Should the console room be redesigned for season 5?

[Mark_Nguyen]

Sets cost money, always have, and in the era of higher def, they always will as long as cardboard sets LOOK like the stuff they're made of. That's why we GOT a TARDIS that looked like a disused factory in "The Invasion of Time". Even in TCI, the wardrobe room was only fully visible in one wide show, where most of it was computer-generated.

And technically speaking, the console in the original series was one of the more stable elments of the old set, really changing only three or four times in 27 years, and drastically only once ("The Five Doctors"). The walls however changed almost every year, in composition (the first one had photographic blowups as some of the walls) and arrangement (remember the giant punchbowl walls?). This is mostly becaue the original set was only erected whenever the story needed it, and was not a static set like the current one.

Thinking further on this, what I wouldn't mind seeing in a console room refit is the simple COMPLETION of the set. The current one is only a 240 degree set, barely more than half the circle it's supposed to be. I think they expanded it a little between the first and second seasons (or whenever they moved it to the current studio), but they are forever limited in how they can shoot the room. Granted, they've been really creative so far, but it's still designed more like a stage than a true set. I'd like to see them really be able to play with some 360-degree panoramas for a change. And, as it's never been seen so far, be able to see the door to the rest of the ship.

Mark

 

[C.E. Evans]

And technically speaking, the console in the original series was one of the more stable elments of the old set, really changing only three or four times in 27 years, and drastically only once ("The Five Doctors").

There were actually eight different versions of the console during the course of the original series (if you include the number two console room), but most of the changes were with the time rotor design and the actual controls and their layout. The overall shape remained the same, however.
http://www.whoniverse.org/tardis/controlrooms.php

The walls however changed almost every year, in composition (the first one had photographic blowups as some of the walls) and arrangement (remember the giant punchbowl walls?). This is mostly becaue the original set was only erected whenever the story needed it, and was not a static set like the current one.

There really wasn't a console room for the Seventh Doctor for most of his run in the original series. When one episode required it, however, it was pretty much filmed in a dimly-lit and quickly decorated closet that the console dominated most of.

 

[Tom]

Maybe they can use the Abrams new Enterprise bridge design, heck they can even have a barcode reader at all six panels of the tardis console just like Abrams does! LOL

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Do people really have to drag the new Star Trek movie into every single discussion?

 

[Samurai8472]

maybe change the coral walls color to white like the old series or turn it into an Apple store like the new Enterprise

 

[Peacemaker]

Hmmm, white console, black Doctor? How trendy.

 

[Mitty]

The Dressing room scene in TCI was actually filmed on the existing TARDIS console room set, just in such a way that you didnt' realise it was the same set. The wide shots were CGI obviously, the the closeups were just shot without the console itself in view. Even that short sequence though gave an impression that the ship is much bigger than we might have thought.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

I like the coral look, It'd be nicer just to expand on things as is.

 

[Jim Steele]

The Dressing room scene in TCI was actually filmed on the existing TARDIS console room set, just in such a way that you didnt' realise it was the same set.

I thought it was fairly obvious.

 

[wamdue]

The Dressing room scene in TCI was actually filmed on the existing TARDIS console room set, just in such a way that you didnt' realise it was the same set.

I thought it was fairly obvious.

same here

 

[Chaos Descending]

Absolutely. The new style TARDIS console room/interior is one of only two things in the new series that I actively dislike. The other is the series logo.

 

[wamdue]

im not keen on the redesign of the new logo, that said I really like the silver one they use on the trailers they should use that next season

 

[Jim Steele]

Doctor Eleven NEEDS to have his head composited into the intro.

Yes! Are you listening Moffat? If your intro sequence doesn't feature a shoddy 3 frame animation of your Doctor WINKING into camera, I'm switching my allegiance to Primeval*!




* Note: Empty threat. Like hell that's ever happening.

 

[wamdue]

like ITV would ever schedule it out to out with Doctor Who.

 

[Jim Steele]

They don't have the balls.

 

[Cutter John]

Hated the coral room when I first saw it, but after four years its kinda grown on me. Wouldn't mind if they tidied it up a bit though.

And yeah, another vote for seeing more of the interior. Wouldn't have to be a whole episode, but seeing, say, the companions room, or even a corridor would be nice. I wonder how many new viewers even realize theres more to the ship that just the console room?

 

[wamdue]

They don't have the balls.

it would also be ratings sucidie, lets face it as much as I like Primeval I would pick Doctor Who every time, not least since it meant I could ffwd the ads when I watch the recording of Primeval back.

 

[ATimson]

Well didn't they already say they had to rebuild everything because of the changeover to HD for series 5?

I don't think they did, no.

Well, they did say that it would have to be rebuilt when they move to HD. It's not series 5 that's the deadline to change over to HD, but rather 2010. (Of course, that deadline seems to have silently slipped by the wayside over the last few years...)

 

[Sci]

Doctor Eleven NEEDS to have his head composited into the intro.

Ugh. No.

ETA:

For my money, I suppose I wouldn't mind it if they re-designed the console room. BUT, I hope that they keep the organic feel to it -- the sense that this thing is alive, that it's not just a cold piece of metal and circuitry but, rather, a living ship with organic technology. It makes the Doctor and the Time Lords much more alien.

 

[Starkers]

Sci, disagree on the head in the tites, but agree re the TARDIS console room- it's wonderfully alien.

That said the somewhat organic/scruffy coral themed room fit perfectly with both Eccleston and Tennant who were both--no offence intended--somewhat scruffy Doctors.

I can see it suiting a more elegant Doctor ala Pertwee or McGann slightly less so.

But I wouldn't redically alter it.