Telesnaps Special Highlights Early Second Doctor Era

Thursday, 11 July 2013 - Reported by John Bowman

A special edition of Doctor Who Magazine has been published today featuring telesnaps from missing Second Doctor episodes.

Although a total of 106 Doctor Who episodes no longer exist in the BBC archives, there are pictorial records of most of them in the form of photos taken of TV screens at the time of broadcast, and The Missing Episodes – The Second Doctor Volume 1 contains images from six Patrick Troughton stories across its 116 pages.

The adventures covered are The Power of the Daleks, The Highlanders, The Underwater Menace, The Moonbase, The Macra Terror, and The Faceless Ones.

The special publication also has a feature by researcher and author Richard Molesworth, which reveals how some missing episodes of Doctor Who have miraculously been found and returned to the archives over the years. Molesworth wrote the book Wiped! Doctor Who's Missing Episodes, which was updated this year for a second edition.

It is unknown as yet when Volume 2 will be published or which stories it will cover.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Specials - Second Doctor - Magazines - DWM - Patrick Troughton

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

The Ice Warriors: DVD details announced / Big Finish weekend offer

Friday, 12 April 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Worldwide have announced details for the forthcoming release of The Ice Warriors on DVD. The two-disc set has been provisionally scheduled for release on 26th August 2013 for R2 and 28th August for R4 (a R1 date has yet to be confirmed).

The Ice Warriors
Release date: 26 Aug 2013 UK

The Ice Warriors - Cover (R2) (Credit: BBC Worldwide)

Starring Patrick Troughton as Doctor Who, Frazer Hines as Jamie, and Deborah Watling as Victoria
Written by Brian Hayles
Directed by Derek Martinus

Broadcast: Sat 11 Nov - Sat 16 Dec 1967

In the distant future, Earth faces a new Ice Age. While a dedicated team of scientists battle to hold the approaching glaciers at bay, a startling discovery is made deep within the ice… an alien warrior, frozen for millennia. When the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria arrive they soon discover Earth is under threat from the Ice Warriors – fearsome Martians intent on conquering our planet for themselves…

Special Features: Disc One

Commentary - Episodes 1, 4, 5, 6 with actors Frazer Hines, Deborah Watling and Sonny Caldinez, designer Jeremy Davies and grams operator Pat Heigham, moderated by Toby Hadoke
Commentary - Episode 2 made up of original archive recordings or readings of text written by Brian Hayles, Derek Martinus, Martin Baugh, Bernard Bresslaw, Peter Barkworth, Wendy Gifford and Sylvia James
Commentary - Episode 3 with Michael Troughton (Patrick Troughton's son)
Programme subtitles
Subtitle Production Notes

Special Features: Disc One

Cold Fusion (dur. 24’31”) – Cast and crew look back at the making of the story. With actors Frazer Hines, Deborah Watling and Sonny Caldinez, designer Jeremy Davies, and James Bresslaw (son of the late actor Bernard Bresslaw)
Beneath the Ice (dur. 10’31”) - A look behind the scenes of the animated Ice Warrior episodes. Producers Chris Chapman and Niel Bushnell, together with animation director Chris Chatterton from Qurios lift the lid on the process used to bring Varga and his Warriors back to life
VHS Links (dur. 19’19”) – the introduction to the story and linking material covering the two missing episodes, as used on the VHS release of the story in 1998. Includes the BBC Video “Adjust your tracking control” caption for a true sense of nostalgia!
Blue Peter Design-a-Monster (dur. 10’04”) – the competition launch and subsequent winners of the 1967 Design-a-Monster competition, which ran during the transmission of The Ice Warriors
Doctor Who Stories – Frazer Hines part two (dur. 13’ 48”) - the second part of this interview with Frazer Hines shot in 2004 for The Story of Doctor Who looks at his later appearances in the series
Photo Gallery (dur. 3’53”) - production, design and publicity photos from the story
Coming Soon (dur. 1 min approx) - a trailer for a forthcoming DVD release
Radio Times Listings in Adobe PDF format
Programme subtitles

A number of new stills from the animated episodes have also been published, including a recent tweet by producer Chris Chapman comparing the animation with an existing telesnap:

The Ice Warriors - animation/image comparison (Credit: Chris Chapman/BBC Worldwide)

BBC Worldwide have also released a brief video excerpt to demonstrate the animation via their YouTube channel.

Big Finish: Ice Warriors special offer:

Saturday has yet more Ice Warrior excitement, as the Martians return to television in Cold War. To celebrate their appearance Big Finish are running a special offer on their adventures in audio/download over the weekend:

The Ice Warriors are back! This weekend sees the return of everyone's favourite Martian menace to TV screens in Doctor Who's latest episode Cold War. And what better way to celebrate than to enjoy some top Ice Warrior action on CD or download audiobook, on offer until Monday morning individually or as a bundle of all ten stories!

The complete list of titles on offer are as follows:

Doctor Who: Red Dawn
Doctor Who: Frozen Time
Doctor Who: The Bride of Peladon
Doctor Who: The Judgement of Isskar
Doctor Who - The Lost Stories: Mission to Magnus
Doctor Who - The Lost Stories: Thin Ice
Doctor Who - The Companion Chronicles: The Prisoner of Peladon
Doctor Who - The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Deimos
Doctor Who - The Eighth Doctor Adventures: The Resurrection of Mars
Bernice Summerfield: Dance of the Dead

To order a bundle, just click the 'bundles' button on one of the product pages. Please note that as Bernice Summerfield: Dance of the Dead is not available for download, purchasers of the download bundle will be sent a CD of this title.

FILTER: - Second Doctor - Classic Series - Special Offers - Blu-ray/DVD - Big Finish

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

Silva Screen: The Krotons

Thursday, 28 March 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The second in the range of classic Doctor Who soundtracks has been announced by Silva Screen Records, this time focussing on the Second Doctor with the electronic soundscape created by Brian Hodgson for The Krotons.

The Krotons (soundtrack) (Credit: Silva Screen)

Originally transmitted in 4 episodes on BBC1 between 28th December 1968 and 18th January 1969, The Krotons starred Patrick Troughton as the second Doctor. The soundtrack (or "special sounds") were created by Brian Hodgson and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, who said:

For this story I mainly used the “Crystal Palace”, so called because its case was made of clear Perspex which exposed its workings. This machine, created by our engineer Dave Young, could mechanically sample 16 inputs and combine them into a single output in 4 prearranged patterns. The progression of the patterns was deliberately slow to create textures of sound. I was very much interested in exploring changing aural textures in tracks such as “The Learning Hall” and “Kroton Theme”.

Generating and manipulating music and sound effects defines sound design, a process that is common on TV and film productions nowadays. However The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was way ahead of the game in the 1960s. Brian Hodgson was a member of the Workshop working closely with the seminal figure of Delia Derbyshire. As the original sound effects creator for Doctor Who he was responsible for the chilling Dalek voices and the powerhouse sound of the Tardis lifting off (created by running a back door key for his mother's house along the bass string of a gutted piano and treating it electronically). His highly innovative techniques are fully on display on this collection of 'special sounds' that provided the background to Doctor Who - The Krotons.

Doctor Who (New Opening Theme, 1967)
The Learning Hall
Door Opens
Entry Into The Machine
TARDIS (New Landing)
Wasteland Atmosphere
Machine And City Theme
Machine Exterior
Panels Open
Dispersal Unit
Sting
Selris' House
Machine Interior
Snake Bleeps Low
Silver Hose (The Snake)
Snake Bleeps High
Teaching Machine Hums
Forcefield
Burning Light
Birth Of A Kroton
Kroton Theme
Kroton Dies
Link – Rising Hum
Kroton Dies – (Alternative)

The soundtrack is due to be released on the 13th May 2013 on CD and download, and will also be released as a limited edition 10" Vinyl disc on the 24th May.

Competition:

Thanks to Silva Screen we have three copies of the CD for our readers to win. To be in with a chance, simply answer this question:

Brian Hodgson is one of the original participants in the creation of Doctor Who back in 1963, and will be featured in the forthcoming Mark Gatiss drama An Adventure in Space and Time - but which actor will portray him?

Please send your answer to krotons-competition@doctorwhonews.net with the subject line "Winner-Gond!", along with your name, address, and where you read about this competition. The competition is open worldwide, and the closing date will be on the 30th April 2013. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

There is still time to enter our The Caves of Androzani soundtrack competition - see here for more details (closing date 31st March).

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Second Doctor - Competitions - Classic Series - WHO50

BFI: The Second Doctor Panel

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 - Reported by John Bowman

A video of the guest panel at last month's screening of The Tomb of the Cybermen at the BFI has been uploaded to the organisation's YouTube channel.

The event, marking the Second Doctor's era, was held on 9th February as part of the BFI's Doctor Who At 50 season, and the discussion saw director Michael Ferguson and actors Anneke Wills, Bernard Holley, Deborah Watling, Shirley Cooklin, and Michael Kilgarriff in conversation with season co-curator Justin Johnson about working with Patrick Troughton.

The guest panel at the BFI screening of The Tomb of the Cybermen (via BFI YouTube channel)

The next event takes place on Saturday 20th April, marking the Fourth Doctor's era, and will be a screening of The Robots of Death, with Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, and Philip Hinchcliffe as guests. Although it is currently sold out, returns and stand-bys are possible.

It will be followed on Saturday 4th May with a screening in honour of the Fifth Doctor, with the story title and guests for that event yet to be announced.

FILTER: - Special Events - UK - Second Doctor - BFI - WHO50

BBC AudioGo: The Tomb of the Cybermen

Friday, 1 March 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC AudioGo have released details for this month's release in their classic novelisation range, the Second Doctor adventure The Tomb of The Cybermen; it is read by Michael Kilgarriff - who played the Cyber Controller in the original television story.

The Tomb of the Cybermen, read by Michael Kigarriff

The Tomb of The Cybermen (available to pre-order)
Written by Gerry Davis
Read by Michael Kilgarriff
Released 7th March 2013

The Cybermen – silver, indestructible monsters whose only goal is power – seem to have disappeared from their planet, Telos. When a party of archaeologists, joined by the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria, land on the Cybermen’s barren, deserted planet, they uncover what appears to be their tomb.

But once inside it becomes clear that the Cybermen are not dead, and some in the group of archaeologists desperately want to re-activate these monsters! How can the Doctor defeat these ruthless, power-seeking humans and the Cybermen?

Michael Kilgarriff reads this gripping novelisation of a classic 1967 TV adventure featuring the Second Doctor, with Nicholas Briggs as the Cybermen, plus sound effects and music by Simon Power.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Second Doctor

The Ice Warriors: missing episodes animated

Thursday, 28 February 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The Ice Warriors - animated (Credit: BBC Worldwide/Qurios)

BBC Worldwide have finally confirmed that August's DVD release of Second Doctor adventure The Ice Warriors will indeed include animated versions of the missing episodes two and three, as well as the previously announced 'telesnap' version of the episodes that originally appeared on the 1998 VHS release.

Unlike January's The Reign of Terror, animation for these episodes has been created by Qurios, an award-winning animation and visual effects production studio based in London and Newcastle, and who have previously worked on the range providing titles for the Who Peter features.

DVD range producer Dan Hall said:

We’ve been discussing the various ways Qurios could reconstruct these episodes for over three years, so it's really, really satisfying to finally see them animated. Qurios have a great track record in excellent and innovative animations.

Doctor Who has had many different visual styles thanks to changing directors, designers and production methods. We wanted to mirror this in our choice of animation partners.

A preview of a "work in progress" clip from the episodes has been published on YouTube, featuring the scene in episode two where the Doctor tries to convince Leader Clent that humans are better than machines:

The Ice Warriors - BBC exclusive animation preview, via YouTube

The DVD is currently scheduled to be released on 26th August.

FILTER: - Second 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.