May 17, 2007
WhoTunes
This is interesting - a peek into the legendary Beeb Radiophonics Studio and the making of the Dr. Who theme and other sound effects:
The piece dates back to the Peter Davidson era, which is just as well for me because Davidson was the last Doctor I paid any real attention to. (Yes, I still maintain that the Ninth Doctor, whose series has been running on SciFi lately, looks like a soccer hooligan. The Tenth (and latest) Doctor looks like one of Michael Palin's old British gangland characters come to sell you dirty books or high-class escorts.) I strongly suspect, however, that most of the equipment used has long since been replaced, and that the various gizmoes featured here may as well have vacuum-tubes sticking out their backs for all they're worth now.
Incidentally, this was the same studio where the old Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy tee vee and radio effects were generated. If they sounded like they came from a bunch of guys messing around in a basement, it's because they did.
Yips! to Scuffulans Hirsutusian Don. (Sooper-Sekret Note To Don: Please keep up the old site until we get our blogroll reorganized. Otherwise, I'm going to lose your link!)
UPDATE: Just in case you were wondering, I liked Davidson and Jon Pertwee, but to me this is the real Doctor:
Got a problem with that? I'll pelt you with jellybabies and sic K-9 on you.
Yamaha CS80's and Arp Odysseys are alive and well today, and are highly sought after by analog synth wonks. One in good working condition will fetch much more than the original price.
Oh, and vacuum tubes rule. Both my recording and large venue performance rigs use tube amplification. The dynamic range and depth of field tubes offer cannot be matched by solid state amps of any price, and I have some of the best of those too.
Excellent video. YouTube never ceases to amaze me. I found a video of my first guitar teacher jamming on there the other day!!!
Posted by: Hucbald at May 17, 2007 05:45 PMDavid Tennant is a dreamboat! Plus a pretty good doctor, he does Pathos sandwiched with comedy pretty well.
Posted by: Taleena at May 17, 2007 07:02 PMI liked "Action by Havoc." (They did all of the British commando fight scenes when Jon Pertwee was the Doctor.) I also liked the fact that Pertwee's Doctor spent most of his time in England - with some Brigadier - fighting off alien invasions, machinations of the Master, etc. all with the help of the British military. (The tardis was mostly broken down during his time.)
And don't forget the mostly forgettable movies starring Peter Cushing...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059126/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060278/
Hucbald's right. I'd give quite a bit for a good condition, in-tune CS-80. And I own a tube-powered Hammond organ and Leslie amplifier. You can still get lots of NOS GE tubes and brand-new eastern bloc tubes.
I'm a Baker Doctor fan, too.
Posted by: JohnL at May 18, 2007 02:26 PMIndeedy, Tom Baker was the one and only REAL Doctor Who for me.
Now I'm in the mood to pop some corn and pull out the DVDs ...
Posted by: keysunset at May 22, 2007 10:26 AMMe too! He's THE Doctor Who. None other will do!
Posted by: Chai-rista at May 24, 2007 12:46 PM
Image courtesy of the lovely and talented 