If the Fourth Doctor wore a bow tie...

... this would be it!

While on the hunt for the perfect Matt Smith bow tie, a good friend of mine has found an interesting maker on Etsy.com, called TheDirectorsCabin.

As well as a small range of Eleventh Doctor bow ties (see right) they also do a number of other Doctors including the Fifth and Tenth, plus several abstract Doctor Who related patterns.

But the ones that caught my eye from a Fourth Doctor point of view were a number based on the iconic scarf!

A number of options are available in self and pre-tied as well as batwing and butterfly shapes. There’s even a pocket square!

Tom Baker Tribute Cotton Freestyle butterfly bow tie

Tom Baker Tribute Cotton Freestyle batwing bow tie

Tom Baker Tribute Pre-tied
Double bow tie

Tom Baker Tribute Silk Freestyle bow tie

‎Tom Baker Tribute pocket square

Tom Baker Freestyle
bow tie and pocket square

Hello Cosplay - season 12 corduroy jacket

So far all my Costume Reviews have been based on the listings and their photos attached.
I have written them from my point of view of what I can see and their overall appearance. I know this is not ideal, but since a lot cosplayers are widely seen online though their own photos at conventions, I think it acts a preview to how they will look beyond seeing it first hand.

So now I welcome the input of one of my readers who has purchased a Fourth Doctor season 12 corduroy shooting jacket, and who has written a review for us. As you’ll read, the jacket has already failed to deliver on it’s name :(

4th Doctor
Tom Baker Jacket

Price as of 

August 2013 - $99

Review by Alex Murphy

Immediately noticeable here is the biggest flaw with this replica: This is a blazer instead of a shooting jacket. The material is a cotton/polyester blend clearly intended for suiting instead of the very characteristic corduroy of the original.

Piggy-backing from that is the cut, which is much too tailored and clean – great for a suit, but far from the slightly disheveled, bohemian look that the loose, baggy cut of the original has.

The color is a good hue but too light. The pockets are a bit small, much too box-y, and are lacking any kind of trim. The lower pockets especially are not nearly large enough – the originals were much baggier and held quite a number of things.

They are also conspicuously lacking the inverted box-pleat up the center, though strangely the breast pockets include them. The buttons are much too prominent, probably due to the lighter color of the fabric, and the choice of flat black buttons. This jacket does have the token flap for the odd pocket on the sleeve, but it’s just a flap and doesn’t include an actual pocket underneath.

The back of the jacket fares a little better. The gussets are nice and deep and the belt is pretty loose. Unfortunately there isn’t enough length in the back (another casualty of the suit interpretation) and the sleeves are much too tailored. The elbow patches are black instead of the original grey and made from the same cotton/polyester blend the rest of the jacket instead of leather.

For the casual cosplayer, it’s not terrible. One thing I’ve found with Hello Cosplay’s work is that I’ve never had to alter anything I’ve received from them. My jacket was tailored well, is comfortable, and has mostly held up during long periods of cosplay (some minor seam popping in the lining is the worst I’ve experienced in a year of convention cosplaying and occasional real-life wear).

Unfortunately, as a replica, the jacket is far from perfect. If you have another $10 to pitch in, the other shooting jacket replica Hello Cosplay offers looks to be leaps and bounds better than this one.

Doctor Who? Doctor Vera!

I’ve just seen a trailer for the new series of Vera on ITV.
It stars Brenda Blethyn as Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope of Northumbria & City Police.

I was struck by her costume, which bears an uncanny resemblance of the Fourth Doctor’s wardrobe.

She is wearing a heavy wool overcoat with large buttoned lapels; a fishing-type hat, which could be mistaken for a fedora (okay, from a distance!); and a long(ish) multi-coloured scarf!

The colour palette of the scarf isn’t that far off from Tom’s classic season twelve look.

Just like Tom, she seems to sometimes wear it looped around her neck, or on occasions just draped around her shoulders.

When it is just around her shoulders, it does look quite long.

Now, ironically, Tenth Doctor costume designer Louise Page is currently working on series four of Vera, which was commissioned before series three had even been broadcast!

She did not design for series three, and has inherited the established costume. It’s like The Doctor is following her around....

Here, while it remains online, is the full trailer.

The best Romana cosplayer - EVER!

Just got back from Project Motor Mouth 2 and had the most fantastic day seeing no less than TWELVE classic series companions.

One in particular I was keen to meet was Lalla Ward, who I adored as Romana.

I cheekily asked if she would pose in my Tom Baker Frock Coat and recreate her photo from Destiny Of The Daleks - and she said yes!

It was a great thrill to see her wearing it - and I love this comparison!

Retouching by Lucian Hughes

Thanks Lalla - you MADE MY DAY!

The 4.50 from Weng-Chiang

Theatrical costumes can be a mix of custom-made and off-the-rack items.

Often stuff can be specially made at great expense for leading players in one production, then put into storage for many years before resurfacing to cheaply clothe supporting or background actors in something else.

Although there is no doubt The Doctor’s frock coats were custom-made (one for Tom Baker and a copy for the stunt double) it is quite possible the various tweed trousers and Victorian shirts were simply found from Angel’s vast archive of stock.

Another such combination of item could be parts of his Victorian sleuthing outfit from The Talons Of Weng-Chiang.

I was watching a vintage episode of Miss Marple - not the recent travesty starring Geradine McEwen or Julia McKenzie, but the classic episodes with Joan Hickson.

While watching 4.50 From Paddington, I noticed one of the lead players was wearing a dark rust-red velvet jacket (see left, top).
Single-brearted, it has revered lapels (see left, second picture) and a distinctive polka-dot design (see left, third picture).

There is no question in my mind it is the jacket worn in The Talons Of Weng-Chiang!!!

Miss Marple was entirely shot on 16mm film (just like the location filming for Doctor Who was in the 1970s) and the American DVDs I have aren’t the best transfer. But please take my word for what I see.

This was the Christmas day episode in 1987, so post-dates its Doctor Who appearance by a full decade.

Amusingly it is being worn by Irish actor John Hallam, who two years later appeared in the Sylvester McCoy serial Ghost Light as the etherial alien Light (see below).

Cosplay Sky - season 16 Frock Coat

After brining you my magnum opus costume index for The Fourth Doctor, I thought it was time to get back on the reviews of replica coats available around the internet.
Today the season 16 Frock Coat offering from Cosplay Sky.

Based in China, Cosplay Sky has been making costumes for over five years and specialise in a lot of Anime and genre films and tv shows. Their style can be very angular with broad lapels and flared skirts.

Now, having made my own replica of this coat, I can immediately see a number of serious shortcomings in the cut of this coat. Some are quite picky, but others are more obvious.

Ecru Brown Long
Trench Coat

Price as of July 2013 - $179.99

It does become a problem of where to start with this, as the coat is such a anime caricature of what should be one of Tom’s iconic Frock Coats.

The whole body of the coat seems excessively elongated, even down to the cuff piping being twice s high up the sleeve as it should be.
The waist is quite tailored, which only accentuates the disproportions of the coat.

The piping around the edges of the lapels and pocket flaps are not the right colour. It needs to be a real dark brown (almost black) rather than the milk chocolate colour used here.

The fabric used doesn’t really look to be quite right, but of the three season 16 Frock Coats I have reviewed this is almost the best colour of the bunch - ironic as it is without doubt the worst cut of what’s on offer.

The buttons on the back are set too far apart, and the back vent is exactly central, where it should be off centre and have a slight overlap.

The pocket flaps are very rectangular and don’t have the slight flare of the real thing.

But to add to things, one of the outer pockets is completely missing!
The lower left-hand pocket has been omitted, and remaining pocket left is too close to the front and to big enough.

And to confuse things even more, two large flap-less pockets are added at the back. All a bit of a mess.

The waistline pockets are too big and crash the buttons. They should be close, but not that close.
The buttons could be moved, and should be in a slight diagonal line, diverging at the top - but this is the one and only practical fix on a coat that is frankly way to wide of the mark to be not worth the effort.

Shocking.

EVEN MORE 4th Doctor items on eBay

It’s been a bit quiet lately for original Fourth Doctor items on eBay, but I have come across one thing worth looking at.

It’s a costume design from The Brain Of Morbius by L Rowland Warne.

A similar costume design was sold on eBay back in March (see right).

That was just a good colour copy, but this one is the original.

Brain Of Morbius
Costume design

SOLD FOR £411.50
after sold for £944.61 to non-payer

This is an original costume design drawing from the 1975 Doctor Who serial the Brain of Morbius.

It is a finely detailed piece, in pencils and watercolour. There is a small tear to the top edge which fortunately doesn’t encroach onto the artwork itself and one or two minor bumps in the paper which I’m sure will come out once the artwork is framed.

These are small flaws in what is an incredibly well preserved piece of Doctor Who history. Written on the back is: “Ohica + outdoor robe hat as 2nd sisters” The piece measures 295mm x 410mm.

I obtained it from a well known collector in 2002, and it has remained in storage ever since. A piece of artwork as exquisite as this deserves to be on display as the centrepiece of someone’s collection.

Costume index - season eighteen

© June Hudson

Beginning with Season 18, John Nathan-Turner took over as producer of Doctor Who.

One of the most immediately and noticeable changes he made was a redesign of the Fourth Doctor’s costume by the legendary June Hudson.

Although retaining the same overall concept, to start with nothing was carried over from previous seasons (though he did start wearing his leather cuff boots from halfway through the season), and a more co-ordinated plum colour scheme was introduced.

The early part of this season was produced out of broadcast order.
To start with The Doctor wears argyle socks and suede brogues. These appear in The Leisure Hive, State Of Decay and Meglos. From Full Circle onwards he reverted to his brown leather cuff boots.

PRODUCTION		BROADCAST
The Leisure Hive		The Leisure Hive
State Of Decay		Meglos
Meglos		Full Circle
Full Circle		State Of Decay
Warriors’ Gate		Warriors’ Gate
The Keeper Of Traken		The Keeper Of Traken
Logopolis		Logopolis

By screening them out of production order, The Doctor’s footwear appears to change week-to-week.

Season Eighteen

Costume index - season seventeen

There is very little new in the Doctor’s wardrobe this year, but if there was a fashion trend developing this season, it would be for a more casual look, with unbuttoned waistcoats; open-collar shirts and loose hanging scarves.

The mix-and-match on show plunders costumes originally designed for Terror Of The Zygons, The Deadly Assassin, The Image Of The Fendhal and The Power Of Kroll. None of these are worn as intended.

This season also serves to demonstrate an almost distain for his fedora hat. More often than not is relegated to his coat pocket. Last season he only put it on an average of one scene per episode - during this season it is barely one time per serial, and as the season progresses he doesn’t wear it at all.

The first half of the season was recorded out of order, with the Harris Tweed frock coat being his favourite coat of choice.

PRODUCTION		BROADCAST
The Creature from the Pit		Destiny of the Daleks
City of Death		City of Death
Destiny of the Daleks		The Creature from the Pit
Nightmare of Eden		Nightmare of Eden
The Horns Of Nimon		The Horns Of Nimon
Shada		(unaired)

Season Seventeen

Costume index - season sixteen

This week my Fourth Doctor costume index reaches season sixteen, the fifth year Tom Baker was in the role.
Last season the serials were run drastically out of recording sequence. This year, aside from the first two adventures, all serials were shot in their broadcast order.

Costume-wise things really settled down with this season, with only some variation coming in towards the end.

The extra wide scarf knitted in off-colours was ditched to be replaced by the two previous scarves crudely joined together to create a single one of monster length, along with the flamboyant cuff boots it makes the costume an exaggerated caricature of itself.

Season Sixteen

The ORIGINAL Eastern Dalek Press

Today in the post I received a little pressie I bought for myself, which proved to be a timely arrival.

I showed you the Doctor Who inspired cartoon by Tony Hall in the Eastern Daily Press earlier this month. Above the cartoon I noticed a caption saying that the originals are available for sale. So I contacted the paper and luckily the artist still had his artwork and was willing to sell it.

Here it is.
Just need to find somewhere to put it on my wall.

Costume index - season fifteen

This week I come to Tom Baker’s fourth season in the role.

From the point of view of the costume changes, this season is a bit confusing as it was shot drastically out of order. This was done to allow the permanent inclusion of K-9 after only intending to be a one-off character.

PRODUCTION		BROADCAST
The Invisible Enemy		Horror Of Fang Rock
Horror Of Fang Rock		The Invisible Enemy
The Sun Makers		Image Of The Fendahl
Image Of The Fendahl		The Sun Makers
Underworld		Underworld
The Invasion Of Time		The Invasion Of Time

However, this lead to some continuity anomalies, especially for Leela’s look which was updated for Image Of The Fendahl (see right). Since the following episode (The Sun Makers) was already shot with the original costume, a scene at the end was added with Leela returning to the old look (see far right).

The Doctor wore his grey frock coat for the first three serials to be recorded, then the velvet one for the rest. By flipping the third and fourth adventure before broadcast, it makes it look like he chops and changes.

The introduction of a different scarf for Image Of The Fendahl also becomes messed up when the already shot The Sun Makers is shown after it, using the older version.

Season Fifteen

Costume index - season fourteen

Tom’s third season in the role saw some developments to the costume and how it was worn.

At times it was more flippant with the scarf draped in differing ways, dependant it appears on his mood.

The trademark fedora hat was often left behind and at the end of the year he discards the costume all together.

Season Fourteen

Costume index - season thirteen

We come now to Tom Baker’s second season as The Doctor, and as the stories progressed we start to see his costume develop and expand into a wardrobe of clothes rather than a single set outfit.

By halfway through the season we shall see the emergence of the frock coat - an iconic look that will be followed through in subsequent regenerations.

Season Thirteen

Eastern Dalek Press

Had to share this cartoon from the Eastern Daily Press, the local newspaper for the Norfolk area.

Like the reference to The Doctor’s scarf....

© Tony Hall

“Dunnno about Dr. Who, Mabel – but it’s looking increasingly likely that the new ‘fuller-figure’ Daleks will be female.”