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[[File:Mag_elec.jpg|thumb|Magpie's Electricals sign, in the series 5 trailer]]
{{Infobox Organisation
'''Magpie Electricals''' was a radio and television shop located on Mafeking Terrace, [[Muswell Hill]], [[London]]. In 1953 an alien called [[The Wire]] contacted the owner, [[Magpie|Mr Magpie]], to help her get a physical body. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Idiot's Lantern]]'')
|image      = Magpie logo (TIL).jpg
|aka        =
|type        = [[Radio]] and [[television]] shop; Electronics company
|leader      = [[Magpie (The Idiot's Lantern)|Mr Magpie]]
|affiliation =
|bases      = {{il|[[Mafeking Terrace]]|[[Stepney]]|''[[Starship UK]]''}}
|members    =
|first cs    = The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)
|appearances = {{il|[[TV]]: ''[[The Beast Below (TV story)|The Beast Below]]''|[[AUDIO]]: ''[[Hunters of Earth (audio story)|Hunters of Earth]]''|[[HOMEVID]]: ''[[The Faceless Ones (TV story)|The Faceless Ones]]''|[[TV]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks (TV story)|The Power of the Daleks]]''|[[COMIC]]: ''[[Everyone Must Go! (comic story)|Everyone Must Go!]]''|[[TV]]: {{cs|The Giggle (TV story)}}}}
}}
'''Magpie Electricals''' was originally a [[radio]] and [[television]] shop located on [[Mafeking Terrace]] in [[Muswell Hill]]. Despite the owner's death ([[TV]]: ''[[The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)|The Idiot's Lantern]]'') the business managed to expand to several other locations, including stores in [[Stepney]] ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Hunters of Earth (audio story)|Hunters of Earth]]'') and on [[Starship UK]] in the [[33rd century]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Beast Below (TV story)|The Beast Below]]'')


Magpie Electricals continued to exist well past the 1950s:
== History ==
In [[Essex]] in [[1138]], the [[Twelfth Doctor]] [[Anachronism|anachronistically]] played his [[electric guitar]] through a Magpie Electronics amplifier on a [[tank]] in a medieval [[castle]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Magician's Apprentice (TV story)|The Magician's Apprentice]]'') He later used this same amplifier on [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Before the Flood (TV story)|Before the Flood]]'')


*[[Martha Jones]] had a Magpie brand television in the early 21st century ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'').
In [[1953]], [[the Wire]] contacted the owner, [[Magpie (The Idiot's Lantern)|Mr Magpie]], making him sell television sets cheaply as part of her plan to "tak[e] people's faces, their essences" and get a physical body. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)|The Idiot's Lantern]]'')
*[[Sarah Jane Smith]]'s computer was a Magpie Electricals brand ([[SJA]]: ''[[The Mark of the Berserker]]'')
*The alien cruise liner, ''[[Titanic (spaceship)|Titanic]]'' had a Magpie-brand microphone, though it was not known if this was a genuine Magpie device or a replica. ([[DW]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'')
*[[Wilfred Mott]] had a Magpie branded television, which he hd when he sold Newspapers on [[Christmas|Christmas Eve]] [[2008]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'')


== Behind the Scenes ==
Although Magpie himself was killed by the Wire, Magpie Electricals survived the loss of its proprietor, and continued to exist well past the [[1950s]].
*In the [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series 5]] trailer, there is a sign on a building saying ''Magpie's Electricals''.
 
In [[October]] [[1963]], the [[First Doctor]] visited a Magpie's Electricals store in [[Stepney]] and attempted to buy components to repair [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Hunters of Earth (audio story)|Hunters of Earth]]'')
 
In [[June]] [[1964]], the Magpie Deluxe was on sale in London. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Wave of Destruction (audio story)|Wave of Destruction]]'')
 
In [[20 July|July]] [[1966]], an [[advert]] for Magpie Electricals was in [[Gatwick Airport]]. ([[HOMEVID]]: ''[[The Faceless Ones (TV story)|The Faceless Ones]]'')
 
In [[2007]], the logo appeared when the Doctor flicked through various [[website]]s on a [[mobile phone]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride (TV story)|The Runaway Bride]]'')
 
In the [[2000s]],{{note|According to the episode ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]]'', [[Martha Jones]]' present day during [[Series 3 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 3]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' takes place over a six-day period, with {{Simm}} being elected three days after ''Smith and Jones'', and the [[Toclafane]] [[Toclafane invasion|invading Earth]] five days after ''Smith and Jones''. However, [[Aliens of London dating controversy|sources differ on which dates these stories are set]]. According to [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Paradox Moon (short story)|The Paradox Moon]]'', the Toclafane invasion happens on [[23 June]] [[2007]], placing the events of ''Smith and Jones'' on [[18 June]]. According to [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Hysteria (audio story)|Hysteria]]'', ''Smith and Jones'' takes place in [[2008]], with a [[UNIT]] mission log in [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Recruits (audio story)|Recruits]]'' referring to the recovery of moon rocks from [[Royal Hope Hospital]] in [[March]] 2008. A newspaper clipping in [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Secret Lives of Monsters (short story)|The Secret Lives of Monsters]]'' places ''Smith and Jones'' on a [[Sunday]] [[4 June]], thus placing the Toclafane invasion on [[Friday]] [[9 June]]. In the real world, these dates do not fall on a Sunday and Friday in either 2007 or 2008.}} [[Martha Jones]] had a Magpie-brand television. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]]'')
 
The alien cruise liner ''[[Titanic (spaceship)|Titanic]]'' had a Magpie-brand microphone. ([[TV]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned (TV story)|Voyage of the Damned]]'')
 
[[Wilfred Mott]] had a Magpie-branded television when he sold newspapers on [[Christmas|Christmas Eve]] in the 2000s.{{note|Although ''[[Voyage of the Damned (TV story)|Voyage of the Damned]]'' is supposedly set the [[Christmas]] after the [[2007]] setting of ''[[The Runaway Bride (TV story)|The Runaway Bride]]'', the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' series which aired immediately before and after ''Voyage'' give [[Aliens of London dating controversy|contradicting dates]] for when their present day is set. [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Paradox Moon (short story)|The Paradox Moon]]'' places [[Martha Jones]]' present day in [[Series 3 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 3]] in [[June]] 2007. [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Recruits (audio story)|Recruits]]'' dates it to [[March]] [[2008]]. A newspaper clipping in [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Secret Lives of Monsters (short story)|The Secret Lives of Monsters]]'' places ''[[Smith and Jones (TV story)|Smith and Jones]]'' on a [[Sunday]] [[4 June]], which in the real world does not fall on a Sunday in either 2007 or 2008. [[Donna Noble]]'s present day in [[Series 4 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 4]] is set in 2008 according to [[TV]]: ''[[The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)|The Fires of Pompeii]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Waters of Mars (TV story)|The Waters of Mars]]'', and [[AUDIO]]: ''[[SOS (audio story)|SOS]]'' (and is heavily implied by [[TV]]: ''[[The Star Beast (TV story)|The Star Beast]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[The Giggle (TV story)|The Giggle]]''), or in approximately [[April]] to [[June]] [[2009]], according to [[PROSE]]: ''[[Beautiful Chaos (novel)|Beautiful Chaos]]''.}} ([[TV]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned (TV story)|Voyage of the Damned]]'')
 
[[Torchwood Three]] once had an old Magpie television. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Undertaker's Gift (novel)|The Undertaker's Gift]]'')
 
In the [[2000s]],{{note|No on screen date is given for the first two series of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'', outside of ''[[The Day of the Clown (TV story)|The Day of the Clown]]'' from the [[Series 2 (SJA)|second series]] being set shortly after [[9 October]] in an undisclosed year. While [[Donna Noble]]'s present from the [[Series 4 (Doctor Who 2005)|fourth series]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' is set around the same time as the [[Series 1 (SJA)|first series]] of ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', and ''[[The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith (TV story)|The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith]]'' from the second series of ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is explicitly described as being set a year after ''[[Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? (TV story)|Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?]]'' from the first series, ''Doctor Who''{{'}}s fourth series is [[Aliens of London dating controversy|not consistently dated]], with [[TV]]: ''[[The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)|The Fires of Pompeii]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Waters of Mars (TV story)|The Waters of Mars]]'', and [[AUDIO]]: ''[[SOS (audio story)|SOS]]'' setting the present of the 13 regular episodes in [[2008]] (heavily implied by [[TV]]: ''[[The Star Beast (TV story)|The Star Beast]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[The Giggle (TV story)|The Giggle]]'' as well), and [[PROSE]]: ''[[Beautiful Chaos (novel)|Beautiful Chaos]]'' setting them in about [[April]] to [[June]] [[2009]].}} [[Sarah Jane Smith]]'s computer was a Magpie Electricals brand. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Mark of the Berserker (TV story)|The Mark of the Berserker]]'')
 
In [[2017]], when the [[Monk (species)|Monks]] invaded the Earth, many citizens watched the [[Twelfth Doctor]]'s broadcasts on them, such one about their fabricated role in human history, through the window of a Magpie Electricals shop. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Lie of the Land (TV story)|The Lie of the Land]]'')
 
In [[2021]], Magpie Electricals sponsored ''[[Into The Unknown (blog)|Into The Unknown]]''. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[About This Site (short story)|About This Site]]'')
 
In late [[2023]], during [[the Giggle (event)|the Giggle]] in [[21st century London|London]], a woman had a Magpie Electricals [[Digital Set Top Box]] in her [[trolley]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Giggle (TV story)}})
 
[[File:Clearest view of Magpie's Electricals aboard the Starship UK.jpg|thumb|Magpie Electricals on the ''[[Starship UK]]''. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Beast Below (TV story)|The Beast Below]]'') ]]
The monitor, the typewriter, the keyboard and a miscellaneous control by the mustard dispenser in the reconstructed [[TARDIS console]] room had Magpie Electricals brands on them. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]'') A power control device in the console room had Magpie's Electricals brand and was labelled Type V 310-A. ([[TV]]: ''[[Vincent and the Doctor (TV story)|Vincent and the Doctor]]'')
 
On [[Vulcan (The Power of the Daleks)|Vulcan]], the [[Second Doctor]] overloaded the [[Dalek]]s with electricity using a [[meteor storm computer]] made by Magpie Electricals. ([[HOMEVID]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks (TV story)|The Power of the Daleks]]'')
 
A Magpie Electricals store was located in the shopping mall, [[Sanctum Shopping & Dining]], in the [[29th century]]. ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|Everyone Must Go! (comic story)}})
 
One Magpie Electricals store still stood in the [[33rd century]], on ''[[Starship UK]]''. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Beast Below (TV story)|The Beast Below]]'')
 
[[River Song]]'s [[River Song's scanner|scanner]] was manufactured by Magpie Electricals. ([[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]]'')
 
== Behind the scenes ==
[[File:9DO 01 Cover B.jpg|thumb|9DO 1 Cover B]]
* The use of the Magpie Electricals logo is something of an inside joke for ''Doctor Who''{{'}}s design team. It is on the back of the monitor on the [[Eleventh Doctor]]'s [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]]<ref>''[[Call Me the Doctor (CON episode)|Call Me the Doctor]]''</ref> and included in the reconstructions of ''[[The Power of the Daleks (TV story)|The Power of the Daleks]]'' and ''[[The Faceless Ones (TV story)|The Faceless Ones]]''. It was also mentioned on the TARDIS tour on the ''Doctor Who'' BBC website.
* Cover B of [[9DO 1]] by [[Will Brooks]] depicts several Magpie Electricals' branded [[mobile phone]]s in the hands of [[alien]]s taking images of the [[Ninth Doctor]].
 
== Footnotes ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}
[[Category:London businesses]]
[[Category:London businesses]]
[[Category:Retail businesses]]
[[Category:Television manufacturers]]
[[Category:Businesses aboard the Starship UK]]
[[es:Magpie Electricals]]

Latest revision as of 06:39, 22 October 2024

Magpie Electricals was originally a radio and television shop located on Mafeking Terrace in Muswell Hill. Despite the owner's death (TV: The Idiot's Lantern) the business managed to expand to several other locations, including stores in Stepney (AUDIO: Hunters of Earth) and on Starship UK in the 33rd century. (TV: The Beast Below)

History[[edit] | [edit source]]

In Essex in 1138, the Twelfth Doctor anachronistically played his electric guitar through a Magpie Electronics amplifier on a tank in a medieval castle. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice) He later used this same amplifier on the TARDIS. (TV: Before the Flood)

In 1953, the Wire contacted the owner, Mr Magpie, making him sell television sets cheaply as part of her plan to "tak[e] people's faces, their essences" and get a physical body. (TV: The Idiot's Lantern)

Although Magpie himself was killed by the Wire, Magpie Electricals survived the loss of its proprietor, and continued to exist well past the 1950s.

In October 1963, the First Doctor visited a Magpie's Electricals store in Stepney and attempted to buy components to repair the TARDIS. (AUDIO: Hunters of Earth)

In June 1964, the Magpie Deluxe was on sale in London. (AUDIO: Wave of Destruction)

In July 1966, an advert for Magpie Electricals was in Gatwick Airport. (HOMEVID: The Faceless Ones)

In 2007, the logo appeared when the Doctor flicked through various websites on a mobile phone. (TV: The Runaway Bride)

In the 2000s,[nb 1] Martha Jones had a Magpie-brand television. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

The alien cruise liner Titanic had a Magpie-brand microphone. (TV: Voyage of the Damned)

Wilfred Mott had a Magpie-branded television when he sold newspapers on Christmas Eve in the 2000s.[nb 2] (TV: Voyage of the Damned)

Torchwood Three once had an old Magpie television. (PROSE: The Undertaker's Gift)

In the 2000s,[nb 3] Sarah Jane Smith's computer was a Magpie Electricals brand. (TV: The Mark of the Berserker)

In 2017, when the Monks invaded the Earth, many citizens watched the Twelfth Doctor's broadcasts on them, such one about their fabricated role in human history, through the window of a Magpie Electricals shop. (TV: The Lie of the Land)

In 2021, Magpie Electricals sponsored Into The Unknown. (PROSE: About This Site)

In late 2023, during the Giggle in London, a woman had a Magpie Electricals Digital Set Top Box in her trolley. (TV: The Giggle [+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"])

Magpie Electricals on the Starship UK. (TV: The Beast Below)

The monitor, the typewriter, the keyboard and a miscellaneous control by the mustard dispenser in the reconstructed TARDIS console room had Magpie Electricals brands on them. (TV: The Eleventh Hour) A power control device in the console room had Magpie's Electricals brand and was labelled Type V 310-A. (TV: Vincent and the Doctor)

On Vulcan, the Second Doctor overloaded the Daleks with electricity using a meteor storm computer made by Magpie Electricals. (HOMEVID: The Power of the Daleks)

A Magpie Electricals store was located in the shopping mall, Sanctum Shopping & Dining, in the 29th century. (COMIC: Everyone Must Go! [+]Loading...["Everyone Must Go! (comic story)"])

One Magpie Electricals store still stood in the 33rd century, on Starship UK. (TV: The Beast Below)

River Song's scanner was manufactured by Magpie Electricals. (TV: Day of the Moon)

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

9DO 1 Cover B

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. According to the episode The Sound of Drums, Martha Jones' present day during series 3 of Doctor Who takes place over a six-day period, with the Saxon Master being elected three days after Smith and Jones, and the Toclafane invading Earth five days after Smith and Jones. However, sources differ on which dates these stories are set. According to PROSE: The Paradox Moon, the Toclafane invasion happens on 23 June 2007, placing the events of Smith and Jones on 18 June. According to AUDIO: Hysteria, Smith and Jones takes place in 2008, with a UNIT mission log in AUDIO: Recruits referring to the recovery of moon rocks from Royal Hope Hospital in March 2008. A newspaper clipping in PROSE: The Secret Lives of Monsters places Smith and Jones on a Sunday 4 June, thus placing the Toclafane invasion on Friday 9 June. In the real world, these dates do not fall on a Sunday and Friday in either 2007 or 2008.
  2. Although Voyage of the Damned is supposedly set the Christmas after the 2007 setting of The Runaway Bride, the Doctor Who series which aired immediately before and after Voyage give contradicting dates for when their present day is set. PROSE: The Paradox Moon places Martha Jones' present day in series 3 in June 2007. AUDIO: Recruits dates it to March 2008. A newspaper clipping in PROSE: The Secret Lives of Monsters places Smith and Jones on a Sunday 4 June, which in the real world does not fall on a Sunday in either 2007 or 2008. Donna Noble's present day in series 4 is set in 2008 according to TV: The Fires of Pompeii, TV: The Waters of Mars, and AUDIO: SOS (and is heavily implied by TV: The Star Beast and TV: The Giggle), or in approximately April to June 2009, according to PROSE: Beautiful Chaos.
  3. No on screen date is given for the first two series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, outside of The Day of the Clown from the second series being set shortly after 9 October in an undisclosed year. While Donna Noble's present from the fourth series of Doctor Who is set around the same time as the first series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, and The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith from the second series of The Sarah Jane Adventures is explicitly described as being set a year after Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? from the first series, Doctor Who's fourth series is not consistently dated, with TV: The Fires of Pompeii, TV: The Waters of Mars, and AUDIO: SOS setting the present of the 13 regular episodes in 2008 (heavily implied by TV: The Star Beast and TV: The Giggle as well), and PROSE: Beautiful Chaos setting them in about April to June 2009.

Citations[[edit] | [edit source]]