In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the airing of the first episode of Doctor Who, I thought I would talk about Doctor Who and puppetry.<\/p>\n
Back on May 14th 1996 I was with the members of the Terminus TARDIS watching the TV movie at a sports bar in Atlanta. We were enjoying catching up with each other and watching the movie. It was nice because I hadn\u2019t seen a number of these folks in a while since I had gone up to Yale for graduate school for many. I can\u2019t remember who challenged me to make a complete set of Doctor Who puppets for Dragon Con which was a little over a month away at that point. I think it might have been my friend Stephanie who knew my passion for puppets and encouraged me to build them. By this point I was pretty well known in Atlanta for my Star Trek puppets but I hadn\u2019t built a Doctor much less 8 of them.<\/p>\n
So I took the challenge and I made 8 puppets in my spare time while I stage managed one show and worked at the comic book shop. I had to learn to knit. I had to figure out what I could do to make each one look like the Doctor it was suppose to be. Fortunately each Doctor did have a distinctive look. Some were easier to recreate than others. I had a heck of a time patterning the 6th Doctor\u2019s coat. I learned a lot about patterning clothes for puppets, different ways to do hair, and a number of other skills that I use to this day.<\/p>\n
I presented them at Dragon Con and got a lot of good feedback. I was quite pleased with them. The first puppet to go to his Doctor was 5 to Davison which was delivered to him by Stephanie. She explained that the maker of the puppet was in the middle of a show and couldn\u2019t get away. Since then I have given puppets to McCoy, McGann, and Pertwee (not in that order). Other actors who have played the Doctor know of the puppets existence. <\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t do any companions until after I did the second set of Doctor puppets in 2006 which included 9 and 10. In 10 years I had learned a lot about puppet building and this set was a little easier to create. Then I started adding companions to the mix. Sarah Jane being the first. <\/p>\n
In 2012 as part of the puppet slam for Dragon Con, I pulled out all 11 puppets and with the help of some friends, we did \u201cFor a Lord of Time\u201d to much acclaim. We had done the sketch a couple of times. I had to quickly rebuild a couple of Doctors that were no longer in the collection. That was also the year that I gave John Barrowman his Captain Jack puppet. <\/p>\n
Now we are at the 50th anniversary. In the DragonCon art show the year I created \u201cnot the Doctor\u201d being the John Hurt version, which I did off of a couple of photos that were leaked on the Internet. He turned out pretty well all things considered. <\/p>\n
I have ideas for a few more companions I might make from classic Who. I might also do a Clara from the current show. I owe two actors their puppets. <\/p>\n
I have made a lot of friends from these puppets. These puppets have opened doors for me and given me other work. They are very special to me.<\/p>\n
Doctor Who and puppetry are intertwined for me at this point in my life and I am grateful for that fact.<\/p>\n
Behind the cut I am posting photos of Doctors and Companions I have made over the years.<\/p>\n
\n![\"First](\"http:\/\/s561.photobucket.com\/user\/Puppetmaker40\/media\/Past%20Projects\/Scan_zpsed36da0d.jpeg.html\")
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\nThis is a shot of me back in 1996 with the first set of Doctor Who puppets.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nOur sketch \u201cWhoville\u201d. Doctors 1,2,3,4 and 8. Caroline as Cindy Lou Who and Ariel as the Grinch. Peter did 5 and 6. I had 7 but put it down to hold Caroline in place for a moment. With Katie Greenberger and Marina Olson.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nThe \u201cLord of Time\u201d puppets and operators<\/p>\n