What trip to England would be complete without a large amount of Doctor Who trivia, sight seeing and, of course, the new Doctor Who Experience at the Travel Museum in Coventry. As soon as my sister-in-law mentioned it, months before our trip, it became a cemented part of our plans. I mean, yes, it is nice to sit in a pub that was once frequented by C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carrol, great to take in the medieval architecture, and wonderful to get real, authentic fish’n’chips. But I’m a geek, and geeks like what geeks like, and this geek likes (loves, actually) Doctor Who.
Coventry is a little off the beaten path for most people touring England, one of the more “modern” cities in England, due to it being almost completely destroyed by bombing in World War II. The Coventry Travel Museum, under normal circumstances would be of no consequence to me or my husband, but possibly a good spot for train enthusiasts, but for your average geek, its sort of a dull museum in a dull town. Add in a heavy dose of The Doctor, though, and it suddenly becomes worthwhile. Upon entering the Doctor Who Experience, we asked how long it usually took and the ticket taker laughed, telling us that “it depends on how much you like Doctor Who“, some people take ten minutes, others take up to forty minutes (we took thirty, thanks).
In addition to real costumes and models used in the filming of the “new” series, there are many interactive displays, including a station where you can view each of the different title sequences and how they changed over the years, displays that explain away some of the mystique behind those cool special effects, and, towards the end, one that allows you to be “exterminated” by two angry Daleks.
The most appropriate for a geek crafts entry though, was the making of an Ood. The Ood are everybody’s favorite slave race, but what about the man (and animatronics) behind the mask? Well, with a lot of patience, a little wiring, and a really good moulage kit, you could make your very own Ood.
It all starts with a very talented Ood Sculptor, making a sculpture that they can produce a mold from (hey, somebody has to have the job title “Ood Sculptor” right?). After a mold has been made, they can begin the process of turning an unsuspecting actor and slowly turn him into an Ood, through the magic of prosthetics and patience, lots of patience.
The Ood eyes are actually animatronic, and sit above the actor’s face…
Add a little more make-up and a little more prosthetics to create the Ood dangly face-tentacles, to complete the look…
So, as you can see, it’s all relatively easy to make your very own Ood.
Did you get to touch the Ood tentacles? The cast went on and on about how weird and irresistible they are. Seems like an ideal interactive display for Whovians.
Sadly I did not! There were signs everywhere saying not to touch the displays, and even if I had wanted to be very, very bad–the Ood were all behind glass!