![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
The Doctor Who Experience
It's just occured to me that I went to this months ago, and never got round to saying how awesome it was. So, since I'm still two Merlins (soon to be three) behind, haven't watched Part 2 of the Smallville finale either, and in short, don't have much else to review, here's my review of how awesome The Doctor Who Eperience is.
It's very awesome. 8-)
To start out with, you're in a reasonable Doctor Who exhibition. Lots of monster costumes, design sketches, screens showing clips, all the usual stuff. This is just to keep you occupied until the Experience is ready to start.
The Experience starts with a brief rundown of Season Fnarg, projected onto a cinema screen. Then the screen is filled by the Crack In Time, which splits it open, and you step through the time vortex ... and into the Spaceship UK version of the British Museum. A robot guide points out some of the exhibits, like the Torchwood House telescope, and Van Gogh's painting of the TARDIS exploding. Then the power goes out.
The Eleventh Doctor then appeared on the Museum's main screen, explaining that ... well, I can't remember but it was something wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey that had seperated him from the TARDIS. He had a brilliant plan to contact Amy, but instead had found "a bunch of shoppers" on Startship UK (that's us). The TARDIS "materialised" in the corner of the room, quite convincingly, and the Doctor urged us to enter it.
The TARDIS set was superbly recreated, apart from the "simplified controls" that had supposedly been added so Amy could fly it. The reason for this, of course, was to let us (or the younger members of the group -- my niece was in charge of navigation) fly the TARDIS without actually pulling at bits of an expensive replica prop. The Doctor appeared on the scanner and assured us we were doing well, and that the fact one guy's DNA was being rewritten with a chicken's was nothing to worry about. Then we had to crash land. After checking where we'd landed, the Doctor created a back door, so we could leave the TARDIS without being detected. This was because we were on a Dalek saucer.
We found outselves face to face with a Supreme Dalek, who threatened to exterminate us. Luckily the Doctor was still hacking into transmissions, and was able to alert the New Dalek Paradigm to the fact a saucer of RTD-era Daleks was still around. In the ensuing Dalek Civil War we were able to escape. But because we were about to enter the Vortex without a ship, we had to put on protective eyewear.
In other words, cue the 3D cinema! This flight through the Vortex, with Weeping Angels and other monsters flying straight at us, was awesome ... although my nephew found it a bit too realistic. Once we'd made our way through the Vortex, the timey-wimey thing was resolved and the Doctor thanked us for our help.
And that wasn't it over! After the Experience itself, there's an even bigger exhibition, including a replica of the JNT era set, a replica of the junk-TARDIS set, the actual RTD TARDIS set, replicas of all the Doctors' costumes (the Matt Smith one being worn by a waxwork on loan from Madame Tussauds), displays showing the evolution of Daleks and Cybermen through the years, and lots more, including a Dalek shell you can climb inside and waggle the eyestalk. We spent at least as long there as the actual Experience, making the whole thing good value for money.
And then there was the shop. I showed exeptional restraint, and just bought a Fifth Doctor mug, a Cyberman badge and a novel. I was tempted to get the sonic screwdriver that is actually a screwdriver, but then I thought "How often do I use a screwdriver?"
So an awesome event that I would recommend to any Doctor Who fan with a few hours to kill in London, especially ones with kids. And you get an "I flew the TARDIS" certificate!
It's very awesome. 8-)
To start out with, you're in a reasonable Doctor Who exhibition. Lots of monster costumes, design sketches, screens showing clips, all the usual stuff. This is just to keep you occupied until the Experience is ready to start.
The Experience starts with a brief rundown of Season Fnarg, projected onto a cinema screen. Then the screen is filled by the Crack In Time, which splits it open, and you step through the time vortex ... and into the Spaceship UK version of the British Museum. A robot guide points out some of the exhibits, like the Torchwood House telescope, and Van Gogh's painting of the TARDIS exploding. Then the power goes out.
The Eleventh Doctor then appeared on the Museum's main screen, explaining that ... well, I can't remember but it was something wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey that had seperated him from the TARDIS. He had a brilliant plan to contact Amy, but instead had found "a bunch of shoppers" on Startship UK (that's us). The TARDIS "materialised" in the corner of the room, quite convincingly, and the Doctor urged us to enter it.
The TARDIS set was superbly recreated, apart from the "simplified controls" that had supposedly been added so Amy could fly it. The reason for this, of course, was to let us (or the younger members of the group -- my niece was in charge of navigation) fly the TARDIS without actually pulling at bits of an expensive replica prop. The Doctor appeared on the scanner and assured us we were doing well, and that the fact one guy's DNA was being rewritten with a chicken's was nothing to worry about. Then we had to crash land. After checking where we'd landed, the Doctor created a back door, so we could leave the TARDIS without being detected. This was because we were on a Dalek saucer.
We found outselves face to face with a Supreme Dalek, who threatened to exterminate us. Luckily the Doctor was still hacking into transmissions, and was able to alert the New Dalek Paradigm to the fact a saucer of RTD-era Daleks was still around. In the ensuing Dalek Civil War we were able to escape. But because we were about to enter the Vortex without a ship, we had to put on protective eyewear.
In other words, cue the 3D cinema! This flight through the Vortex, with Weeping Angels and other monsters flying straight at us, was awesome ... although my nephew found it a bit too realistic. Once we'd made our way through the Vortex, the timey-wimey thing was resolved and the Doctor thanked us for our help.
And that wasn't it over! After the Experience itself, there's an even bigger exhibition, including a replica of the JNT era set, a replica of the junk-TARDIS set, the actual RTD TARDIS set, replicas of all the Doctors' costumes (the Matt Smith one being worn by a waxwork on loan from Madame Tussauds), displays showing the evolution of Daleks and Cybermen through the years, and lots more, including a Dalek shell you can climb inside and waggle the eyestalk. We spent at least as long there as the actual Experience, making the whole thing good value for money.
And then there was the shop. I showed exeptional restraint, and just bought a Fifth Doctor mug, a Cyberman badge and a novel. I was tempted to get the sonic screwdriver that is actually a screwdriver, but then I thought "How often do I use a screwdriver?"
So an awesome event that I would recommend to any Doctor Who fan with a few hours to kill in London, especially ones with kids. And you get an "I flew the TARDIS" certificate!