In 2003, I started to collect Doctor Who inspired pocket props; interesting items that I thought the Doctor might carry in his pockets. My first two items were a static aluminium Sonic Screwdriver and TARDIS key from “The Who Shop”. In my pre-eBay days, it was much harder to source replica items, so I made do with what interesting items I could find.
Eleven years on and several pay rises later, and thanks to eBay, various fan websites and endlessly watching Doctor Who episodes, my collection has grown since those humble beginnings to include many replica pocket props, as well as related collectors’ items.
Over the course of this blog, I will discuss and describe some of them, including photographs and screenshots.
Amongst other items, I will discuss the fourth Doctor’s Etheric Beam Locator and its true-life origins, the fourth Doctor’s Yo-Yo, Sonic Screwdrivers, the seventh Doctor’s Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2 version D photographic camera and its place in history, Susan’s transistor radio, Bananas from the groves of Villengard, Churchill’s Jammie Dodgers, pre-decimal currency, and John Smith and the Common Men!
In the meantime, here is a list, circa Thursday 6th March 2014…
Doctor Who pocket props
3-D movie glasses (several cardboard 3-D movie glasses with red and blue lenses, as worn in a cinema whilst watching a vintage 3-D film. The 10th Dr used a pair of these to observe temporal residue not usually visible to the naked eye).
Alien translator (a couple of CO toy replicas of the Alien translator from the Sarah Jane Adventures, complete with sound and light effects).
Banana (Bananas are a good source of potassium. This one is from the groves of Villengard. Bananas are good!)
Batmobile toy car (one of the most unusual objects to emerge from the 4th Dr’s pockets was a 1960s era Corgi toy Batmobile car, as seen in The Talons of Weng Chiang. Unfortunately, the 1960s, 1970s, and even the 1980s Corgi Batmobiles in a mint condition are expensive. So I bought instead two of the cheaper Eaglemoss versions, complete with their original display cases).
Books as read by the Doctor:
- "Juggling for the Complete Klutz" by John Cassidy and B C Rimbeaux (1984 edition of the book, as read by the 7th Dr in "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy").
- "The Time Machine" by H G Wells (1931 limited edition by Random House, the same hardback edition as read by the 7th Dr in the 1996 TV movie series pilot).
- "The Doctor’s Dilemma" by George Bernard Shaw (the same paperback edition as read by the 7th Dr in "Delta and the Bannermen").
Catapult (useful for lobbing gold coins at Cybermen).
Chalk (various pieces of chalk for writing on blackboards, or to draw chalk circles on the ground to prevent being attacked by an evil witch and her pet alien from alternative dimensions).
Cricket ball (high quality, red English cricket ball).
Diary, River Song's (a fan-made replica of River Song's diary, as seen in Silence in the Library; it contains replica pages of notes, photos, drawings and inserts; and aged to give it the same appearance as the one in the story).
Diary, River Song's (a fan-made replica of River Song's diary, as seen in Silence of the Library; with blank artificially aged pages and artificially aged cover).
Diary, River Song's (a fan-made replica of River Song's diary, as seen in Let's Kill Hitler; as new with blank crisp white pages, complete with a red ribbon tied around it).
Diary, The 11th Dr's (a fan-made replica of the 11th Dr’s diary; as new with blank crisp white pages).
Diary, The 11th Dr's (a fan-made replica of the 11th Dr's diary; with blank artificially aged pages).
Etheric Beam Locator (also useful for detecting ion-charged emissions! But in reality, it is a Varian Klystron VA220 valve used as oscillators in microwave transmission equipment; one of these doubled-up as the 4th Dr's Etheric Beam Locator in Genesis of the Daleks and The Talons of Weng Chiang. I have four VA220 valves and a couple of the similar shaped VA221 valves which differ only in colour).
Etheric Wave Detector (a fan-made replica of the 2nd Dr’s Etheric Wave Detector, as seen in Tomb of the Cybermen, to check whether the entrance doors to the tomb were still electrified).
Everlasting matches (waterproof/windproof matches and strikers, being used to mimic the everlasting matches used by the Doctor in some of the novels).
Golden Shield six transistor radio, model number 7186 (a six transistor radio, circa early 1960s; the same radio as listened to by Susan in An Unearthly Child).
Handkerchiefs, Paisley (two fancy-looking, cotton handkerchiefs, in a Paisley style that is remarkably similar to, if not the same as, the one carried by the 7th Dr).
Jammie Dodgers (three replica Jammie Dodgers).
Jelly babies (several bags of the candies that are much favoured by the Doctor, as well as a pack of small paper bags. By coincidence, I discovered that if you leave Jelly Babies to become stale, they harden and thus become more durable as a static hero pocket prop, whereas other candies such as boiled sweets can become sticky and soft over time).
"Journal of Impossible Things" by John Smith (a fan-made full size, leather-bound replica of John Smith's journal of dreams, as seen in Human Nature).
"Journal of Impossible Things" by Verity Newman (a fan-made replica of the fictional book, as seen in The End of Time).
Juggling balls (multi-coloured juggling balls).
Library card (a fan-made, screen-accurate replica of the 1st Dr's Shoreditch Library card, as briefly seen in The Vampires of Venice).
Loupes (jewellers’ loupes of varying magnifications, such as 2.5x, 5x, 10x and 12x).
Magnifying glasses (replicas of 1941 Hughes and Son magnifying glasses; two large and two small. They come in their own leather pouches. I also have a couple of more modern style magnifying glasses).
Marbles (a drawstring bag of glass marbles, various colours).
"Melody Malone” novel (a fan-made replica of the novel that the 11th Dr and Amy read in The Angels Take Manhattan).
Money, English pre-decimal coins in a drawstring bag (inspired by the drawstring bag of coins that the 7th Dr gives to Ace in Remembrance of the Daleks, this drawstring bag contains genuine pre-1963 pre-decimal English coins that were the currency in London, circa 1963, including Crowns, Half Crowns, Six pence coins, Three pence coins, One pence coins, Half Pence coins, Farthings, Half Shillings and Shillings).
Money, miscellaneous; in drawstring bags (replicas of various methods of making payment including coins of varying currencies and eras, gold coins, silver coins, gold dust, precious cut gemstones, etc, inside various drawstring bags).
Nano Recorder (a couple of CO toy replicas of the gun-type Nano Recorder, as used by the 11th Dr).
Opera glasses, two types:
- 9th Dr style Opera Glasses (three types; a replica 1800s Fords Theatre pair, a 1941 W Ottway and Sons pair that may be vintage or a replica, and another pair of an unknown European origin; the latter pair are screen-accurate).
- 11th Dr style Opera Glasses (one type; late 1800s / early 1900s French pair by La Mignonne).
Pen torches (several different pen torches),
Playing cards (a pack of playing cards).
Pocket watch on a chain (several gold colours pocket watches, chains and spare batteries).
Psychic paper inside a black passport wallet (a leather replica of the 9th Dr’s black passport wallet, containing a piece of psychic paper).
Recorder (a recorder styled and painted to look similar to the 2nd Dr's recorder).
"S&G - The Dr: here to help" badge (several replicas of the shop assistant badge worn by the 11th Dr in "Closing Time").
Scarfs:
- 4th Dr, season 12 scarf (an unofficial replica by Galaxy Four),
- 4th Dr, season 12 scarf (the official replica by Lovarzi; one scarf in its original bag),
- 7th Dr, seasons 24 and 25 paisley silk scarf (the official replica by Lovarzi; two scarfs in their original boxes).
Stethoscope (medical instrument, commonly used to listen to heart and lungs, but equally useful for listening to other sounds such as evil weed inside metal pipes).
Sonic Screwdrivers, several types:
- 2nd Dr Sonic Screwdriver (several metal pen torches; although not screen accurate, they are of a very high quality metal build, unlike some of the easily breakable plastic versions),
- 4th Dr Sonic Screwdriver (a fan-made metal replica with working spring mechanism, but no sound),
- 4th Dr Sonic Screwdriver (a fan-made, high-quality metal replica with working spring mechanism and sound chip),
- 4th Dr Sonic Screwdriver in a display case (a professionally produced limited edition replica by Sixteen Twelve, with working spring mechanism but not sound; complete with its display case and brass plaque),
- 4th Dr Sonic Screwdriver (several CO toy replicas, with sound effects),
- 8th Dr Sonic Screwdriver (a fan-made metal replica, with a spring-loaded retractable and locking mechanism, but no sound),
- 9th Dr Sonic Screwdriver (a fan-made, high quality replica, with working LED light and sound chip),
- 9th Dr Sonic Screwdriver (several CO toy replicas, extendable, with light and sound effects, etc),
- 11th Dr Sonic Screwdriver (several CO toy replicas, extendable, with light and sound effects, etc),
- The War Dr's Sonic Screwdriver (several CO toy replicas, with light and sound effects, etc),
- The War Dr's Sonic Screwdriver (a fan-made metal replica with working spring mechanism, but no sound or light),
- Several of the CO Build your own Sonic Screwdriver sets,
- Several of the CO Trans-Temporal Sonic Screwdriver.
Soviet Union uniform badge (the same uniform badge that Captain Sorin gave to Ace in The Curse of Fenric).
TARDIS De-Materialisation circuit (a fan-made replica of the TADIS De-Materialisation circuit, as seen in Day of the Daleks).
TARDIS Food Machine 24 hour food ration - flavoured food bars (I obtained several of these from old Royal Air Force and Royal Navy survival packs. They are packets of 8 quantity cubes of flavoured carbohydrate food, such as chocolate and fruit flavours. Vacuum sealed in laminate foil packets, they closely resemble the TARDIS Food Machine food blocks).
TARDIS key on a chain, three types:
- 3rd/4th Dr era, two replicas
- 7th Dr era, three replicas
- 8th Dr era, several replicas
- Yale-style type, as used by the 1st, 2nd, 9th, 10th and 11th Drs.
"The Runaway Bride" banknotes (one David Tennant and one Philip Collinson banknote, as seen in "The Runaway Bride". I believe these are high quality replicas, professionally printed on quality paper, and not BBC originals as such).
Tie, Paisley (a red paisley tie that is of a similar design and colour as the 7th Dr’s tie, circa seasons 24 and 25).
Time Lord Psychic message cubes (two CO replica psychic message cubes, with light effects; one with the snake design and one with a Time Lord seal on it).
Torch (vintage Ever-Ready torch, as used by the 4th Dr in The Robots of Death).
White Pointed Star diamond (several replicas of the White Pointed Star diamond).
Yo-Yo (a Yo-Yo is a toy that was used by the 4th Dr to take “…a simple gravity reading”. I have several types of Yo-Yo, as well as spare strings. But the most significant is my yellow Lumar Championship Yo-Yo, which is the same make and model as the 4th Dr’s Yo-Yo in Genesis of the Daleks).
Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2 6x9 version D photographic stills camera (a Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2 6x9 version D photographic stills camera, as used by the 7th Dr in Remembrance of the Daleks. It is in a good cosmetic condition, but it does not work properly as the self timer is broken. However, I do have two more that are seemingly in a full working order, which I am keeping as collector’s items).
Other relevant collector's items:
Casio AE-21W Twin Graph ii digital watch (this vintage digital watch is the same make and model as used by SFX artist and props maker, Mike Tucker, for the 7th Dr's digital pocket watch. I currently have two of these in a working order, which I am keeping as collectables).
Helix Home File (briefcase-size metal filing cabinet, as used for the case of the TARDIS toolkit).
Pocket watch on a chain, rabbit hunter design (I have two gold tone pocket watches of the rabbit hunter design that Mike Tucker used for the case of the 7th Dr's digital pocket watch. I also have the silver tone snake pocket watch chain that Mike also used).
Viners Studio salad serving spoons (two sets of salad serving spoons, including two fork spoons of the same type that were used to make the alien-looking spoons "pilfered" by the 7th Dr in Time and the Rani).
Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2 6x9 version D photographic stills camera (a German-made photographic stills camera, circa 1938, as used by the 7th Dr in "Remembrance of the Daleks". It briefly appeared on screen in the transmitted version, but it can also be seen in a deleted scene that was included as an extra on the DVD video release. I have two of these which appear to still be in a working order (although the shutter speeds may be incorrect due to age). Cosmetically, they look almost identical, with the major difference being that one has a Telma shutter and the other one has a Kilo shutter. I also have a copy of the original instruction manual, a Zeiss Ikon (London) business card and envelope, circa 1938/1939. One of the two cameras came in an antique camera leather carry case. Additionally, I have subsequently bought a genuine Zeiss Ikon carry case, a genuine Zeiss Ikon Nettar viewfinder in its original packaging, a genuine Zeiss Ikon shutter release cable in its original packaging, a genuine Zeiss Ikon Nettar 6x9 packaging box, and also a reproduction of a Zeiss Ikon 1938 promotional catalogue).
"Zoids" toy - Saicurtis (this is the same Zoids toy that was used for the construction of the 7th Dr's very valuable piece of coin collection in "Battlefield". I have two still in kit form in their original boxes).
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