Oliver Wake
@oliver-wake.bsky.social
#DoctorWho and old TV. Tired and emotional. Sentimental and violent. Doctor Who blog here: https://thehiddenplanet.substack.com/
Just caught up on this week’s QI XL and I appreciated the gags sneaked into this rare shot of the set from the reverse angle.
November 14, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Just caught up on this week’s QI XL and I appreciated the gags sneaked into this rare shot of the set from the reverse angle.
I’ve just read HG Wells’ 1937 novella Star Begotten. I wonder if Nigel Kneale ever read it. It’s very Quatermass and the Pit (albeit briefly)…
November 14, 2025 at 5:42 PM
I’ve just read HG Wells’ 1937 novella Star Begotten. I wonder if Nigel Kneale ever read it. It’s very Quatermass and the Pit (albeit briefly)…
I love this illustration from the unintentionally-hilarious ‘Doctor Who Technical Manual’ (1983) which has a scale suggesting the sonic screwdriver is over 2 metres long!
November 8, 2025 at 6:34 PM
I love this illustration from the unintentionally-hilarious ‘Doctor Who Technical Manual’ (1983) which has a scale suggesting the sonic screwdriver is over 2 metres long!
I like that Dr Who's garage doors have a pair of six-segmented windows just like his Tardis does.
November 3, 2025 at 7:53 PM
I like that Dr Who's garage doors have a pair of six-segmented windows just like his Tardis does.
I fear there's been a Spinal Tap type misunderstanding (in reverse) at the lamp shade factory.
October 22, 2025 at 12:15 PM
I fear there's been a Spinal Tap type misunderstanding (in reverse) at the lamp shade factory.
Nice bit of set dressing here in an episode of Family at War set at the end of 1942. The television in shot helps establish that this flat is in London and belongs to a moneyed family. They hadn't had anything to watch on it for three years but it functions as a signpost of wealth.
September 18, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Nice bit of set dressing here in an episode of Family at War set at the end of 1942. The television in shot helps establish that this flat is in London and belongs to a moneyed family. They hadn't had anything to watch on it for three years but it functions as a signpost of wealth.
Half way through The Happiness Patrol, which always delights. Such a witty script. But here's a weird subtitle fail. Why don't subtitlers get given scripts to work from? (The line is 'Gordon Bennett' as it was a moment earlier when they got it right)
September 13, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Half way through The Happiness Patrol, which always delights. Such a witty script. But here's a weird subtitle fail. Why don't subtitlers get given scripts to work from? (The line is 'Gordon Bennett' as it was a moment earlier when they got it right)
Here's a monochrome photo blowup backdrop in a colour episode of The Brothers, from TPTV last night. (The image is poor; the mismatch is clearer on the TV). Of course a lot of people were still watching in monochrome when it was originally broadcast but even so it's an odd choice.
August 29, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Here's a monochrome photo blowup backdrop in a colour episode of The Brothers, from TPTV last night. (The image is poor; the mismatch is clearer on the TV). Of course a lot of people were still watching in monochrome when it was originally broadcast but even so it's an odd choice.
It is a little known fact that John Scott Martin's hair was battery-operated.
August 26, 2025 at 6:56 PM
It is a little known fact that John Scott Martin's hair was battery-operated.
In this screenshot from The Daleks, are the reels in the open canister films or tapes? Can anyone tell? They look a bit big for audio tapes to me but I could be wrong.
August 26, 2025 at 3:39 PM
In this screenshot from The Daleks, are the reels in the open canister films or tapes? Can anyone tell? They look a bit big for audio tapes to me but I could be wrong.
Does he know the production codes?
August 21, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Does he know the production codes?
I thought it was the space capsule prop from Blake's 7.
August 19, 2025 at 12:03 PM
I thought it was the space capsule prop from Blake's 7.
I'm not convinced this passage was supposed to be printed quite like this... (From Philip Saville's memoir)
July 31, 2025 at 11:42 AM
I'm not convinced this passage was supposed to be printed quite like this... (From Philip Saville's memoir)
Funny to hear Colin Baker mentioning the Daleks in a 1976 TV show. Here he is as Paul Merroney in last night’s The Brothers doing just that. He’s playing opposite Liza Goddard as his wife April, later Kari in Terminus. They were married in both the show and real life.
July 25, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Funny to hear Colin Baker mentioning the Daleks in a 1976 TV show. Here he is as Paul Merroney in last night’s The Brothers doing just that. He’s playing opposite Liza Goddard as his wife April, later Kari in Terminus. They were married in both the show and real life.
This turned up today and I'm delighted. I missed it when it was published a few years back and presumably the print run was small as second hand copies quickly jumped up to silly prices. This copy appeared on eBay for about six quid and I snapped it up.
July 23, 2025 at 4:29 PM
This turned up today and I'm delighted. I missed it when it was published a few years back and presumably the print run was small as second hand copies quickly jumped up to silly prices. This copy appeared on eBay for about six quid and I snapped it up.
Oh, I thought the Dalek was addressing Ratcliffe as ‘Neil’…
July 21, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Oh, I thought the Dalek was addressing Ratcliffe as ‘Neil’…
An immersive viewing experience...
July 1, 2025 at 5:59 PM
An immersive viewing experience...
In ‘The Daleks’, what’s this device top right in the cell? It’s not the CCTV camera, which is over the other side. Is it a microphone? But if so, surely that should have been smashed too to stop the Daleks eavesdropping. It’s given weird prominence at the start of the scene & then never seen again.
June 25, 2025 at 12:16 PM
In ‘The Daleks’, what’s this device top right in the cell? It’s not the CCTV camera, which is over the other side. Is it a microphone? But if so, surely that should have been smashed too to stop the Daleks eavesdropping. It’s given weird prominence at the start of the scene & then never seen again.
I love Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting but it amazes me that she chose to open it with a reference to the impact on her of The Creature from the Pit, singing: “I still dream of Organon…”
It’s true, go and listen to it!
It’s true, go and listen to it!
June 24, 2025 at 7:56 PM
I love Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting but it amazes me that she chose to open it with a reference to the impact on her of The Creature from the Pit, singing: “I still dream of Organon…”
It’s true, go and listen to it!
It’s true, go and listen to it!
In this shot from episode 7 of ‘The Daleks’, is that row of roundels in the background the reverse of a TARDIS wall flat? If so, it won’t be the last time Richard Martin shows us a bit of set for a later scene towards the end of a Dalek story…
June 24, 2025 at 2:54 PM
In this shot from episode 7 of ‘The Daleks’, is that row of roundels in the background the reverse of a TARDIS wall flat? If so, it won’t be the last time Richard Martin shows us a bit of set for a later scene towards the end of a Dalek story…
Might need to borrow a felt tip pen...
June 18, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Might need to borrow a felt tip pen...
Thought I'd better check how it was looking outside before stepping out...
June 18, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Thought I'd better check how it was looking outside before stepping out...
Y’know Tesco, I’m not sure that’s the best abbreviation to use when the product is toilet roll.
June 15, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Y’know Tesco, I’m not sure that’s the best abbreviation to use when the product is toilet roll.
Doing some late-night research, I accidentally stumbled upon extracts from some AI ebooks. That should be ‘books’ I suppose. What an absolute horror show. Just try reading the ‘author’s profile:
June 14, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Doing some late-night research, I accidentally stumbled upon extracts from some AI ebooks. That should be ‘books’ I suppose. What an absolute horror show. Just try reading the ‘author’s profile:
The Quatermouse Experiment, from the fanzine Fan Mail:
June 13, 2025 at 8:27 AM
The Quatermouse Experiment, from the fanzine Fan Mail: