farrell

Dec 22, 2014, 10:36 am #53 Last Edit: Dec 22, 2014, 10:37 am by Tony Farrell
Quote from: galacticprobe on Dec 22, 2014, 07:19 am

As to the bits of the set (Fault Locator/Computer Banks, etc.) being assembled in different  I doubt (for something considered to be strictly a "kids' show" back then) that the props guys kept track of which panel went where when they broke the set down, and just put things up willy-nilly for the next filming session.

And for the set getting "chopped" over the years to make it smaller and smaller... well, <pardon the pun> who knows?



No Dino, Brachacki designed his set to be modular precisely so as to give future directors the option of using more or less of the set depending on story and studio requirements. The set parts were numbered so they could be identified and correctly 'picked' from storage. So, how the set could be assembled was not random at all but quite deliberate.

t1a.jpg

I don't own this picture and have therefore used only a small part of it for information purposes.

The cutting down of the original Tardis set I'm referring to is not the dreadful version that appeared in the Graham Williams era but a quite deliberate decision which was taken sometime in 1964/65 (and I think was lead by Raymond Cusick). In brief, these changes meant the ceiling canopy was reduced in depth, the top five inches of each solid (3D) wall was cut off, the curved fascias above the scanner were replaced with simple painted 'flats' and the metal work just behind the scanner was simplified. Effectively this reduced the maximum height of the set to 10 feet throughout (note, the photo blow-up wall were consistently shown on their sides from this period onwards i.e., so that they 10 feet tall and 12 feet wide and not 12 feet tall by 10 feet wide).

Tony

galacticprobe

Dec 23, 2014, 06:18 am #54 Last Edit: Dec 23, 2014, 06:20 am by galacticprobe
Well then, this is definitely a who knows?-type of thing as to why the set was "chopped", or why it was assembled with certain bits out of place (i. e. Fault Locator and computer panels being switched around, etc.).

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

tony farrell

As I've stated Dino, the set was 'chopped' to reduce the height to 10 feet throughout (rather than having some bits that were ten feet, some ten feet five inches and others twelve feet) and therefore to reduce its weight (particularly the ceiling canopy and scanner dividing screens). The fact it was modular was a deliberate design decision allowing flexibility.

markofrani

Dec 23, 2014, 09:06 pm #56 Last Edit: Dec 23, 2014, 09:08 pm by markofrani
IN THE FIRST DOCTOR HANDBOOK, I found this piece of info which may explain why the design revisions took place:
On 1 November 1963, IAN ATKINS (BBC Controller of Programme Services) intervened directly in an important question of design. On that date he held a meeting with James Mudie, Tony Reeves (Assistant Head Of Servicing), Beyon Lewis (Assistant Head Of Design)  and Raymond Cusick to discuss the sets for 'The Mutants'.  Ian Atkins was charged with ensuring that sets got moved in a timely fashion, and he gave them all a direct order to do something about the design of the TARDIS interior. As designed by the then-departed Peter Brachacki, it was simply too heavy and too complicated to erect. It was jeopardising the efficiency of the whole scenery department, who were spending entirely too much time on Doctor Who at the expense of other programmes. By 22 November, Cusick had redesigned and simplified the TARDIS interior. The revised "Cusick interior" made its debut in 'The Mutants' -- the serial now known as The Daleks. The hexagonal ceiling canopy was retained but reduced in height and therefore weight. I think Season 2's 'The Chase' was the very last time it was shown. However, I believe the height reduction of the 3D walls was not done until late Season 3. The Power Of The Daleks is the earliest photo reference of this that I have found.

tony farrell

Thanks for the information Jonathan - very useful as always, However, whilst the changes may have been planned for "The Mutants", they didn't in actual fact take place until after "Edge of Destruction/Brink of Disaster" as the full-scale set was obviously used.

It's much more likely that the alterations (except cutting down the 3D walls) occurred during the recording break after between seasons one and two when - as we know - the Tardis Police Box prop was repaired (following the bridge collapsing on it in "World's End") and several PVc roundel mouldings were (badly) replaced.

Tony

tony farrell

Anyway, after that brief sojourn into the history of the Tardis interior, back on subject:

radiation meter.png

I hope everyone enjoys the holidays. Merry Christmas All!

Tony

warmcanofcoke

Amazing attention to detail and as always amazing work here Tony.  :o :o :o
why doesn't the Guide mention them? - Oh, it's not very accurate.
Oh? - I'm researching the new edition.