Doctor Who Experience (London/Cardiff)

The Doctor Who Experience was one of the largest and most ambitious Doctor Who exhibitions ever staged. Featuring props and costumes from throughout the franchise's history, it also featured one new and different element; an interactive story in which people could take part and become part of the adventure. The interactive story originally featured Matt Smith as the then-current Eleventh Doctor, but was replaced with one with Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor.
The Experience in Cardiff sat in the Cardiff Bay area, adjacent to Roath Lock, where Doctor Who was filmed from 2012 to 2021. After a five-year run in Cardiff, the Experience closed on 9 September 2017 when its sub-lease from Cardiff Council expired.
== Overview ==
A huge exhibition with both interactive elements and exhibition elements from throughout Doctor Whos history: covering over 4000 square metres, this large exhibition covers all of Doctor Who history. With walk through parts of the exhibition and part where the audience becomes a part of the interactive story with Peter Capaldi as the Doctor taking part in interactive video! On launch, Steven Moffat said, "It will also be the first time that Doctor Who artefacts from all the show's 47 year history - classic and new - will be on display together."CultBox - 'Doctor Who Experience' coming to London in February 2011
== Notable elements ==
There were two separate portions to this exhibition, an interactive story and a free-flow exhibition. with the interactive portion taking 30 minutes to complete. Part of the interactive element included a 3D presentation.
=== Interactive story ===
==== Eleventh Doctor era ====
The visitors are being shown various artefacts (most from the Doctor's past) by a Node onboard Starship UK. Suddenly, alarms ring and the Eleventh Doctor appears on a screen. He explains he has been trapped inside the Pandorica II. He's angry at it being the same colour, and he believes having a second Pandorica to be cheating. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to materialise the TARDIS nearby the visitors, whom the Doctor refers to as "Shoppers". The Shoppers pass a Smiler and enter the TARDIS. Several shoppers operate the TARDIS controls and the TARDIS lands in a Dalek flying saucer. The Supreme Dalek and two drone Daleks capture the shoppers, and a screen appears showing the Daleks. The Doctor appears on the screen, bargaining with the Daleks to release them. A few minutes later, Daleks that survived the destruction of the Crucible appear on the screen. The Dalek Paradigm believe those Daleks to be "impure". The Crucible Daleks counter that they are the children of Davros himself. They attack the Dalek Paradigm ship and, on the screen, a space battle rages. The Shoppers escape in a time corridor extruded by the Doctor using the TARDIS. They go through it and find themselves in a UNIT quarantine zone in Avenbury forest (as a sign at the end of this section shows) and find three Weeping Angels - one screaming, one calm and another one created by an image. The Doctor tells them to keep running and they run through another newly opened time corridor to the last stop, the location of the Pandorica II. The Doctor manage to free himself, and appears on screen back in the TARDIS. As they watch him, the Pandorica II opens and they fly through the Time Vortex. Daleks, Weeping Angels and Cybermen attack them, but eventually they escape them and the Shoppers are returned to Starship UK.
==== Twelfth Doctor era ====
The visitors are being shown various artefacts (mostly from the Doctor's past) by a curator at a Gallifreyan Museum. While trying to make a connection with the Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS, it is attacked, and the Museum and the TARDIS are physically linked.
The visitors are then led through the museum wall into what appears to be the TARDIS' Arch-Recon room and on to a TARDIS control room (visitors then land the TARDIS on Skaro), through a Dalek infested corridor (similar in style to the Dalek Asylum)), a forest of Weeping Angels, and finally to 76 Totter's Lane on 23 November 1963, a date the Doctor says seems familiar.
=== Exhibition ===
The exhibition covers the whole gamut of Doctor Who dating all the way back to 1963, with exhibitions from every era of the programme. It contains a large number of original props that the BBC has had in storage, including some that have not featured in previous smaller exhibitions.
thumb|A tour of Doctor Who Experience in 2016
* Fifth/Sixth/Seventh Doctor era TARDIS console and set.Q&A: Philip Murphy talks 'The Doctor Who Experience' - Digital Spy
* The Ninth and Tenth Doctor TARDIS console set.
* A replica of the first Eleventh Doctor TARDIS console set
* An original Ice Warrior costume worn by Bernard Bresslaw in 1967.
* Fourth Doctor costume with three ducks on lapel as seen in City of Death (likely a stunt double coat)Making my 4th Doctor costume: Doctor Who Experience - Fourth Doctor incarnation
* Fifth Doctor costume - this is the same one worn by Peter Davison in Time Crash and then before that from Season 21Making my 5th Doctor Costume: Doctor Who Experience -Fifth Doctor incarnation
* Sixth Doctor costume (coat is a reproduction, but trousers, shirt, waistcoat and cravat original)Making M y 6th Doctor Costume: Doctor Who Experience -Sixth Doctor incarnation
* Seventh Doctor costume (original)
* Eighth Doctor costume (replica)Making My 7th Doctor Costue: Doctor Who Experience -Seventh Doctor incarnation
* Ninth Doctor costume (may be original)
* Tenth Doctor costume (original made from the trouser material)Making My Tennant Coat: Doctor Who Experience - Tenth Doctor incarnation
* Police Box prop - Mark 1 fibreglass prop used from 1980-1989
* Police Box prop as used from The Christmas Invasion through The End of Time.
* Recreation of BBC Wales Art Department room.Flikr - The Doctor Who Experience
* Daleks from all eras; a The Daleks era Dalek (replica)The Doctor Who Experience - Flikr
* A The Evil of the Daleks Emperor's guard Dalek (replica)
* A Genesis of the Daleks era Dalek
* A Special Weapons Dalek from Remembrance of the Daleks and bronze post-2005 Dalek
* The Eternal Dalek and an Ironside Dalek, both from Victory of the Daleks.
* K1 Robot.
* Sontarans from The Invasion of Time, The Two Doctors and The Poison Sky.
* A wax model of Matt Smith.The Doctor Who Experience - Flikr
* The Silence, along with ship.Doctor Who Experience - Silence - Flikr
* Melkur from TV: The Keeper of Traken.Doctor Who Experience - Melkur - Flikr
* Zygon from The Day of the Doctor.
* Handles from The Time of the Doctor.
* Mondasian Cyberman from Nightmare in Silver
* Skaldak from Cold War.
* Various costumes and props from Deep Breath, Robot of Sherwood, Listen, The Caretaker, Into the Dalek
== TARDIS Studio Tour ==
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, for a limited time visitors were also given a tour of the Doctor Who studio featuring the permanent TARDIS set.
The Twelfth Doctor's TARDIS set was available to tour after the filming of Series 8 had finished.
== Promotion ==
* A stunt was staged on 24 November 2010 to promote the Experience, featuring Pete's World Cybermen marching in front of St Paul's Cathedral, mimicking a scene in TV: The Invasion and travelling on the London Underground trains. Doctor Who's Cybermen invade London to promote Doctor Who Experience - Mail Online
* Matt Smith opened the exhibit on 20 February 2011. London Evening Standard - The Doctor will see you now...show is a Who's Who for fans
== Notes ==
* BBC Worldwide relocated the Doctor Who Experience to Cardiff in 2012.
* Company Brandnew manages the exhibition and merchandise shop was also responsible for recruiting, training and briefing staff.Event - BBC brings in Brandnew for Doctor Who Experience
* Within the exhibition is the "first ever shop devoted to Doctor Who"BBC - Press Office - BBC Worldwide breaks new ground with retail and mobile plans for Doctor Who Experience
* There was around 4000 square metres of exhibition space at Olympia Two.
* Steven Moffat wrote all the interactive story elements.
* It took 2 years and over 150,000 construction hours to construct the exhibition.BBC - Doctor Who - The Doctor Who Experience: Making It Happen
* Mike Tucker was behind the restoration and assessment of which costumes and props were placed on display at the exhibition.
* For the 2011 interactive story element, Matt Smith played the Eleventh Doctor and Nicholas Briggs voices the Daleks.
* Peter Capaldi plays the Twelfth Doctor from 2014
* In her youth, future actor Millie Gibson attended the exhibition.DWM 586 - Hello, Ruby Sunday, Page 19
== Gallery ==
File:Davrosand1963 1967DaleksDWExperience.jpg|Davros and Daleks from 1963 and 1967
File:1984-2011DaleksDWExperience.jpg|Daleks from 1984 to 2011
File:IronsideDalekDWExperience.jpg|An Ironside Dalek
File:ZygonandIceWarriorDWExperience.jpg|Zygon and Ice Warrior
File:K1GiantRobtotDWExperience.jpg|K1 Giant Robot
File:TimeLordcostumesDWExperience.jpg|Time Lord costumes
File:5thDoctorconsoleDWExperience.jpg|The TARDIS Console room from The Five Doctors (TV story) onwards
File:NinthTenthConsoleDWExperience.jpg|The TARDIS Console room for the Ninth and Tenth Doctors
File:2005-2011CompanioncostumesDWExperience.jpg|Examples of 2005-2011 companion costumes
File:SarahJanescostumeDWExperience.jpg|One of Sarah Jane Smith's costumes
File:1stDoctorcostumeDWExperience.jpg|First Doctor's costume
File:2ndDoctorcostumeDWExperience.jpg|Second Doctor's costume
File:3rdDoctorcostumeDWExperience.jpg|Third Doctor's costume
File:4thDoctorcostumeDWExperience.jpg|Fourth Doctor's costume
File:5thDoctorcostumeDWExperience.jpg|Fifth Doctor's costume
File:6thDoctorcostumeDWExperience.jpg|Sixth Doctor's costume
File:7thDoctorconsoleDWExperience.jpg|Seventh Doctor's costume
File:8thDoctorconsoleDWExperience.jpg|Eighth Doctor's costume
File:9thDoctorcostumeDWExperience.jpg|Ninth Doctor's costume
File:10thDoctorcostumeDWExperience.jpg|Tenth Doctor's costume
== Footnotes ==
== External links ==
* Doctor Who Experience
Category:Doctor Who exhibitions
Category:Real world places