The DU Lounge

Did a job for a customer a few years ago, part of which involved assigning certain smart devices to certain rooms. The customer had called one room The Conservatory, though there were no musical instruments to be seen. However, he had a bunch of Dr. Who memorabilia, like a cardboard cutout of Tom Baker draped in a scarf, a sonic screwdriver, a few models of the TARDIS, etc. I suggested calling it the Doctor Who Room instead.

He wasn't interested. In fact, he was kind of a stick in the mud about it.

I then had to go to a utility room in the basement, but instead I found out why he didn't want to call the room upstairs the Doctor Who Room.

A side room in the basement was fully converted to a TARDIS command center, including a full-size console with working switches, lights, and knobs. I'd guess the whole thing must have cost $50K or so, given the scope.

The utility panel that I needed was behind a sliding wall section--the sections were about two feet wide with large, illuminated, circular cutouts. I guessed wrong with the first section, and instead I found shelves and shelves full of large-format tapes (i.e., bigger than VHS) of Doctor Who episodes. Many dozens, at least.

I've wondered if he has any lost episodes in his collection, but his demeanor prevented me from asking.