The Dominators Sonic Screwdriver - Design update!

IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE PREVIOUS BLOG, PLEASE GO THERE FIRST 

THEN COMEBACK HERE.  MANY THANKS!

Since posting the last blog I have received quite a few favorable and positive comments on the design, via email and my twitter account (though I am happy for people to post here, come on, where are you? Dont be shy) and would like to take time here to thank friends and followers on sharing their thoughts on the Dominators Sonic Screwdriver... They are;    Matthew Toffolo, Adam Sterczala (Straker), Si Hodges, Dan Fielding, Ash Stanton, Max King & Micheal Croft (Mycroft). 

One comment in particular that was mentioned by several of the above, was the size (and in this case it does matter!) of the handle. The suggestion was that in our version it is possibly too long in comparison to the rest of the attachment and what was seen on screen when in Troughton's hand. All quite right and this was something that James and I had discussed and considered. It was good to receive the constructive feed-back, and looking at the screen grabs again and using my hands as a template, we have taken some of the length off and reset it to try and match what is it is that we, and the others, are seeing. So, here is the new tweak...

As you can now see the handle is shorter in to our earlier prototype whilst still keeping with the theme of the toy space guns and other weapons made for the Dulkis Museum in the story, as shown in my last post. Though shorter we have retained the slight slant of the handle. Below is a comparison photo highlighting the change.

Our designs - Mark 1 (top) & Mark 2 below

As I said in my last blog we were happy with the design and would have tweaked, so that was always on the cards, we just didn't expect to do so so soon, but both of us were keen to strike as soon as possible. With the tweak you can see we have lost nothing from the overall design based on our research and what we, and now others saw and recommended. Obviously, it is difficult to know the actual slant due to the limited screen time and unclear screen caps as to be 100% correct, but we are both happy with the end result and we hope you are too. Interestingly, Straker made a good point and said perhaps, if Troughton did have the prop around the wrong way in the 1st scene,, then the handle may have been more ambiguous in shape i.e. a little straighter and not so obvious to it being a handle shape. It is a very good point as I said and indeed would make a lot of sense. 

Oops, where's the attachment gone?!?

The trouble with this particular Sonic Screwdriver as what is being seen on screen is being interpreted by different people. Hopefully with this version, we are ticking as many boxes as possible by incorporating what is seen in all of the angles of the various scenes that it is seen in... and of course if you don't like any of the designs that have been created by James, myself or others, you can always have it just as a penlight as seen in the final shot where the gun attachment isn't even included! (ah, but which style of penlight as that hasn't, as yet, been correctly identified... Oh don't get me waffling on that again. See the previous post) So, wrong way around, obscured, no attachment... Ha, this Sonic variation has certainly not made it easy for us to work out at all.

With things like this it is valuable to get as many of peoples feedback and ideas, this is how collectively we can build up a better picture on the design of these old props. No ideas should be dismissed out of hand because nuggets of information will always appear and so we have to be flexible enough to except them. After all, that how a picture was built up on the last two Sonics for Troughton's Doctor. Too many times we, as collectors and prop-makers, have been sent down a blind alley in research, hearsay and even our own assumptions. It helps when we can examine & then accept new information. Just look at the incorrect information we ran with on The War Games Sonics blue cap for a while, until that was turned on its head and widely accepted with evidence to back up the correct change. I for one like to keep digging and looking, in order to obtain as much evidence as possible and am happy to be proven wrong if new, or rediscovered, information turns up. Sadly this approach seems to be lacking in some quarters, especially over the number of Sonic Screwdriver props or should I say prop used by 3rd-5th Doctors. 

And here endeth the update, its a shorter post than normal, but I thought it was important to get it out as soon as possible with our updated design change. As I said last time re The Dominators Sonic, until further information is found no design is right or wrong. People will have their own preferences re versions of this prop, both now and in the future, when other designs hopefully come along with new back up research.To end, I thought I would add an extra section below for all the fans of prop making and design. James and I were emailing and instagramming (is that a word, perhaps it is now and I claim it!) back and forth from OZ to the UK with the size and design tweaks so here is a selection of photos so you can see the step by step adjustments he made to our version of the prop. Ive also included a paper version in my hand and a child's hand so you can see the size (in real life the prop is just a small bit longer than the Fury Sonic Screwdriver). James no doubt, will be adding more on his Instagram account and elsewhere. We hope you enjoy them!

          A size comparison - Here you can see what the prop would look like in my hand and in the hand of a child.                           The hand was supplied by a local street urchin, who was woefully exploited with no payment of fee.                                                    The hand was returned to the child in a brown paper bag the following day!

So that's it for this time. As always, please do feel free to comment on this or any other post it would be great to hear your thoughts on and suggestions on this or any of my other posts, as I sometimes wonder if there is anyone is out there... is there.., are you out there in blog-space, or is it just me and James?

Thanks once again for reading. Until next time...

 Photos and video stills used on this site are © BBC Worldwide Ltd. The Doctor Who brand is a trademark of the BBC. No infringement is intended or implied. Design of this Dominators Sonic (c) Lee Moone & James Kieboom.

The Dominators Sonic Screwdriver

 

The Doctor, Jamie & Zoe in The Dominators.

Once again a blog I originally planned has been put on hold for a while, so apologies. This time around I've decided to revisit one of the 2nd Doctor's Sonic Screwdrivers, namely the one seen in The Dominators.

Now this is an ongoing bit of research of mine, that quite frankly has been proving to be very tricky. Not only have you got find the right penlight, but you've also got to try and work out what shape the gun holder is. However, I thought I'd share what my thoughts are on this prop and showcase a design that I have been collaborating on. But before I get ahead of myself,  let's break the prop down, starting with....

The Penlight.

The identity of this penlight is still a mystery. People have been squinting at very small and blurred images of what type of penlight this could be. Over the last few years the look has been sort of fixed via mixing a modern penlight with a tear drop clip from a fountain pen and various black caps. The hybrid designs are good looking enough, but are they correct? 

So far my research (and I have been on this since 2013) I have not found one single 1960's penlight that matches that look. The stumbling block seems to be the clip. It's catching people out... myself included. I have to confess at one point recently I did wonder whether this Sonic Screwdriver prop was made not from a penlight, but from an actual fountain pen, and all because of that damn clip!! In the end I decided to throw that idea out and start again. So,  the best thing to do was to examine the pictures and footage with fresh eyes. Looking at this again I can see it isn't a tear drop style clip at all. Like with the erroneous blue cap on The War Games Sonic, people are seeing what they want to see, or have been told to see. So, with my fresh eyes what I see is a kinked or rippled clip, similar to a kirby or hair grip, but with less ridges...or something similar. 

An example on the left to the type of clip that is on the prop flashlight

In the black and white photo above, the angle is suggesting a solid tear drop end on the clip, but it could also be a flat upturned end as in the colour photo.. At the top end near the black cap where the studio light catches the metal, there seems to be another ridge. However, this is not as peaked as the one on my penlight, but its certainly higher than the end of the clip.There are variations on this design of clip on quite a number of penlights, as it was a popular way to activated the light by simply pressing the clip down onto the barrel for a connection. Now, if we go with the possibility of this style of design, it opens the search up to what other type of penlight was around in the 1960's. It certainly gives us a better choice of contenders. But how now to narrow it down further? On closer examination I can see that there is a line midway under the clip, perhaps for the section that screws off to change the batteries, perhaps a different colour or metal? But there is faint a line there and not near the end of the clip more in the middle. So another pointer to look out for in the quest for the correct penlight. 

Now let's look at the bulb end to see if we can pick up more clues. First thing we can see is, unlike the Eveready penlight used in The War Games, the bulb does not protrude from the metal cylinder. Sticking with the metal cylinder, we can see that it looks straight, it does not taper like the Eveready and as for the thickness of the metal, well... it is rather thick. Like this...

So all good pointers to kick off a new search for us all out there. If there is someone clever enough to blow up the image of Pats hands to roughly life size, we would be able to get a better idea of the dimensions of the penlight used. This is the penlight I have that ticks some of the boxes as mentioned above. It also shows off the kink of the clip in detail.

A 1960s Medical pocket penlight manufactured by Keeler

Now, there is no way that I'm saying that this IS the penlight used in The Dominators, I am just opening up the search to show that this type of clip with its kink is a possible contender to the tear drop one currently used from a pen. Its difficult to make out for certain as the image we have all been basing it on is blurred and of course the studio lighting bouncing off the prop it is obscuring what is there and what we actually see. Its a problem very similar to the one of identifying The War Games Sonic clicker a few years back. I also found that taking photos at different angles can alter the look of the penlight clip too, even on the flashlight that I have. I have included examples of this in the photos below. By twisting the angles the clips kink becomes less pronounced and then almost straight. This is exaggerated more so when these photos are viewed in black and white.

As I said earlier, the search for what was actually used is tricky, especially when the angles and studio lighting distorts what was there and fools us into thinking we are seeing something else. This is the same when looking at the gun attachment for this version of the Sonic Screwdriver, which brings me nearly on to...

The Gun Attachment.

Some years ago there was an excellent design made for the gun attachment section by a team of fans (see picture right) which has over the years become the official 'go to' design for this Sonic Screwdriver variant. Now don't get me wrong, I do like this fan design, It's quite quirky and rather unique, but it has a couple of things that just don't really sit well with me and that is what I want to explore in this section. I will also reveal my own thoughts on what the gun attachment was originally and what I think the design actually could be and most importantly why.

First up, let's look at what happens on screen and compare it to the replica that has been made. At the start, we can see The Doctor produces the Sonic Screwdriver and attachment from his pocket and then assembles them... and that's the key. So here's the test that you can do before reading further. Grab your own prop replica if you have one, and assemble it. So, how did you attach your penlight to the replica gun section? Chances are you just pressed and clipped it on from the top. Now look closely at the screen and see what Troughton does. (also see photo below)

You will see That Troughton doesn't clip the penlight on at all, he looks almost down it and inserts the penlight into it. The only reason he would do that is because there isn't an open groove at the top, there is a barrel that he slips the penlight into. So, already we can the  design is at odds with what is happening on screen. This is why I'm inclined to discount that gap or cutaway section that goes all the way along the barrel of the fan design.

Now secondly let's look at the overall design. As I said it's a great design, but it's not really 1960's is it? But why is that? Because, 1) I don't think that that era has been taken into account when it was designed and 2) It's been solely based on one scene and the screen grab below and that didn't create the whole picture in that design. Let me explain...

Now while the fan design has interpreted what can been seen above, it's not taking into consideration what can been seen a few moments later in another scene and in this publicity photo below. Look at what is in Troughton's hand now, its a totally different shape for the attachment.

It is almost like a triangle, certainly not at all the same shape as in the earlier scene. This is where I think we can pick up the biggest clues of the overall shape of the attachment and it is that shape that has been niggling away at me for years. It's so familiar, but I just cant quite place it. Way back in 2013 I said the same on the Replica Prop Forum. It reminded me of a toy gun that was around when I was a kid back in the 1960's.  

https://www.therpf.com/forums/threads/second-doctors-sonic-screwdriver.89127/page-10

As for which toy gun, that is anyone's guess. Toy guns were 10 a penny back then and could be picked up at any high street shop. Pop guns, dart guns, potato guns, water guns. It was guntastic when I was a Kid. There were so many cheap guns around to choose from. Some were official TV tie ins, some not; Batman, Man From Uncle, Captain Scarlet A Woolworths knock-off... Whatever was used in The Dominators episode does ring a bell with me, but alas, it is now lost in the mists of time and in the back of my memory! Now if it was an off the shelf toy adapted for this prop, that would make a lot of sense as it would be cheap and easy to use just like the Eveready penlight was used for The War Games Sonic. I would venture to say that this was a bought item, adapted and not designed from scratch. In-fact when I was recently in communication with Micheal Bryant re the original prop intended to be used in Fury from The Deep, he said that they " always grabbed something to hand". This was common place in Doctor Who during the 60's. Not all props were scratched built. It was very different to designing props for the show today. So if this was a toy gun used (and that is only my speculation), what about the actual gun design? Again, we have been slightly squed on this because of the perceived fan design. People are ready to accept it because no one has come up with an alternative, it's become 'the official' design. And that why I am suggesting an alternative design by including the triangle shape we see in the publicity photo and screen grab.

Enter James Kieboom...

While I was compiling this blog entry, I was in communication with James on Instagram.  As we got chatting and I told him that this blog entry was in the planning stages. He was interested and revealed that he too could also see the triangle shape and showed me a rough design that he had worked on sometime back. So we started working together on a design to incorporate what we could both see. This included going back to my initial thoughts and to start to once again researching toy guns manufactured in the 1960's. There were various references out there on the internet. This is a small selection of what I found (including a rather nifty flashlight gun)...

A small selection of 1960's toy guns. Interesting the one bottom right is a flashlight gun.

There is a definite 60's look to these designs, of cours, because it reflects the era in which they were made,  especially if looking at 'Space Guns'. Interestingly, the triangle shape near the trigger in that Dominators scene can also be seen repeated, to various degree's, in a lot of the guns. Bingo! They backed up my hunch of this being a gun that I had seen when I was a kid way back in the 60's and also what James was seeing

.

But what about what can be seen in an earlier scene of The Dominators, ie the shape that the fan design is based on? Is that a that is a completely different prop? Well, to be honest, it would be strange if it was. I know continuity wasn't great back then but to change from one prop to another in a matter of moments would be very odd thing to do. But there's no denying it, it is different shape to the triangle. A puzzle... at 1st yes, but on further examination of the fan replica, the shape is more in-line with a gun handle. An example can be seen in the yellow gun handle below.

Note the curve, it is almost identical to what has been replicated in the fan build. So where and how does this tie in? Well, I believe, like Sylvester McCoy in the TV Movie, Troughton first held the prop the wrong way around. This means that what we are seeing in an earlier scene is actually the back end of the prop used ie the handle. If I am right, and this is only my theory, then it is this that has been reproduced erroneously in the replica as the front of the gun attachment. As for the shape that was then used for the back in this fan build replica, that may be a bit of artistic licence, or it could have been designed by mistaking the shadow created from Troughton's palm as he holds the prop. I believe that the correct front of the prop used on TV is the triangle shape, as seen in the later scene. It is very plainly there to see and shouldn't be overlooked when designing a replica.

Still with me? If not have no fear... Look at the screen grab images below. In these examples, highlighted in blue, it will give you a clearer picture to what I mean and also show you what  James and I used as as we started to work on an alternative design for the gun attachment. We have also included the section where it looks like there is no attachment. This is from the scene where the Sonic Screwdriver cuts a hole into the wall. Interestingly, I think that this was added earlier or at a later date in filming not only due to the lack of gun attachment but also because of the hand. I am suggesting that it is NOT Troughton's hand. Note the absence of a bitten thumb nail!

Working with those images and referencing the 1960's toy guns we started to build up the shape and design. We put the triangle shape at the front, and a similar shape the 1st fan build's front at the back and it created a new design for the Sonic Screwdriver gun attachment. As it all came together, the shape that revealed itself certainly resembled a gun and very similar to those toy guns in the photos above.  So what does it look like? Well, after various tweaks and changes, this is the design that James and I have put together for The Dominators Sonic Screwdriver.

Our version of The Dominators Sonic Screwdriver gun attachment.

We are not claiming that this is a 100% correct replica, just as the previous replica cannot make that claim either, but we believe that this design it is much closer to what was originally used. It certainly wouldn't look out of place in the Museum of Weapons on Dulkis. In fact if you have a good look at the designs on that Museum set you can see that the alien weaponary are very similar in style to 1960's earth toys!! Look closely at the main rifle in the scene, the shapes and curves are very similar in style to the toy guns and to our design. If the Sonic attachment was a scratch build (and im not ruling that possibility out), then it is not inconceivable that the design would match in style to what we see here in the photo below  and hanging up in the background of the Museum. Who knows (and I will be scrutinizing all frames of these scenes now), the actual prop used for the Sonic attachment may be hanging up there on the wall, ready and waiting to be re used for its close-up, just like the whistle prop was in Fury From The Deep. If I find it, I will certainly be blogging about it here!

"Look at the size of that one Doctor!" -  Note the shapes and designs used in the prop laser rifle. 

Back to our design and a little bit more info about it... Now obviously we have no indication of to what the colour may be, so have painted it blue to link in to The War Games Sonic. This blue also matches up quite well with the grey tone of the B&W episode. There was another reason for using a colour. I would suggest that if a toy gun was used for the prop, it would have been plastic as it would have been easier to adapt over a toy gun made of metal. Also, in all the plastic guns I researched, not one was of a silver colour. That said, I am still on the lookout!

Now with our gun design revealed, here are some final examples shots (opposite) that reference the gun attachment being, in my view remember, held the wrong way around when its first seen on screen. 

Also highlighted is the position of the pen clip to show that, this was placed in the barrel the wrong way first time around. This was subsequently removed and replaced the other way around for the next scene, as the clip is once again at the back of the attachment prop.

We have also circled the shadow and/or crease that  Troughton's hand makes when grasping the original prop. This is to highlight that it is easy to mistake them for another section of the gun attachment, ie a handle

The angle in our mock-up photo isn't quite the same as in the TV scene and James admits that his hands are smaller than mine or Troughton's. That said it does give you an idea of what our gun looks like if it was used the wrong way around!


So, those are my thoughts and research thus far on alternative penlights that could have been used for The Dominators Sonic Screwdriver, along with the design that James and I have for the gun attachment. It is fair to say without James's involvement a prototype would not have been made as this section of the blog would have just been a selection of clumsy screen-grabs (and not very good ones minus highlighted sections) to try and illustrate my theory. many thanks goes to James for all his hard work and skill.

Remember, this is all based on what can see be seen in the episode and also, in the case of the gun attachment, what type of toy guns were being manufactured at the time. Please note, we have decided not to embellish our design by added any detail on the handle or barrel, but I'm sure there would have been on the original molding and can certainly be seen on the 60's toys above. For those interested I have included a photo of the various stages of design so you can see how we achieved the end result. You will also see James's original design (top left) in grey.

Our various stages of design for The Dominator's Sonic Screwdriver gun attachment.

I have to say on a personal note, that working with James on this it has been a rewarding collaborative experience, keeping each other in check, not deviating of what can be seen and sticking with the practicalities. It was all fairly pacey work, not hampered by the differing time zones of the UK & OZ. I'm sure as time goes on James and I will tweak small sections of our version of the prop here and there. However, until something obvious jumps up at us, this is the design that we are staying with, as it ties together all the known images. You cant really not include what is seen in both scenes.

Now remember, no design is right or wrong... until that is, more evidence comes to light of the actual prop used. Some of you will prefer one design over the other and that's fine, we are not out to destroy the previous design, or trample on designs that may come after. We hope this blog post explains clearly why both of us came to this particular design and the choices we made. Hopefully it will also gives the Sonic Screwdriver collectors out there a bit of a choice too.

Any questions, comments or points you have on this please do let me know as I'm more than happy to chat about them, either here or on my Instagram account @the_zeroroom

If you like this design and would like one to add to your collection, then please contact James via his Instagram account for further details @the_sonicscrewdriver_collector

Once again, many thanks for reading!

Photo and Video stills used on this site are (c) BBC Worldwide Ltd. The Doctor Who brand is a trademark of The BBC. No infringement is intended or implied. Dominators Sonic design (c) Lee Moone & James Kieboom.

A Knotty Question - The 2nd Doctors Costume.

Patrick Troughton in  episode 3 of The Wheel in Space

This is a post that I have been meaning to do for quite sometime, but has always been bumped in favour of other information and research that has come my way. Now, following on from the hankie, I want to look at another iconic piece of the 2nd Doctor's costume and one that I think is always taken for granted or overlooked. So, at long last, and prompted by a recent purchase, its an in-depth look look at...
The bow tie.

The bow tie is quite an iconic signature part of the the 2nd Doctor's 'Cosmic Hobo' costume. Hanging there on the shirt, by just a safety pin (who came up with that... its genius). Now its curious, but In every medium, whether its, books, comics, toys, fan artwork, figures or Toby Jugs(!), whenever the 2nd Doctor is portrayed, the bow-tie always depicted when representing his costume is dark blue with white spots. Ah, but whats wrong with that I hear you say, that's the bow tie he always wore. Well, actually no it isn't... would it surprise you to know that this incarnation of our favourite Time Lord sported several bow ties and each with different designs? Not only that, but the variant commonly associated with Troughton's Doctor, was only worn in 5 of his original run 21 stories! Now, this begs the question as to why is it that a bow tie worn in just a handful of stories, is the 'go to' design when depicting the 2nd Doctors costume? I have my own theory as to why, but before I go into that, let's have a look at all the bow ties worn by the 2nd Doctor during 1966-69. Here we will also discover how many he had and which design was actually worn the most during his era. So without further ado, lets have the rundown...

BOW TIE 1

The Plaid Tie

Worn in Season 4

Stories = The Power Of The Daleks  - The Highlanders 

From colour photos taken during Power of The Daleks & The Highlanders, we can see that this bow tie is royal blue and black plaid with a white spot at each intersection. Its a fairly firm bow-tie that holds its shape well. There's a medium knot with medium sized, curved bows. Note, that even though worn in The Highlanders, is was only seen for the location filming of episode 1... more on that later!

Publicity photos of Patrick Troughton taken during the filming of The Power of the Daleks

BOW TIE 2

The Paisley Tie

Worn in Seasons 4,5 & 6

Stories = The Highlanders (studio) - The Mind Robber

Sadly, there is only one set of colour photos of this Bowtie. These were taken for publicity purposes during the filming of The Ice Warriors, one of which was 1st used for a front cover of The Radio Times. Luckily we can see the detail, which helps match it up with many of the black and white images and photos taken over the years. (I have tried to get it as sharp as possible for you to see above) It is blue, with red paisley shapes and splashes of yellow within the red paisley shape. It has a long/wide knot. This pattern matches black & white publicity photos and screen images from all of the above stories, plus the 5000 year diary and 2nd Doctor hat publicity photos and I would suspect, the photo taken for the title sequence, though I would like clarification on that.. A section of photos from those stories are presented below, as well as the one from The Wheel in Space above.

The paisley Bow-tie as worn in The Ice Warriors, Fury from The Deep & The Web of Fear

This is the smallest bow tie and, probably due to the fabric used, the one that became the most crumpled and scruffiest as time went on. To my mind this version seems not to be made from a pre-tied bow tie, unlike the others, but from a strip of material or from a self-tie bowtie sewn together. This can be seen in detail from the Telesnap taken during studio filming of episode 1 of The Highlanders below.

Here the loop of folded material and distinctive long knot can be clearly seen that marks it out from the others, and is recognisable even in the most grainiest of photos or screen grabs. At this point the bow tie, being new, still has a good shape to it. 

BOW TIE 3

The Spotty tie

Worn in season 6

Stories = The Invasion - The War Games

..and here we are. This is the version most associated with the 2nd Doctors Costume, but annoyingly there are no clear, colour photographs of it... so far!  From what we can see this one is either Black or Dark (Navy?) Blue with light, possible white spots. These spots run in a straight grid of 3 across the width and 4 across. The bows are quite narrow and unlike its predecessor, it keeps its shape well over the months.  Strangely as the Doctor's appearance grew even scruffier during the tail end of his last season, this version sticks out against that look, as it is the stiffest and smarter looking of the bow ties worn.

As seen in Season 6 - (from Left to right) The Krotons, The Invasion & The War Games

So, there you have it, the full set of bow ties that Troughton worn during his original run of 21 stories, however (ha, there's always an however isn't there?) there is evidence that points to another bow tie being worn. To look at this we need to jump back to the very early days of the 2nd Doctors reign...

BOW TIE 4

The Diamond tie

Worn for the 1967 The Annual photo- shoot

Stories = ???

This is a fatter dark blue bow tie  with red bumpy diamonds shapes and yellow centers. Evidence of this being worn can be seen in 1967 Dr Who Annual only... until 2019. In that year, Doctor Who Magazine, dedicated its March issue (no. 541) to the Director Christopher Barry, publishing unseen photos from his private collection during his time on Doctor Who. The front cover used one of those photos of Troughton wearing the 'publicity tie' only previously seen in the annual. Luckily for us, the design can bee seen in great detail and is certainly the same one in the annual photos. However this throws up a few questions.
1). Why would there be a separate bow tie for publicity purposes
and
2). Why would Barry, a Director have a publicity photos in his collection? Surely a different department at the BBC would be the ones taking and therefore storing the photos?

As seen in the Doctor Who Annual 1967 and more recently (middle photo ) on the front cover of DWM

The answer is perhaps a very simple one, there wasnt a publicity bow tie, there were in-fact two different bow ties worn by Troughton during filming of The Power of The Daleks and that is why it is in Barry's collection. If this is so, why were there two worn?

Well, lets look at the filming dates to help solve the mystery shall we? All studio recordings for Power were taped in Riverside 1 every Saturday from 22nd October to 26th November 1966 (returning on 21st to film the new ending with Jamie entering the TARDIS). Location filming for episode 1 of The Highlanders took place on 14th and 15th November 1966 at Frensham Ponds. Which means that the location filming took place during the week of rehearsing Power of The Daleks episode 5. This type of scheduling was common practice in the early days of the series. Therefore, the same bowtie worn in The Power of the Daleks up to that point, can clearly be seen in publicity photos taken during the location filming of The Highlanders.

Publicity photos taken on location during filming of episode 1 of The Highlanders

Now lets look at the telesnaps of Episodes 5 & 6 of The Power of The Daleks. Here The Doctor has his bow tie on (of course), but it does look a different shape. It is certainly fatter than in earlier episodes. So why is there a different bow tie worn at the tail end of one story. My guess is that perhaps it was likely that a replacement was necessary because the original was lost after, or during, location filming. Quick somebody go down to Frensham Ponds and do a bit of digging.. you may unearth an original piece of the 2nd Doctors costume in the mud!

A selection of Telesnaps of episodes 5 & 6 of  The Power Of The Daleks

I have to thank Si Hodges for pointing out the possibility of a different bowtie being used in episodes 5 & 6 of The Power of The Daleks, as this originally had escaped my attention. To be honest, until he mentioned it, i just thought that a spare was used for publicity purposes, but now that I think about it, that didn't really make sense at all. A replacement bow tie does. Thankfully another photo of it appeared again on the front cover of DWM 541 and helped me link the information together. Of course the exact bowtie worn in those episodes is pure speculation, so until further proof is presented I don't offer it as fact, but with a bit of further research, or forgotten photos resurfacing, who knows? If it was indeed used in those episodes  it could also place the time frame of when the Dr Who Annual publicity photos were taken. But what about continuity I hear some cry... Well, let us not forget, back in 1966, no one would have thought that these episodes would ever be seen again, let alone scrutinized over by the likes of myself and others. Lets face it, if the production company wasn't bothered about a swap of actress playing a character during the run of The Macra Terror later, a change of bow tie wouldn't have been a major problem for them.

Dr Who as seen in TV Comic

Interestingly, this variant of bow tie was briefly referenced for a time, during the early colour TV Doctor Who comic strips. The Artist John Canning must have been handed the Annual publicity photographs, because the bow tie he illustrated was blue with red spots, a sort of mashup on the 1st two bow ties Troughton wore. (see picture opposite)

So, there we have it, 3, possibly 4, different designs of bow tie worn by the 2nd Doctor. If we tot up the screen appearances, the one he wore over most stories by a country mile as the saying goes, (and my personal favourite) was bow tie No 2 - The paisley one. This was as worn in a total of 14 consecutive stories or 81 episodes and appearing in each of Troughton's three seasons. All very different when you compare it to the 11th Doctor, who wore a different bowtie per story!

If you want to have a closer look yourself of all the bow ties worn in every story, then head over to the official BBC Doctor Who website. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/photonovels/power/
You will be able to access all the telesnaps taken to compare and contrast. Be warned... you will probably need a magnifying glass if you are looking on your phone!

OK, that's it then, bow ties all sorted, nothing else to add, but here's a question for you, ... if the blue, red & yellow paisley bowtie is the one worn the most, why is it that bow tie 3 (the spotty one) is the 'go to' design when depicting the 2nd Doctor's costume? Odd isn't it? Well, after a bit of head scratching I think I've settled on an answer. To my mind it comes down to several reasons, missing episodes, clear and available publicity photos etc, but I actually think it all stems from when Troughton had stopped officially playing The Doctor. Which brings me neatly onto part 2 of this post...

TIES WITH TARGET

During Trougton's time on the show there was not the wealth of tv tie-ins produced that there is toda. So other than The Radio Times or the World Distribution Annuals, images of him in character were scarce not helped by the actors reluctance to promote the show. There was next to little merchandise with the 2nd Doctors image on. However, in 1973 all that changed...

With 3 years of Doctor Who under his belt, Jon Pertwee was riding high with his portrayal of the Timelord. The show was hugely popular and there was a wealth of merchandise with Pertwee's image blazened upon them. The 3rd Doctor was everywhere. He could be seen in or on, comics, annuals,  jigsaws, chocolate bars, jellies and of course books! Target books acquired the rights to publish novelisations of his and other Doctor's TV stories in 1973. These books, as we now know, were hugely popular. they were the 1st mass produced pieces of merchandise that finally put the 2nd Doctor's image squarely on show and firmly back in the mind of the general public.

The Abominable Snowmen, The Cybermen, and The Three Doctors respectively, were the 1st books published that featured the 2nd Doctor on the cover. Aĺl the covers had one thing in common, the publicity photos used as reference by the artist Chris Achilleos were all taken from The Three Doctors and of course in those photos the bowtie is spotty, but it doesn't stop there... After a gap, The Web Fear was the next novelisation to see Troughton on the cover. However, since the 2nd Doctor's last appearance, the house style had changed slightly making The Web of Fear the 1st novel to illustrate the 2nd Doctor in colour. So, for this cover Achilleos took a bit of artistic licence with the bow tie and coloured it dark blue. That's quite understandable as in some photos, due to lighting and contrast, a black bow tie can appear to be blue. Even my own performs this trick when photographed! Again a reference photo taken from The Three Doctors was used. Ironically, as Si Hodges points out, it is a black & White photo! 

1st edition Target Covers featuring the 2nd Doctor - illustrated by Chris Achilleos

So, despite the paisley bow tie being worn in the majority of Troughton's stories It is my belief that The Three Doctors publicity photos used by Target for its range of books, help cement he blue bowtie with white spots as the design most associated with the 2nd Doctor's costume. This design, or variation of it, then continued when Troughton reprised the role in The Five Doctors and The Two Doctors.

So, there you have it, that's my theory... It's mainly down to the Target novels.

SPOT ON!

While it is true that The Three Doctors is spotty, very like the last original one Troughton wore in his final stories, It certainly isnt the same. That spotted bow tie is different from bow tie 3 as the white dots are set diagonally, not in a straight grid. I have to admit, it did take me a while to reailse myself that they were not quite the same style.

Compare the dots! - The original spotty bowtie as seen in The Krotons (left). The Three Doctors spotty bow tie from The Radio Times photo-shoot (right) and the two versions from my own collection.

...and staying with my collection, a slight indulgence now as I showcase the three I currently have, both in colour and in Black and White. I thought it might be a bit of fun when comparing them against the originals seen in the TV series. Note that the 3rd one looks blue in the photo, but in 'real life' it is a light black that does look dark blue in some lights. As yet, the red Diamond version has escaped me, but in truth, its not something I am burning to find for some reason. That said, if I find it I will of course add it to my collection, along with any closer matches to the 1st and 2nd bow ties.

The three bow ties from my own collection both in colour & glorious black & white!

Now, I'm not claiming that the 1st two are a 100% exact screen match, but each one, including The Three Doctors version are genuine bow ties form the same era. The only exception is The 1st one, though vintage, it was made from using the material of a necktie. As mentioned in a previous blog, its the rule I always use in hunting for all my 2nd Dr costume pieces.  For those interested bow tie 3 is the latest addition to my collection.

As always, thank you for reading. I you have anything to add, on any of my posts, please feel free to do so in the section below, especially if there is something that you want me to look at in a future. My next blog, already in the planning stage, will once again feature another dip into the 2nd Doctors costume... Ooh, now there's a clue for you all! ☺️

Until next time.

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