MovieChat Forums > Doctor Who (1963) Discussion > Lesterson's glasses

Lesterson's glasses

posted 8 years ago by Dr Wily
9 replies | jump to latest

Odd thing in the animated release of Power Of The Daleks. After Episode Three, Lesterson's glasses disappear until the brief moment when he's exterminated in Episode Six.

I'm guessing this is some kind of just overlooked goof? Are the glasses on in any telesnaps that exist from those 3 episodes? My guess is Lesterson's extermination was animated at a different, earlier point, when the character modelers got it right. And that for whatever reason, the glasses were overlooked for half the story.

[–] NotAmyMerrick 8 years ago

I've just checked episode 4 for the loose cannon Photo reconstruction, He doesn't have them at the start of part 4.

[–] Dr Wily 8 years ago

Ah, so maybe it's not a goof. Or it was a goof in the original production of Power Of The Daleks. Maybe the glasses were a prop? That the actor himself didn't wear glasses in real life. The prop could have easily been forgotten during production if that was the case.

When I get around to the telesnaps reconstruction on the official DVD, I'll try to remember to see if Lesterson has glasses in the photos there. Of course, there's no guarantee that a photo that turns up is actually from that episode.

[–] Chris12955 8 years ago

The last time his glasses appear prior to episode six in the telesnaps(not the telesnap reconstuctions which combine shots from other episodes to achieve a more diverse image gallery) is at the end of episode three when the Daleks are chanting "we will get our power." After that they don't show up again until the end of episode six in the telesnaps. Flicking through my telesnap book, I am surprised by how shot for shot the animation was to the telesnaps.

[–] Dr Wily 8 years ago

So, it does beg a few questions.

Were the glasses just a prop and not prescription lenses required by the actor? It seems they were, most likely, a prop.

How did the continuity person miss the glasses over the course of 2 and most of a third episode?

Why did the glasses suddenly reappear when Lesterson is exterminated?

[–] paulbeardsley 8 years ago

A lot of people wear their glasses some of the time, and leave them on a desk or keep them in a pocket at other times. I think you're overthinking this.

So this is permanence, love's shattered pride.
What once was innocence, turned on its side.

[–] Dr Wily 8 years ago

I guess Lesterson thought it best he should be wearing his glasses just before he's exterminated when he wasn't wearing them just before. :)

[–] paulbeardsley 8 years ago

Maybe he was short sighted. Maybe he took them off for close work, and put them on when the Daleks were some distance away.

Maybe he didn't actually know they were about to exterminate him.

It's actually a smaller mystery than why anybody would care.

So this is permanence, love's shattered pride.
What once was innocence, turned on its side.

[–] Dr Wily 8 years ago

Actually, it begs more questions. Does he just need glasses for shortsightedness? The Daleks exterminating him were probably closer than all the assembly line he saw in the capsule. Yet, he put them on, just in time to be exterminated.

[–] Chris12955 8 years ago

Were the glasses just a prop and not prescription lenses required by the actor?

I am watching The Avengers: Too many Christmas Trees right now, and he does not have glasses.

How did the continuity person miss the glasses over the course of 2 and most of a third episode?

Continuity person? Did they even have those back then at the BBC? I thought the individual departments handled that.

Why did the glasses suddenly reappear when Lesterson is exterminated?

I think the animators answered it fairly well, the actor keeps on taking them on and off. You can see indications of this in the first, second, and third episodes. He has them on in one photo, only to have them off in another. People who only need their glasses for certain things do this. Lesterson is most likely near sighted, or far sighted.

Why did the glasses suddenly reappear when Lesterson is exterminated?

You can see that he has them on in the earlier photo from that scene. The two of which account for the only two pictures of him from episode six. 