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, HOWE S TRANSCENDENTAL TOYBOX UPDATE NO. 2: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO 2004-2005 DOCTOR WHO MERCHANDISE
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, HOWE S TRANSCENDENTAL TOYBOX UPDATE NO. 2: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO 2004-2005 DOCTOR WHO MERCHANDISE DAVID J HOWE ARNOLD T BLUMBERG
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4 LEGAL STUFF First published in England in 2006 by Telos Publishing Ltd 61 Elgar Avenue, Tolworth, Surrey, KT5 9JP, England www.telos.co.uk in cooperation with ATB Publishing Inc. 33 Silverton Ct, Cockeysville, MD, 21030 www.atbpublishing.com Telos Publishing Ltd values feedback. Please e-mail us with any comments you may have about this book to: feedback@telos.co.uk ISBN: 1-84583-012-1 (paperback) This book has not been authorised or approved by the BBC, BBC Worldwide or any other holders of rights in properties associated with Doctor Who. All photographs kindly donated for use in this publication are copyright their respective owners and are reproduced here with permission. All other content is ©2006 David J Howe and Arnold T Blumberg. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means – print, electronic media, or otherwise – or redistributed in any way without the consent of the authors. Short excerpts may be reproduced for purposes of review. Cover, internal design, typesetting and layout by Arnold T Blumberg. Printed in India. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 From the Authors ............................................6 Acknowledgements ..........................................6 Introduction ......................................................7 Criteria................................................................7 Abbreviations ....................................................8 Condition ..........................................................9 Determining Value ..........................................10 Values Listed......................................................12 2004-2005 Overview........................................13 AUDIO ..............................................................18 Big Finish Dramas............................................18 Books ..................................................................23 Dramas ..............................................................24 Drama Spin-Offs ..............................................25 Interviews ..........................................................30 Music ..................................................................31 Other ..................................................................32 Singles ................................................................33 Soundtracks ......................................................34 Unlicensed ........................................................35 BOOKS ..............................................................35 Activity ..............................................................35 Annuals ..............................................................37 Anthologies........................................................37 BBC 8th Doctor Novels ..................................40 BBC Past Doctor Novels ................................41 BBC 9th Doctor Novels ..................................44 Collections ........................................................44 Factual Books ....................................................45 Graphic Novels..................................................50 Novellas ..............................................................51 Other ..................................................................51 Script Books ......................................................52 CLOTHING ETC.................................................53 Badges ................................................................53 Misc.....................................................................53 Rugby Shirts ......................................................54 T-Shirts ..............................................................54 Jewelry ................................................................56 Key Rings ..........................................................56 COLLECTIBLES ..............................................58 COMPUTER ACCESSORIES ......................59 GAMES ..............................................................60 Jigsaws ................................................................60 HOUSEHOLD ITEMS....................................61 Bathroom ..........................................................61 Crockery ............................................................62 General ..............................................................65 Magnets ..............................................................67 Phone ..................................................................67
MAGAZINES....................................................68 Doctor Who Magazine: 2004-2005 Gallery ........................................68 Marvel ................................................................70 Doctor Who Magazine Premiums................70 Radio Times: Doctor Who Features/Stories ....................70 Specials & One-Shots ......................................71 MODELS............................................................72 Garage Kits ........................................................72 Police Boxes ......................................................73 SUNDRIES ........................................................73 Bags ....................................................................73 Calendars ..........................................................73 Greetings Cards ................................................74 Photographs ......................................................74 Postal Items........................................................74 Postcards ............................................................82 Posters ................................................................84 Prints ..................................................................85 Programmes ......................................................87 Stationery ..........................................................87 TOYS ..................................................................88 Action Figures ..................................................88 General ..............................................................92 UNIVERSAL MEDIA DISCS ........................96 VIDEO................................................................98 DVD Interviews................................................98 DVD Myth Makers ..........................................99 DVD Other........................................................104 DVD Releases....................................................105 DVD Independent Dramas ............................113 DVD Independent Spin-Offs ........................114 Myth Makers ....................................................114 Storage ................................................................114 From the Warehouse........................................115 Product Enterprise........................................115 Reeltime Pictures ..........................................117 Character Options: The Development of a Toy Range..............123 Variants of Character Options’ Figures 2005/2006 ........................................145 A Collector’s View: Steven Smith ..................146 1960s Toy Gallery ............................................154 Appendix A: Comic Strips..............................158 Appendix B: Unreleased/Cancelled Items ....158 Appendix C: Unofficial/Unlicensed Items....159 Appendix D: Corrections and Updates........160 About the Authors............................................161
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2004-2005 OVERVIEW 13
2004-2005 OVERVIEW BY DAVID J HOWE hat a difference a year makes! As 2003 progressed, fans were finishing off celebrating the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who, perhaps in fear that the BBC might soon lose interest in the show altogether, pull the plug on merchandises licenses, and effectively seal the good Doctor’s fate as an ongoing franchise. But then, in September, came an announcement that turned the Doctor Who world on its head. A new series had been commissioned, and would be on air in 2005. Thus 2004 became something of a transitional period for the merchandise. Old ranges were wound down, and new ones were planned. The following year was marked by ever more items being released, so that by the end of 2005, close to 500 individual items had been brought out over the two year period. Compared to the 200 releases in 2003, this is something like a 25% increase in the number of things for the collector to buy each year. Throughout the period, there were a few staples – that is, companies that continued to release items seemingly unaffected by the advent of the new show on TV. The main ones were Big Finish, with their ongoing range of audio CDs, and BBC Worldwide, with their DVD and audio releases. In the case of BBC Worldwide, as the impact of the new series started to be felt, so their ranges changed to accommodate it. Big Finish, however, had no such luxury: as the licence they held was restricted to what was now being termed ‘classic Who’, they were unable to incorporate the new series in their range. This reflected the fact that BBC Worldwide had decided – in line with the wishes of the new series’ production team – to draw a clear line between ‘classic Who’ and ‘new Who’ in their marketing strategy, such that the two properties were subject to different licenses. So if a merchandiser was holder of a Classic Series license, they could not use anything from the new series in their products – no ninth Doctor, no Rose, no redesigned Daleks, and so on. To do so, they would need to negotiate for and obtain a New Series licence, and this was neither easy nor cheap to do, as BBC Worldwide were naturally keen to get ‘top dollar’ from what was set to become a very large and lucrative operation by the end of 2005. So, for the first time in a a number of years, Big Finish seemed to get left behind somewhat as the marketing machine geared up behind ‘new Who’. Several companies and retailers of Doctor Who merchandise reported that sales of anything without the ninth Doctor and Rose on its packaging dropped like a stone almost as soon as the new series was announced, and that sales of Classic Series merchandise remained relatively low throughout 2004 and 2005. Other companies were quick to exploit the situation, however. In particular, the Stamp Centre, which also traded as Scificollector, managed to get their Classic Series licence renewed after it had been dropped in 2002, and also picked up a New Series licence, making them one of only three companies to be able to produce goods covering the entirety of Doctor Who’s run – although any given item from them had to be either ‘classic Who’ or ‘new Who’; the two could not be mixed. The other two were BBC Worldwide themselves, and Panini, whose Doctor Who Magazine continued to cover the whole, 40-plus year history of Doctor Who. As 2004 kicked off, so fans bade farewell to Telos Publishing’s range of Doctor Who
W
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14 2004-2005 OVERVIEW Novellas. BBC Worldwide had declined to renew Telos’s licence, and now the final two books were released, the range ending on a high note as Simon Clark put the chills back into the Daleks in The Dalek Factor. BBC Worldwide’s range of original ‘past Doctor’ paperback novels also came to an end in November 2005 (having previously taken in the once-separate range of ‘Eighth Doctor’ novels). BBC Books had stopped commissioning for this range several months earlier, so its demise came as no surprise. In its place appeared a new range of hardback Doctor Who fiction featuring the ninth Doctor and Rose. The first three titles hit the shops in May 2005, and – backed by the incredible success of the TV series, itself due in part to the BBC and BBC Worldwide having carried out extensive promotion in all areas of the media, from television trailers to hoardings across the country – sales were stellar. Although BBC Books indicated that they intended to revive the ‘past Doctor’ novels, at some point and in some form yet to be determined, clearly this would not now be a priority.. In September 2004, a company called 2 entertain was established as a joint venture combining the former video and music publishing and TV/video production businesses of the Woolworths Group subsidiary VCI plc with the video publishing business of BBC Worldwide. Consequently all subsequent releases of Doctor Who TV stories on DVD would be released via this company. The release schedule was stepped up, and more and more ‘classic Who’ appeared on DVD, alongside ‘vanilla’ releases of the ‘new Who’ (‘vanilla’ being a term used to describe a DVD presented with no additions or extras like commentaries, photo galleries and the like), capped off with an extra-packed DVD box set of all the ninth Doctor episodes at the end of 2005 in time for Christmas. The ‘classic Who’ releases also included a special box set, Lost In Time, which collected together all the ‘orphan’ episodes from the black and white years of the show. Other companies also added to the DVD roster, with Reeltime Pictures bringing out two interview DVDs a month in their ‘Myth Makers’ series, and even an original drama called Daemos Rising, which was a sequel both to the BBC Doctor Who story ‘The Daemons’ and to their earlier drama Downtime. Scificollector capitalised on their aforementioned licenses with ranges of stamp covers and posters tying in with signing events at their shop in the Strand in central London, and at numerous collectors’ fairs and events around the country. Their releases tended to be aimed at specialist collectors of autographs, and tended to cost somewhat more than pocket money prices, at around £10 per autographed item. If you were to have collected all the items released by Scificollector over this two year period, at their standard retail prices, then you would have spent more than £1500. This compares with around £848 to buy all the Big Finish releases across their ranges, and around £600 to buy all the BBC Worldwide releases across their ranges. The pocket money ranges came with the new 2005 series, with children’s activity books being the first items to hit the shops at low prices. To have collected just the Scificollector, Big Finish and BBC Worldwide ranges over this two year period, buyers would have had to have spent around £122 each and every month to keep up. In the last Update volume, we looked at just BBC Worldwide and Big Finish, and the monthly average for those two ranges together was £83. For the 20042005 period, this figure was £60.
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2004-2005 OVERVIEW 15 Below is a chart showing the total cost of the majority of UK-released items in each year since Doctor Who merchandise began in 1964. These figures are somewhat ‘rough and ready’ – they are based on known retail prices and exclude some items, including Doctor Who Weekly/Magazine – but they give a general indication of how the market for Doctor Who merchandise has changed year on year.
YEAR
ANNUAL SPEND NOTES
1964 1965
£11 4s 2d £26 18s 1d
£11.21 decimal £26.90 decimal
1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
£3 3s 0d 18s 11d £5 17s 6d 12s 6d 12s 6d £0.73 £2.45 £3.18 £10.15 £39.41
£3.15 decimal £0.94 decimal £5.87 decimal £0.62 decimal £0.62 decimal
1976 1977 1978 1979 1980
£71.35 £513.88 £88.90 £75.01 £114.49
1981 1982 1983 1984 1985
£86.11 £289.84 £326.04 £534.09 £589.98
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990
£538.67 £509.33 £762.61 £284.31 £444.36
1991 1992 1993 1994
£470.16 £1310.36 £1091.94 £2748.49
COMMENT Based on Consumer Price Index calculations – i.e. allowing for inflation and similar factors – this is equivalent to £346.55 in 2004.
10th Anniversary Based on Consumer Price Index calculations, this is equivalent to £242.16 in 2004. £464.44 of this was for the 8 mm Dalek film releases.
Based on Consumer Price Index calculations, this is equivalent to £343.84 in 2004.
20th Anniversary Based on Consumer Price Index calculations, this is equivalent to £1208.42 in 2004.
Doctor Who stops as regular series Based on Consumer Price Index calculations, this is equivalent to £658.26 in 2004. £623 of this was for the Chess Set 30th Anniversary £1900 of this was for the fruit machine
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16 2004-2005 OVERVIEW 1995 1996
£2753.72 £1847.52
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
£1046.91 £1589.02 £2591.45 £1812.90 £2900.24 £2147.24 £2146.67 £2288.94 £7098.00
£1495 of this was for the full size Dalek 8th Doctor TV Movie £250 of this was for the Cyberman Helmet; £175 was for the Cyberman Gun £225 of this was for the Cyberman Chest Unit
£499 of this was for the half size Dalek 40th Anniversary New series back on TV £2889 of this was for items from Mutant Mouldings; £299 of this was for the TARDIS video/CD/DVD cabinet
From these figures, we can see that there was a significant leap in total cost in 1992 – the year before the 30th Anniversary – even taking into account the high single item cost of the Chess Set released that year. But generally there has been significantly more merchandise available in the 2000s than at any other time, and the cost of keeping up with it all has likewise skyrocketed. With the advent of the new series in 2005, the BBC’s marketing machine swung into action, and a new ‘Style Guide’ was produced to ensure that all items licensed under the ‘New Series’ banner had a consistent look and feel. This was an impressive document. Housed in a sturdy A4 two-ring binder (with the binding on the short edge) it contained numerous high quality card sheets, separated by plastic dividers, all printed up with the various patterns, shapes and colours to be used in the branding. Starting with a general overview of the 2005 episodes, the printed information then included a two page spread per story, with a selection of photographs that were available for merchandisers to use (i.e. that had been cleared by Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, though any other cast who appeared would have to be cleared separately). Then there was two pages on the new logo and how to use it, sample packaging images for boxed toys, swing tags for clothing, posters, notepads and stationary (pens and rulers were pictured), mousemats, CD cases, watches, clocks, plates, mugs, badges, t-shirts, other clothing (for boys and for girls), transfers, key character photographs for use on products or as standees, sample backgrounds, samples of alien writing and Dalek graphics. Then there was a pantone colour chart of all the allowable colours for the brand, samples of the ‘Deviant Strain’ commercial font that was being used on all merchandise, also samples of ‘Gil Sans Condensed’ (the font used in the title logo) and of ‘Platform One’ (based on the writing seen in the first series episode ‘The End of the World’. There then followed DVD and book covers, display posters and standees, details of approval contacts and other technical information, and finally lists of phrases used by the Doctor and other characters.
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2004-2005 OVERVIEW 17 From providing absolutely nothing of this kind for licensees in previous years, BBC Worldwide had swung around to dictating in detail exactly what products should look like, what colour schemes should be used, and so on. This explains why, when the New Series items started to appear, they all had a uniform look, with similar designs, typography and layout. Doctor Who Magazine continued to appear every four weeks, and when the new series was announced at the tail end of 2004, started to reposition itself for the new market. March 2005 saw it undergo a major revamp and reappear as a perfect-bound magazine. The content also veered toward the new series, with next to nothing now appearing about Doctor Who pre-2005. Perhaps the biggest casualty of this change was Big Finish, as their editorial coverage in the Magazine dropped dramatically. The Magazine now gave only cursory coverage to the wider world of Doctor Who merchandise, although it continued to run BBC book-related interviews. Even the Magazine’s diary of forthcoming events included only the BBC’s and Big Finish’s releases, which by 2005 was little more than scratching the surface of the products available. Among the new licensees, Character Options was perhaps the most high-profile. They had obtained the ‘master toy license’ from the BBC for the new series (although Product Enterprise retained their classic series license) and produced a range of toys and other items for Christmas 2005. Production delays and others problems getting these items into the shops meant that many of them first became available from dealers on eBay, and exchanged hands for amounts of money well over the recommended retail prices. By the time shops got their stocks – which was around 16 December – many shoppers had either given up on the idea of getting a Dalek for Christmas or had bought elsewhere. Despite the problems, the Character Options 12” remote control Dalek was the must-have toy for Christmas, and won the Toy Retailers Association’s Award for Electronic Toy of the Year. Serving the younger fans was Penguin Books, which brought out a range of activity books. These included a Quiz Book, a sticker book and a ‘Make the TARDIS’ book. Doctor Who exhibitions were given a new lease of life by the new series as well, with a large exhibit opening at Brighton featuring all the new monsters and aliens, while the existing exhibition at Blackpool retained all the classic series items. There was a little cross-over here, with a few classic series monsters appearing at Brighton and, eventually, a room of new series items being featured at Blackpool. These exhibitions generated their own merchandise, and the BBC supplied the people running them with details of who they should purchase from. This resulted in a flurry of mugs, pens, pencils, clocks and all manner of other, sometimes unlikely, items stamped with the exhibition logo. The majority of other stock for the exhibition shops was supplied through Scificollector, and generally stocked only a small selection of what was actually available. (For example, the Brighton exhibition didn’t generally stock Doctor Who Magazine, the BBC books, audios or DVDs, or any of the other new series items). Overall, the state of Doctor Who merchandise had never been healthier than in 2005. The only downside was that one needed very deep pockets to keep up with it all.
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SUNDRIES, STATIONERY SSI 87 SPR-042 The 4th Doctor Art Print 2005/10/20,The Stamp Centre, UK Art print by Steven Caldwell. Signed by Tom Baker. OP: £19.95 SPR-043 Chris Achilleos Prints 2005/11, Chris Achilleos, UK Range of A4 colour art prints of Chris Achilleos’s Doctor Who cover art. Available: The Crusaders; The Dinosaur Invasion; The Curse of Peladon; Genesis of the Daleks; The Sea Devils; The Web of Fear; The Space War; The Loch Ness Monster. OP: £10 each
SUNDRIES, PROGRAMMES
SRG-009
SRG-009 Doctor Who Exhibition Brighton Souvenir Brochure 2005/05, BBC Exhibitions, UK A4 full colour souvenir brochure of the Brighton Exhibition. Describes each part of the exhibit, and includes a brief look-back at the classic series and the actors who portrayed each past Doctor.
SUNDRIES, STATIONERY SSI-053 Doctor Who Blackpool Exhibition Note Pad 2005, BBC Exhibitions, UK OP: £1.99 SSI-054 Doctor Who Blackpool Exhibition Pen 2005, BBC Exhibitions, UK OP: £2.49 SSI-055 Doctor Who Blackpool Exhibition laser Pen 2005, BBC Exhibitions, UK OP: £3.99 SSI-056 Doctor Who Exhibition Brighton Light up Pen 2005/05, BBC Exhibitions, UK
SSI-054-059
SSI-057 Doctor Who Exhibition Brighton Ballpoint Pen 2005/05, BBC Exhibitions, UK Black ballpoint pen. SSI-058 Doctor Who Exhibition Brighton Eraser 2005/05, BBC Exhibitions, UK Oblong orange eraser. SSI-059 Doctor Who Exhibition Brighton Pencil 2005/05, BBC Exhibitions, UK Black pencil with logo on.
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88 SSI SUNDRIES, STATIONERY
SSI-060
SSI-060 Doctor Who Exhibition Brighton Ruler 2005/05, BBC Exhibitions, UK Foot long black plastic ruler. SSI-061 Doctor Who Exhibition Brighton Metal ballpoint pen 2005/05, BBC Exhibitions, UK Silver metal ballpoint pen.
SSI-062
SSI-062 Doctor Who Exhibition Brighton Notepad 2005/05, BBC Exhibitions, UK Approx 5 inches x 3.75 inches white paper notepad in a black flip-top plastic cover. SSI-063 Doctor Who Exhibition Leicester items 2005, BBC Exhibitions, UK A variety of items were produced for an exhibition in Leicester: a blue pencil with ‘DOCTOR WHO UPCLOSE National Space Centre’ printed on, and a selection of items like rubbers, rulers, pens and so on.
TOYS, ACTION FIGURES
TYA-012f
TYA-012f K9 (Blue) 1998/04, Dapol, UK A blue K9 produced for one of Dapol’s signing days. This one appeared to be for a day with John Leeson and Kary Manning. TYA-012g K9 (Black) Late 1990s, Dapol, UK A black K9 produced for one of Dapol’s signing days. This one appeared to be for a day with Sophie Aldred. TYA-012h K9 (Christmas) 2000/12, Dapol, UK A gold K9 produced as an American exclusive. It has ‘Christmas 2000’ stencilled on the side.
TYA-012g
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TOYS, ACTION FIGURES TYA 89 TYA-012i K9 (Silver) Late 1990s, Dapol, UK A silver K9. TYA-016o Dalek (American) Late 1990s, Dapol, UK Red, white and blue ‘American’ Dalek. Red body with dark blue spots and slats, white arms and head. TYA-016p Dalek (Gold with Claw arm) Late 1990s, Dapol, UK A Gold Dalek with a claw arm instead of a sucker.
TYA-012h
TYA-016q Dalek (Light Grey/Gold) 1997/03, Dapol, UK A Light Grey and Gold Dalek.This one appeared to be for a day with Wendy Padbury, Colin Baker, John Nathan Turner and Gary Downie. TYA-016r Dalek (Blue/Grey/Gold) Late 1990s, Dapol, UK A Blue Dalek with gold bumps and grey slats. TYA-016s Dalek (Blue/Gold) 1998/04, Dapol, UK A Blue Dalek with gold bumps and gold dome.This one appeared to be for a day with John Leeson and Kary Manning.
TYA-016q
TYA-016o
TYA-016r
TYA-016p
TYA-016s
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90 TYA TOYS, ACTION FIGURES TYA-016t Dalek (Grey/Gold) 1997/02, Dapol, UK A Grey Dalek with gold bumps and gold dome.This one appeared to be for a day with Peter Davison, John Nathan-Turner, Gary Downie and Sophie Aldred. TYA-016u Dalek (Unpainted) 1997/02, Dapol, UK An unpainted black Dalek with gold attachments.
TYA-016t
TYA-016v Dalek (Christmas) Late 1990s, Dapol, UK A green Dalek with red bumps and slats and a gold dome. Produced as an exclusive for a US retailer. TYA-016w Dalek (Blue/Gold) 2000/10, Dapol, UK Produced for a day with Tom Baker. Limited to 200 units. Also known in Brown/Gold. TYA-017b Film Dalek (Gold/Blue) Late 1990s, Dapol, UK A Gold Film Dalek with blue bumps. Produced as an exclusive for MOSV in the US. Given away as a subscription freebie with copies of The Genocide Machine from Big Finish. Limited to 200 units.
TYA-016u
TYA-016v TYA-016w
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TOYS, ACTION FIGURES TYA 91 TYA-022b Ice Warrior (Gold) Late 1990s, Dapol, UK A gold Ice Warrior. Produced as an Xmas exclusive for a US retailer. TYA-025c Davros (Gold) 1997/11, Dapol, UK Produced for a day with Colin Baker, Deborah Watling, Gary Downie and John Nathan-Turner. TYA-036 Radio Controlled Dalek (5”) 2005/11, Character Options Ltd, UK Small radio controlled gold Dalek and gold coloured controller.This is the same gold Dalek as in the Battle Pack but without the sensor at the front.This toy was originally an exclusive for F W Woolworth and was made more widely available later on. Came as 27 MHz or 40 MHz versions. REF: 00287-090905-V1 OP: £16.95
TYA-022b
TYA-025c
TYA-017b
TYA-036
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92 TYA TOYS, ACTION FIGURES TYA-037a Radio Controlled Dalek Battle Pack 2005/09, Character Options Ltd, UK A set containing two remote control Daleks (one black, and gold and the other gold), two controllers and a small figure of either the ninth Doctor (with small sonic screwdriver) or Rose. REF: 00287-170605-V1 OP: £30.00
TOYS, GENERAL TYG-083k Dalek Rolykin celebrating the release of the first Talking Dalek 2001/09, Product Enterprise Limited, UK Dalek Rolykin in special colours: gold head, red body, black base and arms. Produced in an edition of 500 units. OP: Free TYG-084f Talking Dalek 2004/11, Product Enterprise Limited, UK Two further colour variants of the Talking Dalek, exclusive to Scificollector. Black with gold bumps and gold head. Red with black bumps, gold midsection highlights. OP: £24.99 each
TYA-037a
TYA-083k
TYG-087c Remote Controlled 12” Dalek 2004, Product Enterprise Limited, UK New colour of the 12” Remote Control Dalek. Gold. Came in original style packaging with blue handset. This colour was ‘retired’ in 2005 when Character Options gained the New Series licence to do the gold Dalek. OP: £49.99 each
TYG-084f
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TOYS, GENERAL TYG 93
TYG-087d
TYG-087d Remote Controlled 12” Daleks 2005/11, Product Enterprise Limited, UK Two new colours of the 12” Remote Control Dalek. White with gold spots (‘Remembrance of the Daleks’); dark grey with black spots (‘Genesis of the Daleks’). Both come in two frequencies: 40 gHz and 27 gHz. Packaged with purple handset.The Silver with Blue bumps and Black with Silver bumps variants were also reissued at this time in the new packaging and with purple handsets.The original release had blue handsets. REF: RCD-3 (White); RCD-4 Grey); RCD-6 (Silver); RCD-7 (Black) OP: £49.99 each TYG-098a Film Canister Gift Set 2005/10, Corgi Classics Ltd/Marks and Spencer PLC, UK A Marks and Spencer branded variant of the Gift Cannister. Contained the Cyberman, Silver Dalek, K-9, Davros and the TARDIS with the Doctor in the doorway. Packed in a flip top window box with the lid of the cannister on the bottom. Only 2500 units were produced for sale REF: T09/7550/2675 OP: £15.00 TYG-099 UNIT Set 2004, Corgi Classics Ltd, UK Comprises Land Rover and Helicopter with UNIT logo, and the Supreme Dalek (Gold/Black). Exclusive to Scificollector. Limited to 2000 sets. REF: TY96206 OP: £24.95
TYG-099
TYG-100
TYG-100 Clockwork Dalek 2004, Product Enterprise Limited, UK Comes in two different colours – blue and black – and in a retro design box. REF: CWD-1 OP: £19.99
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94 TYG TOYS, GENERAL TYG-101 Three Dalek Set #2 2004/08, Corgi Classics Ltd, UK 3 Daleks in a pack. Colours red/silver, white, and silver/black. Exclusive to Scificollector. Limited to 2000 sets. REF: TY96207 OP: £19.99 TYG-102 Playing Cards 2005, Cards Inc, UK Playing cards that feature photographs of the companions and the Doctors. OP: £3.99 TYG-101
TYG-102
TYG-103a Radio Controlled Dalek (12”) 2005/09, Character Options Ltd, UK Foot high remote control Dalek with controller. Buttons on the controller make the Dalek say one of several phrases:‘Seek, locate, annihilate’ (which alternates with ‘Seek, locate, destroy’),‘You will obey the Daleks! Obey! Obey!’,‘Halt or you will be exterminated’ (which alternates with ‘You are an enemy of the Daleks’),‘We are the supreme beings’,‘Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!’ followed by gun effects (which alternates with ‘Exterminate’ followed by gun effects).This toy won the Toy Retailers 2005 Award for Best Electronic Toy.The first release had a blue starfield inpack design, and the second release had a Dalek cell inpack design and different packaging around the Dalek itself. REF: 00285-270605-V2 OP: £39.95 TYG-104 Sonic Screwdriver 2005/09, Character Options Ltd, UK Plastic replica of the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver. It contains UV pen and UV light, one notebook, one UV ink nib, one black ink nib, and instruction sheet. Makes two authentic sound effects.There are several variants of this item.The original release has a blue background to the inner sleeve and does not contain batteries.The later release has a red background to the inner sleeve and does contain batteries.The items in the packaging are also positioned differently from the first.There is also a third version of the Screwdriver itself, with a heavier texture and a paint wipe finish. REF: 00291-170605-V1 OP: £9.99
TYG-103a
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TOYS, GENERAL TYG 95 TYG-105 Character Walkie-Talkies 2005/09, Character Options Ltd, UK Set of two large figurines of the ninth Doctor and a Slitheen that are also walkie-talkies. REF: 00289-170605-V2 OP: £19.99 TYG-106 Dalek Hunter LCD Game 2005/09, Character Options Ltd, UK A hand held LCD game featuring the Daleks. REF: 00319-190705-V1 OP: £9.99 TYG-107a TARDIS Talking Money Bank 2005/09, Character Options Ltd, UK TARDIS shaped savings bank.When the front doors are opened there is a photograph of the ninth Doctor and Rose and dialogue and sound effects are heard. The original release was dark blue with no texture on the roof and came with a red inpack design. A second release was a lighter blue, with a textured roof and a blue inpack design. REF: 00295-270605-V2 OP: £9.99
TYG-104
TYG-105
TYG-106
TYG-107a
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96 TYG TOYS, GENERAL TYG-108 Remote Controlled Talking Davros 2005/09, Product Enterprise Limited, UK Comes with TARDIS remote control. Davros speaks two very long lines of dialogue.Three AA batteries included for Davros; three AAA batteries included for controller. REF: DAV-01 OP: £49.95 TYG-109a The Interactive Board Game 2005/09,Toy Brokers, UK A board game containing a card board, six moulded Dalek playing pieces, an interactive TARDIS model, six Doctor playing pieces, 42 TARDIS repair cards, one spinner and instruction leaflet. REF: 8989 OP: £30.00 TYG-108
TYG-109a
TYG-109b The Interactive Board Game 2005/11, Marks and Spencer PLC, UK Marks and Spencer branded variant.This set comes with batteries included. OP: £25.00 TYG-110 Remote Controlled Movie Daleks 2005/12, Product Enterprise Limited, UK Three colours of Remote Control Talking Movie Daleks: red with black spots; black with gold spots; silver with blue spots. Each Dalek comes with a TARDIS-shaped remote control. Speaks dialogue from the films:‘Emergency at large ’;‘Resist and you will be exterminated’;‘Stay where you are.You cannot get away’;‘The neutron bomb will be ready for explosion in one hour’;‘Tonight we will complete the war which our ancestors should have won many centuries ago’;‘We will be the rulers here’;‘We will explode the neutronic bomb. Begin the countdown’; ‘What have you to report’;‘You will be Exterminated’. REF: IRMD-1/2/3 OP: £23.99 each
UNIVERSAL MEDIA DISCS UMD-001 Doctor Who – Volume 2 2005/10/17, BBC Worldwide Ltd, UK New series UMD. Containing the episodes ‘Aliens of London’, ‘World War Three’ and ‘Dalek’. 12 rating. REF: BBCUMD8002 OP: £17.99 TYG-109b
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UNIVERSAL MEDIA DISCS UMD 97
TYG-110
UMD-002 Doctor Who – Volume 1 2005/12/12, BBC Worldwide Ltd, UK New series UMD. Containing the episodes ‘Rose’, ‘The End Of The World’, and ‘The Unquiet Dead’. 12 rating. REF: BBCUMD8008 OP: £17.99 UMD-003 Doctor Who – Volume 4 2005/12/26, BBC Worldwide Ltd, UK New series UMD. Contains the episodes ‘Boom Town’, ‘Bad Wolf’ and ‘The Parting Of The Ways’. PG rating. REF: BBCUMD8010 OP: £17.99
UMD-001
UMD-002
UMD-003
UMD-004
UMD-004 Doctor Who – Volume 3 2005/12/26, BBC Worldwide Ltd, UK New series UMD containing the episodes ‘The Long Game,’ ‘Father’s Day’, ‘The Empty Child’ and ‘The Doctor Dances’. PG rating. REF: BBCUMD8009 OP: £19.99
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98 VDI VIDEO, DVD INTERVIEWS
VIDEO, DVD INTERVIEWS VDI-001a The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond 2002, BBV, UK DVD re-issue.This release features some additional extras: Interview with Philip Hinchcliffe, Interview with Ian Hogg, Sylvester McCoy returns to the location for ‘Remembrance of the Daleks’. VDI-001a
VDI-004
VDI-004 The PanoptiCon Tapes 1 / 2 2004/05/31, Reeltime Pictures Ltd, UK DVD-R release of VOI-003. REF: RTP0319 OP: £15.99 VDI-005 The Panopticon Tapes 3 / 4 2004/07/31, Reeltime Pictures Ltd, UK DVD-R release of VOI-003. REF: RTP0327 OP: £15.99
VDI-005
VDI-006
VDI-006 The Panopticon Tapes 5 / 6 2004/09/30, Reeltime Pictures Ltd, UK DVD-R release of VOI-003. REF: RTP0328 OP: £15.99 VDI-007 The Doctor Down Under 2004/10/31, Reeltime Pictures Ltd, UK DVD-R release. Doctor Who fans and fandom in Australia. REF: RTP0296 OP: £15.99
VDI-007
VDI-008 Where On Earth is Katy Manning/Katy Manning’s World Down Under 2004/11/30, Reeltime Pictures Ltd, UK DVD-R release of VOI-008 and VOT-020. REF: RTP0332 OP: £15.99 VDI-009 The Myth Runner Tapes 2005/01/31, Reeltime Pictures Ltd, UK DVD-R release of VOI-004. REF: RTP0323 OP: £15.99 VDI-010 Daphne Ashbrook in the UK 2004, Covert Productions, UK
VDI-008
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FROM THE WAREHOUSE 115
FROM THE WAREHOUSE OR these update editions to the TOYBOX book, we wanted to look in more depth at the companies and people who actually produce the Doctor Who merchandise. We therefore contacted some of those who had significant input into the releases from 2004 and 2005 and asked them some questions about their ranges, their background and how they felt it was all going. Here are the results.
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PRODUCT ENTERPRISE RODUCT Enterprise started released Doctor Who items in May 2000 with a re-issue of the popular Dalek Rolykins from the ’60s. Steve Walker, the man behind the company, was instrumental in the release of the Bluebird Dalek Playset in 1998, and then, when Bluebird was bought by Hasbro, left to start his own company. Since that time, Product Enterprise have gone on to release many more Doctor Who related items, and have also expanded into other licenced properties including Gerry Anderson, Hammer Films and the Carry On … films.
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TOYBOX: How, when and why did you decide to start producing Doctor Who merchandise? Was this an extension to existing ranges or was the company created to produce the Doctor Who items? Steve Walker: The company was set up to produce licences from cult TV shows. As we already had a history of working with the BBC for producing Doctor Who product via Bluebird Toys, the Classic Series Doctor Who licence seemed to be the obvious place to start (as well as being a personal favourite). What has been your approach with regards to Doctor Who merchandise? Were you following any overall creative or business plan with regards to the releases? Unfortunately nothing quite so organised! It really was a matter of releasing one product at a time to test the water. We really needed to establish that there was a market for the toys in the first place, so we had to see how each one sold before we moved onto the next one. It would have been foolish to jump straight in with a whole range at once as, if they had not sold, we would not be here now. What considerations and restrictions, if any, have been given you by BBC Licensing on producing merchandise? Prior to the new series, there were really not that many restrictions. No characters were off limits; it was our decision which characters or monsters we wanted to tackle, again based on how well we thought they would sell. The only rule was that any Dalek products had to show them in character (so no plush Daleks!). With the advent of the new series, the only restraints were that we had to withdraw our gold remote control Dalek in order that it wouldn’t get confused with the new series Dalek. Also, we were planning a remote control K-9, but because he featured in a recent episode, he became
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116 FROM THE WAREHOUSE New Series property and therefore the option to produce K-9 merchandise went to the New Series licence holder, Character Options. Were there any ideas that were rejected outright either by yourselves or through discussion with BBC Licensing that you can talk about? Yes – plush Daleks!! What sort of process do you go through from conception to production to release on the Who merchandise you produce? Does it vary in time, amount of work, etc, or is there a pretty stable process in place? From initial concept stage to product release is around nine months. Prototype models are made and approved by the licensor, these are then sent to Hong Kong for tooling. In the meantime, packaging is designed and approved, and this too is then sent over to Hong Kong. Our main task is to ensure that the compromises between the original model and the production samples are not too great. However, due to cost implications, there will always be some minor compromises. Is there any one item that you are most proud of, something that epitomises what you’re trying to accomplish as a Doctor Who licensee? What has been your most successful item? Why do you think that is? My favourite so far has been the eight inch remote control Movie Dalek. For me, this is just perfect. The quality of the finish raises it above toy level and makes it more like an actual model. The sound and movement are great, and as for the packaging, our artist, Graham Humphreys, was obviously having a good day! What is your favourite Who collectible from the past? For me, it still has to be the original Codeg Clockwork Daleks. Even now, I occasionally take mine out of its display case and have him running round – it’s just magical. Then again, you also forget just how fantastic the original Louis Marx Bump & Go Daleks were.
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FROM THE WAREHOUSE 117 What’s your earliest memory of watching Doctor Who on television? My most vivid memory of Doctor Who was being told that our Cubs Sports Day would fall on the same Saturday as episode six of ‘Planet of the Spiders’! I was already traumatised enough that My Doctor was leaving; the thought of not seeing him depart was just too much. However, my Dad came to the rescue … He brought a black and white portable TV along on the day, plugged it into the car battery and had around 40 cubs in this field huddled round the ten inch screen!
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118 FROM THE WAREHOUSE
What sort of possibilities do you think the new series in 2005 opened up for you? Has it made things harder or easier? We just assumed that our licence for classic Who would not be renewed when it expired at the end of 2005. We had had a good run with it and so weren’t too concerned. However, we were surprised and pleased when the BBC asked us to continue with it for another two years. The new series has not only produced a new generation of fans but also a resurgence of interest in classic Doctor Who. We now have real children buying our products – which is a first! What plans do you have for 2006 and beyond? We are looking at producing a range of classic 12 inch talking collector dolls, starting with Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor and a ‘Revenge of the Cybermen’-style Cyberman. If these do well, we will hopefully add to the range. We have a selection of small Talking Micro Daleks out in 2006, which are fantastic, as too are the 12 inch remote control Movie Daleks. (You cant have too many Daleks!) We have some other items from the two ’60s Doctor Who movies in development as well, but can’t say too much at the moment.
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130 CHARACTER OPTIONS
The Mk 1 Rose Tyler with her ‘ROSE’ paint detail addition.
doing quite well. You tend to find in China that the labour moves around depending on where the work is, and at this time, there was a lot of work in the north, so there was a massive labour shortage in the south. Our factory was in the south, and in order to keep the production lines up and running, you need a lot of people. We kept asking, “Have you enough labour?” and we always got the same reply, “Yes, everything will be fine …” Another worrying sign! ‘The net result was that we manufactured a small number of the Daleks very late with this first factory, and then they basically said, or we realised, that they were in trouble money wise; and in China that’s always dangerous, as if a factory closes, then the government takes control of it and all the assets. You may not get your tooling back, and if you do, you have to pay for it. So we were faced with the terrible realisation that we had to move factory. The original Daleks they had made also suffered from minor but irritating quality issues. Many had glue marks, and the eye would come detached. One of the worst problems was that the arms were not snug enough and were hanging loose, so they weren’t poseable. Lots of these are caught by QC/QA before leaving the factory, but this means the “rework” and “scrap” rates go up drastically, meaning lower volumes
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CHARACTER OPTIONS 131 are produced for eventual sale. The whole thing was a frustration. ‘So in the end we quickly decided to move all the tools from this factory to another new vendor. This alone lost us three to four weeks manufacture. At the same time, we realised we had a massive capacity problem, in that the new factory had no parts ordered in or stockpiles of moulded components, but we had thousands of mixed up components lying in the old factory taking up space. By this time, we already had a second set of tooling underway to help alleviate the capacity issues with the first set. So we were literally taking lorry loads of good components salvaged from the first factory across China to the second … A nightmare. ‘In the end, we did manage to get 60 or 70 thousand units into the marketplace before Christmas. Other things that happened were just annoying. For example, one store bought the Daleks in as a loss leader for them, and they were selling them for £20 each, way under the price they paid for them. Other retailers were actually going and buying them from this store, as they were cheaper from them than from us. There was nothing we could have done about this though; it was totally out of our control. ‘Simultaneously to all this happening with the large Dalek, we had the Walkie Talkies and six inch Battle Daleks being made by another factory, and this factory had some serious issues over quality. There is a drop test that has to be done as part of gaining the quality mark. This involves the product being dropped in its carton 30 cm onto concrete … does it survive? This test was applied to the product, but the one that was dropped had been correctly made using what is called virgin plastic –a plastic that hasn’t been melted and used before, and so is strong and durable – and it not surprisingly passed the test. But the moment our quality assurance team left the building, they started using “re-grind” plastic in the injection moulding machines. Regrind plastic is just ground up bits of other, previously used plastic components. It becomes brittle when moulded, as it’s been re-heated too often. We had 9,000 Walkie
The original 5” Slitheen tooling model (left) with extending claws, dropped for practicality’s sake and for a more screen-accurate look.
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132 CHARACTER OPTIONS Talkies shipped to the UK, of which something like 90 percent arrived with broken arms. We actually had the arm break off the Slitheen figure in the BBC offices as they were reviewing it. They were so brittle they would just snap with the slightest pressure. We literally turned the container around and sent it back … Thus again … no stock! ‘Moving on to the Battle Daleks, we were starting to feel as though we were going through some battle of our own to achieve what we had intended all along. The original idea with the Battle Daleks was to have the front break off during play to reveal a little Dalek mutant inside. We thought this was a nice idea, and so the initial concept sketches and artwork showed this. However, there’s a great difference between an initial concept, with ideas and intentions for function, and the actual reality of engineering the toy. What we found with this was that the scale was so small, that it was fairly ambitious just to get the remote control and infra-red functions in them, and at the end of the day, just as with the 12 inch Dalek, something had to give. So the idea of having the mutant inside was dropped. Which is a shame, as it was a nice idea. ‘The main issues with the Battle Daleks, though, were mismatched motors and faulty assembly, which caused some Daleks not to work at all and others to jam up. It was mind boggling. This was the same factory as had used the brittle plastic. Now these problems have been ironed out, through many meetings and discussions and changes of process. As a comparison, though, if you look at the new remote control mini-K-9,
A photo of the TARDIS Money Bank tooling model with alteration notes.
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154 1960S TOY GALLERY
1960S TOY GALLERY
The two covers for the Dalek Writing Pad (SSI-003)
A selection of Dalek Pencils (SSI-002)
A Dalek Wonder Slate (TYG-026)
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS 161
ABOUT THE AUTHORS DAVID J HOWE AVID has been involved with Doctor Who research and writing for over twenty years. He has been consultant to a large number of publishers and manufacturers for their Doctor Who lines, and is author or co-author of eighteen factual titles associated with the show. He also has one of the largest collections of Doctor Who merchandise in the world. David was contributing editor to Starburst magazine and edited the book reviews column for that magazine for sixteen years. He is also reviews editor for Shivers magazine. In addition he has written articles, interviews and reviews for a wide number of publications including Fear, Dreamwatch, Stage and Television Today, The Dark Side, Doctor Who Magazine, The Guardian, Infinity, Film Review, SFX and Sci-Fi Entertainment. He is on the committee of the British Fantasy Society and has edited their bi-monthly newsletter as well as editing and publishing several books for them, including the British and World Fantasy Award shortlisted Manitou Man, a limited edition hardback and paperback collection of short fiction by horror author Graham Masterton. He wrote the book Reflections: The Fantasy Art of Stephen Bradbury for Dragon's World Publishers and has contributed short fiction to Peeping Tom, Dark Asylum, Kimota, Decalog, Perfect Timing, Perfect Timing II, Missing Pieces and Dark Horizons. and factual articles to James Herbert: By Horror Haunted (Hodder & Stoughton, ed. Stephen Jones). He wrote the screenplay for the 2004 DVD film release Daemos Rising.
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ARNOLD T BLUMBERG RNOLD has been a Doctor Who fan since 1986. When he's not hunting for that elusive Troughton annual, he is Curator of Geppi’s Entertainment Museum and has authored or co-authored Pop Culture with Character: A Look Inside Geppi’s Entertainment Museum, The Big BIG LITTLE BOOK Book: An Overstreet Photo-Journal Guide, two editions of Howe’s Transcendental Toybox and two subsequent updates (including the one you’re holding!), two editions of The Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide and Zombiemania: 80 Movies to Die For. Arnold also provides the internal layout and design for many of Telos Publishing’s other books. Arnold has also served as Editor for Gemstone Publishing and Senior Editor for Now Playing Magazine, Cinescape Magazine, and EON Magzine. He has written articles for Overstreet's FAN, Comic Book Marketplace, Dreamwatch, and other periodicals. He authored the online guide to sci-fi collecting in the “Sci-Fi-O-Rama” section of eBay, and has contributed short fiction to the Doctor Who charity anthologies, Missing Pieces, The Cat Who Walked Through Time, and Walking in Eternity. He teaches a course in comic book literature at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. He completed a doctorate in Communications Design at the University of Baltimore in 2004, having already acquired a Masters in Publications Design from the same institution in 1996. You can find out the latest on all his projects at his blog, www.apanelwithnoborders.com.
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