Doctor Who Pinball (1992)

Rich Lehmann · Sep 17, 2014

Played the Doctor Who Pinball table this weekend. It was pretty great. Looks and sounds really cool and it sort of functions like Monster Bash where you have to collect each of the first 7 doctors with each of them unlocking a bonus feature when you unlock them and then have to defeat the master and davros and his daleks. But you also pick which doctor you want to start as so get to pick which bonus feature you want to begin with. Lots of audio bits and music, tardis and daleks toys. It was pretty fun.

What are the chances of TPA adding this table?

Kolchak357 · Sep 17, 2014

Chances are pretty slim. A licensing nightmare according to Farsight. It gets requested pretty often. If Farsight could find a way to make it happen I'm sure they would. But don't hold your breath waiting for it.

IGoFirstIndy · Sep 17, 2014

Yeah it's a real bummer. If memory serves correctly, Doctor Who, the Daleks and K-9 are all separate licenses. And that's on top of all the likeness and voice work needing to be paid out to the actors. I'd be curious if it'd be more than the 100k for TAF.

IGoFirstIndy · Sep 17, 2014

Rich Lehmann said:
Played the Doctor Who Pinball table this weekend. It was pretty great. Looks and sounds really cool and it sort of functions like Monster Bash where you have to collect each of the first 7 doctors with each of them unlocking a bonus feature when you unlock them and then have to defeat the master and davros and his daleks. But you also pick which doctor you want to start as so get to pick which bonus feature you want to begin with. Lots of audio bits and music, tardis and daleks toys. It was pretty fun.

What are the chances of TPA adding this table?

Incase you haven't voted already, I did a Post Addams Family KICKSTARTER poll. Dr. Who is one of the options. It's currently in 4th. You can vote for two tables. Here's the link.

http://digitalpinballfans.com/showthread.php/8792-What-post-addams-family-kickstarter

Rich Lehmann · Sep 17, 2014

I went to a Doctor Who con in L.A. a few years ago and there was almost no merch for sale, only licensed stuff. The vendors said the owners of Doctor Who were very aggressive and selective about licensing.

IGoFirstIndy · Sep 17, 2014

Rich Lehmann said:
I went to a Doctor Who con in L.A. a few years ago and there was almost no merch for sale, only licensed stuff. The vendors said the owners of Doctor Who were very aggressive and selective about licensing.

yeah it seems the matt smith era really took off and now there's a ton of merch. that's why i think Farsight should strike while the iron's hot and try to get the table Kickstarted now. i was in a hot topic over the summer in the backwoods of new hampshire and they had colin baker merch. it blew my mind how times change.

danivempire · Sep 17, 2014

Never liked the show, so not very excited for the pinball machine...

Espy · Sep 17, 2014

Here's a thought: think Stern would ever do a modern Doctor Who machine? The show is arguably at its most popular just now. But might still be not a big enough license for Stern to take an interest.

It could have all four modern doctors. It could include the movie Doctor and War Doctor too if it wanted a similar number of doctors to pull from.

masterthes · Sep 17, 2014

I wouldn't be surprised within a year, we see a modern Doctor Who pinball

soundwave106 · Sep 17, 2014

Rich Lehmann said:
I went to a Doctor Who con in L.A. a few years ago and there was almost no merch for sale, only licensed stuff. The vendors said the owners of Doctor Who were very aggressive and selective about licensing.

I think getting the license would merely mean working with the BBC (who I imagine control everything indirectly) for most of the items, no? That should include anything with an additional creator license (the Daleks) and Doctor likenesses.

I believe the only voices in the pin are Sylvester McCoy, Anthony Ainley, and Terry Molloy. One is an estate but Sylvester and Terry seem amiable.

It can't be as bad of a licensing nightmare as Addams Family! However, it probably is not financially viable in that it is not as popular of a game as Addams Family. I can't imagine this to be a *cheap* license.

vikingerik · Sep 17, 2014

Doctor Who doesn't seem like Stern's thing. It's still not quite broad enough on mainstream appeal, it's still at least somewhat on the niche and nerdy side. They only go for mass market franchises that *everybody* knows. Stuff like Transformers, Avatar, Star Trek, and all the Marvels are fully mainstream in the theater nowadays, but Who is still a niche of a TV show. Remember that Stern's TV show properties (24, CSI) have been their weaker sellers.

EldarOfSuburbia · Sep 17, 2014

See how well Walking Dead goes. It's not a network show (though AMC is considered a "basic" cable channel, so most households will have it), it's more of a "cult" thing though it does have broader appeal I think than Dr Who.

Still, I'd rather have the Bally Dr Who. Played it lots back in "the day". Got that W-H-O combo down. Also had the video mode sussed. At that point I'd never played Pin*Bot either so the locking mechanism was also kinda novel.

Rich Lehmann · Sep 17, 2014

EldarOfSuburbia said:
See how well Walking Dead goes. It's not a network show (though AMC is considered a "basic" cable channel, so most households will have it), it's more of a "cult" thing though it does have broader appeal I think than Dr Who.

Still, I'd rather have the Bally Dr Who. Played it lots back in "the day". Got that W-H-O combo down. Also had the video mode sussed. At that point I'd never played Pin*Bot either so the locking mechanism was also kinda novel.

The Walking Dead is far from "cult" it had 15 million US viewers per episode. By comparison, Doctor Who's premier this week got 2.2 million US viewers. Walking Dead isn't cult, it's completely mainstream. It took off like Breaking Bad when it was put on Netflix and people could get on board and catch up.

Espy · Sep 17, 2014

vikingerik said:
Doctor Who doesn't seem like Stern's thing. It's still not quite broad enough on mainstream appeal, it's still at least somewhat on the niche and nerdy side. They only go for mass market franchises that *everybody* knows. Stuff like Transformers, Avatar, Star Trek, and all the Marvels are fully mainstream in the theater nowadays, but Who is still a niche of a TV show. Remember that Stern's TV show properties (24, CSI) have been their weaker sellers.

Worth pointing out, though, that in the UK, Doctor Who is THE television show and has been for a number of years. And it's popular the world over. So there may be international opportunities there.

I'm not really a Who fan, and I don't really think they'll make a new machine. But it is a possibility.

Martin Rusby · Sep 18, 2014

I play doctor who- legacy on android.It's a great gem swap type game.The makers are only a small indie company (tiny rebel games) and all the doctors,K-9,daleks etc are in the game.So the BBC is open to letting companies use the property.

IGoFirstIndy · Sep 18, 2014

vikingerik said:
Doctor Who doesn't seem like Stern's thing. It's still not quite broad enough on mainstream appeal, it's still at least somewhat on the niche and nerdy side. They only go for mass market franchises that *everybody* knows. .

Dr. Who has a ton of merchandise in stores from barnes and noble to hot topic, so regardless of the size of the fan base, they spend money and it is a big show worldwide. Besides we're talking abut the 90's table being digitized for TPA not Stern making a new physical table. Though I'd kill to see Jersey Jack take a shot at it after they release the Hobbit.

DokkenRokken · Sep 18, 2014

IGoFirstIndy said:
Yeah it's a real bummer. If memory serves correctly, Doctor Who, the Daleks and K-9 are all separate licenses. And that's on top of all the likeness and voice work needing to be paid out to the actors. I'd be curious if it'd be more than the 100k for TAF.

They said previously that it would cost more than every previous KS combined, and then some.

Davros001 · Oct 6, 2014

The BBC ain't renowned as rip off merchants. In fact most who have delt with them in the past have had nothing but praise for them. The first 8 doctors are licences to a small company who make audio dramas for example. They can also use any of the companions and aliens they choose including the daleks. I for one would join a kickstarter for this table.

Espy · Oct 7, 2014

Davros001 said:
The BBC ain't renowned as rip off merchants. In fact most who have delt with them in the past have had nothing but praise for them. The first 8 doctors are licences to a small company who make audio dramas for example. They can also use any of the companions and aliens they choose including the daleks. I for one would join a kickstarter for this table.

The difference there is with audio dramas, there are no actor likenesses.

Davros001 · Oct 7, 2014

True, but the voices are used. In the case of the Daleks anyone who has ever seen or listened to them would recognise them instantly.

Doctor Who Pinball (1992)

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