There is no part of the overall story of Doctor Who as fascinating and as frustrating than the tale of the 97 episodes of William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton's eras which no longer reside in the BBC's archives. The chasing of tiny leads around the world, sometimes leading to striking gold, but usually leading to bugger all, the constant annoyance at how such a giant fuck up could actually happen and the lingering desire of every Doctor Who fan just to actually see the final battle of The Evil of the Daleks. It's a very interesting thing to follow, but also quite complex to understand. Well, this is where your good pal George comes in, to give the uninitiated, or the initiated-who-wants-a-refresher-or-is-just-bored, a guide to which episodes exist, which are missing, where the copies of existing episodes come from, where copies of missing episodes might be, and crucially, is Ian Levine secretly hoarding the entire set of episodes of Marco Polo? Except maybe not the last one.
Sources
Of course, I can't just go around nicking other people's work and presenting it as my own, so here's a quick run down of the sources I'm using for this. Truly uni has taught me well.
- Wikipedia: Naturally
- The Destruction of Time: A fantastic blog which goes into every minute detail of the missing episodes and tells you everything you wanted to know and then some. Found at http://missingepisodes.blogspot.com/
- BroaDWcast: A wiki dedicated to chronically the broadcasts of Doctor Who overseas, and with it, the potential broadcast locations and destinations of any missing episodes. Found at http://broadwcast.org/
- Heresay and conjecture: Perhaps not verifiable mind you
Broadcasting Doctor Who in the 1960s
For it's entire classic run, aside from a few episodes, Doctor Who was recorded and broadcast on videotape. The entire run from Tom Baker's era onwards exists on these original broadcast tapes, as does a sizable portion of Jon Pertwee's era, but not a single original videotape from the 1960s exists with Doctor Who on it. The reason for this? Well, back then tapes weren't just old VHSs gathering dust in your front room that even Oxfam won't take anymore. They were massive, expensive, cutting edge bits of technology that had made it possible for TV to even be recorded after its original broadcast. Using a videotape only once and keeping the recorded program on it forever was a bad use of resources when it was perfectly feasible to re-use them. And thus re-use them they did: between March 1967 and late 1974, the entire catalogue of 1960s Doctor Who was erased from those original master tapes. The earliest existing broadcast tape with Doctor Who on it is episode 1 of The Ambassadors of Death from Jon Pertwee's first season in 1970.
But that wasn't the end (mostly). Before the tapes were wiped, the episodes underwent a process called 'telerecording', where the episodes were recorded onto 16mm film. This process is complex, but basically involves pointing a fancy camera at a special TV screen and hitting record. The reason for this was that, as with many BBC shows of the era, Doctor Who had a lot of potential for sale overbroad, particularly to the countries of the Commonwealth and those still under British colonial rule at the time. All of these countries had differing videotape standards to Britain, and many of them didn't use tape at all: 16mm film, however, was a universal format that any old country and its mum could play with ease. And thus the BBC duly shipped out truckloads of Doctor Who across the globe. Of course, they didn't just make a new film print every time it went to a new country: generally, once a country was finished with its prints of a story, they sent them on to the next country, in a process known as 'bicycling', although it is rather unlikely any actual bicycles were used. For instance, the prints of Marco Polo that initially went to Gibraltar in July 1965, ended up going to Rhodesia, Zambia and Mauritius, before being returned to the BBC. So the question must come up - "George, that's all well and good, but why don't these film prints all exist today? What happened to them?". Well I was getting to that you impatient buggers. Once a film print had finished its rounds one of three things happened to them:
1) They were returned to the BBC (such as the aforementioned prints of Marco Polo were) and set for a date with the Standard Issue BBC Flamethrower™.
2) The BBC issues instructions to the local TV stations to destroy the prints using their own local flamethrowers
3) The BBC issues instructions to destroy the prints, but they are ignored or lost in transit, or the BBC forget to issue instructions. Either way, the prints languish at said TV stations for the next few decades.
As you might have guessed, prints subject to destinations 1 and 2 did not fare particularly well, while we now have many existing episodes because of destination 3. Guess which was the rarest out of the 3.
But why destroy the films once they were returned from overseas? Surely they had value to the BBC that warranted the couple of square cm in storage space it would take to keep them? Well no, not really. For a start, there was no VHS or DVD or Netflix or online illegal streaming sites in the 60s: once a TV program had been shown, the only way to see it again was repeats. And repeats were very rare in those days and the 60s Doctor Who was basically unrepeatable because of actor and writer's union laws that prevented the repeat of programs after a certain time after original transmission. Once the films had been shown to the wider world, their value back home was basically nothing. Storage space was also at a premium: there were maybe only around 200 episodes of Doctor Who from this period, but consider all the other programs of the time. London is a big, busy place: there isn't just a random borough they could have dumped thousands of film cans, although such an approach might have improved a few places I can think of. The only approach open to them was utilisation of the Standard Issue BBC Flamethrower™. And thus, 60s Doctor Who was burnt by the truckload.
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| "Now where's Fury from the Deep got to?" |
By the time the practice ended in 1978, only 47 episodes of 60s Doctor Who was found to exist in the BBC's Film Library.
Recovering the Episodes
So you're standing at the Film Library in 1978 with only 47 out of 200+ episodes of 60s Doctor Who in front of you. Your first thought, apart from 'well we fucked up', is probably 'where can I find some more?'
And that's precisely what Ian Levine and Sue Malden did. Levine found 79 episodes at BBC Enterprises, the overseas sales division, while Malden the almost entire Jon Pertwee era. They also checked the BFI, who returned three stories and had a snoop around BBC premises which turned up an episode or two.
Since then, the number of missing episodes has dwindled from 136 to 97, and these have come from three major sources.
1) Overseas broadcasters that engaged in print destination number 3) as shown above. These range from almost all of The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear in Nigeria, from a single episode of The Celestial Toymaker in Australia that nobody quite knows how it survived.
2) Private collectors. How they got their hands on the prints varies, but the generally accepted theory is that they or who they bought them from nicked prints recently returned from overseas before their inevitable encounter with the Standard Issue BBC Flamethrower™.
3) Found randomly lying around the BBC for no particular reason. This avenue had dried up by the end of the 80s for fairly obvious reasons (there are only so many BBC premises people can forget about priceless film prints in), but this did yield some episodes.
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| "Well, at least one of these has to be episode 3 of The Web of Fear, right?" |
Additionally, small clips of missing episodes have been found from a number of sources, including:
- Clips censored out of the actual episodes by the Australians prior to their broadcast down under, and then promptly forgotten about
- Clips used in other programs such as Blue Peter promoting the program
- 8mm film clips filmed by using the exceptionally complex method of pointing a camera at a telly and pressing play.
Also, for many missing episodes, still images of the episodes exist. These pictures, known as 'telesnaps' were taken by one John Cura, who did this sort of thing professionally. He was paid by the producers to take the pictures for use as publicity etc.
Finally, soundtracks, recorded off-air by fans, exist of every episode of 60s Doctor Who, and thus we can at least listen to the episodes we cannot watch.
So we all caught up? Well let's get into the meat of it then - every episode of 60s Doctor Who and it's archival status.
An Unearthly Child
All 4 episodes exist.
All four episodes of the first ever Doctor Who story were found in the film library in 1977. I can hazard a guess that they were retained precisely because they constituted the first ever story, but this is just conjecture.
The Daleks
All 7 episodes exist.
This story was among the episodes found by Ian Levine at BBC Enterprises in 1978. Episode 7 only exists in the lower resolution Suppressed Field type of film, as opposed to the Stored Field used by most episodes. Episode 5's Stored Field copy is damaged and thus the Suppressed Field is the current master. A copy of episode 5 was found in 2004, origin unknown.
The Edge of Destruction
Both episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises. The last 5 minutes of episode 2 are Suppressed Field: the reason for this is unknown.
Marco Polo
All 7 episodes missing.
The first missing story is the most baffling. It was the most widely sold missing story, with nine sets of prints being struck for broadcast in 25 countries. And yet not a single frame of footage exists from this story. Two sets of prints of this story are unaccounted for: those last broadcast in Thailand and those last broadcast in Ethiopia. Additionally, telesnaps exist for every episode except episode 4.
The Keys of Marinus
All 6 episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises, although episode 5 existed in the Film Library prior to this. Episodes 2 and 4 are edited, with a total of 17 seconds missing, for unknown reasons.
The Aztecs
All 4 episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises.
The Sensorites
All 6 episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises.
The Reign of Terror
Episodes 1, 2, 3 and 6 exist, episode 4 and 5 missing.
Episode 6 was the first episode to be found: at a film fair in 1982, with episodes 1, 2, 3 and a further copy of episode 6 being found in Cyprus 3 years later, with a better quality copy of episode 3 being recovered shortly after that. It is widely accepted that the missing episodes were destroyed during the Civil War in 1974. Maybe now you'll understand the consequences of war!
Episodes 1 and 2 of this story are suppressed field prints, while the missing episodes were animated for the DVD release.
Like Marco Polo, there are two sets of prints unaccounted for, in Thailand and Ethiopia. A few seconds of 8mm off-screen footage exists of the two missing episodes.
Planet of Giants
All 3 episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises. This story was originally made as a 4-parter, but episodes 3 and 4 were edited together as it was felt the story worked better as a 3 parter. The unused bits of episodes are missing and are almost certainly not going to be found.
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
All 6 episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises, although the 35mm broadcast film of episode 5 existed in the Film Library prior to this.
The Rescue
Both episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises.
The Romans
All 4 episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises, although episodes 1 and 3 existed in the Film Library prior to this.
The Web Planet
All 6 episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises, although episode 2 existed in the Film Library prior to this. I've seen fewer more convincing arguments for atheism than that this story exists while The Power of the Daleks is missing.
The Crusade
Episodes 1 and 3 exist, episode 2 and 4 missing.
Episode 3 existed in the Film Library prior to 1978, while a Supressed Field copy of episode 1 was rescued from a New Zealand Standard Issue Flamethrower (no trademark for that one, not as methodical as the BBC) in 1974, finding its way back to the BBC via a private collector 25 years later. Only one set of prints for this story are unaccounted for, those that finished their journey in Ethiopia. Telesnaps do exist of the missing two episodes, however.
The Space Museum
All 4 episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises, although episode 3 existed in the Film Library priot to this.
The Chase
All 6 episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises, although a copy of episode 1 is recorded as residing in the Film Library in 1976, although not in 1977. Why it was removed is conjecture, but 'sticky fingers' is probably the explanation.
The Time Meddler
All 4 episodes exist.
Episode 2 was found to exist in the Film Library prior to 1978, while copies of all four episodes were recovered from Nigeria in 1984, although these were all edited. Levine returned unedited copies of episodes 1 and 3 in 1991, leaving 12 seconds missing from episode 4 due to Australian censorship.
Galaxy 4
Episode 3 exists, episodes 1, 2 and 4 missing.
Episode 3 was returned to the BBC in 2011 from a private collector, and while it hasn't been confirmed, it's likely it was from a batch of films returned from down under in 1975 and was nabbed by someone before it's appointment with the Standard Issue BBC Flamethrower™. Due to damage, the last 30 seconds or so of the episode are missing, but have been reconstructed by the Doctor Who Restoration Team. As for the other episodes, the only set of unaccounted prints are those which were last broadcast in Singapore. As well as episode 3, a non-insignificant amount of episode 1 exists, as the basis of clips used in a 1977 documentary on the program.
Mission to the Unknown
Episode missing.
The only episode in the show's history not to feature the Doctor, this was basically a 25 minute long trailer for the 12 part epic that would come a month later. It was offered to Australia, but rejected due to its 'horror content', and thus never aired. Whether any other prints were made apart from the one sent Down Under is unknown, although there is a small chance the episode aired in Singapore in 1972, even though no paperwork exists. The fates of the print that was known to exist that went to Australia, and the one that probably didn't exist in Singapore, are unknown. I wouldn't hold out hope.
Not a single frame of footage survives from the episode.
The Myth Makers
All 4 episodes missing.
A completely missing story, aside from a few 8mm off screen clips, the only set of unaccounted prints were last seen in Singapore. A mystery as strange as the Trojan Horse (hahaha ok I'll stop).
The Daleks' Master Plan
Episodes 2, 5 and 10 exist, episodes 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 missing.
This 12 part Dalek epic is one of the most odd examples of a missing story. Broadcast as a 12-parter in the UK, it included an episode broadcast on Christmas Day. Episode 7 was completely separate from the Dalek story and involved the Doctor turning around at the end of the story and wishing viewers a happy Christmas. When this story was offered for sale to Australia, it was marketed as an 11 parter, and unless it was telerecorded without being documented, episode 7 was lost forever when the master tapes were wiped, as it was the only episode of Doctor Who in the 60s not transferred to film.
Like it's prequel episode, the story was rejected down under on the basis of horror content. The fate of these Australian films are unknown, as are the origin of the episodes that currently exist. What is known that in 1976, a copy of episode 4 existed in the Film Library, but was gone a year later, potentially used for a clip by Blue Peter and never returned. In 1983, copies of episodes 5 and 10 were found in a church in South London in exceptionally strange circumstances that nobody can quite agree on. There's a whole page on BroaDWcast dedicated to these films, and the answer to the question of their origin is 'fuck us if we know.' The origin of these prints, as well as the one of episode 2 returned in 2004, is complete conjecture: they could be the Australian prints that came back to London and sat on shelves until episode 2 was pilfered by an employee, episode 4 went to the Film Library and disappeared in the late 70s and episodes 5 and 10 were nicked by the CofE for their religious appeal (probably not, but got any better theories?). Or they could have just been extra prints the BBC made and the Aussie prints are still in Sydney? Or maybe the Aussie went back to London and met their scheduled date with the Standard Issue BBC Flamethrower™, or maybe they met with a Flamethrower Down Under. Nobody quite knows, but I wouldn't put too much money on any more episodes of this story coming out of the woodwork.
A few short clips of episode 1, as well as one from episode 4, exist along with the three existing episodes.
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| "Have a happy Christmas! Although don't be surprised if Santa doesn't bring you The Massacre even though you put it on your list." |
The Massacre
All 4 episodes missing.
Not a single frame of footage exists from this story, nor do any telesnaps or off screen photographs. The only visuals we have are from a few publicity and set photos. Once again, the only unaccounted set of prints faded from the screen for the last time in Singapore.
The Ark
All 4 episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises, although episode 3 existed in the Film Library prior to this.
The Celestial Toymaker
Episode 4 exists, episodes 1, 2 and 3 missing
In 1984, during a search of their archives, Australian broadcaster ABC found a film print of episode 4 of The Celestial Toymaker. While nobody was complaining it did exist, documentation shows it met with a Flamethrower Down Under in 1976: how it escaped and whether the other three episodes made their appointments or not remains a mystery. Singapore is again the last location of the only unaccounted prints.
The Gunfighters
All 4 episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises, although episode 4 existed in the Film Library prior to this.
The Savages
All 4 episodes missing.
The only unaccounted prints last aired in - you guessed it - Singapore. Aside from a few 8mm film clips and a full collection of telesnaps, nothing exists of this story.
The War Machines
All 4 episodes exist.
Episode 2 of this story was the first episode recovered from a private collector in 1978 - the other three episodes, along with another copy of the second, were returned from Nigeria in 1984. These episodes are censored however, and thus about a minute is missing from episodes 3 and 4. Much of it has been reconstructed for the DVD release, and you wouldn't notice, trust me.
The Smugglers
All 4 episodes missing.
Aside from a few censor clips from our ever shit-scared Australian friends, nothing exist from this story, although there is a full set of telesnaps. If you haven't guessed the final location unaccounted prints, I'll give you a clue - it rhymes with 'Lingapore'.
The Tenth Planet
Episodes 1, 2, and 3 exist, episode 4 missing.
The most notorious case of missing episodes, the Film Library held copies of the first three episodes in 1977, but not the fourth. The long standing theory that Blue Peter nicked the copy in 1973 and didn't bother to return it (instead acquainting it with a Standard Issue BBC Flamethrower™ they had pinned a Blue Peter badge on and affectionately named Rover) is probably false given the story was still being offered for sale until the next year, and it's pretty difficult to offer a story for sale if a quarter of it is a bit of ash on the Blue Peter office floor. So the question of 'what happened to the fourth episode' is one to which the answer is 'fuck us if we know'. Aside from having been animated for a DVD release, a number of 8mm film clips of the final few minutes being in existence, and of course, the regeneration sequence existing from Blue Peter, episode 4 is completely missing, although there is a full telesnap set and an animated reconstruction on the DVD. The only unaccounted copy was last seen in (drumroll please) Singapore, our southeast Asian friends being our final chance to see the first regeneration episode.
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| The Doctor was dismayed to find the Daleks had succeeded in their plan to exterminate the last remaining copy of The Tenth Planet |
The Power of the Daleks
All 6 episodes missing.
Completely missing, Singapore is once again the final destination of the last set of unaccounted prints. A number of 8mm film clips plus a full telesnap set of the story exist, and it was completely animated for a DVD/Blu-Ray release, however.
The Highlanders
All 4 episodes missing.
Australian censor clips and a full telesnap set is all that remain of this story, while the last set of unaccounted prints were last shown in Hong Kong.
The Underwater Menace
Episodes 2 and 3 exist, episodes 1 and 4 missing.
Episode 3 of this story was found to exist in the Film Library prior to 1978, while episode 2 was returned to the BBC by the same collector who returned Galaxy 4 episode 3 in 2011 - like the Galaxy 4 print, this print is believed to have originated down under and was pilfered before it's destruction. Telesnaps and a few censor clips of the missing two episodes remain. The last set of prints not accounted for were shown for the final time in Hong Kong.
The Moonbase
Episodes 2 and 4 exist, episodes 1 and 3 missing
The two existing episodes of this story were found to exist in the Film Library prior to 1978, although a higher quality print of episode 4 was found in 1982. The last unaccounted prints had their final broadcast in Hong Kong. Telesnaps are all that remain of the missing two episodes, although they have been reconstructed by animation for DVD.
The Macra Terror
All 4 episodes missing.
Hong Kong was once again the final broadcast location of this entirely missing story, although 8mm clips, censor clips and a telesnap set give us a brief glimpse of this lost classic.
The Faceless Ones
Episodes 1 and 3 exist, episodes 2, 4, 5 and 6 missing.
Episode 1 was found to exist in the Film Library prior to 1978, while episode 3 was returned by a private collector in 1987. Telesnaps and a brief 8mm clip of episode 3 are all that remain of the rest of the story, the last unaccounted prints airing for the final time in Hong Kong.
The Evil of the Daleks
Episode 2 exists, episodes 1 and 3 - 7 missing
The same collector who returned episode 3 of The Faceless Ones also returned episode 2 of this story. As well as telesnaps, a few seconds of 8mm footage from the final episode, and some behind-the-scenes footage of this final battle do exist. Singapore once again is the location of the final set of unaccounted prints.
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| Unfortunately, just crossing out the '2' and writing a '7' won't yield the desired result |
The Tomb of the Cybermen
All 4 episodes exist.
Thank fuck for Hong Kong, who brought us back this classic in 1991 - all 4 episodes now happily reside in the archives as the earliest complete Troughton story.
The Abominable Snowmen
Episode 2 exists, episodes 1 and 3 - 6 missing
In 1982, a private collector returned a print of episode 2 of this story, leaving just telesnaps for the other 5 episodes. Nigeria is the final broadcast place of the unaccounted prints of this story.
The Ice Warriors
Episodes 1, 4, 5 and 6 exist, episodes 2 and 3 missing
One day in 1988, a BBC employee decided to clean up a cupboard, and inside, he happened to find four 16mm film cans, which turned out to contain the four existing episodes of this story. So if you work at the BBC and see a cupboard which looks like it hasn't been opened in 50 years, you know what to do. Where these prints came from is anyone's guess. Aside from telesnaps, nothing exists of the other two episodes, although they have been reconstructed with animation. There are two sets of unaccounted prints: one that last aired in Singapore and may have been sent to but not aired in Nigeria, and one set that went to Germany to audition the show to German TV producers. Methodical as ever, the Germans declined, presumably very angrily, and the fate of those prints are unknown. So if you live in Germany and notice some films which say 'The Ice Warriors' on them, you know what to do.
The Enemy of the World
All 6 episodes exist.
Thanks to Phil Morris, all 6 episodes of this story are back in the archives following their rediscovery in Nigeria, having sat around in a Nigerian TV station for a good forty years or so.
The Web of Fear
Episodes 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 exist, episode 3 missing
All 6 episodes of The Web of Fear were found by Morris at the same time as The Enemy of the World. However, during the period when Morris took his eye off them, some prick came and pilfered the film of episode 3. Who has it, whether it still exists and whether we're ever gonna get it back it is pure conjecture, but if you are the person who has the episode: fuck you. Also please it give back please please please please please. Fortunately, there are at least telesnaps of episode 3, so that's something. Unfortunately, the Nigeria prints were the last unaccounted set of prints, so unless we get that copy of episode 3 back, it's Chinatown.
Fury from the Deep
All 6 episodes missing.
Telesnaps and censor clips are all that's left of this 6 episode story. Singapore is the final broadcast destination of the last unaccounted prints, although they could have followed The Ice Warriors prints to Nigeria. This is, however, the chronologically last completely missing story.
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| "Sorry Victoria, doesn't look like any episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan are in this pipe" |
The Wheel in Space
Episodes 3 and 6 exist, episodes 1, 2, 4 and 5 missing
The 35mm print of episode 6 was among those in the Film Library in 1977, while episode 3 returned to the BBC via a private collector in 1983. Telesnaps and a few censor clips are all that's left of the rest of the story, which has a set of unaccounted prints that last aired in Nigeria.
The Dominators
All 5 episodes exist.
This story was among the 3 returned to the BBC in 1978 by the British Film Institute (BFI), who had preserved them as examples of genre: the other two stories being The Krotons and The War Games. For this story, however, they needn't have bothered, as it was already held in the Film Library, including the 35mm copy of episode 3.
The Mind Robber
All 5 episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises, although the 35mm print of episode 5 existed in the Film Library prior to this.
The Invasion
Episodes 2, 3 and 5 - 8 exist, episodes 1 and 4 missing
The existing episodes of this story existed in the Film Library prior to 1978, the fate of the missing episodes being unknown. John Cura has ceased working by this point, and thus there are no telesnaps for this story. Episodes 1 and 4 have been reconstructed by animation, however.
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| "What's happened, Doctor? We seem to have become crude flash animations all of a sudden!" |
The Krotons
All 4 episodes exist.
Episodes 2 and 3, plus the 35mm print of episode 1 existed in the Film Library prior to 1978, while the BFI's return of the full story brought episode 4 back, completing this story.
The Seeds of Death
All 6 episodes exist.
Found by Levine at Enterprises, although all except episode 3 existed in the Film Library prior to this.
The Space Pirates
Episode 2 exists, episodes 1 and 3 - 6 missing
The 35mm print of episode 2 was found to exist in the Film Library in 1978, but the rest of the story was not so lucky. A few film inserts of some of the special effects are all that exists of the rest of this crushingly dull story. Episode 6 of this story is, however, the last chronological missing episode.
The War Games
All 10 episodes exist.
And thus the black and white era ends with The War Games, which exists thanks to the BFI, although episodes 2, 5, 8 and 9 existed in the Film Library prior to the BFI returning the whole story in 1978.
The Seventies
Doctor Who is exceptionally lucky in that every episode from the 1970s exists in the archives. For a few years in the late 70s and early 80s, two episodes from season 11, the first episodes of Death to the Daleks and Invasion of the Dinosaurs were the only missing episodes from the 70s but both were recovered by 1983.
However, much of Jon Pertwee's era existed only as black and white 16mm film prints while they were originally broadcast in colour. Happily, all but one episode has had their colour restored, with the following list showing all the ways they exist in colour
- Original Format: Aside from the 16mm broadcast prints of Spearhead from Space, these are the original broadcast tapes. Existing eratically in season 7, 8 and 9, in seasons 10 and 11 only three episodes do not exist in this format.
- Colour Restoration: Colour lifted from an off-air recording of the stories in the US and placed onto the higher quality 16mm film prints.
- Reverse Standards Conversion: NTSC standard colour tapes recovered from the US and Canada reconverted to the British PAL standard.
- Chromadot Recovery: Episodes recoloured from small elements of colour remaining in the black and white prints of the episodes.
- Manual Recolouring: None of these methods were feasible for episode 1 of The Mind of Evil, and thus it was manually recoloured.
- Remaining in Black and White: None of the methods were feasible for episode 1 of Invasion of the Dinosaurs and manual recolouring wasn't available for whatever reason (probably budget) and thus the episode remains in black and white.
From episode 2 of Invasion of the Dinosaurs onwards, every episode exists in its entirely on its original broadcast tape, save for the end of episode 3 of The Deadly Assassin, which was censored out due to Mary bloody Whitehouse. An off-air recording of the few seconds in question cover on subsequent releases. From that point on, every frame as broadcast exists. Which is a bit of a shame for much of NuWho, but there we go.
So are we going to get anything back?
The short answer is 'nobody apart from maybe Phil Morris and Paul Vanezis know.'
The long answer is 'maybe but probably not'. For a start, Phil Morris continues his worldwide search and gives an interview every few months claiming that we'll know something soon. Whether it turns up any Doctor Who is basically guesswork for everyone else at this point, but we can dream. Additionally, it's heavily rumoured some missing episodes exist in private collections: whether they can be recovered or not is unknown, but it's almost certainly best to leave Restoration Team stalwart Paul Vanezis to it - if anyone knows what he's doing, it's him.
For all we know, there could be piles and piles of Doctor Who films in a basement in Singapore, or there could be absolutely nothing left to find. If/when something new turns up, then we'll know. Until then, it's just guesswork.
How to watch missing episodes
There are a few ways to enjoy the missing episodes even if you can't properly watch them. Here are the most prominent:
- Animation: Quite a few episodes have been animated using rather crude and cheap flash animation. It doesn't look great but considering they've been made on a budget of about £4.32 and a packet of Haribo Starmix, they're decent enough and cover the missing episodes fairly well.
- Reconstructions: Using telesnaps, clips, soundtracks and pretty much anything else, these reconstructions provide a glimpse of what the episode could be like. The BBC have made a few official ones, but easily the best are the ones made by Loose Canon Productions. Their entire catalogue is available on Dailymotion at https://www.dailymotion.com/DavidAgnew
- Soundtracks: For many stories, the soundtracks have been released on CD with narration by key cast members to cover the bits where you can't tell what's going on from the audio.
- Invent a time machine and go back and watch them on their original broadcasts: Maybe a tad more difficult than the ones listed above.
Is it worth extending all this effort for a few episodes of a nerdy family sci-fi TV program from 50 years ago?
Probably not. But it's not like I have anything better to do.
It's probable that most of the episodes still missing met with the Standard Issue BBC Flamethrower™ at their booked appointments, and we'll never see them again. But if there's even the slightest chance, then hope springs always eternal.
I hope you enjoyed and/or found this blog post informative. The A-Z of Classic Who will return to its original schedule shortly.
For all we know, there could be piles and piles of Doctor Who films in a basement in Singapore, or there could be absolutely nothing left to find. If/when something new turns up, then we'll know. Until then, it's just guesswork.
How to watch missing episodes
There are a few ways to enjoy the missing episodes even if you can't properly watch them. Here are the most prominent:
- Animation: Quite a few episodes have been animated using rather crude and cheap flash animation. It doesn't look great but considering they've been made on a budget of about £4.32 and a packet of Haribo Starmix, they're decent enough and cover the missing episodes fairly well.
- Reconstructions: Using telesnaps, clips, soundtracks and pretty much anything else, these reconstructions provide a glimpse of what the episode could be like. The BBC have made a few official ones, but easily the best are the ones made by Loose Canon Productions. Their entire catalogue is available on Dailymotion at https://www.dailymotion.com/DavidAgnew
- Soundtracks: For many stories, the soundtracks have been released on CD with narration by key cast members to cover the bits where you can't tell what's going on from the audio.
- Invent a time machine and go back and watch them on their original broadcasts: Maybe a tad more difficult than the ones listed above.
Is it worth extending all this effort for a few episodes of a nerdy family sci-fi TV program from 50 years ago?
Probably not. But it's not like I have anything better to do.
It's probable that most of the episodes still missing met with the Standard Issue BBC Flamethrower™ at their booked appointments, and we'll never see them again. But if there's even the slightest chance, then hope springs always eternal.
I hope you enjoyed and/or found this blog post informative. The A-Z of Classic Who will return to its original schedule shortly.
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| The Doctor's attempt to charm The Macra Terror back into existence unfortunately was unsuccessful. |
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