I Love... 1991

By Simon Rayner

Doctor Who and London go together like tea and biscuits. Countless adventures have been set there and about 99 percent of them we're made there. London is not just England's capital city but Doctor Who's too. Hmm, maybe, just maybe the new series location of Cardiff might sneak up and steal its crown some day?

I forget exactly when I first went to London. My Aunty and cousins lived there so I daresay I could have been mere months old but my first visit to London proper, and by that I mean the touristy "Big Ben, Tower Bridge" bits was during the summer of 1991. You'll be not surprised to know that Doctor Who featured heavily in this trip.

My eldest cousin used to be something of a Doctor Who fan in his younger days. It was he that handed down to me a collection of Doctor Who Weeklies, Annuals and Target books and although he's not a fan anymore he was at least casually interested in the series long after his childhood.

In 1991 the "Museum of the Moving Image" launched it's Doctor Who "Behind the Sofa" exhibit and dear cousin thought it "might make a nite nice trip" for my brother and I.

My other cousin and her partner had not long been living in Notting Hill at this time and thought it would be nice for us to stay there for a few days during the Carnival and then we could go to Momi at the same time. It was something of a lovely trip really. The carnival was every bit as colourful and vibrant as you'd think and more than a little bit scary! More scary probably than the London Dungeon which we also visited. I bought a cheapy rubber rat from here for a pound or so which made a convincing giant rat in any future "Talons of Weng Chiang" productions I might make. We also walked up the never-ending stairs of the Fire of London monument on Pudding Lane. I wasn’t aware of Doctor Who’s flirtation with that particular fire at the time alas.

So what was the exhibition like? Well I seem to remember it took a long time to get too. There were corridors full of other TV related exhibits like a CSO screen which if you lay on and looked up at a monitor you could see yourself flying woefully unconvincing over London! oooh fun! There was also a curious reconstruction of a teenage girls bedroom showing an episode of Neighbours! before we got to the Doctor Who section which inevitably was right at the end.

The first Doctor Whoey bit was as you came down some stairs. As you walked you could hear the familiar tones of a Dalek, oddly telling people something or other about security warnings! Sure enough in the middle of the stair well was a silver Dalek in front of a half police box. I was agog! Apart from that giant red Dalek ride thing in Weymouth this was my first face-to-face encounter Terry Nation's finest creations.

As I remember it this wasn't part of the exhibition as such and presumably a permanent feature of the museum as the Behind the Sofa proper didn't begin until further down the corridors, possibly after some Blue Peter gubbins...entry was through enlarged open TARDIS doors! Fire and safety presumably meaning it wouldn't be safe to use correctly sized doors.

The exact details are rather hazy but there was defiantly a big wall of TV screens with each of the Doctor's title sequences showing at the press of a button. Not having seen the Colin Baker ones since 1986 I spent a few seconds watching in glee!

There was also a big display of assorted Doctor Who related merchandise through the years, everything form the latest videos to er…Jon Pertwee breakfast cereal which impressed me no end, but then I’m easily impressed.

The inevitable highlight was the monsters! A white Remembrance Dalek (with Transmat!), the big white Emperor, Vervoids, Sea Devils, Cybermen (in a big glass case) and the now legendary speaking Dalek as immortalised in "Daleks the Early Years". As is the whole exhibition come to think of it! If you watch all the Years tapes and Shada you can pretty much see the whole thing!

Anyway this Dalek for those in blissful ignorance is a typical Dalek but with the back cut away so you can crouch inside it and speak into the voice. Hours of fun to be had listening to Dutch tourists pitiful attempts! I was the bestest!

The K9 display with its hilarious gag bowl of pet food and looped Five Doctors clip never failed to impress and it was nice to see the sarcophagus from Pyramids! Some of the monsters even moved when you pressed the chunky yellow buttons! Gasp as the Sea Devil turns it's head a little bit! Gaze as a Gundan Robot (I'd never heard of it!) does something undramatic with an axe.

As is the way with these things one left the exhibition via a gift shop. My cousin bought me a badge and AND a Dapol Tetrap! Frigging thing's wings come unattached and required gluing on. Another flaw in their products!

So there you go. Photos were taken but alas I don’t have any copies to illustrate this article. At least you’re spared the sight of my hideous red and white striped shirt.

Since 1991 I've seen the now defunct Longleat exhibition in 2002 and the revived Blackpool only mere days ago. Although I enjoyed both of those it was far more down to the company I was with rather than the quality of the exhibits which to be fair have long since seen better days. The Momi exhibition will always hold a place in my heart. It was so exciting and it all seemed very well presented. Maybe the costumes were tatty then but I was 10 and full of wonder, cynicism was a few years away. Oh to be that age again. I envy the kids about to stumble into the TARDIS with Eccleston and Piper. They’ve got a lot to look forward to!