BBC Issues Statement Over Missing Episode Rumours

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 - Reported by John Bowman

The escalation of internet speculation over the potential discovery/recovery of Doctor Who episodes currently missing from the BBC archive has led the corporation to issue a statement about it.

Philip Fleming, the Head of Communications, Brands, Content & Digital at BBC Worldwide, said:

There are always rumours and speculation about Doctor Who missing episodes being discovered. However, we cannot confirm any new finds.

He was responding to reports of a large number of episodes having been found in Africa.

Radio Times subsequently queried what exactly the BBC meant by saying that it could not confirm any new finds, to which a BBC spokeswoman said: "We can't confirm because it's not true as far as I'm aware." Pressed further about whether or not the BBC was in talks with people about episodes, she said: "I don’t think so", while to the question "So there are no episodes?" she responded: "Not as far as we know."

Following the discoveries of the Galaxy 4 episode Air Lock and The Underwater Menace episode 2 in 2011, hopes have been high in fandom that more missing episodes are out there. However, Doctor Who News will continue its policy of reporting only on official statements.

UPDATE - THURSDAY 20th JUNE: Following the BBC's response, a company that had featured in the rumours issued the following statement on Facebook today:

T.I.E.A. does not hold any missing episodes of the long-running Dr Who series. The original videotapes were wiped [and] subsequent film copies were either returned to the BBC [or] sent to landfill. Odd fragments have surfaced - two episodes on 16mm film - but that's it. The programmes in question, like many others, were destroyed as they had no further commercial value. They are not missing but destroyed. The end.

I am sorry if this upsets some people but these are the facts.

I have also become aware of the tracking of some of our clients' shipments. These are local cultural materials sent to us for migration to a modern format as the playback equipment in the country of origin no longer exists and as such is the best road to preserve international cultural heritage.

I will be making no more statements on this subject.

Philip Morris, Executive Director, T.I.E.A.

Reported by:
The Doctor Who News Team

FILTER: - Africa - Second Doctor - First Doctor - BBC

The Ice Warriors: original trailer to be included on DVD

Thursday, 23 May 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The DVD release of The Ice Warriors is to include the original in-character trailer, with brand new animation. Producer Chris Chapman explained on Twitter:

So... the plan is at the moment that the Ice Warriors DVD will include the original 1967 in-character trailer- animated back into existence! We weren't going to do this - didn't think we'd have time, but Chris Chatterton and his team have pulled out all the animated stops! Worth saying though that the Ice Warriors trailer audio is beyond restoration - it's really bad. So we're including subtitles to help!

As mentioned, the audio quality of the trailer utilised for the project is in very bad quality, and Chris has asked if anybody owns a copy that they believe is of a good standard that could be used on the DVD to please contact him asap.

The original trailer was broadcast after the final episode of The Abominable Snowmen on 4th November 1967, and featured Peter Barkworth as Clent and Peter Sallis as Penley introducing the situation facing Brittanicus Base.

BBFC Updates:

The BBFC have recently classified various aspects of the DVD release, including the existing four episodes and their commentaries, plus special features (which confirms their running times):

00:10:03:06 BLUE PETER (DOCTOR WHO - THE ICE WARRIORS - 
            DVD EXTRAS - BLUE PETER DESIGN-A-MONSTER)
00:03:51:24 THE ICE WARRIORS - PHOTO GALLERY (DVD EXTRA)
00:13:46:08 DOCTOR WHO STORIES - FRAZER HINES (DVD EXTRA)
00:19:17:23 (DOCTOR WHO - THE ICE WARRIORS - DVD EXTRAS - VHS LINKS)
00:24:28:18 COLD FUSION - MAKING THE ICE WARRIORS (DVD EXTRA)

The newly animated version of The Tenth Planet: Episode 4 has also been passed (running time 24m 35s), as has the trailer for Scream of the Shalka.

FILTER: - Second Doctor - First Doctor - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

DVD Update (R1): The Doctors Revisited / The Moonbase

Friday, 5 April 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Worldwide/Warner Home Entertainment have released details on a forthcoming DVD release, The Doctors Revisited (1-4), a four-disc boxed set being released as part of BBC America's 50th Anniversary celebration of Doctor Who.

This set features the first four special documentaries broadcast by the channel for William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, each accompanied by the story that illustrated them (The Aztecs, The Tomb of the Cybermen, Spearhead from Space and Pyramids of Mars). As a bonus, each story will also feature an introduction by the show's current lead writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat.

Amazon have made the story available for pre-order, with a release date of 11th June 2013.

The Revisited trailers can be viewed online for the First, Second and Third Doctors.

The Moonbase:

As well as the release above, Amazon have also listed The Moonbase for pre-order! The site describes the release thus:

New to DVD! Digitally remastered Doctor Who classic The Moonbase! (NOT FINAL) The TARDIS arrives in 2070 AD on the Moon, where a weather control station under the command of a man named Hobson is in the grip of a plague epidemic - in reality the result of an alien poison planted by the Cybermen. Polly realizes that as the Cybermen's chest units are made of plastic they must be vulnerable to attack by solvents. She and her friends manage to destroy all the Cybermen on the base with a 'cocktail' of such chemicals shot at them through fire extinguishers.

No other information is known about this item or its features at present, though last year special sound composer Brian Hodgson indicated that he had recorded a commentary for the story.

With thanks to TVShowsOnDVD

FILTER: - Canada - USA - BBC America - Third Doctor - Second Doctor - First Doctor - Classic Series

AudioGo: The Rescue / Competitions

Monday, 18 March 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

AudioGo have provided details for April's classic novelisation release, The Rescue; it is read by Maureen O'Brien who played Vicki, the Doctor's companion who was introduced in this story on television.

The Rescue, read by Maureen O'Brien (Credit: AudioGo)

The Rescue (available to pre-order)
Written by Ian Marter
Read by Maureen O'Brien
Released 4th April 2013

Arriving on the planet Dido in the late 25th Century, the time travellers come upon a crashed spaceship from Earth. Its two occupants are living in fear of a creature called Koquillion, but everything is not as it seems...

Based on the original 1965 TV serial of the same name, featuring the First Doctor (as played by William Hartnell).

Competitions:

We are pleased to announce that we have three copies of The Rescue to give away in a competition, courtesy of AudioGo. In order to win, please answer the following question:

The author of the novelisation, Ian Marter, is better known as playing a companion in Doctor Who - what was that character's name?

Send your answers to this email address with the subject "Rescuing Vicki!", along with your name and address. The competition is open worldwide, and the closing date is the 31st March 2013.

We are also pleased to be able to offer the next instalment of Destiny of The Doctor, the Fourth Doctor tale Babblesphere featuring Lalla Ward as Romana as a separate competition. In order to win this please answer the following question:

Lalla Ward is married to the respected evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins - in which Doctor Who episode did he make a cameo appearance?

Send your answers to this email address with the subject "Who is this God Person Anyway?", along with your name and address. The competition is again open worldwide, with the closing date of 31st March 2013.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Competitions - First Doctor

First Doctor regenerates in animation

Wednesday, 6 March 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The Tenth Planet - Episode 4 Animation. Credit: BBC Worldwide

BBC Worldwide have released a new clip from the forthcoming animation for episode for of The Tenth Planet, which features the original change of lead actor from William Hartnell to Patrick Troughton:

Talking about the sequence, lead animator Chris Chapman said:

We knew that we had to throw everything at this scene and in fact the whole story is historic, with the first appearance of the Cybermen, so we really worked very hard on it. It was a real pleasure. It has definitely made me a fan of Doctor Who.

First Doctor Regeneration - animated sequence, BBC Worldwide, via YouTube
First Doctor regeneration - surviving clips, BBC Worldwide via YouTube

The DVD is due to be released in late 2013.

FILTER: - First Doctor - Animation - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

The Tenth Planet to be released on DVD with animation

Saturday, 16 February 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The First Doctor in Thetamation for The Tenth Planet. Photo: BBC Worldwide

BBC Worldwide have announced that The Tenth Planet is to be released on DVD in late 2013 and, like last month's The Reign of Terror, will have its missing episode four animated by Planet 55 Studios.

Range producer Dan Hall said:

It’s a real thrill to be bringing such an iconic Doctor Who episode back to life. Without the events established in The Tenth Planet episode 4, there would be no Doctor Who as we know it!

The story was originally released on VHS in 2000 and featured a reconstruction of the missing episode using existing telesnaps from the episode; it is expected that this version will also be included on the DVD as an extra.

The missing episode marked the end of the First Doctor's adventures, and introduced the revolutionary concept of the appearance of the Doctor changing - a key element of the series mythos that has enabled the series to now celebrate its fiftieth year! Though the 'regeneration' itself survived, along with a few clips, the story itself has been 'lost' from the BBC archives since the 1970s.

A selection of stills of the new animation in progress can be seen via a gallery on BBC Worldwide's official Doctor Who 50th Anniversay website. There is also a showreel available to watch on the Planet 55 website featuring a number of their concepts - including the First Doctor stalked in the snow, a scene inspired by The Tenth Planet.

FILTER: - First Doctor - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

UK DVD schedule confirmed to September

Thursday, 7 February 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Worldwide have announced the Doctor Who stories that will be released on DVD in the United Kingdom up to September this year. As well as the titles known previously, the list confirms the inclusion of the colourised Third Doctor adventure The Mind of Evil, the incomplete Second Doctor tale The Ice Warriors, and also the animated 2003 story Scream of the Shalka - which starred Richard E Grant as the (very) short-lived online 'Ninth' Doctor.

The complete list of dates are as follows:

25th February:	The Ark in Space: Special Edition
11th March:	The Aztecs: Special Edition (plus Galaxy 4 reconstruction)
6th May:	The Visitation: Special Edition
27th May:	Inferno: Special Edition
3rd June:	The Mind of Evil
24th June:	Terror of the Zygons
15th July:	Spearhead from Space Blu-Ray
5th August:	The Green Death: Special Edition
26th August:	The Ice Warriors
16th September:	Scream of the Shalka

Unlike last month's release of The Reign of Terror, there has been no word on whether August's The Ice Warriors will also feature animated episodes, with only the condensed reconstruction of episodes two and three that accompanied its original VHS release in 1998 confirmed so far. No new information on features to accompany other releases in the list have been revealed since our previous updates.

As yet there has been no indication of how the final four existing episodes - The Tenth Planet(1-3) and The Underwater Menace(2) - are to be presented.

The Visitation:

In addition to above, the BBFC have now classified the features that will be presented on the second disc of The Visitation Special Edition, due in May:

00:45:08:13 GRIM TALES   -  REVISITING THE VISITATION
00:27:29:06 DR. FOREVER! -  THE APOCALYPSE ELEMENT
00:32:11:20 DOCTOR WHO   -  THE TELEVISION CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE

The main disc will contain the original features from the 2004 release, though has revised production notes compiled by Nicholas Pegg, and (of course) newly remastered episodes.

FILTER: - Third Doctor - Second Doctor - First Doctor - Classic Series - Fourth Doctor - Fifth Doctor

The Aztecs Special Edition: Full DVD Details

Thursday, 31 January 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The cover and contents of the forthcoming two-disc special edition DVD release of The Aztecs in the UK have been finalised.

As well as representing a huge technical improvement on the original DVD release from 11 years ago, it also features a selection of new extras and the premiere of the recently recovered third episode of Galaxy 4. Missing for many years, the episode is presented in its entirety, within a shortened reconstruction of the rest of the adventure.

The Aztecs - Special Edition
Release date: 11th March 2013 (available for pre-order)

Starring William Hartnell as Doctor Who, with Carole Ann Ford as Susan, William Russell as Ian, and Jacqueline Hill as Barbara
Written by John Lucarotti
Directed by John Crockett

Broadcast: 23rd May - 13 June 1964

The TARDIS arrives in fifteenth century Mexico inside the tomb of Aztec High Priest Yetaxa. The travellers become cut off from the ship after the tomb door closes behind them and Barbara is proclaimed as Yetaxa's divine reincarnation. However, she incurs the enmity of the High Priest of Sacrifice, when - against the Doctor's advice - she attempts to use her new-found authority to put an end to the Aztec practice of human sacrifice.

Special Features - Disc One

Commentary - with actors William Russell and Carole Ann Ford, producer Verity Lambert OBE.
Arabic Soundtrack - optional soundtrack for episode four only.
Remembering The Aztecs - actors John Ringham, Ian Cullen and Walter Randall recall the production of the story and of television production in the sixties in general.
Designing The Aztecs - designer Barry Newbery talks about his work on the story, illustrated with many never-before-seen production drawings and photographs from his personal collection.
Cortez and Montezuma - an extract from a 1970 Blue Peter, introduced by Valerie Singleton on location in Mexico, giving historical background to the Aztec belief in human sacrifice.
Restoring The Aztecs - a short featurette demonstrating the restoration and videoisation effects used for the release. With subtitles.
Making Cocoa - an animated guide to making cocoa the Aztec way, voiced in character by John Ringham as Tlotoxl and Walter Randall as Tonila, with both characters animated and presented in South Park style.
TARDIS-Cam no.3 - the third of BBCi’s TARDIS-Cam shots.
Photo Gallery - production, design and publicity photos from the story
Easter Egg - an animated BBC Enterprises logo recovered from the end of one of the prints sold overseas.
Intro Sequences - the umbrella story title The Aztecs does not appear on any of the episodes, so for (outdated now) BBFC compliance a caption card with the title has been provided. To add interest, six versions have been provided, each with a different voiceover, in character, from three of the actors involved in the production. The intention is that the disc will randomly select one of these six sequences and play it out at the appropriate point.
PDF Material – Radio Times listings in Adobe PDF format for viewing on PC or Mac
Programme subtitles

Special Features - Disc Two

Galaxy 4 (dur. 64’ 43”) – a shortened reconstruction of the missing story Galaxy 4, using off-screen stills, audio recordings and animation plus the recently recovered complete episode three to tell the story.
Chronicle – The Realms of Gold – John Julius Norwich’s superlative 1969 retelling of the story of the Spanish conquest of Mexico and the Aztecs, which also features music by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Dr. Forever! – Celestial Toyroom – the first of a new five-part series introduced by Ayesha Antoine looks at Doctor Who toys. With original series producer Verity Lambert, new series creator Russell T Davies, writers Mark Gatiss, Rob Shearman, Paul Cornell and Joseph Lidster, BBC Worldwide product licensing executive Richard Hollis, product approval executive Dave Turbitt and ex- range editor Steve Cole, AudioGO commissioning editor Michael Stevens, Character Options’ Alasdair Dewar, DWM’s toy reviewer Jim Sangster and last, but by no means least, Doctor Who’s very own Winston Churchill, actor Ian McNiece.
It’s a Square World – the very first Doctor Who skit (as far as we can ascertain), with Clive Dunn in full First Doctor costume as a scientist demonstrating his new space rocket to Michael Bentine, resulting in Television Centre being launched into space! Features cameo appearances by Patrick Moore and Albert Steptoe.
A Whole Scene Going – an excerpt from a recently recovered edition of the sixties music and arts programme, featuring an interview with director Gordon Flemyng and a behind the scenes look at filming of his movie Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150 AD.
Coming Soon - a trailer for a forthcoming DVD release.
Radio Times Listings - in Adobe PDF format.
Programme subtitles

FILTER: - First Doctor - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Preview and Details for "Prisoners of Time"

Tuesday, 29 January 2013 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

Diamond Comics, the main distributor for comic books in North America, has published a preview of the first issue of IDW's new Doctor Who comic, Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time. The first five pages of issue #1 can be read in PDF format here.

As previously reported, Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time is written by Scott and David Tipton. Each issue will feature each of the eleven Doctors in turn, with art by a different artist. The first issue's art is by Simon Fraser; the second issue, featuring the Second Doctor, will be illustrated by Lee Sullivan; Mike Collins will tackle the Third Doctor in the third issue, and the fourth issue will have art by Gary Erskine. Artists on the remaining issues have yet to be announced.

Interested readers can find interviews with both the Tiptons at Comic Book Resources, with Scott Tipton at Comic Book Therapy, and with Simon Fraser at downthetubes.net (though some readers may consider some of the promotional material in those interviews to be spoilers).

The first issue will be available in comic stores and via download at Comixology.com this Wednesday, January 30. North American readers who prefer their comics in old-fashioned paper-and-ink format can find their nearest comic store via the Comic Shop Locator.

FILTER: - Comics - First Doctor - WHO50

The Reign of Terror: related animations

Friday, 25 January 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Worldwide have released a number of videos to tie in with The Reign of Terror coming out on DVD next Monday.

In Animating the Doctor, lead animator Chris Chapman from Planet 55 Studios demonstrates the process of bringing the First Doctor to animated life in his attire as a regional officer from the Provinces. Travelling with the Doctor is a creation by the company of the First Doctor within the TARDIS as he prepares to undertake his travels. Finally, A glimpse inside the First Doctor's TARDIS presents a brief colour animation of the console room as it was imagined during the first season of the show.

Animating the Doctor
Travelling with the Doctor
A glimpse inside the First Doctor's TARDIS

FILTER: - First Doctor - Animation - BBC Worldwide - Blu-ray/DVD

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