Doctor Who exhibitions have taken many forms, from simple promotional tours, to exhibits part of other exhibitions to totally dedicated exhibitions given wholly to Doctor Who props and materials.
Covered here are all these, with dedicated exhibitions linked to their own articles. Exhibits where the Doctor Who element was part of a much larger exhibition are covered on this page.
Daily Mail exhibitions
Early in Doctor Who's broadcast schedule the Daleks were extremely popular. In 1964, to capitalise on the success of the Daleks' popularity the Daily Mail newspaper approached the BBC and suggested that Doctor Who be represented as part of the Daily Mail's "Boys & Girls Exhibition at Olympia", this was an annual event held by the paper.[1]
Thus was the first public appearance by the Daleks, the show opened in December 1964. The BBC loaned 2 Dalek props both which had a prerecorded soundtrack accompanying them.[1] It continued to operate through into 1965.
In 1967 and through into 1968, building on the success of their previous exhibition in 1964/5, this exhibition was again part of the Daily Mail's "Boys & Girls Exhibition". However this time it featured a much larger array of aliens from the series with not just the Daleks included this time, but also:
Note: The Mire Beast and the Fungoid were referred to in the exhibition's programme as "the Octopus" and "the Cactus" respectively.
The winning designs from the Blue Peter Design-a-Monster competition were also on display, having already featured on Blue Peter.
BBC Special Effects Exhibition 1972-1973
- See main article BBC tv Special Effects Exhibition
This was the earliest proper BBC Exhibition to feature Doctor Who and was opened in December 1972 at the Science Museum in Kensington, London.
The Doctor Who Blackpool Exhibition 1974-1985
- See main article Doctor Who Exhibition Blackpool
The Doctor Who Longleat Exhibition 1974-2003
- See main article Doctor Who Exhibition (Longleat)
Held at Longleat House, the stately home near Warminster in Wiltshire, and home to the Marquess of Bath, which also included Britain's first safari park and garden maze it was open to the public along with other attractions held on the grounds.
Madame Tussaud's 1980
Called "The Doctor Who Experience at Madam Tussauds" this special exhibition was part of the Madam Tussauds exhibition in London.
The opening on 29 August 1980 attracted significant press attention at the time, as this was one of the first London-based Doctor Who exhibitions for some time.[2] The time of opening of this exhibition coincided with the beginning of the 18th season of Doctor Who.
When the exhibition opened it was unique at the time as it was the only Madame Tussaud's exhibition with two models of the same individual, the Tom Baker/Fourth Doctor model and the Meglos version, both were sculpted by Judith Craig.
This portion of the Tussauds exhibition had an initial run through to 31 March 1 but it was greatly extended due to the enormous popularity.
However, by 1999 the key features of some of the models (heads and hands) had been placed in storage.[3]
The exhibition was designed by Michael Wright who headed a team from Madame Tussaud's.
Exhibits included wax reproductions of;
International Garden Festival, Liverpool 1984
In 1984 the UK's first international garden festival was held at Liverpool. It was a "five month pageant of horticultural excellence and spectactular entertainment. [4]
The BBC had a site at this festival, inside a big tent. Within the tent they had a small exhibition of props from various TV shows. While outside the tent (exposed to the weather!) were two Dalek props; one with battle damage, a Police Box prop and a K9 prop. [5]
Doctor Who USA Tour 1986/1987
- See main article Doctor Who USA Tour
Following several years in the planning it was a £2 million venture; a co-operation between Lionheart Television International (the BBC USA Distributors) and Monarch International (the BBC's US Exhibition and Promotions Agent) finally came to fruition.
Space Adventure Exhibition 1988-1989
- See main article 3001 Space Adventure
This venue's main attraction was a space shuttle simulation ride. When the Doctor Who USA Tour had finished a number of exhibits were moved here.
Behind the Sofa 1991-1992
- See main article Behind the Sofa
Exhibited at the Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI), this exhibition had many unique features such as a walk-in Dalek where one could pretend to be a Dalek operator, a recreation of a 1960s living room and the opportunity to see a Krarg an alien created, but never seen on TV for the story Shada.
Doctor Who Experience, Llangollen, Wales 1995-2003
- See main article Doctor Who Experience (Llangollen)
This was the largest exhibition to date with a permanent display of all the remaining costumes and props from the television series
Doctor Who Exhibition, Brighton Pier 2005
- See main article Doctor Who Exhibition (Brighton Pier)
This exhibition ran from May to November 2005 and included several new series props and costumes, but also costumes and props from the original 'classic' series of Doctor Who.
Doctor Who Up Close
There were several exhibitions run under the "Doctor Who Up Close" name. The Cardiff Bay exhibition was the largest of these exhibitions, however smaller exhibitions have been run across the country since Doctor Who re-appeared on television in 2005.
The Cardiff Bay exhibition was voted the number one attraction in Cardiff this exhibition opened in December 2005.[source needed]
The Up Close Exhibitions are all run by 'Experience Design'
- Doctor Who Up Close (Cardiff Bay) (2005)
- Doctor Who Up Close (Land's End) (2007-2011)
- Doctor Who Up Close (Earls Court) (2008-2009) 23 March 2008 to 7 January 2009
- Doctor Who Up Close (Manchester) (at MOSI) (2007-2008) 31 March 2007 to 6 January 2008
- Doctor Who Up Close (Spaceport) Merseyside (2006-2007) 30 September 2006 to 4 January 2007
- Doctor Who Up Close (Leicester 2005) at National Space Centre 22 November 2005 - 8 January 2006[6]
- Doctor Who Up Close (Leicester 2007) 12 November 2007 to 6 January 2008
- Doctor Who Up Close (Coventry) 13 March 2009
The Art of Doctor Who 2008-2009
- See main article The Art of Doctor Who
This exhibition at the Spaceport, Merseyside built on the success of its previous exhibition returning twice the size and ran from 23 May 2008 to 1 March 2009.
Doctor Who Experience, London & Cardiff
- See main article Doctor Who Experience (London/Cardiff)
With an interactive element and the largest to date exhibition of both props and costumes from the 1963 and 2005 onwards series. It was relocated from London to Cardiff in 2012.
Other exhibitions
to be added
Gallery
Footnotes
External links
- Doctor Who Exhibitions
- Doctor Who Exhibitions - Site of photos from multiple exhibitions
- The Doctor Who Exhibitions Archive