In the build up to last Christmas we looked at the then seemingly large range of Doctor Who toys and merchandise and spoke to BBC Worldwide’s Richard Hollis.
Since then we’ve seen a massive explosion in the range of Who related merchandise available – from books to duvet covers it seems as if every possible item capable of sporting a logo has been licenced by the Doctor Who brand managers.
A recent visit to my local Toys ‘R’ Us found me confronted by a massive floor to ceiling display of Who merchandise featuring a 3D David Tennant and Tardis complete with light and sound effects (sadly no pictures are available).
Even as a 33 year old adult the display couldn’t fail to excite me, the remote control K9 which started as a probable purchase soon became a ‘must buy’ and I almost succumbed to the temptation to top up my collection of action figures.
Was I influenced by the display? Probably but I don’t think that’s a bad thing and anyway who really goes to a toy emporium like Toys ‘R’ Us without having at least partially made their mind up to buy something?
I could have bought K9 the week before in Woolworths and constantly regretted not having done so during the next 7 days – by the way if you want to read what I thought of K9 click here.
Every adult who entered the store – this being the Christmas build-up very few youngsters had been allowed to accompany the adults on their shopping trips – stopped and stared at the display. More than one adult male lamented that such a wealth of Doctor Who toys and merchandise hadn’t been around when they were kids.
One day a Christmas will arrive when there’s no Doctor Who festive special and no massive marketing of a growing merchandise range but as I left the store on that day I felt an odd sense of cheer that Doctor Who was considered worthy of an entire corner of Toys ‘R’ Us.
Let’s hope for many more Doctor Who Christmases!
