Doctor Who

This is a collection of pages from the diary of Cliff Culley, an effects artist competent in the art of special photographic, optical and matte effects, a veteran of Pinewood Studios and several James Bond pictures who turned visual effects designer for the BBC on several Doctor who serials with these pages covering his work on the 1974 serial Invasion of the Dinosaurs starring Jon Pertwee as The Doctor.

The diary pages are each inscribed in Culley's hand and give a detailed account of his work from Sunday September 02, 1973 through to Wednesday November 14, 1973, comprising 36 double sided pages and feature a wealth of information relating to his work on the special effects of Invasion of the Dinosaurs, which he refers to by the working title "Timescope" (sic), at Pinewood Studios and BBC Television Centre with other mentions of matte work on other productions such as Zardoz (1974). Also mentioned are numerous effects technicians who worked alongside Cully on the production including Academy Award winning miniature effects legend Derek Meddings and his former Century 21 colleague Ian Wingrove with whom he worked on various Gerry Anderson productions.

Furthermore there are numerous mentions of Dalek props which were loaned out to various places including The Royal Military School, The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, The British Heart Foundation, Oxfam and Highbury Grove School with information also relating to the preparation of the Dalek props for the filming of the following serial Death to the Daleks, this including repainting the props and the supply of smoke canisters. Other detailed notes contained within the diary relate to colleagues, wages, materials and Culley's personal life, most notably his love of golf, one of the final entries in this collection states that he has spoken to Jack Kine (BBC Visual Effects Department) and "we are not doing the next Dr Who, don't know why but I suspect it's an easy one".

Some excerpts from these pages were published in Steve Cambden's book The Doctors Effects however the remainder remains unseen and unpublished. The pages each measure approximately 10" x 8" and remain in good condition having been removed from a diary book, exhibiting edge wear and minor toning, generally fine.

A unique and exceptionally interesting insight in to the production of this classic science fiction series.