Here we have a quick-take on the Kelt control console prop, created for the 20th anniversary special of 'Doctor Who', and THE Tardis console of the 1980s. #DoctorWho #Tardis #Blender
Did you know that the console which this one replaced stood in for the Second Doc's console, when one was needed for The Two Doctors, with the addition of a recall device added. The Mike Kelt console made it's last on screen appearance in Classic DW in episode one of Battlefield, which was seen in semi darkness to hide the fact that the console room walls had been replaced with a stand-in.
It did, indeed. And I liked Battlefield. The Drama Channel broadcast that serial in 2013 as part of the 50th anniversary. It held up surprisingly well.
The Console was specifically debuted in Doctor Who's 20th anniversary special. It's a shame the monologue to go with this video isn't more intelligent. Yes, of course this console is a product of the '1980s' - this is when it was built! But you need to put Mike Kelt's rethink of the original design into the context of where technology and progress was by 1983, household computers were just beginning to take off, handheld console games like 'scrambler' were making their first appearances, Star Wars:Return of the Jedi was in the cinema's, consolidating the phenomenal impact that that film trilogy had on both science-fiction and audience perception of what adventure SCI-Fi should be like visually. But "full of excess that typified the decade"? No. It wasn't excessive in _any_ way, it was just reflecting the speed and pace that technology was taking by 1983. The reason John Nathan-Turner commissioned this new design wasn't just whim, it was necessity. The old console was of the cheap & cheerful 1970s, by 1983 the explosion in household computers and the sort of big budget american science fiction inspired by Star Wars meant that any redesign of the Tardis Console was going to be a more complex looking and visually striking visual than the very sparse console array of the 1970s.... It is 'busy' as a design yes, but by this time we were getting computer keyboards appearing in every household, video games were just taking off, and for anyone who was there for Commodores, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad, Atari, or even the first VHS players of this era - this new console was awesome! Cutting edge in fact. Which was the point.
Since this is from 83, given the turquoise buttons, I have to wonder if the design was inspired by the DX7. Yep, the DX7 came out about half a year before the episode, which would leave plenty of time in production for that kind of industrial design to have an influence. Much like with this console, after the DX7 and until the 90s, all other synthesisers quickly did away with knobs, sliders, switches and dials in favour of many buttons and a screen. Even when it really hurt usability!
I loved this console during the Davidson - McCoy era's and when the did The Masters TARDIS in Planet of Fire the entire thing had black trim rather than just turning the lights down as they had previously