Recreating the lost episodes of The Celestial Toymaker

In a recent blog I made the case to remake missing Season One adventure Marco Polo using a brand new cast. Since that post, I began to ponder what other stories could be recreated using a new cast to re-shoot the lost content. Considering every story currently lacking an animation will take some time, given that one must necessary weigh up some very important questions: how many cast members would you need? Does the story feature location shots? How long is it? Some stories will obviously be much easier than others to reproduce. 

Functionally lost: The End of Doctor Who missing episodes recovery

Seven years have passed since Doctor Who fans learned that nine previously missing episodes from Season 5 had been rescued from a TV relay station in Nigeria. At the time, speculation was rife that this was just the beginning; it was said that 90 or more episodes had been recovered, and would soon be released.

Recreating the lost episodes of Marco Polo

Over the past fortnight I have been enjoying the latest lost episodes animation to hit our screens – Season 5 classic Fury From The Deep. I still maintain that in the absence of freshly recovered material, this is the next best thing – although I know some readers prefer listening to the audio and allowing their imaginations to fill in the gaps. 

The #missingepisodes reviews: The Ice Warriors

Part of the way through re-posting my old reviews, I realised that I hadn’t reviewed several stories that I had watched on DVD, but hadn’t included on my original countdown. Having hastily written a review for one, The Reign of Terror, I now follow suit for Season 5 adventure The Ice Warriors, debut story for the titular alien race from Mars. As with The Reign of Terror, I had held off buying the DVD in the confident expectation that the entirety of Season 5 had been found as part of the omnirumour. When I eventually accepted that returns were not coming any time soon, I decided to not let best be the enemy of good and invested in the reconstructed adventure.

The #missingepisodes reviews: The Crusade

It is a strange twist of providence that Season 2 of Doctor Who is the one that has best survived out of the first six. Only two episodes from the whole are missing, both falling in historical adventure The Crusade. Unlike fellow historical adventure Marco Polo, The Crusade is perhaps more easily forgotten as it at least survives in part. Like Marco Polo however, it is odd that it has not survived, given that the remainder of Season 2 has survived to the present day and several copies were sent overseas.

The #missingepisodes reviews: The Reign of Terror

I was very surprised when I realised I hadn’t actually reviewed The Reign of Terror, even though it is a DVD that sits proudly in my collection. The reason however is straightforward enough; as with The Moonbase and The Ice Warriors I was holding off buying the DVD under the mistaken impression that the animated episodes were sitting in a warehouse somewhere just waiting to be dusted off and handed to the Beeb. As with the other incomplete adventures, it is absolutely right I give my thoughts on the story!

Five years on … is optimism still high for a missing episodes return?

Five years ago Doctor Who fandom gave a collective scream of ecstasy. Already stoked by the 50th anniversary celebrations, the wonderful news broke that archive television hunter Philip Morris had successfully recovered nine missing episodes from The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear. Many a fan turned up to work exhausted (or consequently failed to!) as they rushed to download the releases from iTunes as soon as they were released at midnight, and overall there was much rejoicing.

Is it time to expect the unexpected?

 

Ladies and gentlemen … this is not the blog I had originally intended to write. Originally, this was entitled “Five years on … the wait continues”. It was due to be a rather prosaic acceptance five years after the return of The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear that the so-called ‘omnirumour‘ – the promise that a large number of missing episodes of Doctor Who had been recovered – was a busted flush.

That, as I say, was what I had intended to write …

The #missingepisodes reviews: Marco Polo

Doctor Who fans are hugely fortunate. Thanks to the intervention of Ian Levine, the series first three serials were rescued hours before they would have been lost forever. While fans can get caught up in The Beginning DVD boxset, a jarring note hits the viewer as The Edge of Destruction fades to a close, and viewers are forced to the horrified realisation that we cannot see what happens next.

The #missingepisodes reviews: The Wheel in Space

My sabbatical from blogging has lasted rather longer than the initial month I had forecast! To that end, I am going to get back into reviews – and so I am turning to those Doctor Who serials that did not get an honorable mention in my countdown – my favourite topic, the infamous missing episodes of Doctor Who! And I kick off with a story I’d held off buying in audio form for many months, not least when rumours began circulating that the serial was set for release on DVD – The Wheel in Space.