BBC tv Special Effects Exhibition
The BBC tv Special Effects Exhibition opened on December 1st, 1972, at the Science Museum in South Kensington, London.
One notable aspect of the exhibition's title is the lower case spelling of "tv" — using a lower case "tv" was how the BBC's logo was written at that time.
Like the BBC's previous exhibitions of television special effects, in the 1960s, this one focused on shows other than Doctor Who, but this was the first to have a significant proportion of its exhibits drawn from Doctor Who.
The exhibition ran at the Science Museum for six months, until May 1973, drawing huge numbers of visitors. It then went on a very successful tour in the North of England.
The great success of the exhibition was adjudged to be due to the Doctor Who elements included in it. This led BBC Enterprises to create two permanent Doctor Who exhibitions in 1974: at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire (which ran every year until 2003); and on Blackpool's Golden Mile (running every year until 1985, from the Easter holiday until the end of the Illuminations in October). Today some elements of the exhibitions survive in the public areas of the Doctor Who factory at Llangollen in North Wales.
Overview
to be added
Notable elements
- A glass box with a miniature UNIT jeep within showing how the heat barrier effect would work in TV: The Dæmons.[1]
- Two Daleks
- A TARDIS console and some interior TARDIS panels
- Cybermen from The Invasion
- A Draconian Prince
- An Ogron
- An Axon and an Axos model
- A Sea Devil
- Three model spaceships - the Axon from The Claws of Axos, the ship of the The Ambassadors of Death (An airfix Apollo Saturn rocket painted fluorescent purple) and one other. All on a starscape set into the TARDIS wall.
Promotion
- Jon Pertwee, Nicholas Courtney and Katy Manning appeared in costume at the Press Launch on 1st December 1972.
Notes
- The exhibition at the Science Museum was affected by power cuts, a feature of life in 1973, which impacted on all the Museum's exhibits. Trade Unions representing the coal miners were locked in a pay dispute with the Heath Government throughout most of 1973, and were frequently on strike, leading to the imposition of the 3-day week. Most businesses - including Museums - were only able to obtain sufficient electricity to keep running on 3 days in every week.
- In May 1973, at the conclusion of its six months in South Kensington, the exhibition went on tour in the North of England, including to Middlesbrough.[2] This, too, proved a big draw for visitors, during the summer months.
- In April 1974 two expanded exhibitions, dedicated solely to Doctor Who, were opened by BBC Enterprises: one in the South of England, at Longleat House in Wiltshire, and the other in the North of England, on Blackpool's Golden Mile. Both exhibitions were the brainchild of BBC Enterprises' Terry Sampson, who said “Doctor Who is more than just a programme. It is an experience.”
- The TARDIS console which had formed part of the Science Museum exhibit went to the Doctor Who Exhibition in Blackpool.[3]
- The Blackpool exhibition was located in a site underneath a corner cafe on Blackpool's Golden Mile. The town was selected because, as well as its popularity as a holiday resort, it had an extended holiday season due to its famous Illuminations, which last until October. An optimum location in the midst of the most profitable area of the Golden Mile was selected, at the end of Chapel Street facing the Central Pier.
Gallery
The Doctor and the Daleks.
TARDIS Commander badge given away to patrons.
