Doctor Who (partially lost BBC sci-fi series episodes; 1963-1978): Difference between revisions

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[[File:MarcoPolo-slide-low-1024x683.jpg|thumb|300px|A picture taken on set of the lost episode "Marco Polo".]]
[[File:MarcoPolo-slide-low-1024x683.jpg|thumb|300px|A picture taken on set of the lost episode "Marco Polo".]]
[[File:Collage_offair_304_thedaleksmasterplan.jpg|thumb|300px|Screenshots from the only confirmed lost for good episode of Doctor Who.]]
[[File:Collage_offair_304_thedaleksmasterplan.jpg|thumb|300px|Screenshots from the only confirmed lost for good episode of Doctor Who.]]
The appropriately dubbed '''''Doctor Who ''Missing Episodes''' are a collection of 147 episodes of the British sci-fi television series that were wiped by the BBC between 1963 and 1974, (as old reels would often be wiped for new material instead of buying expensive new reels). Though many episodes have been recovered over the years, 97 still remain missing; consequentially, full footage of these lost episodes have not been seen since their original airing.
The appropriately dubbed '''''Doctor Who ''Missing Episodes''' are a collection of 147 episodes of the British sci-fi television series that were wiped by the BBC between 1963 and 1974, (as old reels would often be wiped for new material instead of buying expensive new reels). Though many episodes have been recovered over the years, 97 still remain missing; consequently, full footage of these lost episodes have not been seen since their original airing. Because of the high amount of publicity surrounding these missing episodes, they are arguably one of the most famous cases of lost media in modern history.


In addition to the completely lost episodes during the First and Second Doctor's runs, there are some episodes from the Third Doctors run that no longer exist in their original color format, although they do exist in Black and White versions, and have subsequently been restored to full colour.
In addition to the completely lost episodes during the First and Second Doctor's runs, there are some episodes from the Third Doctor's run that no longer exist in their original color format. When the episodes were recovered from copies loaned to Australian television networks, all footage was in monochrome, having been filtered as such to compensate for Australia's lack of color television at the time. However, the footage was gradually recolored by various methods; as of the DVD release of "The Mind of Evil" in June of 2013, every Third Doctor story is available to watch in full color.


After the BBC came to their senses in 1974, they decided to start searching for the episodes that they had lost by attempting to gain the co-operation of private collectors and probing the television stations that they had loaned tapes to (tapes that had, as of then, not yet been returned). Through these methods the BBC has managed to recover 50 episodes over the years (most recently in October 2013), including nine full missing serials.
After the BBC came to their senses in 1974, they decided to start searching for the episodes that they had lost by attempting to gain the co-operation of private collectors and probing the television stations that they had loaned tapes to (tapes that had, as of then, not yet been returned). Through these methods the BBC has managed to recover 50 episodes over the years (most recently in October 2013), including nine full missing serials. However, some serials are still missing several seconds of footage from the following episodes:
* Episodes 2 & 3 of "The Keys of Marinus"
* Episode 4 of "The Time Meddler"
* Episode 3 of "Galaxy 4"
* Episode 4 of "The Celestial Toymaker"
* Episodes 3 & 4 of "The War Machines"
* Episode 3 of "The Faceless Ones"


A total of 26 serials still remain incomplete, 10 of which are completely missing from the BBC archives. Still publicity photographs, scenes cut for censorship reasons, on-set footage and audio recordings for some of the remaining lost episodes still survive and were released by the BBC in a 2004 DVD boxset which is rumoured to be getting a Special Edition release Summer 2014, however this news is not yet confirmed.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_in_Time_(Doctor_Who) Wikipedia page on the 2004 DVD boxset ''Lost in Time''.] Retrieved 22 May '13.</ref>
A total of 26 serials still remain incomplete, 10 of which are completely missing from the BBC archives. Still publicity photographs, scenes cut for censorship reasons, on-set footage and audio recordings for some of the remaining lost episodes still survive and were released by the BBC in a 2004 DVD boxset which is rumoured to be getting a Special Edition release Summer 2014, however this news is not yet confirmed.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_in_Time_(Doctor_Who) Wikipedia page on the 2004 DVD boxset ''Lost in Time''.] Retrieved 22 May '13.</ref>


Of the 97 episodes that are currently missing, only one is confirmed to have no chance of recovery, Episode 7 of The Daleks Master Plan, A Christmas special, was only aired once and because the episode had no relevance to the plot, there were no film copies made. As a result, it was never offered to overseas broadcasters like all other episodes. It was destroyed for good in the second round of wiping on August 17th, 1967.
Of the 97 episodes that are currently missing, only one is confirmed to have no chance of recovery, Episode 7 of The Daleks Master Plan, A Christmas special, was only aired once and because the episode had no relevance to the plot, there were no film copies made. As a result, it was never offered to overseas broadcasters like all other episodes. It was destroyed for good in the second round of wiping on August 17th, 1967.
Also of note is the fact that of all 26 stories with missing episodes, three have no surviving footage whatsoever: "Marco Polo," "Mission to the Unknown," and "The Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Eve." All other missing episodes feature at least some fragments of surviving footage, obtained either from Australian & New Zealand censorship boards (who literally cut the footage from their reels), amateur tele-recordings, or snippets of footage used in third party programs.


It is widely rumoured that following the October 2013 reveal of missing episodes, more are to come in coming months, potentially restoring the majority of missing episodes.
It is widely rumoured that following the October 2013 reveal of missing episodes, more are to come in coming months, potentially restoring the majority of missing episodes.
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! Story No.
! Story No.
! Serial
! Serial
! Lost Episodes
! No. of Episodes in the Serial
! Episodes Missing
! Tally
! Tally
|-
|-
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|004
|004
|"Marco Polo"
|"Marco Polo"
|All 7 episodes
|7
|All episodes (no surviving footage)
| 7
| 7
|-
|-
|008
|008
|"The Reign of Terror"
|"The Reign of Terror"
|Episodes 4 & 5 (of 6 total)
|6
|Episodes 4 & 5
|2
|2
|-
|-
Line 43: Line 54:
|014
|014
|"The Crusade"
|"The Crusade"
|Episodes 2 & 4 (of 4 total)
|4
|Episodes 2 & 4
|2
|2
|-
|-
Line 49: Line 61:
|018
|018
|"Galaxy 4"
|"Galaxy 4"
|Episodes 1, 2 & 4 (of 4 total)
|4
|Episodes 1, 2 & 4
|3
|3
|-
|-
|019
|019
|"Mission to the Unknown"
|"Mission to the Unknown"
|Entire episode
|1
|Entire episode (no surviving footage)
|1
|1
|-
|-
|020
|020
|"The Myth Makers"
|"The Myth Makers"
|4
|All 4 episodes
|All 4 episodes
|4
|4
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|021
|021
|"The Daleks' Master Plan"
|"The Daleks' Master Plan"
|
|12
Episodes 1, 3, 4, 6-9, 11 & 12 (of 12 total), Episode 7 is confirmed to no longer exist
|Episodes 1, 3, 4, 6-9, 11 & 12; Episode 7 is confirmed to no longer exist
in any format, deeming it permanently lost. This is the only episode to be considered such.
in any format, deeming it permanently lost. This is the only episode to be considered such.
|9
|9
Line 71: Line 86:
|022
|022
|"The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve"
|"The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve"
|All 4 episodes
|4
|All episodes (no surviving footage)
|4
|4
|-
|-
|024
|024
|"The Celestial Toymaker"
|"The Celestial Toymaker"
|Episodes 1, 2 & 3 (of 4 total)
|4
|Episodes 1, 2 & 3
|3
|3
|-
|-
|026
|026
|"The Savages"
|"The Savages"
|All 4 episodes
|4
|All episodes
|4
|4
|-
|-
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|028
|028
|"The Smugglers"
|"The Smugglers"
|All 4 episodes
|4
|All episodes
|4
|4
|-
|-
|029
|029
|"The Tenth Planet"
|"The Tenth Planet"
|Episode 4 (of 4 total)
|4
|Episode 4
|1
|1
|-
|-
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|030
|030
|"The Power of the Daleks"
|"The Power of the Daleks"
|All 6 episodes
|6
|All episodes
|6
|6
|-
|-
|031
|031
|"The Highlanders"
|"The Highlanders"
|All 4 episodes
|4
|All episodes
|4
|4
|-
|-
|032
|032
|"The Underwater Menace"
|"The Underwater Menace"
|Episodes 1 & 4 (of 4 total)
|4
|Episodes 1 & 4
|2
|2
|-
|-
|033
|033
|"The Moonbase"
|"The Moonbase"
|Episodes 1 & 3 (of 4 total)
|4
|Episodes 1 & 3
|2
|2
|-
|-
|034
|034
|"The Macra Terror"
|"The Macra Terror"
|All 4 episodes
|4
|All episodes
|4
|4
|-
|-
|035
|035
|"The Faceless Ones"
|"The Faceless Ones"
|Episodes 2, 4-6 (of 6 total)
|6
|Episodes 2, 4-6
|4
|4
|-
|-
|036
|036
|"The Evil of the Daleks"
|"The Evil of the Daleks"
|Episodes 1, 3-7 (of 7 total)
|7
|Episodes 1, 3-7
|6
|6
|-
|-
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|038
|038
|"The Abominable Snowmen"
|"The Abominable Snowmen"
|Episodes 1, 3-6 (of 6 total)
|6
|Episodes 1, 3-6
|5
|5
|-
|-
|039
|039
|"The Ice Warriors"
|"The Ice Warriors"
|Episodes 2 & 3 (of 6 total)
|6
|Episodes 2 & 3
|2
|2


Line 151: Line 180:
|041
|041
|"The Web of Fear"
|"The Web of Fear"
|Episode 3 (of 6 total)
|6
|Episode 3
|1
|1
|-
|-
|042
|042
|"Fury from the Deep"
|"Fury from the Deep"
|All 6 episodes
|6
|All episodes
|6
|6
|-
|-
|043
|043
|"The Wheel in Space"
|"The Wheel in Space"
|Episodes 1, 2, 4 & 5 (of 6 total)
|6
|Episodes 1, 2, 4 & 5
|4
|4
|-
|-
| rowspan="2" | 6
|046
|046
|"The Invasion"
|"The Invasion"
|Episodes 1 & 4 (of 8 total)
|8
|Episodes 1 & 4
|2
|2
|-
|-
|049
|049
|"The Space Pirates"
|"The Space Pirates"
|Episodes 1, 3-6 (of 6 total)
|6
|Episodes 1, 3-6
|3
|3
|-
|-

Revision as of 16:42, 2 October 2015

File:EvilFilmCan.jpg
A film canister containing a previously missing episode of Doctor Who, "The Evil of the Daleks: Ep 2".
File:MarcoPolo-slide-low-1024x683.jpg
A picture taken on set of the lost episode "Marco Polo".
File:Collage offair 304 thedaleksmasterplan.jpg
Screenshots from the only confirmed lost for good episode of Doctor Who.

The appropriately dubbed Doctor Who Missing Episodes are a collection of 147 episodes of the British sci-fi television series that were wiped by the BBC between 1963 and 1974, (as old reels would often be wiped for new material instead of buying expensive new reels). Though many episodes have been recovered over the years, 97 still remain missing; consequently, full footage of these lost episodes have not been seen since their original airing. Because of the high amount of publicity surrounding these missing episodes, they are arguably one of the most famous cases of lost media in modern history.

In addition to the completely lost episodes during the First and Second Doctor's runs, there are some episodes from the Third Doctor's run that no longer exist in their original color format. When the episodes were recovered from copies loaned to Australian television networks, all footage was in monochrome, having been filtered as such to compensate for Australia's lack of color television at the time. However, the footage was gradually recolored by various methods; as of the DVD release of "The Mind of Evil" in June of 2013, every Third Doctor story is available to watch in full color.

After the BBC came to their senses in 1974, they decided to start searching for the episodes that they had lost by attempting to gain the co-operation of private collectors and probing the television stations that they had loaned tapes to (tapes that had, as of then, not yet been returned). Through these methods the BBC has managed to recover 50 episodes over the years (most recently in October 2013), including nine full missing serials. However, some serials are still missing several seconds of footage from the following episodes:

  • Episodes 2 & 3 of "The Keys of Marinus"
  • Episode 4 of "The Time Meddler"
  • Episode 3 of "Galaxy 4"
  • Episode 4 of "The Celestial Toymaker"
  • Episodes 3 & 4 of "The War Machines"
  • Episode 3 of "The Faceless Ones"

A total of 26 serials still remain incomplete, 10 of which are completely missing from the BBC archives. Still publicity photographs, scenes cut for censorship reasons, on-set footage and audio recordings for some of the remaining lost episodes still survive and were released by the BBC in a 2004 DVD boxset which is rumoured to be getting a Special Edition release Summer 2014, however this news is not yet confirmed.[1]

Of the 97 episodes that are currently missing, only one is confirmed to have no chance of recovery, Episode 7 of The Daleks Master Plan, A Christmas special, was only aired once and because the episode had no relevance to the plot, there were no film copies made. As a result, it was never offered to overseas broadcasters like all other episodes. It was destroyed for good in the second round of wiping on August 17th, 1967.

Also of note is the fact that of all 26 stories with missing episodes, three have no surviving footage whatsoever: "Marco Polo," "Mission to the Unknown," and "The Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Eve." All other missing episodes feature at least some fragments of surviving footage, obtained either from Australian & New Zealand censorship boards (who literally cut the footage from their reels), amateur tele-recordings, or snippets of footage used in third party programs.

It is widely rumoured that following the October 2013 reveal of missing episodes, more are to come in coming months, potentially restoring the majority of missing episodes.

UPDATE 10 Oct: Rumours have been abundant over the past few days, regarding reports that two previously lost Doctor Who episodes had been found (supposedly taken from the rumoured haul of 100+ episodes allegedly found in Zambia earlier this year). Well, today the BBC have confirmed the exact details of the find: NINE episodes have been rediscovered - the remaining five "The Enemy of the World" episodes (ie. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6), and four of the five missing "The Web of Fear" episodes (ie. 2, 4, 5 and 6) - all of which have since been made available for digital purchase on iTunes!!!

The episodes were originally rediscovered by TV archive recovery expert Phillip Morris, at a local TV station in Nigeria, and there have even been hints from the BBC that there may be more to come (further perpetuating the rumour of the Zambian episode haul).

List of Missing Episodes

Doctor Season Story No. Serial No. of Episodes in the Serial Episodes Missing Tally
First Doctor 1 004 "Marco Polo" 7 All episodes (no surviving footage) 7
008 "The Reign of Terror" 6 Episodes 4 & 5 2
2 014 "The Crusade" 4 Episodes 2 & 4 2
3 018 "Galaxy 4" 4 Episodes 1, 2 & 4 3
019 "Mission to the Unknown" 1 Entire episode (no surviving footage) 1
020 "The Myth Makers" 4 All 4 episodes 4
021 "The Daleks' Master Plan" 12 Episodes 1, 3, 4, 6-9, 11 & 12; Episode 7 is confirmed to no longer exist

in any format, deeming it permanently lost. This is the only episode to be considered such.

9
022 "The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve" 4 All episodes (no surviving footage) 4
024 "The Celestial Toymaker" 4 Episodes 1, 2 & 3 3
026 "The Savages" 4 All episodes 4
4 028 "The Smugglers" 4 All episodes 4
029 "The Tenth Planet" 4 Episode 4 1
First Doctor Totals 12 serials 44 episodes
Second Doctor 4 030 "The Power of the Daleks" 6 All episodes 6
031 "The Highlanders" 4 All episodes 4
032 "The Underwater Menace" 4 Episodes 1 & 4 2
033 "The Moonbase" 4 Episodes 1 & 3 2
034 "The Macra Terror" 4 All episodes 4
035 "The Faceless Ones" 6 Episodes 2, 4-6 4
036 "The Evil of the Daleks" 7 Episodes 1, 3-7 6
5 038 "The Abominable Snowmen" 6 Episodes 1, 3-6 5
039 "The Ice Warriors" 6 Episodes 2 & 3 2
041 "The Web of Fear" 6 Episode 3 1
042 "Fury from the Deep" 6 All episodes 6
043 "The Wheel in Space" 6 Episodes 1, 2, 4 & 5 4
046 "The Invasion" 8 Episodes 1 & 4 2
049 "The Space Pirates" 6 Episodes 1, 3-6 3
Second Doctor Totals 14 serials 52 episodes
Totals 26 serials 97 episodes

References

  1. ↑ Wikipedia page on the 2004 DVD boxset Lost in Time. Retrieved 22 May '13.


External Links

The Destruction Of Time, A deeper look into the lost episodes.

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