Thursday, 10 June 2021

Doctor Who - Season 7, 8 & 9 (1970 - 1972)

'Spearhead from Space'

Costume Design by Christine Rawlins

Christine Rawlins, as designer for the entire seventh season, was responsible for coming up with the new look that Jon Pertwee would sport as the Doctor. Rawlins looked to Adam Adamant Lives for inspiration, with Pertwee's look consisting of a midnight blue smoking jacket, frilly shirt and Inverness cape lined with red silk.

I'm not sure currently as to which tailor or costume house made Pertwee's jacket, shirt or cape, and to be fair, that is a problem with most costumes in the original Doctor Who!
The first serial of the 1970s introduced Liz Shaw (Caroline John), wearing a Pierre Cardin-inspired brown and cream dress and jacket; the cream panels and belt are made of a bumpy material. I have a feeling this was custom made, thanks to the unusual materials; the 1970s would see more companion outfits being designed and bespoke-made rather than bought off the rack, presumably taking notes from The Avengers.

Costume Reuse note: The extras playing 'Auton' mannequins just wear bought overalls and scarves, but notice their silver boots? These are the silver-painted boots worn as part of the Cybermen costumes in 'The Invasion' years earlier!

'The Ambassadors of Death'

Costume Design by Christine Rawlins

Christine Rawlins was costume designer on all episodes of the seventh season; she was also not a fan of science-fiction, which made her tasks of realizing the monster suits in 'The Silurians' and the spacesuits in this serial all the more daunting. The three spacesuits were bespoke-made one-piece jumpsuits made of a quilted fabric, with zippers down the back.

Due to budget, the gloves and boots were bought, rather than part of the jumpsuit like a real spacesuit; there also wasn't enough time or money to make a new spacesuit helmet, so instead the costume department borrowed and repainted helmets previously used in 1969's Moon Zero Two.

Costume Reuse note #1: One of the spacesuit jumpsuits was later reused in the later serial 'Colony in Space', worn by an extra playing one of the colonists.

Costume Reuse note #2: The futuristic silver jumpsuits worn by the captured human astronauts at the start of episode six; these were originally seen in an episode of Gerry Anderson's UFO).

I feel these 'radiation suits' were also custom-made by Rawlins for the serial, as they don't resemble any real-world hazmat/fire suit I've ever seen; plus the fabric does not look particularly protective, and the design is rather futuristic with the silvery two-tone pattern.

Costume Reuse note: All the performers playing scientists are just in borrowed dentist smocks, but Cheryl Molineaux wears one minimally altered with silver strips around the collar and cuffs - and also wears it with no trousers or stockings, just thigh-high boots!

The jackets worn by the UNIT soldiers in this serial (in all other appearances, UNIT extras wore either outphased or contemporary military surplus) were presumably custom-made due to their futuristic appearance, as well as the seaming having a slightly DIY vibe.

'Inferno'

Costume Design by Christine Rawlins

The last serial of the seventh season only required two costumes to be bespoke-made for the production, the first being the uniform worn by the fascist parallel universe's doppelganger of Liz Shaw; this uniform seems to have been bespoke-made for Caroline John, with a skirt cut very low showing her leather boots.
Another bespoke-made costume for the serial was the white nehru-style jacket and trousers worn by Olaf Pooley as the parallel universe's Stahlman, evoking villains of the then-recent James Bond films.

Costume Reuse note; The 'radiation suits' in this serial were just 1930s asbestos fire suits; one of the hoods was reused briefly in the later Doctor Who serial 'The Time Monster'.

'Terror of the Autons'

Costume Design by Ken Trew

One of Ken Trew's main tasks was to revamp Pertwee's costume; Trew's new look consisted of a maroon velvet smoking jacket with black cord piping, and worn with a black Inverness cape lined with purple silk.
Ken Trew also designed a nehru-style suit for Roger Delgado as The Master; the jacket has lining embroidered around the cuffs, and one pocket on the chest. Delgado would wear this costume for most of his appearances in the series.

Costume Reuse note: Once again the extras playing Autons are wearing silver boots with their bought overalls, and once again the silver boots were originally part of Cybermen costumes! This time, it was the silver painted wellies worn as part of the Cybermen costumes in 'Tomb of the Cybermen'.

'The Mind of Evil'

Costume Design by Bobi Bartlett

Most of Katy Manning's costumes as Jo Grant were clothes she had bought from the Biba fashion chain, but some of her costumes were designed and bespoke-made by the assigned costume designer, such as the jacket Manning sported in this serial with straps on the shoulders and a large open collar. In the serial it is always worn unzipped however.
Additional costume design duties for Bartlett in this serial included the Chinese communist uniform worn by Pik-Sen Lim. Judging by the skirt worn by Lim - something not part of actual Chinese uniforms at the time - and the lack of buttons down the front, the uniform was custom-made for Lim.

At least two male uniforms - more accurate to real world Chinese communist uniforms - were made for Kristopher Kum and an unnamed extra. The male uniforms match the pockets, shade of blue and hats of Lim's, and thus were most likely custom-made by Bartlett, *not* wardrobe stock.

'The Claws of Axos'

Costume Design by Barbara Lane

Barbara Lane was tasked with realizing the alien Axons of the title; for their humanoid forms, Lane came up with a onesie made up of a mottled yellow and white material, evoking an organic appearance.

'Colony in Space'

Costume Design by Michael Burdle

Michael Burdle was tasked with having to realize a story set on another planet in the future; however, the focus on a group of struggling colonists meant that mostly drab workwear could be used to clothe most of the cast. Several patterned brown vests and belts were constructed to give a futuristic and 'Western' inspired touch.
The one exception to the colony's earthy colour palette is Nicholas Pennell as the colony's resident agitator Winston, wearing a purple vinyl vest. In some scenes, he sports futuristic brown dungarees.
The colonists are at war with the Interplanetary Mining Corporation whose solders wear black and red zip-up jackets with red panelling over the shoulders and a mottled grey-black panel around the chest. The jacket is worn with jackboots, gloves and helmets altered with bands of red lining.
The Master turns up in a stolen 'Adjudicator' robe, designed with golden lining around the shoulder boards and a raised collar; very Ming the Merciless!
The Time Lords, briefly seen at the serial's beginning, wear blue and white robes with a circular collar piece; the actors are shot either at a distance or in extreme close-ups, preventing the costumes being seen clearly.
The alien priests of the planet Uxarieus wear very rudimentary costumes, consisting of a sheet with a raised Ming the Merciless-style collar coated in stones; emphasizing the primitive nature of the aliens.

'The Daemons'

Costume Design by Barbara Lane

A suede suit was designed and made by Barbara Lane for Katy Manning to wear in this serial; the rest of the costume's components past the jacket and trousers were bought.
A simple, though smartly cut, white sacrificial gown was also made for Manning to wear in the final episode; I presume this was made for the production if only for how Manning's main costume was, as well as the fantastical nature of the serial's plot.
Lane also made the Satanist priest robe worn by the Master for the serial's supernatural happenings, behind the scenes photos show off the golden checker pattern of the lining, as well as the 'Greek key' pattern of the red fabric. His cultist minions are just in medieval monk habits reused from wardrobe stock.

'Day of the Daleks'

Costume Design by Mary Husband

The Daleks' ape-like Ogron soldiers wear a uniform consisting of a vinyl vest with tubing around the shoulders and collar, worn over a mesh shirt. Worn with it are wristguards and a belt both made of the same brown vinyl material.

Costume Reuse note; Several of the Ogron uniforms were reused in the later serial 'Frontier in Space'.

Also with the Ogrons are human soldiers in similar uniforms, though the vests are narrower and made of a slightly more stiff material; underneath the vests are red or brown patterned tops, the commander's made of a quilted material. I don't know if the helmets were made for the production or just altered existing helmets of some kind.

Costume Reuse note; Some of the tunics were worn by the extras playing Ogrons in the later serial 'Frontier in Space'.

A deep bottle green nehru-style suit was made for Aubrey Woods as the 'Controller' of the dystopian future Earth.
The Controller's underlings wear grey uniforms consisting of smock-like tops and trousers, with the manager wearing a grey zip-up jacket with a large open collar.
Resisting the regime are guerilla fighters in futuristic combat fatigues consisting of a custom camouflage patterned nehru-style jacket, caps and large sash belts. Their squad leader Anat (Anna Berry) is distinguished by her jacket having a deep v-collar.

'The Curse of Peladon'

Costume Design by Barbara Lane

Lane revamped Pertwee's look as the Doctor, with a reddish velvet smoking jacket with narrow lapels, and worn with a tartan-patterned Inverness cape.
Pertwee also wore a mosaic-patterned waistcoat, that I suspect was designed and fabricated by Lane for the production, given if fits with Lane's fixation on similar patterns (such as Delgado's priest robe in 'The Daemons').
Lane designed and made Kary Manning's dress in this serial; designed to evoke the look of a princess. The gown was made of silk with hand-painted floral patterns on the sleeves, chest and skirt bottom; Lane would later design similar costumes for the women in Blake's 7 first season. Worn over the gown is a custom-made velvet red dress.
Peladon is a feudalist planet, with this reinforced by the dress sense of Peladon's nobles. Lane designed a purple hued costume for David Troughton as King Peladon, with fur lining on the cuffs and a stiff white collar. Worn over is a cape made of a wavy blue material. A ceremonial robe with a large Ming the Merciless-esque collar was fabricated; the collar was embedded with coloured stones to appear as gemstones.
A similarly hued robe and cape was made for Geoffrey Toone as Hepesh, Peladon's high priest; the robe is adorned with silvery lining. A robe similar to Hepesh was also made for Henry Gilbert as the doomed chancellor Torbis, with fur on the shoulders and a different style of lining across his chest.
Peladon's soldiers wear a Greco-Roman influenced, but still slightly futuristic, set of armor worn with kilts; the chest armor is segmented, with the commander having more segments.
The Earth ambassador that briefly appears in the last episode wears a black gown, silvery shawl and black hat lined with the same material; sadly there are no production photos showing off this costume better.

'The Sea Devils'

Costume Design by Maggie Fletcher

Fletcher designed and made a white pantsuit with purple highlights and wide lapels; Katy Manning loathed the suit, saying 'it made me feel like a British Rail waiter'. The suit was made of wool, which meant it shrunk if it got wet - and this was a serial filmed in a lot of wet locations!
A shiny patterned cape with silver-painted fasteners was also made for Roger Delgado, though it is not seen much in the serial.

Costume Reuse note: The guards staffing the Master's prison wear Victorian police capes - no doubt from wardrobe stock - with their jumpers and berets, intended to evoke an old-fashioned maritime look.

Husband also had to make several vests made of mesh netting at the last second to be worn by the titular Sea Devil monsters; the director felt that the idea of them walking from the water nude was potentially obscene! A rudimentary mesh cape was made for the chief Sea Devil.

'The Mutants'

Costume Design by James Acheson

The first serial to have its costumes designed by the future Oscar-winner; Acheson designed the future humans' garments to be cut like frocks, with angular cut deep collars.

The costume designed for Paul Whitsun-Jones as the Marshal consists of a black frock-like jacket is adorned with angular silver lining with a silver panel around the collar and chest. In some scenes it is worn with a silvery cape.

Costume Reuse note: The Marshal and his troops wear the helmets that had originally appeared in the serials 'Enemy of the World' and 'Fury from the Deep', These helmets would appear once more in the rebooted Doctor Who episode 'End of the World' in 2005.

The soldiers under the Marshal's command wear similar uniforms with a blue-grey chest panel instead and single-strip lining rather than double-strip; their cuffs also do not have the number '58' inscribed like those of the Marshal's jacket.
The Administrator (Geoffrey Palmer) wears a frock coat with the same pattern of lining as the Marshal's jacket, but in gold instead. He also briefly wears it with a glittery golden cape as well.
The investigators sent from Earth are dressed in white robes with frilly sleeves adorned with golden lining in a similar manner to the other uniforms.
The investigator’s guards wear white jackets also adorned with golden lining in a similar pattern to the investigator's robes; they also wear white versions of the reused Enemy of the World helmets.
The Marshal’s own scientist Jaeger (George Pravda) is in a tan frock coat with brown lining and a brown panel around the collar.
Sondergaard (John Hollis) wears a blue-hued silver spacesuit; the silver material was presumably overdyed with blue dyes, with the helmet made by the prop department.
The Solonians's native garb evokes medieval aesthetics, consisting of tunics and vests with coloured fabric on the sleeves and collars. John Hollis' vest has silvery material around the collar.

Costume Reuse note: I have no idea about the chainmail vests worn by the Solonian performers, but the helmets were reused; they have previously appeared in a brief fantasy sequence in A Clockwork Orange! Whether they were originally made for Kubrick's film, or from another production, it's impossible to know.

I aslso suspect the armor worn by James Mellor as Varan, and the vest worn by Garrick Hagon as Ky, were also reused from other productions; they're a little *too* well-made for a Doctor Who budget! I honestly suspect that all of the Solonian costumes were reused medieval wardrobe stock.

An elaborate costume was definitely designed and made by Acheson for Garrick Hagon as the evolved Solonian Ky, consisting of a silver armor set with large shoulder pads, and a cape. In the episode itself it is obscured with a rainbow effect.

'The Time Monster'

Costume Design by Barbara Lane

Lane designed a woollen jumper and skirt for Katy Manning to wear in this serial; the grey wool is coated in yellow and teal Greek patterned lining around the chest, sleeves and skirt. The rest of the costume, such as the yellow boots, were from Manning's own wardrobe.
The reason for the Greek motif of Jo's main costume is due to most of the story being set on Atlantis; Lane designed a Minoan-style dress for Jo, with a colourful skirt and waistband. The golden-trimmed top has a deep collar showing Manning's chest - but not as much as real Minoan women showed!
Much more ornate is the dress Lane designed for Ingrid Pitt to wear as the Atlantean queen Galleia; her first dress is white and gold design with a wide golden patterned waistband and belt.
Galleia's second outfit is blue with silver and gold trim, with a large panel of silver stripes on the waist and a golden waistband as well; this dress, like the earlier white one, is cut to of course show off Pitt's busty figure!
The robe worn by Donald Eccles as the priest Krasis was most likely made by Lane for this production, with his cape in red, orange and yellow with golden trim.
Most likely the various other Atlantean costumes in the serial were designed and made by Lane for the production, as the robe worn by George Cormack as King Dallos.
The Atlantean extras presumably also had their costumes made for the production, especially the women's dresses; several loinclothes were also made. I have no idea about the armor and helmets worn by the soldiers though, they were most likely wardrobe stock.
Note: the information about the bespoke-made contemporary costumes made for Katy Manning is sourced from Doctor Who Magazine Special 52: Costume Design Special Issue.

Friday, 14 May 2021

Out of the Unknown (1965 - 1971)

A science-fiction anthology series that has sadly been overlooked (and not helped at all by how a lot of its episodes have been lost, thanks to the BBC and its 'junking' procedures - a fate suffered by many old televisions series), Out of the Unknown was partly adapted from many existing scifi stories br writers including JG Ballard, Phillip K Dick, Isaac Asimov and John Wyndham. Though most of the episodes (that are surviving at any rate) just had their cast in contemporary clothing. It should also be worth noting that, sadly, most of these episodes have their costume designers uncredited.

'The Dead Past'

The cast of this episode wore futuristic suits with no collars or lapels, worn over vests with a similar design. One cast member wears a buttonless jacket made of a hexagonal fabric pattern - a time when that wasn't a hoary old scifi visual design cliche.

'Thirteen to Centaurus'

This episode involved a space colonization team, with the civilian members all lined jackets with leather straps on the collars and sides of the jacket, with the position of the straps reversed depending on the wearer's gender. Strangely, these uniforms would be regularly reused in other scifi productions such as; the Doctor Who serial 'The Ice Warriors', The Avengers episode 'The Living Dead' and The Tomorrow People serial 'The Dirtiest Business' - the latter two reuses were in colour, revealing the uniform's colour to be beige.
The military members of the colonization team wear vinyl-panelled tunics with large shoulders and a v-shape panel on the front - sometimes these uniforms are worn with a cap that seems to have been military surplus rather than made for the production.

'The Machine Stops'

Costumes by: Barbara Lane

This episode involved a society in thrall to 'the Machine' which cares for everyones needs under the ground, and had one of the more inventive costumes of the series yet, courtesy of Barbara Lane. Lane would go on to have a long career in costume design, but it is striking that the underground humans such as Vashti (Yvonne Mitchell) are wearing conical headpieces, as Lane would design similar headpieces such as the the one worn by the stone person Eldrad in the Doctor Who serial 'The Hand of Fear', as well as the headpieces worn by the Mutoids in Blake's 7, which Lane was costume designer on for its first series. Vashti doesn't get many good shots, but at first is wearing a slightly shiny bodysuit with the headpiece.
There is a female attendant wearing a jumpsuit whose leg bottoms end in frilly flares, with differently coloured stripes going around the waist. The jumpsuit is worn with flat headpiece that is curved in a way to resemble hair almost.
Vashti's son Kuno (Michael Gothard) wears a white (? who knows in the black and white) jumpsuit that is also worn with a padded armor piece for protection when attempting to escape the underground society and journey onto the surface. In other scenes, he wears a toga-like garment over a hexagon-patterned vest, worn with tights. Other men in this machine-controlled city dress similar, with the same diamond-like headgear as well.

'Too Many Cooks'

This episodes cast wore gowns with robes consisting of cross-crossing fabric stripes; the elder was only distinguished by their robe being in white rather than black.

'Immortality, Inc.'

The denizens of the future in this episode wear wide-shouldered tunics; one notable exception is the woman who wears a silvery dress with ornate jewellery around the collar.

'Liar!'

This episodes cast wear a variety of sleek futuristic jackets and jumpsuits; the jackets and jumpsuits tend to have vinyl lining around the cuffs and transparent patches on the chest, with one woman cast member wearing a jumpsuit with a colourful patterned v-neck panel.

'Beach Head'

Costumes by: Charles Knode

This episode involved a spacecraft crew on an alien planet, all clad in some of the most colourful uniforms ever worn in science-fiction, with the commander and his staff in striped tunics of grey and shades of pink, fitted with red pieces at the shoulders and worn with trailing bellbottoms. The security staff wear uniforms of the same pattern but are of a darker shade of grey and with yellow and brown stripes instead.
Just visible in the surviving production photographs is a security guard uniform consisting of an asymmetrically designed grey, yellow and orange uniform, with the same bell-bottoms as the other male crewmembers.

The women members of the crew are in less outfit colourful uniforms, though these still have the red shoulder straps, as well as being fitted with a see-through plastic piece around the skirt segment of the tunic.

For ceremonial duties golden vests with v-shape lapels are worn over the uniforms

'The Naked Sun'

Costumes by: Charles Knode

This episode again had its costumes designed by Charles Knode, though the futuristic uniforms this time were not as vibrant, being just grey shirts witn faux-pockets and blue panelling around the shoulders and collar.
The costume highlights were the denizens of the planet being investigated by space policeman Elijah Bayley (Paul Maxwell) - the women Gladia (Trisha Noble) sports two dresses, the first being an orange one with pieces on the top, and the second being a flowing pink one again. This episode is sadly lost and had to be reconstructed from surviving production photos like 'Beach Head' was.
The men of the planet are in simularly flowing garb, though in shades of stoney grey instead.
Some other striking outfits are worn by the robot humanoid servants; purple vinyl hooded outfits, with trailing silver skirt pieces that have purple stripes, and then being worn with sunglasses no less - absolutely one of the most striking designs of this serial in my opinion!

'1 + 1 = 1.5'

In this episode, the male scientists wear a variety of futuristic jackets, one of them appearing to have coloured panelling down the front and sides.

'Target Generation'

The future denizens of this episode wear a form of jumpsuit that is cut around the top half to resemble a tunic.

'Get Off My Cloud'

This was an episode of the third season that is, sadly, entirely lost (the fourth season would just entirely head into horror territory, with no science-fiction tales being adapted), just only existing now as a couple of production photos. The story would have involved a science-fiction author retreating into his own imagination, and as such coming face to face with his own characters - these included a space princess in a silvery shiny dress (sadly, no photos of her in full) as well as two space warriors in amazingly cheesy perspex armor and pointed helmets, these absolutely being a spoof of the designs in space opera comics such as Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers or Dan Dare. I only have to wonder who the costume designer for this episode was!