Talk:An Unearthly Child

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Archives
February 2005 – April 2006

Contents 1 Where in London? 2 Decimalisation 3 Link ups 4 Re Decimalisation

[edit] Where in London?

Okay, I have just worked my way through the nice "The Beginning" DVD set and all of its well done extras and production notes and one question from "The Unearthly Child" episode remains - as we see the Tardis leave London there is a still picture of a set of buildings. Does anyone know what part of the city this picture was taken. It is one of those pieces of trivia that I have never found an answer to - in the books or on the net. I was hoping it would be in the production note option on the DVD but it wasn't. If any wiki-Dr Who member knows perhaps you could put it in the Notes section of this article as it would be an interesting addition. My thanks in advance to anyone who is able to answer this question.User:MarnetteD | Talk 23:35, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

It looked more like an artist's rendering than a drawing to me. Perhaps it wasn't meant to indicate any particular part of London? 23skidoo 18:25, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

I just noticed that this article indicates that Coal Hill School is in Shoreditch, so presumably that's where the junkyard is too. I vaguely recall this also being mentioned in Remembrance of the Daleks, which takes place not long after the departure of Ian and Barbara. 23skidoo 21:33, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

I think it's only the novelisation of Remembrance that specifies Shoreditch, I don't believe the location gets a mention on-screen. Angmering 10:45, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

The photo/drawing always reminds me of BBC Television Centre... —Whouk (talk) 10:55, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

Well, according to the original script of The Keys of Marinus, he had been there only recently to see about getting a part to repair the monitor! I kid you not! Angmering 14:50, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Decimalisation

Just to comment on the edit summary debate re:decimalisation. I talked to my dad who lived through it and in 1963, report or no report, decimalisation was far from a done deal. There was plenty of opposition. So I personally think Susan's comments do count as a "prediction" by the show of sorts because in 1963, presumably only weeks or a few months after this report was tabled and still 3 years away from the government finally agreeing to adopt it, it was certainly not a guarantee. Tradition was (and still is) very strong in Britain and I personally can imagine changing the monetary system was a very hard sell, indeed. 23skidoo 18:25, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

And, of course, AUC was under the impression that Decimalisation meant that there would be ten shillings to the pound :) - SoM 00:58, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

I don't think that necessarily follows — Barbara says that Susan "doesn't know how many shillings there are in a pound." That doesn't mean she thought there were ten — she could simply have not known what they were, and then when it was explained said that she had thought they were on the decimal system. Angmering 19:11, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

I seem to recall similar concerns when Canada went to Metric in 76/77. When the speed limit suddenly went from 60 mph to 100 km-h everyone freaked that we'd all be driving faster (actually 100 km-h is a little faster than 60 mph, but you get my meaning). 23skidoo 01:04, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

My recollection is different. As (in Ontario at least), the speed limit had been dropped from 70 mph to 60 mph for cars only 3 or 4 years before ... so no one felt that 62.5 mph was going to be particularly fast, as most people seemed to think that 60 mph was slow. Nfitz 00:43, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Link ups

Minor suggestion - linking the yard that appears in The Idiot's Lantern with the one in which the Tardis is first seen (even though there is an 11 year gap) Jackiespeel

Why? Nfitz 00:44, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re Decimalisation

As we know, the number of shillings / pound stayed the same, since the shilling was changed in value from 12 pence to 5 pence, for just this reason (right!?).

Also, weren't old shillings and 2-shilling pieces were re-used as 5p and 10p coins? I missed out on Decimal Day thru temporal misalignment of my date of birth, but I remember in the 80s, many 5p coins had "1 shilling" on them.

My second point is a bit irrelevant, but I think my first one might be added to the article as a single sentence, just to make it more easily understandable to people who've always had decimal currencies.

My best guess is that faced with having to mint a lot of new money anyway for decimalisation (the new 1ps & 2ps and wasn't the 50p introduced around this time?) the government wasn't going to get rid of an existing coin worth 1/10 of a £. And similarly why throw out 1/20 when that coin could also serve a function until a natural point of replacement? In the late 1980s and early 1990s I often regularly had 1 & 2 shilling coins dating back to Georhe VI's reign. Timrollpickering 07:22, 11 November 2006 (UTC)