For a while in the nineties and the early noughties, Product Enterprise produced some
excellent classic Doctor Who
electronic action figures.
I tended to collect examples of their Dalek range which
included micro Daleks, movie Daleks, and talking Daleks to name but a few.
While I do have an obvious fondness for classic Daleks , my
favourite incarnations of the Doctor were
played by Jon Pertwee and later, Tom Baker. So when I found a reasonably priced boxed
example of a Talking Dr Who Tom Baker doll, which comes with his trusty
electronic dog, K-9, I thought I’d add it to the collection.
It went on general sale in 2004, although some specially
shipped- in examples could be found at the 2003 Birmingham Memorabilia
collectors fair in November to coincide with the series’ 40th anniversary.
As with all of Product Enterprise’s products a lot of
attention is paid to the packaging, and the wonderful retro styling that goes
into it.
The box is unsurprisingly in the shape of a TARDIS with
opening doors that reveal the fourth Doctor and K-9.
There’s a standee on top of the box showing a vibrant
rendition of Tom’s Doctor, which I believe was painted by artist, Graham
Humphreys.
The doll’s likeness is pretty good from certain angles, with
a typical toothy Tom Baker grin.
It has some limited articulation. The head moves left to
right, and each arm moves up and down from the shoulder, and the gripping hands
can swivel.
The knitted scarf is very good too, and looks very authentic
to me. The nit-pickers would probably note it’s not long enough for them,
though.
The figure also comes with additional accessories; a sonic
screwdriver, and bag of jelly babies.
There’s a circular cut-out at the back so prospective buyers
can hear the doll ‘talk’.
Sadly, my doll has long since given up talking for some
reason, so the six authentic phrases using Tom Baker’s unmistakable voice is
lost.
K-9, however does still talk, but the years must have taken
their toll on the sound card, and actor, John Leeson’s K-9 phrases sound pretty
much garbled to me now.
Not to worry though, K-9 still has a working pull-back and
go mechanism, and his ear antennas’ and tail is still intact.
All in all, a pleasing addition to my Dr Who Product
Enterprise collection.
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