Lost Doctor Who Episodes Surface After Six Decades
In a remarkable discovery that has sent ripples of excitement through the Whovian community, two long-lost episodes of the iconic BBC science-fiction series, Doctor Who, have been recovered. These episodes resurface over sixty years after their initial broadcast, found within a “ramshackle collection” generously donated by a dedicated collector. This marks the first confirmed find of missing Doctor Who instalments since 2013, bringing a much-needed boost to the show’s fragmented archive.
The recovered episodes are part of the third season of Doctor Who, specifically from a 12-part narrative known as “The Daleks’ Master Plan.” This particular story arc is described as “dark and gritty,” and the unearthed episodes are the first, titled “The Nightmare Begins,” which originally premiered in November 1965, and the third, “Devil’s Planet,” which aired two weeks later. Notably, the second episode of this serial, “Day of Armageddon,” was already rediscovered in 2004 during an audit of the BBC’s commercial film archive.
These rediscovered episodes feature the formidable First Doctor, brought to life by William Hartnell, who portrayed the Time Lord from 1963 to 1966. Accompanying him in these adventures are key companions and characters, including Peter Purves as Steven Taylor, the Doctor’s loyal companion. The cast also boasts Nicholas Courtney as Bret Vyon, Adrienne Hill as Katarina, and Kevin Stoney in the role of the villainous Mavic Chen.
“The Daleks’ Master Plan” was primarily penned by Terry Nation, the mastermind behind the creation of the menacing Daleks. The story plunges the First Doctor and his companions into a complex conspiracy involving the Daleks and the deceitful politician Mavic Chen. Chen, who styles himself as the Guardian of the Solar System, conspires with alien forces, aiming to conquer the solar system by employing a devastating weapon known as the Time Destructor.
The Scarcity of Classic Doctor Who
The current situation highlights the significant loss of classic Doctor Who episodes. As of this report, an alarming 95 episodes from the show’s original run remain unavailable for viewing anywhere. These episodes were lost primarily because the BBC ceased comprehensive archiving of programmes between 1967 and 1978, a period that coincided with Doctor Who‘s initial broadcast years.
Noreen Adams, BBC Archives Director, expressed her delight at the recovery: “We’re thrilled to have worked with the team at Film is Fabulous! to bring these lost Doctor Who episodes to viewers on BBC iPlayer this Easter. BBC Archives has been working to restore the original recordings and update these to broadcast quality, ensuring fans can enjoy a little extra treat with their Easter Eggs this April.”
This recent find brings an end to the longest period in the series’ history without any recovered episodes. The last significant discovery occurred in 2013, when nine missing instalments from two Patrick Troughton stories – “The Enemy of the World” and “The Web of Fear” – were unearthed by Philip Morris, executive director of Television International Enterprise Archives, at a television relay station in Nigeria.
A Charitable Effort and a “Ramshackle Collection”
The rediscovery of these “The Daleks’ Master Plan” episodes is credited to Film is Fabulous!, a charitable trust dedicated to the preservation of historic film collections across the UK. Their work began when they started cataloguing the archive of a deceased collector, a collection that proved to be an eclectic and somewhat disorganised, yet ultimately rewarding, repository.
What makes this particular find especially noteworthy is that the storyline of “The Daleks’ Master Plan” was not broadcast in Australia and New Zealand at the time of its original release. Censors in those regions deemed the content too violent for broadcast.
Justin Smith, a professor of cinema and television history at Leicester’s De Montfort University and chair of trustees at Film is Fabulous!, commented on the nature of the find: “These are gems in what was an eclectic and ramshackle collection, a lot of which hadn’t been looked after as well as the Doctor Who had. The collector did recognise what he had, but how he acquired them has been lost to time.”
The rediscovery evoked a deeply emotional response from Peter Purves, now 87. He was invited to the Phoenix Cinema in Leicester under the guise of participating in interviews about 1960s television. Instead, organisers surprised him by revealing the recovered episodes and screening them for his viewing.
Visibly moved and with a touch of humour, Purves remarked, “My flabber has never been so gasted. I’ve never forgiven the BBC for losing those episodes – it would be really nice to get a few royalties.” He added, “It was the fourth appearance of the Daleks and it’ll be exciting to fans for a lot of reasons. The fans of Doctor Who are legion, and they seriously love the classic times.”
To celebrate this significant recovery, Film is Fabulous! has organised a special screening of the restored episodes in London on April 4th, with Peter Purves attending as the guest of honour. This event promises to be a treat for dedicated fans eager to reconnect with a piece of lost Doctor Who history.
