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Sci-fi fans go back to the future in the big who's who

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Holidaymakers wandering down to Torquay harbourside may be excused for thinking they had accidentally wandered onto a film set when hundreds of sci-fi fans got into character for a summer exhibition.

The launch of Torquay Museum's blockbuster summer sci-fi exhibition, Visions of the Future, felt like a scifi convention as fans dressed up as their favourite intergalactic heroes from the Star Wars, Star Trek or Aliens franchises. More than 700 visitors packed into the museum on the weekend of the launch to see stunning costumes and props from some of the best science fiction movies and TV series ever made.

Carl Smith, a spokesman for the museum, said: "This was the best-attended launch of any exhibition that Torquay Museum has ever hosted.

"We were delighted by the turnout. Visitors not only saw some amazing costumes and props from fantastic science fiction movies (including Star Wars, Dr Who, Alien, Fifth Element, Star Trek, and Predator), but there was also a host of costumed sci-fi characters stalking the corridors of the Museum."

Visitors were greeted by a talking Dalek with a huge superiority complex, as well as an unfeasibly tall and hairy Chewbacca, several Stormtroopers, Darth Vader, a scary Darth Maul, Jedi knights, an Alien and even the Predator.

A superb replica of Back to the Future's DeLorean timetravelling car also made an appearance. Mr Smith added: "There was a great family-friendly atmosphere to the exhibition launch. Even Darth Vader and the Alien were hugging children." Highlights of the sci-fi exhibition include a very rare original light sabre from the Star Wars film Attack of the Clones, together with a stunning full-sized exact replica of Darth Vader's costume and the iconic R2D2.

Some of Doctor Who's arch enemies also make an appearance, including a Dalek and Davros, as do Tom Baker's and Matt Smith's original Doctor's costumes, and some iconic props such as an original Tardis key and sonic screwdriver. "As well as our impressive collection of Star Wars and Dr Who costumes and props, we also have some other amazing and rarely-seen pieces," said Mr Smith. "The seven foot tall Mondoshawan alien costume from the film Fifth Element is stunning, and it was reputedly so heavy and hot that the actors who operated it could only stay inside it for 15 minutes at a time."

Also on show is the very rare Kane's space suit from the original Alien movie, together with a huge sleep pod, with lighting effects, from the Alien movie Prometheus.

Visitors can also come faceto-face with a huge Predator from the movie of the same name, weapons and props from the Star Trek movies, Marty McFly's hoverboard from Back to the Future, a battle-scarred robot from the film I, Robot starring Will Smith, and a T-X costume from Terminator 3. The prototype of the Beagle 2 Mars spacecraft that touched down on the Red Planet in 2003 is also on display.

Torquay Museum's Sci-Fi exhibition, Visions of the Future, will run until September 5.

Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org

  • APA 6th ed.: Vergnault, Olivier (2015-07-06). Sci-fi fans go back to the future in the big who's who. Western Morning News p. 34.
  • MLA 7th ed.: Vergnault, Olivier. "Sci-fi fans go back to the future in the big who's who." Western Morning News [add city] 2015-07-06, 34. Print.
  • Chicago 15th ed.: Vergnault, Olivier. "Sci-fi fans go back to the future in the big who's who." Western Morning News, edition, sec., 2015-07-06
  • Turabian: Vergnault, Olivier. "Sci-fi fans go back to the future in the big who's who." Western Morning News, 2015-07-06, section, 34 edition.
  • Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Sci-fi fans go back to the future in the big who's who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Sci-fi_fans_go_back_to_the_future_in_the_big_who%27s_who | work=Western Morning News | pages=34 | date=2015-07-06 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=29 March 2024 }}</ref>
  • Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Sci-fi fans go back to the future in the big who's who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Sci-fi_fans_go_back_to_the_future_in_the_big_who%27s_who | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=29 March 2024}}</ref>