Who's a lucky boy?
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- Publication: The Northern Echo
- Date: 2009-01-12
- Author: Helen Smithson
- Page:
- Language: English
IT is every Doctor Who fan's ultimate fantasy - opening the bedroom curtains to discover a Tardis in the garden.
But that dream comes true every day for six-year-old super-fan Nathan Taylor, from Bishop Auckland.
Nathan's stepfather, Stephen Hudspeth, has created a replica of the time machine used in the cult BBC sci-fi series.
It was a labour of love by warehouse worker Mr Hudspeth, starting off as a single wooden pallet back in October, which was transformed into a stunning duplicate of the Type 40 TT Tardis, measuring 7ft by 4ft.
Mr Hudspeth worked on the tardis during the evenings and at weekends, painstakingly replicating the smallest of details to ensure the finished article was as realistic as possible.
Nathan's mother, Rachel Maughan, who lives with Mr Hudspeth, said: "Nathan is a big fan of Doctor Who, and Stephen wanted to do something for him that he would always remember.
"It was too big to fit in the garage, so we kept it hidden under a tarpaulin behind the shed and told Nathan it was a greenhouse. " During the development of Doctor Who in 1963, production staff decided the Doctor's timemachine would resemble a Fifties-style London police box to keep the design within budget.
The word Tardis, which stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space, has since become synonymous for describing places that feel bigger inside than on the outside.
Stepping through the inwardly opening doors into Nathan's Tardis, visitors are greeted with a dashboard, levers, and battery-operated lights.
Despite being slightly nervous of entering the Tardis at first, Nathan soon grew to love his toy.
Ms Maughan said: "He was so stunned. I think he thought he was really going to go back in time.
"We could not get him out of it for the next week. " With Nathan's passion for the sci fi programme, and his membership of theatre group Stagecoach, he could well end up following in the footsteps of former Doctors David Tennant and Tom Baker.
Or even exterminate latest recruit Matt Smith to become the youngest ever actor to fill one of TV's most prestigious roles.
Home sweet. . .
Tardises are grown, not made. They draw their power from several sources, but primarily from the singularity of an artificial black hole, known as the Eye of Harmony.
There are a lot of rooms inside the Tardis, including libraries, gardens, swimming pools, and even a cricket pavilion. There are also two control rooms, and a boot cupboard.
In 1996, the BBC applied to the UK Patent Office to register the Tardis as a trademark. This was challenged by the Metropolitan Police, who felt that they owned the rights to the police box image.
However, the Patent Office found that there was no evidence the police had ever registered the image and ruled in favour of the BBC in 2002.
Other Tardises have appeared in the television series. The Master had at least two, each more advanced than the Doctor's.
Illustrations/Photos:
Caption: LOST FOR WORDS: Dr Who fan Nathan Taylor, six, with the full-scale replica Tardis built by his stepfather, Stephen Hudspeth
Picture: CHRIS BOOTH
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- APA 6th ed.: Smithson, Helen (2009-01-12). Who's a lucky boy?. The Northern Echo .
- MLA 7th ed.: Smithson, Helen. "Who's a lucky boy?." The Northern Echo [add city] 2009-01-12. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Smithson, Helen. "Who's a lucky boy?." The Northern Echo, edition, sec., 2009-01-12
- Turabian: Smithson, Helen. "Who's a lucky boy?." The Northern Echo, 2009-01-12, section, edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Who's a lucky boy? | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who%27s_a_lucky_boy%3F | work=The Northern Echo | pages= | date=2009-01-12 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=21 November 2024 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Who's a lucky boy? | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who%27s_a_lucky_boy%3F | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=21 November 2024}}</ref>
