Tuesday, March 13, 2007

TARDIS Up-Close in Manchester {longer article}

Time Lord arrives early in Manchester
Press Release

PHOTOCALL, 11AM: DALEK WITH TARDIS AT THE TOWN HALL: SEE BELOW

The TARDIS, similar to that seen on the Doctor Who BBC TV series, has materialised overnight in city squares throughout Manchester.

The machine has been spotted four times, in St Anne’s Square, Albert Square, Exchange Square and Piccadilly Gardens. The sightings are two weeks ahead of the Doctor Who Up-Close Exhibition, which starts at The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester on 31 March.

TARDIS stands for ‘Time and Relative Dimension in Space’. It is an unreliable old time machine in the form of a 1950s police call box, which is much larger on the inside than the outside. The TARDIS is used by the Doctor to travel through time and space.

The arrival of the TARDIS in the city is a taste of what is to come in the Manchester exhibition, which will be the largest ever held. It will be the first time that characters from the upcoming third series of Doctor Who can be seen by the public.

Russell Leigh, the Museum’s resident TARDIS manufacturersaid:

“The Museum’s technical staff have been working hard on TARDIS production over the last few months. We’ve created four of them, which are set to appear in and around Manchester while Doctor Who Up Close is at our Museum. We spent a lot of time getting the details right. The panelling is the same design as the the 1950s Police Call Box that became more famous as the TARDIS used by the Doctor, and the paint is authentic ‘Oxford Blue’. So far, the Time Machine device is still a bit faulty, but we’re working on that and we hope to be visiting an area near you very soon!”

Among the new exhibits will be the impressive four metre-long Empress of Racnoss character, which appeared in the Christmas Day special of Doctor Who: The Runaway Bride. Given its size, the Empress Spider has so far been unable to fit in other galleries.

Doctor Who Up Close has proved to be avery popular exhibition since the re-launch of the new series of Doctor Who in 2005. It started in Brighton and exhibitions have now taken place in Leicester, Merseyside and Cardiff. The latest venue, the special exhibitions gallery at the Museum of Science and Industry, is the largest space so far. At over 700 square metres, the gallery will be able to house larger items than any previous exhibition.

Doctor Who Up Close offers people a chance to peek behind the scenes of the TV programme. Nearly 10 million viewers have tuned in to watch the new episodes of Doctor Who.

Doctor Who Up Close runs from 31 March-5 November.

Tickets cost £6.50 for adults, £4.50 for concessions. Under 5s are free. Family ticket £20.00.

For more information look up:
MSIM.ORG.UK
Doctor Who Exhibitions

Tel: 0870 4000636 to book your ticket (booking fee applies)

The media are invited to take photos of the TARDIS in Albert Square, and other locations throughout the city centre. In Albert Square there will also be a guest appearance of a Dalek! Meet 11am, Albert square.




For media information or photos please contact Sarah Roe, Press and Publicity officer at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester m: 07847 3726477

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