Tape Spool Computers

Are we sitting comfortably? Good

I first noticed this computer in The Invasion, in Internetional Electromatics reception when Zoe blew it up.

A little while later I spotted it in Ambassadors of Death too..... and then saw it a few more times. And then saw more than one together. There's at least FOUR, all different. Yes, I'll concede they could have been modified but there's four variants here appearing in a very short space of time together, two of which definitely reappear latter

Doctor Who
Tenth Planet
8-29 October 1966

This seems to be the only appearance of this one: tape spools in all 4 sections at the top, rounded windows over the tape spools.

Adam Adamant
D for Destruction
13 October 1966

The machine on the left is very similar to above, the only difference is it has squared windows.

The machine on the right has dials in it's upper windows.

Out Of The Unknown
Lambda 1
20 October 1966

This one has flashing lights in upper windows.

The Prisoner
Arrival
19 September 1967

Looks like the Out of the Unknown Lambda 1 one again.

The Avengers
Mission: Highly Improbable
18 November 1967*

The right one from Adam Adamant D for Destruction with the Dials

Doctor Who
The Invasion
2 November - 21 December 1968

This looks like the unit from Out of the Unknown Lambda 1/The Prisoner Arrival again, but the doors are now missing over the tape spools. Later evidence suggests this is a different unit!

Doctor Who
Ambassadors of Death
28 March - 2 May 1970

It's definitely the same one as The Invasion, lights in the top windows, no windows lower down showing white tape spools.

Now for some while I'd left it at that but Mister Rhys on Twitter prompted me to look further and it's a good job I did because come episode 2 it's been replaced behind the door by the similar unit with lights in the top half but with doors over black tape spools/mounts in the lower half, identical to the one in Out of the Unknown Lambda 1/The Prisoner Arrival.

To it's right is a unit with dials in the top half and red tape spools/mounts covered by doors in the bottom half. Charitably this could be the same one on the right in Adam Adamant D for Destruction/The Avengers Mission: Highly Improbable if they've changed the tape spools.

And to it's right there's the unit we saw in episode 1/The Invasion

But come episode 3 it changes again The same lights/door covered tape spools unit is still behind the door from Out of the Unknown Lambda 1/The Prisoner Arrival.

And the dials/red tape spools with doors is still to the right of that

But next to that there's a unit with dials in the top half and uncovered white tape spools in the bottom half now. Again charitably this could be the same one on the right in Adam Adamant D for Destruction/The Avengers Mission: Highly Improbable if they've changed the tape spools, but there's definitely two with dials now.

Episode 3 shows several of the doors and panels open after Taltalian's device goes off The far right unit

The middle unit

There's some more pictures of this room in the DVD photo gallery. Judging by the one behind the door, this was taken for episode 1:

However there's another photo, presumably taken at the same time, which shows all three of the other units down the far end of the room, which I don't think you see in the episode: dials & covered red spools in the middle, lights & covered black spools on the right and dials & open white spools against the far wall.

So to summarise:

1) White Tape spools top and bottom, doors over spools, rounded corners on the windows: Doctor Who The Tenth Planet.

2) Black Tape spools top and bottom, doors over spools, square corners on the windows: Adam Adamant: D for Destruction

3) Dials top, Black Tape spools bottom, doors over spools, square corners on the windows: Adam Adamant: D for Destruction, possibly Doctor Who Ambassadors of Death 2/3

4) Lights top, Black Tape spools bottom, doors over spools, square corners on the windows: Out Of The Unknown Lambda 1 , The Prisoner Arrival, Doctor Who Ambassadors of Death 2/3

5) Lights top, White Tape spools bottom, NO doors over spools, square corners on the windows: Doctor Who The Invasion, Doctor Who Ambassadors of Death 1 & 2

6) Dials top, Red Tape spools bottom, doors over spools, square corners on the windows: Doctor Who Ambassadors of Death 2/3

7) Dials top, Black Tape spools bottom, NO doors over spools, square corners on the windows: Doctor Who Ambassadors of Death 2/3

So a minimum of four units, which we see in various combinations in Ambassadors of Death. That's the minimum there can be with assumptions about parts being swapped round made.

Power Station Panels II

This is part two of a series on the Power Room panels seen in 1960s Doctor Who and other TV shows and films. Part One covers their appearances up to 1967's The Underwater Menace, which is where I first spotted them, can be found at http://philsotherthings.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/power-station-panels.html.

We start this time with the Pump room set seen in The Macra Terror episode 3, broadcast 25th March 1967.

Their last known appearance in season four is in the first three episodes of The Faceless Ones, , broadcast 8th-22nd April 1967.

The panels don't feature in the last story of season four, Evil of the Daleks, which means they've appeared in 4 season 4 stories.

They're also not in the first story of Season 5, Tomb of the Cybermen, but they make regular appearances for the rest of that season.

The Abominable Snowmen episode 1, shown on 30th September 1967, is notable for being their first appearance inside the Tardis:

In The Enemy of the World 4, broadcast 13th January 1968, they can be seen inside Salamander's underground base:

No telesnaps for this episode existed so this appearance was hidden till the episode was returned in 2013.

The same panel that is seen in Salamander's underground office makes a blink and you'll miss it appearance in The Web of Fear episode 1, shown on 3rd February 1968,

The Fury from the Deep, broadcast from 16th March to 20th April 1968, makes extensive use of the panels in the main control room set:

Thanks to some colour film shot at Ealing Studios we can see this set, and the panels within again, in colour.

The panels are used elsewhere in the refinery complex.

More are featured in the gas rig control room set and for the first time these include black panels. Are these the originals painted or different ones?

A couple of panels make a fleeting appearance in the Tardis at the end of Wheel in Space episode 6, the last episode of this season, shown on 1st June 1968:

During Doctor Who's fifth season they appear in 4 out of the 6 stories.

In season six another panel is visible in the Tardis during The Mind Robber episode 1, broadcast 14 September 1968.

Their next appearance isn't in Doctor Who but the Out of the Unknown, episode This Body Is Mine shown on 21st January 1969. Many Out of the Unknown episodes in Series 2 & 3 don't survive so there may well be other appearances which we can't see. Fortunately this one does and you can watch this episode, directed by long time Doctor Who director Douglas Camfield on the Out of the Unknown DVD Set!

They return in the Doctor Who story The Seeds of Death and are most prominent in episodes 4 & 5 which were broadcast on the 15th & 22nd February 1969.

Noticeably the panels, which are mounted on wheeled units, swap places between the episodes!

After that appearance in Patrick Troughton's third and last season they seemingly disappear until the second season of Jon Pertwee's Doctor when they appear in the colonist's dome in Colony in Space broadcast from 10th April - 15th May 1971.

This is their last known Doctor Who appearance but the last time they're seen The next time they're seen is in this publicity photo showing the Lab set from the third season of Doomwatch, which began broadcast in June 1972.

I have The Doomwatch DVD but haven't managed to spot any in the three existing third season episodes. EDIT: 7th March 2017: Their final appearance is a shot outside the Doctor's lab in The Green Death episode 1:

That, so far, is it. If you know of any other appearances of these panels then I'd love to hear from you, especially if you can provide screen captures. Comment bellow or Tweet me @philip_ayres.

My thanks to the good people of Roobarbs Forum for finding many of these appearances and drawing my attention to them!