As we approach the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who, revisit the story of Doctor Who, the occasional series written for the 50th Anniversary, explaining the origins of the programme.

Episode 11 - An Unearthly Series - The Origins of a TV Legend: First published 20 May 2013

The Abominable Snowmen to be AnimatedBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 23 November 2021 - Reported by Marcus
The Abominable Snowmen (Credit: BBC Studios)

The BBC has announced that an animated version of the 1967 story The Abominable Snowmen will be released next year. 

The story stars Patrick TroughtonJack WatlingFrazer Hines and Deborah Watling. Originally shown between  30th September 1967 - Saturday 4th November 1967. it was the second story of Season 5 and features the Doctor's first encounter with the Yeti and the Great Intelligence. 

Most of the six-part story is missing from the BBC Archives, with only episode two still existing. 

The release gives fans the opportunity to enjoy the six new fully animated presentations of this lost story, which will be released alongside the one surviving segment episode two.

Doctor Who: The Abominable Snowmen follows the Doctor as he returns to the Himalayas 300 years after his first visit to the Holy Ganta, an ancient relic he was given many centuries ago by the grateful monks at Det-Sen Monastery. On arriving, the Doctor is blamed for a series of brutal murders in the area, however companions Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield discover the true culprits – the previously peaceful Yeti that live in seclusion on the mountainside have apparently turned violent.

The Doctor must convince the monks that not only is he not their enemy, but the real foe is living amongst them. Their ancient Master, Padmasambhava, is being controlled by an alien entity known only as the Great Intelligence.

Russell Minton, Executive Producer of The Abominable Snowmen, said:

We’re delighted to announce Doctor Who: The Abominable Snowmen, something Doctor Who fans have been waiting patiently for over the years. We’re grateful for the surviving audio-only recordings, which we are very lucky to have courtesy of several Doctor Who fans, which have allowed us to create another exciting and action-packed chapter in the Doctor’s story.

Doctor Who: The Abominable Snowmen is available to order from Amazon,

 




FILTER: - DVD/blu-ray - Season 5 - Second Doctor

Galaxy 4 AnimationBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 15 September 2021 - Reported by Marcus
Galaxy 4 Animation (Credit: BBC Studios)

BBC Studios have announced that the first Doctor story Galaxy 4 will be released as an animated reconstruction later this year. 

Galaxy 4 was the first story of Season 3 of Doctor Who and was originally shown on BBC 1 in September 1965. It starred William Hartnell as The Doctor, with Maureen O'Brien playing Vicki and Peter Purves playing Steven. The story was wiped after transmission and most of the story is missing from the archives. 

DOCTOR WHO: GALAXY 4

Written by William Emms
Directed by Chloe Grech (2021 Production)
Directed by Derek Martinus (1965 Production)

Executive Producers for Big Finish Creative – Gary Russell, Mark B.Oliver and Jason Haigh-Ellery (2021 Production)

Executive Producer for BBC Studios – Russell Minton (2021 Production)

Produced by Verity Lambert (1965 Production)

Starring William Hartnell, Maureen O’Brien, Peter Purves, Stephanie Bidmead, Marina Martin, Susanna Caroll, Lyn Ashley.

Galaxy 4 Animation (Credit: BBC Studios)The animated version of the story will be released in the UK on the 15th November 2021 and BBC Studios have today released a sneak peek of what’s included in the release.

The release follows the success of the existing animations, which are filling a gap in the missing Doctor Who archive. Thanks to fans who recorded the audio on domestic machines at the time of broadcast, audio-only recordings of all four episodes have survived and have been used here to create a brand new fully animated presentation of the entirety of this lost classic.

This will be presented alongside the original Episode 3, which was recovered from a collector in 2011 and over five minutes of original footage from the otherwise lost Episode 1.

The story sees the TARDIS landing on a planet on the verge of total annihilation as it drifts too close to the three suns which it orbits. Trapped on the planet with them are the Drahvins, a race of warrior women, and the reptilian Rills. The Drahvins want to steal the Rill spaceship to escape the planet's death throes and enlist the Doctor's help, which he is forced to give when Maaga, the cunning Drahvin leader, keeps first Vicki and then later Steven as her hostage.  Even though the Doctor is determined to broker a peace deal between the two sides in this conflict and help everyone escape safely, Maaga doesn't trust him, or the Rills...

The two-disc release gives fans the opportunity to enjoy the four new animated episodes of Galaxy 4, in either colour or black and white. The release will also include:

  • Remastered Surviving Original Episode 3
  • ​Remastered Surviving Clip from Episode 1
  • Telesnap Reconstructions of Episodes 1,2 and 4.
  • Audio Commentaries 
  • Making Of Documentary
  • Finding Galaxy 4 Documentary
  • Photo Gallery
  • Production Subtitles 

Gary Russell, Executive Producer from Big Finish  said

After a gap of many years, it is very exciting to bring the era of the First Doctor back into the animation world. Galaxy 4 is one of the most traditional adventures of 1960s Doctor Who and it’s been a real honour to work on this alternative version which hopefully reflects those technicolour thrills that sci-fi movies of the '60s had but which Doctor Who’s monochrome TV limitations couldn’t yet achieve.

BFI Southbank will host a special screening of all 4 episodes of the newly animated story Galaxy 4 on 7th November 2021; tickets go on sale on 16th September at 11:30 to BFI Champions and Patrons, at 12:30 to BFI Members and at 16:00 to the general public.

The new animated release will be available online and in-store as is available to pre-order on DVD, Blu-ray, and as a Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook   

 

  




FILTER: - First Doctor - Season 3 - DVD/Blu-ray

Doctor Who: The Collection - Standard RangeBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 24 March 2021 - Reported by Marcus
The Collection - Season 19 (Credit: BBC Studios) The Collection - Season 12 (Credit: BBC Studios)

BBC Studios has announced a new standard packaging range to Doctor Who: The Collection  

The first titles to join this standard packaging range will be Season 12 and Season 19, which are available to pre-order now.  

Doctor Who: The Collection offers fans the opportunity to build their own home archive of classic content, and has proved hugely popular with collectors and fans of the TV series. The new standard packaging range is being introduced in response to this success, offering fans a second opportunity to fill gaps in their collection, and enjoy the classic era of Doctor Who.  

New releases within the Collection range will be marketed as Doctor Who: The Collection Limited  Edition Packaging, with the standard edition range marketed as Doctor Who: The Collection.  

Releases within the Doctor Who: The Collection Limited Edition Packaging range will continue to offer fans bespoke, premium packaging featuring a beautifully presented box containing the discs and a  full-length, premium-printed booklet that includes illustrations and in-depth, behind the scenes insight.

Releases within the new, standard packaging Doctor Who: The Collection range will feature a  standard, plastic Blu-ray case inside a slipcase, with a condensed, standard-printed 12-page booklet featuring disc-breakdowns and selected illustrations. The new range will include all of the watchable content and special features included in the Limited Edition Packaging release and will be available ongoing.  

Season 12 sees Tom Baker’s first outing as the Doctor and features five stories over 20 episodes,  including The Ark in Space and Genesis of the Daleks. The Doctor is accompanied by Sarah Jane  Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) and was first broadcast on the BBC between  December 1974 and May 1975.  

Season 19 introduces fans to Peter Davison’s first series as the Fifth Doctor, and sees the Doctor and his companions Tegan (Janet Fielding), Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) and Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) face off against The Master, the terrifying Mara, the Terileptils, the Plasmatons, Monarch and the revamped Cybermen, in seven stories across 26 episodes. 

Doctor Who – The Collection: Season 12 (£51.05 RRP) and Doctor Who – The Collection: Season 19  (£51.05 RRP) can be pre-ordered now from Amazon and will be available from Monday 31 May  2021.  

 




FILTER: - DVD/blu-ray - Season 12 - Season 19

Doctor Who Season 24 - Blu-rayBookmark and Share

Thursday, 21 January 2021 - Reported by Marcus
Season 24 - Pack (Credit: BBC Studios)

The next release in the Doctor Who: The Collection range will be Season 24, the first staring the Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy.

First shown in 1987, the box set can be pre-ordered from today ahead of a release date later this year.

Doctor Who – The Collection: Season 24

  • TIME AND THE RANI
  • PARADISE TOWERS
  • DELTA AND THE BANNERMEN
  • DRAGONFIRE

Season 24 first aired in 1987 and saw the Seventh Doctor and companion Mel, played by Bonnie Langford, travel through space and time traversing alien planets, a hostile futuristic tower block, 1950s Wales and finally, the mysterious colony of Iceworld, where the Doctor meets Ace played by Sophie Aldred.

The Doctor is faced with enemies including the Rani (Kate O’Mara) and the terrifying Tetrapsi n Time and the Rani, Kroagnon and his cleaning robots in Paradise Towers, the ruthless Bannermen in Delta and the Bannermen and Kane (Edward Peel), the murderous ruler of Ice world in Dragonfire.

These four stories have been newly remastered alongside extensive and exclusive special features including

  • EXTENDED VERSIONS of all four stories, featuring previously unseen material
  • IMMERSIVE 5.1 SURROUND SOUND – on all four stories and extended versions
  • ISOLATED SCORES – on all four stories
  • BRAND NEW DOCUMENTARIES - Including a feature-length overview of Season 24 -Here’s To The Future, plus The Making Of Delta And The Bannermen.
  • RARE STUDIO & LOCATION FOOTAGE - Over 25 hours of raw material never seen before, including behind-the-scenes footage from the regeneration scene
  • IN CONVERSATION - Matthew Sweet interviews Sylvester McCoy about his life, career, and time as the Seventh Doctor.
  • BEHIND THE SOFA - Four new episodes with Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford, Sophie Aldred, Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, Colin Baker & Michael Jayston
  • THE DOCTOR’S TABLE - Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford, Sophie Aldred and Clive Merrison reminisce about the making of the season.
  • RARE GEMS FROM THE ARCHIVES - Hours of footage covering the promotion of this season including lots of previously unreleased material.
  • AN AUDIENCE WITH LADY STEPHENS - A brand new interview with Season 24 actor and rocky Horror cult figure Patricia Quinn
  • BLU-RAY TRAILER - A brand new mini-episode
  • CONVENTION FOOTAGE
  • HD PHOTO GALLERIES - Including many previously unseen images.
  • INFO TEXT - Behind-the-scenes information and trivia on every episode.
  • SCRIPTS, costume designs, rare BBC production files and other rarities from the archive

The eight-disc box set also includes hours of special features previously released on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Doctor Who – The Collection: Season 24 can be pre-ordered now from Amazon and will be released later this year.

 





FILTER: - Season 24 - DVD/Blu-ray