The Doctor's recorder: Difference between revisions

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A '''recorder''' is a woodwind musical instrument played by blowing down a slit at the top and placing one's fingers and thumb on the airholes to produce notes.  
{{Infobox Object
|image      = SecondAndRecorder.jpg
|aka        = Pipe
|type        = [[Recorder]]
|origin      =
|made by    =
|used by    = [[Second Doctor]]
|first cs    = The Power of the Daleks (TV story)
|only        =
|appearances = {{appears}}
|bts        = Special DVD Bonus Playing the recorder - Doctor Who The Krotons - BBC
}}
The [[Second Doctor]] owned '''a [[recorder]]''' that he enjoyed playing, mostly as a source of self-amusement, but also to help him think. While his future incarnations would often relied on [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver|a sonic screwdriver]] as their favourite tool, the Second Doctor preferred the recorder as an all-purpose utensil.


The [[Second Doctor]] owned a recorder and often enjoyed playing it, usually as a source of self-amusement, but also to help him think.
== Nature ==
[[Dr. Who (The Tenth Planet)|Dr. Who]], akin to "[[Pan]] of old", used the small musical pipe to "tootle" merry [[tune]]s to aid his [[think]]ing and to get his [[thought]]s straight. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Phoenix in the Tardis (feature)|page=21}})


The Doctor found the recorder in a storage chest while searching for his 500 Year Diary. He played it several times while on [[Vulcan]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks]]'')
=== Design ===
By some accounts, the recorder had [[white]] and [[blue]] stripes running diagonally along it. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Power of the Doctor (TV story)}}, [[GRAPHIC]]: {{cs|The Doctors (illustration)}}, etc.) By other accounts, it had a plain [[wood]]en design. ([[GAME]]: {{cs|TV Comic's Counter Game (1968 game)}}, [[TV]]: {{cs|Castrovalva (TV story)}})


The Doctor played the recorder in an alien marketplace to amuse [[Lilith (Timewyrm: Apocalypse)|Lilith]]. ([[NA]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Apocalypse]]'')
=== Modifications ===
[[File:Second Doctor.Recorder.Spyglass.WHEEL.jpg|thumb|left|The recorder doubles as a spyglass. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Wheel in Space (TV story)}})]]
The Doctor often added modifications to his recorder, allowing him to put it to unusual tasks. The Doctor used his recorder as a blowpipe in [[Atlantis]], expelling powder into [[Zaroff]]'s face. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Underwater Menace (TV story)}}) He also used his recorder as a spyglass on the ''[[Silver Carrier]]'', ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Wheel in Space (TV story)}}) and in [[Tobias Vaughn]]'s base. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Invasion (TV story)}})


The Doctor played the recorder while in a [[Scottish]] prison cell. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Highlanders]]'')
=== Usages ===
The Second Doctor played his recorder several times while on [[Vulcan (The Power of the Daleks)|Vulcan]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Power of the Daleks (TV story)}}) in a marketplace on the [[Panjistri]] homeworld to amuse [[Grand Matriarch|Lilith]], ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Timewyrm: Apocalypse (novel)}}) in the Grange, ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Invasion of the Cat-People (novel)}}) in [[London]] in [[1948]], ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Lost and Found (audio story)}}) while in a [[Scottish]] prison cell, ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Highlanders (TV story)}}) while visiting [[Atlantis]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Underwater Menace (TV story)}}) while visiting an [[Planet (The Macra Terror)|Earth colony]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Macra Terror (TV story)}}) while imprisoned by the [[Dalek]]s, ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Evil of the Daleks (TV story)}}) while imprisoned in [[Tibet]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Abominable Snowmen (TV story)}}) and while under [[Robot Yeti]] guard in the [[London Underground]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Web of Fear (TV story)}})


The Doctor played the recorder while visiting [[Atlantis]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Underwater Menace]]'')
The recorder was useful for more than just music. On an [[Planet (The Sour Note)|Earth-like planet]], the Doctor used his recorder to lure a [[Insectoid robot (The Sour Note)|robot]] to the TARDIS. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Sour Note (short story)}}) On [[Harmony (planet)|Harmony]], he used it to escape from his captors by playing it discordantly, having seen earlier that it caused them pain. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Planet of Bones (short story)}}) In [[Prague]], the Doctor combined his recorder with his [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver|sonic screwdriver]] to communicate with a [[Doredsor]], enabling him to translate colour to [[binary]] to Solresol to musical notation and back again. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Time Eater (short story)}}) On [[Trodos]], the Doctor used his recorder on a [[Dalek]]'s hearing system, sending it out of control. ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|The Trodos Ambush (comic story)}}) On a [[planet (Master of Spiders)|swamp planet]], he used it to stop giant [[spider]]s from attacking him and his companions. ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|Master of Spiders (comic story)}}) On prehistoric Earth, he used it to befriend a herd of [[mammoth]]s and get them to destroy the [[Trod]]s' power supply. ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|Pursued by the Trods (comic story)}})


When the Doctor played his recorder while on the [[Moonbase]], he discovered that the [[Mondasian Cyberman|Cybermen]] were controlling their slaves sonically. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Moonbase]]'')
== History ==
=== History with the Second Doctor ===
Shortly after his regeneration, the [[Second Doctor]] rummaged through a chest and found the recorder. He then plays a song while tapping his foot. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Power of the Daleks (TV story)}})


The Doctor played the recorder while visiting an Earth colony. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Macra Terror]]'')
Jamie once chopped up the recorder, but it didn't prevent the Doctor from producing a new one from somewhere. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Twin Piques (short story)}}) When he gave his recorder to [[Flora Millrace]], the Doctor claimed to have extras. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Avant Guardian (short story)}}) The [[Tenth Doctor]] would later recall that Jamie often took to hiding the recorder, while also noting that [[Ben Jackson]] hated it before he recalled an adventure where his second [[incarnation]] had used the recorder to defeat an [[Alvarian space wyrm]] by playing a tune that had lulled it to sleep. ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|The Forgotten (comic story)}})


The Doctor played the recorder while imprisoned by the [[Dalek]]s. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Evil of the Daleks]]'')
When [[the Doctor's TARDIS]] landed in [[Australia]], Jamie made the Doctor leave his recorder in the ship before they went out, and the Doctor would later retell Jamie of this to prove he was not [[Ramón Salamander]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Enemy of the World (TV story)}})


The Doctor played the recorder while imprisoned in [[Tibet]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Abominable Snowmen]]'')
After escaping from the [[Land of Fiction]], the Doctor realised he had left his recorder there, and sent himself back in to retrieve it. While there, he encountered [[Goth]], who asked him to help the [[Time Lord]]s, and thus sent him to meet his [[third incarnation]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Future Imperfect (short story)}}) When they were transported to [[Omega]]'s [[anti-matter universe]], the recorder fell into the TARDIS's [[force field]] generator, and was therefore not converted into [[anti-matter]] during the trip. When the Doctors discovered this, they offered it to Omega, and the resulting annihilation seemingly destroyed the renegade Time Lord and his world. In exchange for his sacrifice of the instrument, the Third Doctor promised his earlier self that he would buy him a "thousand" more. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Three Doctors (TV story)}})


When [[the TARDIS]] landed in [[Australia]], Jamie made the Doctor leave his recorder in the ship before they went out. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Enemy of the World]]'')
Although his memories of meeting his future self quickly faded, the Doctor did remember that he had lost his recorder, and went to a music shop on [[Amber Station]] to get a new one. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Briefly Noted (short story)}})
[[File:Stop to hear Dr. Who play.jpg|thumb|[[Second Doctor|Dr. Who]] playing his recorder. ([[GAME]]: {{cs|TV Comic's Counter Game (1968 game)}})]]
At some point, [[Second Doctor|Dr. Who]] played his recorder, with the [[Diddymen]] potentially having a break from their [[hike]] to listen. ([[GAME]]: {{cs|TV Comic's Counter Game (1968 game)}})  


The Doctor played the recorder while under [[Robot Yeti]] guard. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Web of Fear]]'')
The Doctor used his recorder to measure the size of a room on [[the World]] using the echoes it created. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Wreck of the World (audio story)}})


After escaping from the [[Land of Fiction]], the Doctor realised he left his recorder there, and sent himself back in to retrieve it. While there, he encountered [[Goth]], who asked him to help the [[Time Lord]]s, and thus sent him to meet his [[Third Doctor|future self]]. ([[DWM]]: ''[[Future Imperfect]]'')
=== After the Second Doctor ===
[[File:Recorder.jpg|left|thumb|The [[Fifth Doctor]] finds that the recorder isn't suited to him. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Castrovalva (TV story)}})]]
[[Sarah Jane Smith]] discovered the Doctor's recorder in the TARDIS's [[control room#Secondary control room|secondary control room]] while travelling with the [[Fourth Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Masque of Mandragora (TV story)}})


When the Second and Third Doctor were transported to [[Omega]]'s realm, the recorder fell into the TARDIS' [[force field]] generator, and was therefore not converted into [[anti-matter]] during the trip there. When the Doctors discovered this, they offered it to Omega, and the resulting annihilation seemingly destroyed the renegade Time Lord and his world. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Three Doctors]]'')
The newly regenerated [[Fifth Doctor]] tried playing the recorder, but realised that it was not for him. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Castrovalva (TV story)}})


Although his memories of meeting his future self quickly faded, the Doctor did remember that he had lost his recorder, and went to a music shop on [[Amber Station]] to get a new one. ([[DWM]]: ''[[Briefly Noted]]'')
The [[Eleventh Doctor]] left a recorder in his [[The Doctor's TARDIS#Others|TARDIS drawing room]]. ([[GAME]]: {{cs|TARDIS (video game)}})


The Doctor gave his recorder to [[Flora Millrace]]. ([[ST]]: ''[[The Avant Guardian]]'') Flora later gave it to [[William]]. ([[ST]]: ''[[DS Al Fine]]'')
After being lured into the [[Celestial Toyroom]], the [[Twelfth Doctor]] summoned his recorder to tame the snakes of [[Snakes and ladders]]. The fact that he was able to summon it alerted the Doctor that something was amiss with the Toyroom. ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|Relative Dimensions (comic story)}})


The Doctor used his recorder to control giant metal spiders on a jungle planet. ([[TVC]]: ''[[Master of Spiders]]'')
Shortly before being sent back to his own time after an encounter with his five next incarnations, the [[First Doctor]] caught a glimpse of the [[Father of Time]]'s attire beneath his robes, which included [[the Doctor's scarf|a scarf]] and a recorder — leading the Doctor to wonder just who the Father really was. ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|The Test of Time (comic story)}})


The Doctor used his recorder to befriend a herd of woolly mammoths on prehistoric Earth. ([[TVC]]: ''[[Pursued by the Trods]]'')
Following the [[Thirteenth Doctor's forced regeneration]], {{Dhawan}} played [[The Skye Boat Song|a slow tune]] on the recorder. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Power of the Doctor (TV story)}})


[[Sarah Jane Smith]] discovered the Doctor's recorder in the TARDIS' secondary control room. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Masque of Mandragora]]'')
=== References ===
The [[Sixth Doctor]], confused by a [[time-slip]] with the affected Second Doctor, tried to remember a musical instrument important to him. He mentioned a [[clarinet]] and a [[flute]], before recalling it was a recorder. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Two Doctors (TV story)}})


The newly regenerated [[Fifth Doctor]] tried playing the recorder, but realised it was just not him. ([[DW]]: ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]'')
When Jamie met [[Katarina]], he mentioned the Doctor's habit of playing the recorder as proof that the [[Time Lord]] was not a [[god]], but the reference was lost on Katarina, as the [[First Doctor]] had yet to pick up the habit. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Daughter of the Gods (audio story)}})


According to one account, the [[Ninth Doctor]] threw the recorder away on a rubbish tip on Earth while having a clear out of  some old things. In this case, however, the instrument was referred to as a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flute flute]. (''[[Defending the Earth%21|whoisdoctorwho.co.uk]]'')
== Behind the scenes ==
* In ''[[The Masque of Mandragora (TV story)|The Masque of Mandragora]]'', the recorder seems to be slightly, but only slightly, different from its original appearance, while it appears to be a completely different prop in ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]''.


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[[Category:The Doctor's items]]
[[Category:The Doctor's possessions]]
[[Category:Musical instruments]]
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[[es:Flauta del Doctor]]

Latest revision as of 17:47, 3 November 2024

The Second Doctor owned a recorder that he enjoyed playing, mostly as a source of self-amusement, but also to help him think. While his future incarnations would often relied on a sonic screwdriver as their favourite tool, the Second Doctor preferred the recorder as an all-purpose utensil.

Nature[[edit] | [edit source]]

Dr. Who, akin to "Pan of old", used the small musical pipe to "tootle" merry tunes to aid his thinking and to get his thoughts straight. (PROSE: The Phoenix in the Tardis [+]Loading...{"page":"21","1":"The Phoenix in the Tardis (feature)"})

Design[[edit] | [edit source]]

By some accounts, the recorder had white and blue stripes running diagonally along it. (TV: The Power of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Power of the Doctor (TV story)"], GRAPHIC: The Doctors [+]Loading...["The Doctors (illustration)"], etc.) By other accounts, it had a plain wooden design. (GAME: TV Comic's Counter Game [+]Loading...["TV Comic's Counter Game (1968 game)"], TV: Castrovalva [+]Loading...["Castrovalva (TV story)"])

Modifications[[edit] | [edit source]]

The recorder doubles as a spyglass. (TV: The Wheel in Space [+]Loading...["The Wheel in Space (TV story)"])

The Doctor often added modifications to his recorder, allowing him to put it to unusual tasks. The Doctor used his recorder as a blowpipe in Atlantis, expelling powder into Zaroff's face. (TV: The Underwater Menace [+]Loading...["The Underwater Menace (TV story)"]) He also used his recorder as a spyglass on the Silver Carrier, (TV: The Wheel in Space [+]Loading...["The Wheel in Space (TV story)"]) and in Tobias Vaughn's base. (TV: The Invasion [+]Loading...["The Invasion (TV story)"])

Usages[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Second Doctor played his recorder several times while on Vulcan, (TV: The Power of the Daleks [+]Loading...["The Power of the Daleks (TV story)"]) in a marketplace on the Panjistri homeworld to amuse Lilith, (PROSE: Timewyrm: Apocalypse [+]Loading...["Timewyrm: Apocalypse (novel)"]) in the Grange, (PROSE: Invasion of the Cat-People [+]Loading...["Invasion of the Cat-People (novel)"]) in London in 1948, (AUDIO: Lost and Found [+]Loading...["Lost and Found (audio story)"]) while in a Scottish prison cell, (TV: The Highlanders [+]Loading...["The Highlanders (TV story)"]) while visiting Atlantis, (TV: The Underwater Menace [+]Loading...["The Underwater Menace (TV story)"]) while visiting an Earth colony, (TV: The Macra Terror [+]Loading...["The Macra Terror (TV story)"]) while imprisoned by the Daleks, (TV: The Evil of the Daleks [+]Loading...["The Evil of the Daleks (TV story)"]) while imprisoned in Tibet, (TV: The Abominable Snowmen [+]Loading...["The Abominable Snowmen (TV story)"]) and while under Robot Yeti guard in the London Underground. (TV: The Web of Fear [+]Loading...["The Web of Fear (TV story)"])

The recorder was useful for more than just music. On an Earth-like planet, the Doctor used his recorder to lure a robot to the TARDIS. (PROSE: The Sour Note [+]Loading...["The Sour Note (short story)"]) On Harmony, he used it to escape from his captors by playing it discordantly, having seen earlier that it caused them pain. (PROSE: Planet of Bones [+]Loading...["Planet of Bones (short story)"]) In Prague, the Doctor combined his recorder with his sonic screwdriver to communicate with a Doredsor, enabling him to translate colour to binary to Solresol to musical notation and back again. (PROSE: The Time Eater [+]Loading...["The Time Eater (short story)"]) On Trodos, the Doctor used his recorder on a Dalek's hearing system, sending it out of control. (COMIC: The Trodos Ambush [+]Loading...["The Trodos Ambush (comic story)"]) On a swamp planet, he used it to stop giant spiders from attacking him and his companions. (COMIC: Master of Spiders [+]Loading...["Master of Spiders (comic story)"]) On prehistoric Earth, he used it to befriend a herd of mammoths and get them to destroy the Trods' power supply. (COMIC: Pursued by the Trods [+]Loading...["Pursued by the Trods (comic story)"])

History[[edit] | [edit source]]

History with the Second Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

Shortly after his regeneration, the Second Doctor rummaged through a chest and found the recorder. He then plays a song while tapping his foot. (TV: The Power of the Daleks [+]Loading...["The Power of the Daleks (TV story)"])

Jamie once chopped up the recorder, but it didn't prevent the Doctor from producing a new one from somewhere. (PROSE: Twin Piques [+]Loading...["Twin Piques (short story)"]) When he gave his recorder to Flora Millrace, the Doctor claimed to have extras. (PROSE: The Avant Guardian [+]Loading...["The Avant Guardian (short story)"]) The Tenth Doctor would later recall that Jamie often took to hiding the recorder, while also noting that Ben Jackson hated it before he recalled an adventure where his second incarnation had used the recorder to defeat an Alvarian space wyrm by playing a tune that had lulled it to sleep. (COMIC: The Forgotten [+]Loading...["The Forgotten (comic story)"])

When the Doctor's TARDIS landed in Australia, Jamie made the Doctor leave his recorder in the ship before they went out, and the Doctor would later retell Jamie of this to prove he was not Ramón Salamander. (TV: The Enemy of the World [+]Loading...["The Enemy of the World (TV story)"])

After escaping from the Land of Fiction, the Doctor realised he had left his recorder there, and sent himself back in to retrieve it. While there, he encountered Goth, who asked him to help the Time Lords, and thus sent him to meet his third incarnation. (PROSE: Future Imperfect [+]Loading...["Future Imperfect (short story)"]) When they were transported to Omega's anti-matter universe, the recorder fell into the TARDIS's force field generator, and was therefore not converted into anti-matter during the trip. When the Doctors discovered this, they offered it to Omega, and the resulting annihilation seemingly destroyed the renegade Time Lord and his world. In exchange for his sacrifice of the instrument, the Third Doctor promised his earlier self that he would buy him a "thousand" more. (TV: The Three Doctors [+]Loading...["The Three Doctors (TV story)"])

Although his memories of meeting his future self quickly faded, the Doctor did remember that he had lost his recorder, and went to a music shop on Amber Station to get a new one. (PROSE: Briefly Noted [+]Loading...["Briefly Noted (short story)"])

Dr. Who playing his recorder. (GAME: TV Comic's Counter Game [+]Loading...["TV Comic's Counter Game (1968 game)"])

At some point, Dr. Who played his recorder, with the Diddymen potentially having a break from their hike to listen. (GAME: TV Comic's Counter Game [+]Loading...["TV Comic's Counter Game (1968 game)"])

The Doctor used his recorder to measure the size of a room on the World using the echoes it created. (AUDIO: The Wreck of the World [+]Loading...["The Wreck of the World (audio story)"])

After the Second Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Fifth Doctor finds that the recorder isn't suited to him. (TV: Castrovalva [+]Loading...["Castrovalva (TV story)"])

Sarah Jane Smith discovered the Doctor's recorder in the TARDIS's secondary control room while travelling with the Fourth Doctor. (TV: The Masque of Mandragora [+]Loading...["The Masque of Mandragora (TV story)"])

The newly regenerated Fifth Doctor tried playing the recorder, but realised that it was not for him. (TV: Castrovalva [+]Loading...["Castrovalva (TV story)"])

The Eleventh Doctor left a recorder in his TARDIS drawing room. (GAME: TARDIS [+]Loading...["TARDIS (video game)"])

After being lured into the Celestial Toyroom, the Twelfth Doctor summoned his recorder to tame the snakes of Snakes and ladders. The fact that he was able to summon it alerted the Doctor that something was amiss with the Toyroom. (COMIC: Relative Dimensions [+]Loading...["Relative Dimensions (comic story)"])

Shortly before being sent back to his own time after an encounter with his five next incarnations, the First Doctor caught a glimpse of the Father of Time's attire beneath his robes, which included a scarf and a recorder — leading the Doctor to wonder just who the Father really was. (COMIC: The Test of Time [+]Loading...["The Test of Time (comic story)"])

Following the Thirteenth Doctor's forced regeneration, the Spy Master played a slow tune on the recorder. (TV: The Power of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Power of the Doctor (TV story)"])

References[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Sixth Doctor, confused by a time-slip with the affected Second Doctor, tried to remember a musical instrument important to him. He mentioned a clarinet and a flute, before recalling it was a recorder. (TV: The Two Doctors [+]Loading...["The Two Doctors (TV story)"])

When Jamie met Katarina, he mentioned the Doctor's habit of playing the recorder as proof that the Time Lord was not a god, but the reference was lost on Katarina, as the First Doctor had yet to pick up the habit. (AUDIO: Daughter of the Gods [+]Loading...["Daughter of the Gods (audio story)"])

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • In The Masque of Mandragora, the recorder seems to be slightly, but only slightly, different from its original appearance, while it appears to be a completely different prop in Castrovalva.
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