Madman in a Box

I am going to preface this post with the warning that you probably need to know at least a little bit about Doctor Who to understand what I am going to be talking about. There is also a chance of spoilers for later seasons of the show, so you have been warned.

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Walking into the Doctor Who Experience, housed in a long grey and blue building resembling a giant tent, we were afraid we would not be allowed on our tour because we were ten minutes late. Our worries were unnecessary as the man scanning our tickets did not even check the assigned time.

I was surprised by the the number of children on the tour. I know that Doctor Who is considered as  family show (that is why it airs at 8pm instead of later), but all of the people I have known to watch it are all at least teenagers. Some of the aliens and situations could also frighten young children (i.e. the creepy Silence creatures and the Weeping Angels).

We queued in the lobby next to the small cafe until we were allowed in to the "adventure" portion of the tour, which would be followed by the exhibition. Our group of about twenty people filed into a dark room with a projection screen. A compilation of scenes from the episodes of the 11th Doctor were shown, ending on a final shot of the crack in the universe first shown at the introduction of Amy Pond, the Doctor's companion.

I thought, "It would be so cool if the crack in the screen opened up for us to move to the next section, sort of like at the Harry Potter Studio when the screen opened to show the doors to the Great Hall." And what do you know, that was exactly what happened. It was a great start to the tour.

The frist room was built to look like we were in the UK starship from the episode, "The Beast Below." The room was dark and lit with red lights. A Frowner, a creepy clown-like doll inside a glass case, was behind me and I kept waiting for it to move.

Inside the TARDIS

The story for the Adventure began here, with the Eleventh Doctor appearing on a screen and telling everyone that he was stuck in the Pandorica (a large stone box  that was thought to be only a fairytale). The Doctor was trying to call his companion Amy to help him but he just got us "shoppers" instead.

Moving to the next room, we were inside the TARDIS (the older version from the 9th and 10th Doctors). Joysticks were arranged around the center console labeled "navigation," "diagnostics," and "mechanical." When told by the Doctor on his screens, the kids in the group messed with the joysticks. Some caused smoke to filter from the console, others made the metal platform under our feet rock slightly.

Alerts began to sound, telling use that the TARDIS was being boarded by unknown creatures. We left the TARDIS console room quickly, and walking down a hallway. We ended up inside of a Dalek ship. Three Daleks moved out of their alcoves accompanied by a lot of smoke while yelling, "EXTERMINATE" in their robotic voices. Their rant about how they are the superior species and how they were going to eliminate the Doctor was cut short when their ship was attacked. The attackers were another group of Daleks who claimed that they were the Supreme Daleks. Of course, the two groups got into a fight about who was better and the ships starting firing their lasers at each other.

We took this opportunity to escape...right into a Weeping Angel graveyard. Now, the thing about Weeping Angels is that they are frozen whenever someone is looking at them. They can only move when they are unobserved, so the only way they can not get you is if you keep you eyes on them. Whatever you do, don't blink.

The graveyard was full of stone angels and the lights flashed off and on, tricking your eyes into thinking that they might have moved. Our group moved through this section quickly, urged forward by the voice of the Doctor telling us to hurry and not to blink.

The final room was decorated a bit like a jungle with a rock face in front of us. A 3D video was projected onto a screen in the rock face showing the swirling time vortex being put to rights, and the Doctor being released from his prison inside the Pandorica. Us "shoppers" had helped save the day.

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Weeping Angel

The exhibition portion of the tour was full of props and costumes from throughout the Doctor Who series. There were all of the different sonic screwdrivers used by the different incarnations, as well as a display showing the main outfits of all eleven doctors.

All of the creatures were represented from the Face of Boe, to Cybermen, the creepy Silence creatures, and Silurians. A very interesting display showed the evolution of the Daleks. They have gradually become larger over time and changed colors. The most recent versions are about five feet tall and are painted in solid colors like red, blue and yellow so as to be able to tell them apart. Older Daleks tended to be more metallic colors.  

Each companion of the Doctor had a poster and one of their main outfits on display. I was disappointed that the plaques only told the basics about each character instead of special, behind-the-sences knowledge. I would assume that most people at the Doctor Who Experience already know the basics behind each of the characters. 

I had a really great time on the tour. It was nice being with friends that you can geek out with and no one will judge you for your strange interests.