London Trip: Museum of the Moving Image, and final London pics

Thursday, July 22, 1999

As usual -- click on the provided image to get a bigger and better image.

This is Victoria Station, my home away from home. Every day when I was finished sightseeing, I would take the Underground train back to this station, since my hotel was just a few blocks away. This is also where my train to and from Gatwick Airport arrived and left. Victoria station is absolutely huge -- adjacent to this concourse is a two-level mall and food court, the Underground terminal is beneath, and blocks and blocks of interesting and useful stores surround the station in every direction. Right across the street from Victoria Station was the EasyEverything shop -- the largest cybercafe in the world, with 400 internet terminals available 24 hours a day at dirt-cheap prices.

While in London, I dined with royalty.

The entrance to the Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI). This museum was one of the big highlights of my vacation. It had countless exhibits detailing the history of the motion picture and television industry, and had a real-life video control center on exhibit, as well as an apprentice animator working for a local television station. At various points through the museum, actors played the roles of people living in the various eras portrayed, and children got the oppourtunity to "audition" for a role in a western movie. (There was a saloon set with camera, lights, and the works.)

The museum had several exhibits from the famous British science fiction TV series Doctor Who. Here is the Doctor's robotic companion K9.

This is the giant robot from the Tom Baker-era Doctor Who episode "The Robot".

This is a Dalek prop. The Daleks were the Doctor's evil robotic nemeses.

This is the back of the Dalek prop, with a microphone for speaking into to make your voice sound like a Dalek, and with controls for the Dalek's arms. Every person that walked by this exhibit -- young and old alike -- could not resist the urge to speak into the microphone. "YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!"

This is the Doctor's TARDIS. By use of a mirror inside the front door, it really does look bigger on the inside than on the outside.

This Dalek was guarding an emergency exit in the museum, repeating something along the lines of "WE ARE THE SUPERIOR SPECIES. ALL HUMANS MUST OBEY. TURN AROUND AND PROCEED BACK TO THE MUSEUM PATH OR YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!"

A cyberman stands in front of the TARDIS.

After leaving the Museum of the Moving Image, I took a walk along the south bank of the River Thames, and snap one last picture of London. This photo shows the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.