Andrew Orton
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andreworton.bsky.social
Andrew Orton
@andreworton.bsky.social
2.2K followers 880 following 2.1K posts
Television historian, writer, artist, 33% of Mulgrave Audio, comic inks and colours. Author of books about Doctor Who, Blake's 7 and Robin of Sherwood. Usually found recreating BBC studio sets in CG. Solvitur ambulando. Marra. Durham.
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andreworton.bsky.social
Andrew Orton @andreworton.bsky.social · Nov 23
Well, #DoctorWho is 61 today. How better to celebrate? An Unearthly Child, in Lime Grove D, 1963! #CGSets
A CG recreation of the studio set for An Unearthly Child, showing the junkyard, school yard and TARDIS interior from the position of the gallery. A CG recreation of the studio set for An Unearthly Child, showing the junkyard, school yard and TARDIS interior from the position of the upper floor of the junkyard. A CG recreation of the TARDIS interior in studio for An Unearthly Child. The central control console is visible, as is a large hexagonal light fixure above. A close-up CG recreation of the TARDIS console on set for An Unearthly Child, with the Doctor's die-cut Westminster clock on a pedestal int he foreground.
andreworton.bsky.social
Woke up this morning with Maureen Lipman in me head saying, ‘ooh, he’s got an ology!’, thirty years after I last heard it x
November 29, 2025 at 11:11 AM
andreworton.bsky.social
Seal and Adamski’s Killer just came on the car radio.
Me, driving along: ‘Solitary cyclist…. Is there still a part of you that wants to ride?’
November 28, 2025 at 7:05 PM
andreworton.bsky.social
Anywhere, here's some evidence that Fenric was behind the events of The Mind of Evil
#DoctorWho
A screenshot of The Mind of Evil, showing Michael Sheard as Dr Summers sitting in his office. On the wall behind him is an eye test chart showing a series of letters: the first three accidentally spell 'ACE'.
November 28, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Reposted by Andrew Orton
obversebooks.co.uk
Now's the time for overseas buyers to pick up our Archives, Faction, iris and Senor 105 books - as well as Doctor Who and everything else - a bit cheaper via Lulu, using this code:

BOOKGIFT30

www.lulu.com/spotlight/ob...
Obverse Books - Books and Publications Spotlight | Lulu
The Lulu store for Obverse Books, award winning publishers of critical works on genre television, as well as original fiction.
www.lulu.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Andrew Orton
dempster2000.bsky.social
Noel Edmonds: a thread of horror.

Carrie (Dir: Brian De Palma, 1976)
November 15, 2024 at 9:22 PM
Reposted by Andrew Orton
paul-hayes.bsky.social
Exactly 75 years ago, BBC Television had just begun regular broadcasting at Saturday teatimes, with the opening episode of Whirligig at 5pm.

We all know what happened 13 years later - but how does this story begin...?

Here's my first ever YouTube TV history video - The Story of Whirligig:
The Story of Whirligig
YouTube video by Paul Hayes
www.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Reposted by Andrew Orton
scott1gray.bsky.social
Pertwee is the only Doctor who's forced to *stop*. He's trapped in one place, one time. Suddenly he's made to face the consequences of his actions - with the Nestenes, Silurians, the Master & nicking the Metebelis 3 crystal. Normally he'd just move on and forget about this stuff, but now he can't.
November 27, 2025 at 11:22 AM
andreworton.bsky.social
I'm completely in awe at how Pertwee plays the third Doctor as an arrogant, annoying sod who is constantly rude to everybody, mansplains and pisses folk off, yet is still completely loveable and brilliant. I don't understand it.
November 27, 2025 at 10:38 AM
andreworton.bsky.social
Of course, Shada had a third scheduled studio session too - and full plans were drawn up. This is what it might have looked like... 'Dead men do not require oxygen...'
What if? - TC3, 1st December 1979. #DoctorWho #CGSets
A CG recreation of a set from Doctor Who's Shada. It shows Skagra's spaceship bridge: a grey room with red and black piping. A row of four linked recliner chairs looks towards a screen, in front of which is a dais with Shada's grey sphere sitting on it. A doorway leads to a corridor. A CG recreation of the sets from Doctor Who's Shada: session 3, from above. Visible are Skagra's spaceship set, including the bridge and adjoining corridor, a large, composite Shada set, with a landing area and cells, and a blue-screen CSO area. A small area of dark drapes is visible, representing the K9 voice actor booth. A CG recreation of the Shada prison set from Doctor Who's Shada. It shows a series of reddish brown walls and doorways. Set into the walls are opening which might be cells. A separate room holds the TARDIS police box exterior. A CG recreation of the set of Skagra's spaceship corridor from Doctor Who's Shada. It is a long set with angled white light panels above and below a central convex grey area. The spaceship bridge is just visible through a door at the end.
November 26, 2025 at 6:04 PM
andreworton.bsky.social
So, we all know that the second recording block of Shada was cancelled due to strike action - but the sets were planned out in full... What would it have looked like? Wonder no more!
TC6, 19th November 1979. #DoctorWho #CGSets
A CG recreation of the TARDIS interior from Doctor Who's Shada. It shows the central console in a grey room with roundels on the walls and a blue CSO cloth used as the TARDIS' scanner screen. The K9 robot dog prop sits on the floor. A CG recreation of the Krarg spaceship interior from Doctor Who's Shada. It shows grey walls with a yellow chain pattern, and grey columns. At the front is a monitor screen, with Skagra's grey mind-stealing sphere on a dais in front of it. A CG recreation of the Krarg spaceship corridors from Doctor Who's Shada. It shows grey walls with a yellow chain pattern, and grey columns. The corridor sweeps around to the right. In the foreground, an out-of-place wooden door is embedded into a wall: the entrance into Chronotis' TARDIS. A CG recreation of the set layout from Doctor Who's Shada, from above. It shows several sets: the TARDIS interior, with an adjoining workship area, Chris Parson's laboratory, and the composite Krarg spaceship set, with control room, corridors and a Krarg generation vat.
November 25, 2025 at 6:07 PM
andreworton.bsky.social
I've got Inferno on. Christ, it's good. #DoctorWho
November 25, 2025 at 11:10 AM
andreworton.bsky.social
'Oh, undergraduates talking to each other, I expect. I've trying to have it banned.' This is Shada, in TC3, 3rd November 1979. #DoctorWho #CGSets
A CG recreation of Professor Chronotis' room from Doctor Who's Shada. It shows the TARDIS police box standing in a wood-panelled study, lined with bookshelves. A CG recreation of the spaceship cell from Doctor Who's Shada. It shows a grey and white, three-walled room, with the fourth wall open to camera. There are no doors. A CG recreation of two sets from Doctor Who's Shada in studio. It shows Professor Chronotis' wood-panelled study, alongside the grey control room on the Thinktank space station. This shows a central console with a number of reclined seats built around it. A CG recreation of the studio from Doctor Who's Shada. It shows the sets for the Thinktank control room, the Professor's study, the spaceship cell, and the Krarg generation chamber: a vat which is able to rise from a horizontal to vertical position. There is also a large area set aside for blue-screen work, with blue floor and wall cloths.
November 24, 2025 at 6:58 PM
andreworton.bsky.social
The Five Doctors in studio! All three days in the thread below... #DoctorWho #CGSets
andreworton.bsky.social Andrew Orton @andreworton.bsky.social · Dec 5
Finishing off the Black Guardian sequence with Part 8: The Five Doctors - which I know you may have seen recently! TC6, 29th-31st March 1983 (designer Malcolm Thornton)

Our final session was for the 20th Anniversary special, and comprised a single three-day block. #DoctorWho #CGSets 1/9
A CG recreation of the Time Lord Council room from The Five Doctors. Pink walls and a beige floor and a raised area surround a gold table. A secret doorway is half open, leading to the dark Game Control room.
November 19, 2025 at 7:11 PM
andreworton.bsky.social
I’ve got Ambassadors of Death on. That’s the one which spends six episodes telling you that General Carrington is the traitor, before the big twist at the end: General Carrington is the traitor!

Also, after five episodes of Ambassadors of Death, the Ambassadors turn out to be… *Ambassadors* 😲
November 18, 2025 at 11:11 PM
andreworton.bsky.social
#DoctorWho Enlightenment in studio, for session 2. Production had calmed down a bit by this point, as you'll see from the thread below... #CGSets
andreworton.bsky.social Andrew Orton @andreworton.bsky.social · Dec 4
Enlightenment! The Black Guardian Trilogy Part 7
TC8, 30th January-1st February 1983 (designer Colin Green) #DoctorWho #CGSets
This session focused on scenes on Striker's ship. 1/5
A CG recreation of hte companionway set from Enlightenment. It shows a wood-pannelled corridor with a central staircase rising up.
November 18, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Reposted by Andrew Orton
madeofstone1.bsky.social
Got these new trainers today but I can't get it out of my head that they look like fuckin DC Tosh Lines from The Bill
November 9, 2025 at 9:31 PM
andreworton.bsky.social
Woke up this morning with a Bhangra version of the Only Fools and Horses theme going through my head. It sounded quite good.
November 18, 2025 at 8:34 AM
andreworton.bsky.social
Enlightenment studio recreation! This is the first session, filled with sailing ship interiors... but also a strange medieval castle with a shapeshifting robot in it. Why? Read the thread to find out... #DoctorWho #CGSets
andreworton.bsky.social Andrew Orton @andreworton.bsky.social · Dec 3
More Black Guardian Trilogy - Part 6! Enlightenment, TC1, 16-18th January 1983 (designer Colin Green) #DoctorWho #CGSets

After strike action in November, a planned Dalek story was axed to allow Enlightenment to use its studio. 1/6
A CG recreation of the TARDIS interior from Enlightenment. It looks dark an moody with dusky lighting.
November 17, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Andrew Orton
izskinner.bsky.social
‘I’ve never seen a silent lawyer before’ - Doctor von Wer

#DoctorWho The Highlanders, 3D animation
November 17, 2025 at 9:22 AM
andreworton.bsky.social
Thanks, Paul! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Still available… #DoctorWho
paulodykes.bsky.social Paul Dykes @paulodykes.bsky.social · 13d
I really enjoyed @andreworton.bsky.social’s erudite Black Archive on Castrovalva, one of the stories I have my earliest memories of watching. Many fascinating insights on television production, ontology, rationalism vs empiricism, recursion, and why Bidmead’s hard science fiction was pure fantasy.
The cover of the Black Archive book on Castrovalva by Andrew Orton.
November 16, 2025 at 5:37 PM
andreworton.bsky.social
The King’s Demons, in TC1! Alongside bits of Terminus… Click the thread below for more info…
#DoctorWho #CGsets
andreworton.bsky.social Andrew Orton @andreworton.bsky.social · Dec 2
The Black Guardian Trilogy in studio! (Part 5)
The King's Demons, TC1, 18-20th December 1982 (designer Ken Ledsham) #DoctorWho #CGSets

Enlightenment was the next story planned, but strike action delayed it, meaning The King's Demons was next up. 1/6
A CG recreation of the studio sets for The King's Demons, from above, showing the TARDIS interior, the composite Great Hall set, the dungeon, and the reconstructed Liner set from Terminus.
November 16, 2025 at 5:07 PM
andreworton.bsky.social
Lee Dixon really is the Mark Lawrenson of modern football commentary #ENGSRB #football
November 13, 2025 at 8:01 PM
andreworton.bsky.social
The lovely scaffolding set that is Terminus! Click the post for more pictures... #DoctorWho #CGSets
andreworton.bsky.social Andrew Orton @andreworton.bsky.social · Nov 28
The Black Guardian Trilogy – Terminus!
TC8, 25-27th October 1982 (designer Dick Coles) #DoctorWho #CGSets (Part 4)

The second block of Terminus involved scenes on a scaffolding-heavy set, representing the Terminus interior. 1/11
A CG recreation of the scaffolding sets of the Terminus spacestation. A metal staircase is visible.
November 13, 2025 at 7:31 PM
andreworton.bsky.social
Terminus, Day 1! Click the post below for a thread of images of the studio... #DoctorWho #CGSets
andreworton.bsky.social Andrew Orton @andreworton.bsky.social · Nov 27
The Black Guardian Trilogy (Part 3)
Terminus by @stephengallagher.co.uk, TC6, 11-12th October 1982 (designer Dick Coles) #DoctorWho #CGSets

Terminus was allocated six studio days, but potential strike action curtailed this to five... 1/5
A CG recreation of the Liner corridor from Terminus. There are several metallic-looking doors with skull images on.
November 12, 2025 at 6:02 PM
andreworton.bsky.social
Currently watching the only #DoctorWho story to contain the word 'prophylactic'.
November 12, 2025 at 12:51 PM