'ankh' shaped Tardis door key

[exilea]

My pewter key has been bent by just living in my wallet.

Door latch mechanisms are pretty tough mechanisms... ever tried turning one with your fingers?

-Marc

Pewter is alot tougher than a finger. LOL 

[Rassilons Rod]

Pewter is alot tougher than a finger. LOL 

LOL Well I'm no expert in the malleability of metals, but I was given this advice by someone who works in a mechanical workshop and works with metals every day...

-Marc

[exilea]

LOL Well I'm no expert in the malleability of metals, but I was given this advice by someone who works in a mechanical workshop and works with metals every day...

-Marc

I'm sure they could adjust the resistance of the latch to accommodate a pewter wafer key  .

[Teletran]

The slot on the Brachacki prop looks to close to the edge of the door frame to turn comfortably anyway. I don't see why the mere presence of the key couldn't have been used to operate a latch or something. In all likelihood I think the Brachacki box used a cupboard door latch to keep it from falling open but allow the actors to open the door.

[Borusa]

Absolutely right about malleability being an issue when turning a key.  That's why decent keys tend to be made of hard metals like brass and steel.  Rest assured that the ankh key prop never actually turned any sort of lock whatsoever (I suspect).  

In keeping with that, I particularly like the suggestion that there may have been no requirement (within the context of the show) that the key turn at all.  Just for the sake of adequately suspending our disbelief, imagine how an advanced technology like the Time Lords might see the practicality of carrying a "key" on a chain - they might even think it quaint - when that item was actually so advanced that it triggered the lock by simply being placed in the slot.  Today magnetic key cards are absolutely commonplace.

[Note: I LOVE this topic!  When I was a kid I was fascinated by that nifty odd key!]

[Darksyde]

Absolutely right about malleability being an issue when turning a key.  That's why decent keys tend to be made of hard metals like brass and steel.  Rest assured that the ankh key prop never actually turned any sort of lock whatsoever (I suspect).  

In keeping with that, I particularly like the suggestion that there may have been no requirement (within the context of the show) that the key turn at all.  Just for the sake of adequately suspending our disbelief, imagine how an advanced technology like the Time Lords might see the practicality of carrying a "key" on a chain - they might even think it quaint - when that item was actually so advanced that it triggered the lock by simply being placed in the slot.  Today magnetic key cards are absolutely commonplace.

[Note: I LOVE this topic!  When I was a kid I was fascinated by that nifty odd key!]

There was a 4th doctor episode that always gave me a chuckle. On Gallifrey they sent some poor chap to unlock his box. He had a big pile of odd acrylic shapes. Save for one, that was a simple acrylic shape with a normal key sticking out of the middle.

[galacticprobe]

There was a 4th doctor episode that always gave me a chuckle. On Gallifrey they sent some poor chap to unlock his box. He had a big pile of odd acrylic shapes. Save for one, that was a simple acrylic shape with a normal key sticking out of the middle.

I believe that episode was "The Invasion of Time". And if you watch the DVD with the CGI FX turned on, each one of those acrylic shapes emits some sort of light wave, rather than just a sound. (I've watched it both in the original version, and with the CGI FX on. It makes me wonder what the classic series would have been like if they'd had the budget to do FX like that back then, meaning, would they have stopped production after series 26?)

Dino.

[hb88banzai]

Well, way back in 1986 we made our TARDIS with both a Yale lock and a slot. The original intention was to rig up an electronic lock with a magnetic latch that would allow the Yale latch to open after just inserting a specially made Ankh key. I just never got around to actually fabricating the electronics and keys.

Back then I thought of using magnets embedded into the keys in a special pattern with a reader that could detect the pattern in the door, but with the cost and size of commercial electronic card reader locks these days being so low, I'd probably go that route instead of a custom made latch. They make electronic keys for these as small as the size of US dimes and should be a fairly easy job to embed one into either a Pertwee and/or McCoy key. She's long overdue for a refit, so maybe then.

[Borusa]

There was a 4th doctor episode that always gave me a chuckle. On Gallifrey they sent some poor chap to unlock his box. He had a big pile of odd acrylic shapes. Save for one, that was a simple acrylic shape with a normal key sticking out of the middle.

I believe that episode was "The Invasion of Time". And if you watch the DVD with the CGI FX turned on, each one of those acrylic shapes emits some sort of light wave, rather than just a sound. (I've watched it both in the original version, and with the CGI FX on. It makes me wonder what the classic series would have been like if they'd had the budget to do FX like that back then, meaning, would they have stopped production after series 26?)

Dino.

It is "The Invasion of Time" for sure - probably the most interesting or most controversial episode for those of us fascinated by all things TARDIS. (I've been clinging steadfast to the first opinion for almost 30 years.)   I didn't know about the alternate CGI FX version on the DVD!  Thanks, Dino.

[galacticprobe]

It is "The Invasion of Time" for sure - probably the most interesting or most controversial episode for those of us fascinated by all things TARDIS. (I've been clinging steadfast to the first opinion for almost 30 years.)   I didn't know about the alternate CGI FX version on the DVD!  Thanks, Dino.

Glad to be of help. To make it easier to find, if you haven't already, you'll find them in the "Special Features" section listed as a "CGI Effects" (or something like that). Once you select that it gives you the option to turn the new FX on or off. The story plays all six episodes like that.

They have the same Special Features in the Peter Davison "Black Guardian" trilogy (which, btw, are really impressive). Sadly, the only way it seems to get the new CGI FX in the the trilogy is in the edited "movie" version of each four-part story line.

Dino.

[Borusa]

Dino - I found new CGI FX on "Ark In Space" too.  Thank goodness for those - maybe the worst effects of the Baker era - though I must be a masochist since I find myself watching it with the original shots at times.  The added bonus footage of the alternate takes of the space station exterior give some idea of what the producers were facing.

Now, back on topic:  I did a little research about the key.  The Yale-style key was used from the start until Pertwee asked the prop department or producers for something new.  The ankh key made its first appearance in "The Time Warrior," and the detailed original version was "retired" after "Planet of the Spiders" when Pertwee apparently departed with it as a keepsake.  The prop was recreated in less detail for "Robot" and used throughout Baker's episodes.  Pertwee apparently sold "his" memento to a collector.

[tescotardis]

My pewter key has been bent by just living in my wallet.

This is why I've always worn mine around my neck.  (Modern pewter - no lead thankfully.)

On the subject of could a lock like this be make - absolutely!

Consider this...

While working for my last place of employment (I'm currently...er...dematerialized at the moment) I had keys to the front door locks of the building for access at all hours.  The keys for these locks had for lack of a better term "divots" on the _sides_ of the key instead of the regular teeth along the edge.

It's totally conceivable to make a lock with sideways tumblers in a larger size and make the key bumps and divots precisely sized to seat said tumblers.  In fact somebody with a decent mini-CNC unit could make one up fairly easily.

I considered, at one time, making another cast or milled copy of my key and put the chip from a 1wire Dallas iButton into it so that the lock could be computerized.  Kind of like certain automotive keys.  That would be fairly easy to do as well.

[net97surferx]

I was at a micro mini weekend con in Memphis, TN, USA long long ago (circa 1982-3?) and met someone who had actually met Tom Baker (her last name was Baker also... love coincidences like that).  He had given her an ankh shaped key ... and one side had what looked like a star constellation on it.   The story was that the 'lock' would open since the key had the Gallefry 'constellation' on it to register with the main 'computer'.

Kind of like the lateral tumbler system... or keyed magnetics some use today... stellar key coding !

[Borusa]

I was at a micro mini weekend con in Memphis, TN, USA long long ago (circa 1982-3?) and met someone who had actually met Tom Baker (her last name was Baker also... love coincidences like that).  He had given her an ankh shaped key ... and one side had what looked like a star constellation on it.   The story was that the 'lock' would open since the key had the Gallefry 'constellation' on it to register with the main 'computer'.

Kind of like the lateral tumbler system... or keyed magnetics some use today... stellar key coding !

Very cool information!

Now, if only we knew what the Gallifreyan constellation looks like so that we could recreate an accurate Baker ankh key (and avoid any "drift" from our core topic with this discussion).

[galacticprobe]

Supposedly, the "Minyan Constellation of Kasterborous" is represented on the back of the TARDIS key ('ankh'-shaped or 'spade'-shaped depending on your point of view). According to the Doctor Who Wiki, Gallifrey's twin suns are the central "star" in the pattern. All versions of the key have this pattern on the back.


3rd Doctor replica (The only other pics I've got of the 3rd Doctor's actual prop key show only the front.)



4th and 7th/8th Doctor 1996 Movie version

As you can see, the constellation differs slightly from the 3rd to the 4th and 8th, most notably in the two left-most "stars".

I've seen other variations of this constellation across the web, but they all have the same basic pattern. So if you're going for a [Tom] Baker key version, I'd suggest using the second pic. (I think I've also heard somewhere that the 8th Doctor's key was an actual "Spirit of Light" key that was produced as a TARDIS key replica back in the mid 1980s, that someone had on hand for the 1996 movie. (I think I also heard they covered over the "Spirit of Light" words across the "T".) It's all rumor, of course, but if it is true, and if you're lucky enough to own one of the Spirit of Light keys, then you've really got an authentic prop. (I lost mine at a horribly overcrowded Creation Convention in NYC back in 1987. Still tears me up thinking about that.)

Dino.