Who Goes There

This week's first destination was to one of the wonders of Opensim, the Doctor Who region on Littlefield grid, often known as lfgrid because it's shorter! As usual the full HG Address is at the end of the post. The sim creator, Toy McBride, lives on the other side of the world to most of the Safari-goers, so she wasn't able to join us in person.

Dirk Mathers

However Dirk Mathers, one of the founding members of Littlefield grid, a master scripter and none too shabby builder in his own right, was kind enough to step in as guide. He's a knowledgeable Whovian, but even he admitted to getting a little lost in this build, which is encyclopedic and labyrinthine. Much like the long, mysterious and twisted plot of one of the most popular ever sci-fi shows on TV. 

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past half century, you probably know that Dr Who is a British TV show for children which began back in 1962, took a hiatus in the 90's and came roaring back in the naughties to an even wider audience of all ages, and it is still going strong.

 Star Ravenhurst: Thirza asked Lifted and I to help today with moving things along if she can't make it,.. I have been praying that she makes it

Lifed Pixel: hahaha I think we can manage if she doesn't

The group arrives on Littlefield Grid

And of course, everything was perfectly fine - with a group like this, and fabulous hosts like these, what else would you expect? If you missed the trip, you can see a vid of the whole adventure on Lifted Pixel's youtube channel, and there are often photos posted on the Safari Facebook page, if you're into the socials.

One of the nice things about this build is that it combines a lot of 2D information boards and photos with some fun 3D elements, and these are often interactive. Although sitting on the Time Rotor is not necessarily a standard Dr Who activity - leave it to James to find chairs where no chairs exist. You really need to watch the video to see this hilarious moment. Also because these corridors, while not particularly small or low, require some really clever camerawork to film, and so this particular week is a testament to Lifted's skills as a camerawoman and filmmaker.

Dirk Mathers: This is a console room, a mix of the Tom Baker era and the original series. Some of the buttons do things, so feel free to work them

James Atlloud:  Yup, knew it

Dirk Mathers:This is the wooden console room of the Tom Baker era. it was used only briefly,  it got damaged in storage and they went back to using the white room but I always liked the look of it.

James Atlloud: wonderful buttons like organ stops

Tosha Tyran: wow everything prim!

Lifted Pixel: fancy wood grain

The build is huge, yet as you can see, a pretty amazingly fast rez - these stills are taken from Lifted's video, with about 12 people all walking around the sim, and you don't see any greyed out boards which is a testament both to Toy's skill but also to the general reliability of Littlefield grid. 

The TV show as most people know is unusual in that the main character, the Doctor, has been played by a dozen different actors over the years, and this change is a central part of the plot - the Doctor can regenerate into a new body, with a new personality, retaining memories, values, and character defects. Very virtual.

The Doctor's enemies and companions are also central to the lore of the show, and feature heavily in the information boards and photos, which are all of beautiful quality, as are the 3D elements.

The Doctor is a Time Lord and his vehicle, the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) are always rushing around the universe from planet to planet and backward and forward in time. In the more recent years, the authors have revelled in particularly time-bending storylines. The maze-like feel of Toy's sim really gives you the impression of the often bewildering timelines overlapping and interweaving. 

For anyone who grew up with the show, this is a unique opportunity to walk down memory lane, and for anyone who doesn't know the show, it's a great way to catch up with a piece of  global culture. How popular is Doctor Who outside of the UK? It was popular enough that the 50th anniversary special was broadcast at the same time in 94 countries, because so many broadcasters were worried about plot leaks.

Lifted Pixel: which is everyone's favorite Doctor?

James Atlloud: Baker was my first and still a top doc, 10 and 11 are do good though 

Mal Burns: Tom Baker - he drank at my (once) local

And of course, for those of us with childhood memories of the show, running down endless corridors is an essential ingredient of every story. A  few minutes later, a couple of familiar faces showed up...

Dalek: You will obey!  exterminate!

James Atlloud: best baddie EVER

Walter Balazic: hello brother, been showing everyone around? 

Dirk Mathers: hello brother

Walter Balazic: So nice to see all of you.

Lavia Lavine: this is beautifully done

Dirk Mathers: K9 and the Dalek move faster than a walk, but if you run you move faster than they do. You could spend hours wandering this place, Thirza just asked for some highlights, so I encourage you to wander at your leisure.

Next up was the reconstruction of the Console room from the Doctor Who movie which, despite its less-than-stellar place in the pantheon of all things Doctor, still has arguably the most lavish sets. Toy's inworld version doesn't disappoint.

Tosha Tyran: Oh this is really cool

Dirk Mathers:I don't believe the console does anything here, but then the Tardis was supposed to be broken in this movie, so by all rights it shouldn't do anything

Lifted Pixel:  the prim work on this console is wonderful

Walter Balazic: Toy and Dirk did a lot of work at Doctor Who

Dirk Mathers: 99% of it is Toy. I did some scripting and built two consoles

Mal Burns: funny, the viewer shows the old BBC testcard

Neo Cortex:  Pixel taxi is doing really great!

Dirk Mathers: Yes, that's Toy's attention to detail.  This is where it all began, Foreman's Scrapyard.

It's incredible to think how a show that featured wobbly sets, a revolving door of cast members, and a meagre BBC budget managed to survive. More than that, it captured the imagination not just of the original intended audience, the youth of the UK, but has reached out across time and space to inspire the dreams and fantasies of people of all ages, all around the world.  

If you've not yet ween this build, it should certainly be on your must-visit list.

HG Address: hop://lfgrid.com:8002/Doctor%20Who/110/165/30