Throughout the 1980s, the market for Doctor Who collectables saw a clear shift from mass-market merchandising to licensed items directed more to the dedicated fan. Each year, there were fewer new items on the high street and more that were primarily available through specialist cult entertainment shops and catalogues. By 1983, the big-name manufacturers that had typically held licences during the 1960s and 70s had been replaced by small companies, often established by individual fans or fan organisations. This situation wouldn’t change until Doctor Who made its television comeback in 2005.
Though the rise of home computers gave a notable boost to Doctor Who merchandise in 1983, older forms of technology were still available. One of the Doctor Who licensees returning in 1983 was the manufacturer of View-Master, a system comprising a stereoscopic viewer and ‘reels’ from which pairs of transparent colour photographs could be viewed as 3D images.