An informative 8 minute video from the BBC’s The One Show on the recovery and release of The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear in October 2013. The segment features the First Doctor’s companion Peter Purves and the hunt for missing episodes. Of particular interest is the interview with Graham Strong concerning his collection of audio tapes of missing episodes.
5. The Aztecs
A Special Edition of The Aztecs was released earlier this year which included an abridged reconstruction of Galaxy 4, together with episode three which was recovered in 2011. The Aztecs has long been held in high esteem by fandom and is a superb example of the historical dramas that the BBC has always brilliantly produced. Set in South America during the time prior to Spanish settlement, the serial tells the story of Barbara’s determination to change history. In a quest to satisfy her penchant for bracelets, Barbara donned a snake bangle discovered not long after the party disembarked from the TARDIS. Mistaken by the locals as the reincarnation of the high priest Yetaxa, her extraordinary knowledge of history and modern sense of morality naturally saw her rile against human sacrifice. From the beginning the Doctor’s objective was to ensure that history was not rewritten. This was the first serial in which the parameters of “fiddling” with time and space were examined. Barbara’s refusal to conform to the Doctor’s direction that “time can’t be rewritten. Not one line” very nearly had fatal consequences for the Crew. Henceforth there would be limits on the TARDIS Crew’s actions.
Ian was lucky to escape with his life in The Aztecs
The First Doctor’s final story, The Tenth Planet heralded a number of firsts – Doctor Who’s first regeneration, the introduction of the Cybermen and the prototype for the Second Doctor’s “base under siege” formula. Rumours abound that the missing fourth episode, which features William Hartnell’s regeneration, has been recovered. The DVD of the story has recently been released featuring an animation of episode four. I wonder if a Special Edition, with the (alleged) recovered episode four, should be expected soon?
The DVD cover art for The Tenth Planet
3. The Massacre
The Massacre is completely missing from the BBC Archives, although some of the current missing episode rumours suggest that it has been recovered. Set in 1572 France, the serial chronicles the Doctor and Steven’s adventures during the Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy (the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre) in which thousands of protestant Huguenots were massacred in a religious war lead by Roman Catholics. William Hartnell plays two roles in The Massacre – both the Doctor and the Doctor’s evil doppelganger, the Abbot of Amboise. As this is a historical drama it can almost be assured that the set design and costuming was brilliant. The story is the only example in monochrome Doctor Who of a single companion accompanying the Doctor. It also introduces new companion, Dodo Chaplet, in the last 10 minutes of the final episode.
The Doctor and Steven in The Massacre
The first Doctor Who serial, An Unearthly Child introduced the strange adventures of a belligerent old man, the Doctor, and his grand-daughter, Susan Foreman. Possessed of a time machine which externally resembled a Police Call Box, the Doctor’s Ship was larger on the inside and capable of both time and space travel. Coal Hill school teachers, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, barged their way into the TARDIS (an acronym for Time and Relative Dimension in Space) whilst looking for their student, Susan. Fearful that the teachers would reveal his secret, the Doctor kidnapped the pair as the TARDIS was seen to dematerialize for the first time.
Episodes two, three and four of the serial are more properly known as The Cave of Skulls, The Forest of Fear and The Firemaker. The Doctor, Susan and their two unwilling companions find themselves in pre-historic times and at the mercy of a tribe of cavemen who have lost their knowledge of fire making.
The first TARDIS Crew in An Unearthly Child
1. Marco Polo
I’m going out on a limb here nominating a completely lost seven part serial as the Top First Doctor story. As outlined in our post Missing Episodes – Has Marco Polo Been Recovered? last week, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this classic serial has been recovered and restored, and finds its way onto the iTunes playlists before Christmas.
The fourth Doctor Who story, Marco Polo was directed by Waris Hussein who was also responsible for the first serial, An Unearthly Child. As far as the BBC is presently letting on, all that remains of Marco Polo are some stunning colour photographs taken on set and the fan recorded soundtrack. In the days prior to home video recording and commercial VHS releases, the only way that a fan could re-live a Doctor Who episode was to listen to the reel-to-reel audio recording which they’d made during the episode’s original transmission. Incredibly, around half a dozen fan recorded collections remained extant and were located during the 1980s and 1990s. It was during those decades that fans became cognisant of the BBC’s destruction of its television heritage and went searching for what remained. Thanks to the endeavours of a small group of hard-core fans who religiously recorded Doctor Who each Saturday evening, aficionados of Who were now able to listen to long lost episodes.
Is Marco Polo really as good as fans who watched the original and only transmission remember? Certainly the audio suggests something very special. Hopefully we’ll all be able to soon judge for ourselves.
Marco Polo is the earliest missing Doctor Who serial
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Sara Kingdom in combat mode in The Daleks’ Master Plan
Vicki and Troilus in The Myth Makers
The image at the top of this post is a painting by Francois Dobois depicting the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. No copyright infringement is intended.
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
Yesterday the Doctor Who Mind Robber listed our Top 3 Female Companions of the Sixties. Although fewer in number than their women counterparts, today we examine our Top 3 Male Companions of the Sixties.
3. STEVEN TAYLOR
Not unlike his fellow companion Vicki who was number 3 in our list of the Top 3 Female Companions of the Sixties, Steven joined the Doctor in a traumatized state. Portrayed by Peter Purves, Steven was an astronaut which had been held captive by the Mechonoids for two years. As the sole human on the planet Mechanus, his only companion was a stuffed Panda named Hi-Fi. In the Doctor Who Mind Robber’s review of Steven’s first complete serial, The Time Meddler, we described his introduction to the TARDIS Crew in the following way:
Steven, Vicki and Hi-Fi in The Time Meddler
After assisting the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki to escape the Mechonoid City in The Chase, Steven had returned to the City to retrieve Hi Fi just as the Daleks destroyed it. It was great dismay, therefore, that the Doctor and Vicki were confronted by Steven as he stumbled into the TARDIS control room before collapsing to the floor. The TARDIS had just materialized in 11th Century England however Steven had stowed away in the ship, presumably whilst Vicki and the Doctor were saying their goodbyes to Ian and Barbara on Mechanus. Suffering ill effects from the Dalek blast, Steven assumed that he must have been delirious when he chased after the crew and eventually found the ship.
Astronaut Steven Taylor as we first met him in The Chase
The spaceship pilot who had spent two years as a prisoner of the Mechonoids was now the Doctor’s latest companion. Notwithstanding his experience with space craft, Steven has clearly not seen a machine as magical as the TARDIS before. He doesn’t believe it is a time-machine or that they’ve landed in the 11th Century. The TARDIS’s inability to blend into its surroundings, as it was constructed to do, together with the discovery of a modern wrist watch, compounds Steven’s disbelief. Prone to speak his mind, Steven is openly dismissive of Vicki’s assertions about the ship’s capabilities and earns a quick rebuke from the Doctor for calling him “Doc”. Quickly recovering from a state of deep sleep or unconsciousness, Steven shows no ill effects from his previous deprivations on the planet Mechanus. It would not be unfair to assume that a person who had gone two years without human companionship, and has an overt attachment to a stuffed toy, may be suffering some form of psychological distress. Not unlike Vicki, who rapidly regained equilibrium following her trauma on the planet Dido, Steven is promptly able to put the past behind him, leave the panda on a chair, and embrace a new life of adventure with the Doctor.
Peter Purves first appeared in Doctor Who as Morton Dill, the dim witted hick from Alabama in The Chase. Here Dill investigates a Dalek on the Empire State Building
Steven accompanied the Doctor on his journeys from the final serial of Season 2 until the penultimate Season 3 story, The Savages. In the intervening period he assisted the Doctor battle the evil but beautiful Drahvins in Galaxy 4 and the Daleks in the 12 part The Daleks’ Master Plan. Steven travelled to ancient Troy where he and the Doctor farewelled Vicki, and to 1572 France where he was the Doctor’s sole companion during the massacre of French protestants. He and Dodo were compelled to play the Celestial Toymaker’s puerile games to retrieve the TARDIS in The Celestial Toymaker and were confronted by the Monoids in The Ark. Steven’s penultimate adventure was to the American Mid-West where he surprised all by being able to sing and barely escaped a lynching. His departure in The Savages was less than adequate. Having negotiated peace between the Guardians and the Monoids , the Doctor, much to Steven’s dismay, volunteered him to remain on the planet and facilitate the transformation to a fair and just society. Although initially hesitant, Steven quickly accepted the challenge and the Doctor and Dodo departed in the TARDIS. So ended Steven’s 12 month tenure as a companion.
Steven with the body of the Abbot of Amboise in The Massacre
2. IAN CHESTERTON
Ian Chesterton was one half of the “Ian and Barbara” duo who introduced the world to Doctor Who. A science teacher at Coal Hill School, he shared a concern with history teacher Barbara Wright about their 15 year old student, Susan Foreman.
After being kidnapped by the Doctor when he and Barbara entered the TARDIS looking for Susan, Ian’s initial relationship with the Doctor was tense and combative. His relations with the self-centred Doctor remained strained until the Fourth serial, Marco Polo. Included in Doctor Who as both a point of identification for the audience and as a “man of action” for the more elderly and sedate Doctor, Ian remained with the TARDIS crew until the penultimate serial of Season 2, The Chase. During his two year tenure showed himself to be both intelligent and compassionate. He had penchant for wearing cardigans and was knocked unconscious more times than any other companion in the history of Doctor Who. Ian was knighted as Sir Ian of Jaffa by King Richard 1 of England in The Crusade.
Sir Ian of Jaffa is knighted by Richard the Lionheart in The Crusade
It is our intention to provide no more than a cursory examination of Ian in this piece. A comprehensive analysis of William Russell and his contribution to the history of Doctor Who would require a wordy dissertation, many thousands of words in length. Instead we will leave you with a photographic essay of Ian. All images are courtesy of http://thechestertons.tumblr.com.
Ian Chesterton had a fond appreciation for cardigans
Ian was shrunk to the size of an ant and caught in a matchbox in Planet of Giants
Ian comforts Barbara
Ian endeavours to unravel Barbara’s cardigan in The Space Museum
Ian displays how to paralyse a man with finger pressure only in The Aztecs
Barbara attends to Ian’s hair in The Romans
Ian parties
Ian and Barbara embrace on returning to 1965 London in The Chase
Ian and Barbara frolic in London during their farewell in The Chase
3. JAMIE McCRIMMON
Jamie was the last male companion to join the Doctor in the Sixties although he made up for his late arrival by holding the record as the longest standing companion in Doctor Who’s history. Appearing in 116 episodes in total, Jamie exceeded the next most proficient companion, Sarah Jane Smith, by 21 episodes. Suffering from chicken pox during episode two of The Mind Robber, Frazer Hines was replaced by Hamish Wilson for that episode and the beginning of the following one. As luck would have it The Mind Robber was set in the land of fiction and Jamie’s change of appearance was quickly scripted to arise from the Doctor incorrectly reconstructing his face after he’d been transformed into a cardboard cut-out. Wilson’s departure and Hines’ return was facilitated by the Doctor correctly reconstructing Jamie’s face, with Zoe’s assistance, after he was again transfigured into a cut-out.
Hamish Wilson played the role of Jamie in episodes two and three of The Mind Robber
Jamie joined the Doctor, Ben and Polly in the second serial of the Second Doctor’s tenure, The Highlanders. The last historical in Classic Series Who until the 1982 Fifth Doctor’s adventure, Black Orchard, Frazer Hines’ contract as Jamie was originally to last for only the four weeks of the serial. Hines’ rapport with the cast quickly saw him offered a full time position in the TARDIS Crew prior to the first episode of The Highlanders being broadcast.
Jamie confronts the Doctor, Ben and Polly in The Highlanders
James Robert McCrimmon met the Doctor and his companions, Polly and Ben, at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. A young and brave Highlander, the kilted Scot was ignorant of 20th Century technology which prompted an array of startled responses to everyday occurrences. A plane in The Faceless Ones was a “flying beastie”. In that serial he also had to ask the Doctor what a passport was, to which the Doctor responded, “Oh, some sort of official mumbo-jumbo”.
The Doctor and Jamie beside a “flying beastie” in The Faceless Ones
In The Evil of the Daleks Jamie was inquisitive about the sound of a train rumbling past. He had no idea what the noise was and the Doctor described them to him in the simplest manner possible – “Well, it’s a train. There are carriages and they go on wheels, on rails, and they’re drawn by a steam ..”. He was unaware of what the Himalayas were in The Abominable Snowmen and mistook the Doctor in his big fur coat as “a great sort of hairy beastie”.
Jamie mistook the Doctor in his fur jacket for a “hairy beastie” in The Abominable Snowmen
In a state of delirium Jamie thought that a Cyberman in The Moonbase was the Phantom Piper, the McCrimmon clan’s equivalent of the Grim Reaper. When Zoe first met Jamie in The Wheel in Space she was intrigued by his clothing. She was unable to resist laughing and blurted out to Jamie, “You’re wearing female garments”. Needless to say, he was less than impressed and was quick to advise Zoe that his garb was that of a true Scotsman. After initially mistaking him for a “kiltie” from Denmark or Scandinavia, Zoe admitted that pre-century history was not her forte. Jamie famously responded, “Aye, maybe not but just watch your lip or I’ll put you across my knee and larrup you”.
Polly tends to the ailing Jamie. Whilst hallucinating Jamie mistakes a Cyberman for the “Phantom Piper” in The Moonbase
Jamie was also responsible for giving the Doctor his alias of John Smith. In episode two of The Wheel in Space the Doctor was unconscious. When asked what his name was by Gemma Corwyn, Jamie glanced at piece medical apparatus with the words “John Smith & Associates” inscribed on it and replied, “John Smith”. That name has remained the Doctor’s preferred non de plume to this day.
The piece of medical equipment which inspired the now literate Jamie to give the Doctor the alias John Smith (The Wheel in Space)
Jamie’s naivety allowed him to seamlessly ask the “what’s this, Doctor” questions. One of his favourite phrases was “look at the size of that thing, Doctor”, to which the Doctor would invariably respond by saying, “Yes, Jamie, that is a big one.”Jamie was fiercely protective of the Doctor and the two men had a magnificent rapport. Frazer Hines and Patrick Troughton were not averse to hamming it up occasionally and on two occasions held hands. In The Tomb of the Cybermen the Doctor mistook Jamie’s hand for Victoria’s, and in The Dominators they jumped from a small landing hand-in-hand.
The Doctor and Jamie hold hands again in The Dominators
Jamie’s last fellow companion, Zoe Heriot, was named as our favourite female companion of the Sixties. The pair’s departure from Doctor Who in the final episode of The War Games was both powerful and melancholy. With his memory wiped of all but his first adventure with the Doctor, Jamie returned to the battlefields of Culloden. Momentarily dazed, Jamie picked himself off the ground, sword in hand, and with a scream of “Creag an tuire” resumed battle with the enemy. Frazer Hines reprised his role as Jamie briefly in the 1983 20th Anniversary Special, The Five Doctors, and more substantially as a companion of both the Second and the Sixth Doctors in 1985’s The Two Doctors.
Jamie with the Second and Sixth Doctors in The Two Doctors
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
The illustration at the top of this post is by tygerbug and is courtesy of deviantART – http://tygerbug.deviantart.com/art/Doctor-Who-Ben-Polly-Jamie-184396442. No copyright breach is intended.
[In reference to the Conscience of Marinus]: I don’t believe that man was made to be controlled by machines. Machines can make laws, but they cannot preserve justice. Only human beings can do that.
The Conscience of Marinus – a machine with the power to not only judge good and evil, but also to permeate the minds of citizens, eradicating all evil thoughts and intentions, and replacing them instead with only good and honourable deeds.
9. The Romans
[After escaping an Assassin]: Alright? Of course I’m alright, my child. You know, I am so constantly outwitting the opposition. I tend to forget the delights and satisfaction of the gentle art of fisticuffs.
The Doctor displays his finely tuned fighting skills whilst in battle with a would-be assassin in The Romans
8. The Aztecs
[Speaking to Barbara, who is masquerading as the Yetaxa]: You can’t rewrite history. Not one line!
The Doctor with Barbara, who is masquerading as the reincarnated priest, Yetaxa in The Aztecs
[Referring to his adventures with Ian and Barbara]: It all started out as a mild curiosity in the junkyard, and now it’s turned out to be quite a great spirit of adventure.
The Doctor and Ian in The Sensorites
Our lives are important — at least to us — and as we see, so we learn… Our destiny is in the stars, so let’s go and search for it.
The Doctor masquerades as a district official in The Reign of Terror
5. The Savages
Jano: Do you not realize that all progress is based on exploitation?
The Doctor: That, sir, is protracted murder!
The Doctor and Jago, the Elders’ leader in The Savages
[To Ian and Barbara]: Have you ever thought what it’s like to be wanderers in the Fourth Dimension? Have you? To be exiles? Susan and I are cut off from our own planet – without friends or protection. But one day we shall get back. Yes, one day….
The Doctor and Susan with the unwilling companions, Barbara and Ian in An Unearthly Child
3. The Chase
[Ian and Barbara’s farewell as they prepare to leave in the Daleks’ time machine]
Barbara: We’re not idiots! We want to go home!
Ian: Yes! Home! I want to sit in a pub and drink a pint of beer again! I want to walk in a park, and watch a cricket match. And above all, I want to belong somewhere, and do something! Instead of this aimless drifting around in space!
The Doctor: AIMLESS?! I tried for two years to get you both home!
Ian: Well you haven’t been successful, have you?
The Doctor: How dare you, young man! HOW DARE YOU, SIR! I didn’t invite you into the ship in the first place! You both thrust yourselves upon me!
Barbara: OH, DOCTOR! STOP IT!
The Doctor: Oh, for heaven’s sake! I’ve never heard such nonsense!
Barbara: Look. I know we’ve thrust ourselves upon you! But we’ve been through a great deal since then! And all we’ve been through will remain with us always! It could be the most exciting part of my life. Look, Doctor, we’re different people. And now we have a chance to go home. We want to take that chance. Will you help us work that machine?
The Doctor: …No. No! I will not aid and abet suicide!
Ian: Oh, he’s as stubborn as ever!
Vicki: Doctor.
The Doctor: . Hmm?
Vicki: Doctor, you’ve got let them go if they want too. They want to be back in their own time.
The Doctor: Don’t you want to go with them, child? Hmm?
Vicki: What for? Why would I want to be back in their time for? I want to be with you! Doctor… You’ve got to help them.
The Doctor: Don’t you realise, child, of the enormous risks?
Vicki: But it’s up to them!
The Doctor and his companions outside of the Dalek time machine in The Chase
2. The Dalek Invasion of Earth
[As he prepares to leave Susan on Earth]: During all the years I’ve been taking care of you, you in return have been taking care of me. You are still my grandchild and always will be. But now, you’re a woman too. I want you to belong somewhere, to have roots of your own. With David you will be able to find those roots and live normally like any woman should do. Believe me, my dear, your future lies with David and not with a silly old buffer like me. One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. Goodbye, Susan. Goodbye, my dear.
The Doctor speaks to Susan from inside the TARDIS just prior to it dematerializing in The Dalek Invasion of Earth
My dear Steven, history sometimes gives us a terrible shock, and that is because we don’t quite fully understand. Why should we? After all, we’re too small to realise its final pattern. Therefore don’t try and judge it from where you stand. I was right to do as I did. Yes, that I firmly believe. [Steven leaves the TARDIS] Steven… Even after all this time, he cannot understand. I dare not change the course of history. Well, at least I taught him to take some precautions; he did remember to look at the scanner before he opened the doors. And now, they’re all gone. All gone. None of them could understand. Not even my little Susan. Or Vicki. And as for Barbara and Chatterton — Chesterton — they were all too impatient to get back to their own time. And now, Steven. Perhaps I should go home. Back to my own planet. But I can’t… I can’t…
The Doctor and Steven enjoy a quiet ale in the lost serial The Massacre
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
On Day 50 of The Doctor Who Mind Robber’s Countdown to Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary we published our list of the Ten Most Wanted Missing Episodes. Not all episodes are as highly sought after as others and unfortunately there are a limited number that many fans have little or no desire to see returned. Our list of those sad and sorry stories that pine for some respect is provided in broadcast order only.
1. Galaxy 4 – Season 3
The first broadcast of our least wanted missing stories is the Season 3 opener, Galaxy 4. Until November 2011 none of the story’s four episodes were held in the BBC Archives. Upon episode three’s discovery, a reconstruction of the serial was produced and included as an extra in The Aztecs Special Edition. The recovered episode was included in the reconstruction.
The villains of Galaxy 4 were the Drahvins
Although the resident monsters of the serial, the Rill and the Chumblies, are generally well regarded the story is nonetheless frequently discounted by fans. In The Discontinuity Guide (1995) Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping’s “Bottom Line” was that “Galaxy 4 presents an interesting if flawed twist on the traditional bug-eyed monster tale”.
A Chumbly with four Rills in the background
Arguably it is most probably the presence of the chief villains, the Drahvins, which is the cause of most distain for Galaxy 4. Personally I found the concept of a female dominated, anti-male race of aliens absolutely enthralling. It’s for that reason that I rated the serial so highly in my own marathon watch. Below is an example of one of the recent anti-Galaxy 4 tweets. The diversity of Doctor Who fandom is one of its greatest strengths.
2. The Celestial Toymaker – Season 3
Prior to the recovery and release of episode four The Celestial Toymaker was held in reasonably high regard. In Peter Haining’s 1983 coffee table book, Doctor Who A Celebration, Jeremy Bentham waxed lyrical about it.
The success of this story lies in the way if visualises a child’s nightmare – the secret world of toys from the nursery coming to life, harmless games that insidiously graduate into something far more sinister, smiling, happy faces concealing deadly menace. In short it was a perfect fairy-tale of the kind told by the brothers Grimm – a multi-level fantasy appealing to young and old alike, but strangely being more disturbing to adults than to children.
Peter Haining, Doctor Who A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (W. H Allen, London, 1983)
The widespread availability of episode 4, firstly on the 1991 VHS release and then on 2004’s DVD, Lost in Time, quickly lead to the story’s reputation diminishing. In Mark Campell’s widely read basic guide, Doctor Who The Complete Series Guide, he gives the serial only 4 out of 10. His verdict is as follows:
A weird, and at times plodding, excursion into pure fantasy (some might say whimsy). Not as interesting as its reputation might suggest.
Mark Campbell’s Doctor Who The Complete Series Guide (Constable & Robertson Ltd, London, 2010)
My own marathon review of The Celestial Toymaker was rather more positive. In introducing the story I stated:
I found the story engaging and fascinating. The concept of a world of make believe in which the characters are compelled to participate in childish games in order to retrieve the TARDIS is both sinister and surreal. That I’m a great fan of the Second Doctor’s The Mind Robber probably evidences my idiosyncratic tendencies. Both serials have a similar edge about them.
Dodo, Steven and Cyril the nasty “schoolboy” in The Celestial Toymaker
3. The Underwater Menace – Season 4
Another poor and lowly regarded story is The Underwater Menace. Episode 3 is included on Lost in Time, and although episode 2 was recovered in November 2011 it has yet to be released on DVD. You have to wonder what that omission says about both the popularity and the quality of the serial. The Discontinuity Guide displayed its distain for the serial in its bottom line summary:
‘I could feed you to my pet octopus – yes? … I, too, have a sense of humour!’ At least Joe Orton got a kick out of watching Frazer Hines in episode four of this story.
Paul Cornell, Martin Day & Keith Toppiing, The Discontinuity Guide (Doctor Who Books, London, 1995)
To find out more about the Joe Orton/Doctor Who connection I suggest you read this blog post.
In my marathon review of The Underwater Menace I successfully found some merit in the story and ended my article by stating, “ The Underwater Menace is a fun romp and nowhere near as bad as its reputation. Watch it with an eye for the ridiculous and you won’t be disappointed”.
A rare colour photo of the Fish People of The Underwater Menace
4. The Wheel in Space – Season 5
As the lovely Wendy Padbury’s debut story, one would have thought that The Wheel in Space would be a fine contender in the list of the most sought after missing episodes. Moreover, the story features the Cybermen and is the last of a long and continuous run of missing Series 5 stories. That’s enough to make anyone celebrate. Not so for the authors of The Discontinuity Guide who again panned the story:
Dull, lifeless and so derivative of other base-under-siege stories that it isn’t really a story in its own right. Despite the detailed Wheel setting, the galloping lack of scientific credibility is annoying, and the Cybermen are so bland and ordinary that they could have been any other monster. Generic speed-written tosh.
As a great fan of the companion Zoe I nonetheless enjoyed The Wheel in Space. There can never be too much Zoe.
Jamie is initially reticent to accept Zoe as a member of the TARDIS Crew in The Wheel in Space
5. The Space Pirates – Season 6
Coming in at 195 in the 2009 Doctor Who Magazine Mighty 200, The Space Pirates has the unfortunate reputation as the least popular Patrick Troughton era Doctor Who serial. It is also the last story that is missing from the BBC Archives. Being totally bereft of any telesnaps, and having a muddy and almost inaudible fan saved soundtrack, Loose Cannon’s reconstruction of The Space Pirates does not make for very engaging viewing. So bad was it that I had great difficulty reviewing the story. I was, however, impressed by Madelaine Issigri’s fabulous metal hair and Zoe’s hotpants! The only episode held in the BBC Archives has been released on the Lost in Time DVD.
Madelaine Issigri had the most fabulous metal wig in The Space Pirates
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
In an interview with Matthew Gudgin of BBC Radio Norfolk today, former Doctor Who companion Peter Purves expressed surprise at the early announcement of recovered missing episodes. Purves, who played Steven Taylor for a year from June 1965 until June 1966, had anticipated the announcement during Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary celebrations on 23 November. Purves believes that a leak was the reason for the early revelation. He went on to state that he understood that a “huge tranche of these tins of films” had been found.
Peter Purves as Steven Taylor in The Time Meddler
Purves is unaware if any of his missing 29 episodes are among those recovered. He’s particularly keen to see the episodes as he didn’t watch most of them on transmission. As there were no home video recorders in the mid 1960s, and the BBC didn’t repeat Doctor Who, the original broadcast was the only viewing opportunity. In his forward to Robert Shearman and Toby Hadoke’s book, Running Through Corridors, Purves wrote that he was usually out making personal appearances and the like when Doctor Who was being transmitted on early Saturday evening.
Until the recent recovery, the BBC Archives held only 15 episodes from Steven Taylor’s tenure as a companion. We can only hope for Peter Purves sake that at least some of the recovered episodes are his.
Steven, Dodo and the Doctor in The Celestial Toymaker
MISSING PETER PURVES EPISODES
Galaxy 4 – Episodes 1, 2 and 4
The Myth Makers – All four episodes
The Daleks’ Master Plan – Episodes 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12
The Massacre – All four episodes
The Celestial Toymaker – Episodes 1, 2 and 3
The Savages – All four episodes
None of the regular cast of Doctor Who appeared in the single episode story, Mission to the Unknown. Episode three of Galaxy 4 was recovered in November 2011 and released on The Aztecs Special Edition DVD.
The Doctor and Steven enjoy a quiet ale in the lost episode The Massacre
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
The first actor to play the Doctor, William Hartnell, was renowned for his many and varied “Billy Fluffs”. A “Billy Fluff” was an error in delivering dialogue or the complete failure to say a line. Prior to the 1970s the studio recording of Doctor Who was almost live. Whilst there were certainly some pre-filmed segments, ordinarily those involving special effects or location work, the vast majority of recording was undertaken in the studio on a Friday or Saturday evening. Preceding the recording where four days of preliminary rehearsals, although the actual recording of each 25 minute episode was allocated only one and a half hours. Video tape was prohibitively expensive so the re-shooting of scenes was kept to a minimum of three per episode. It’s for this reason that unless the mistakes in dialogue were extraordinary the actors just carried on.
Hartnell was suffering from undiagnosed arteriosclerosis during his tenure as the First Doctor. Short term memory loss and lapses in concentration can be symptoms of arteriosclerosis. His declining health undoubtedly contributed to his occasional bout of Hartnellisms. In providing this list of 10 Greatest Billy Fluffs we are not mocking William Hartnell but rather celebrating the eccentricities that made the First Doctor so endearing. Given the multiple takes of modern film production, it is highly doubtful that contemporary actors would come close to displaying the professionalism of the Sixties era Doctor Who stars.
Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks discuss William Hartnell’s perseverance during the filming of The Three Doctors (1973).
10. Episode six of The Web Planet sees a communication device descend upon the Doctor’s head. When asked by Animus, off camera, if he’d attempted to escape the Doctor responds, “We have been on a slight exploitation.”
A communications device is lowered onto the Doctor’s head in The Web Planet
9. Whilst introducing the new companion Steven to the TARDIS in episode one of The Time Meddler, the Doctor gives an exceptional run-down of the Ship’s superior features. At the end of the clip he is scripted as saying “Now please stop bothering me”. After listening to it multiple times I’m absolutely convinced that Hartnell says “Now please stop buggering me”.
The Time Meddler, Episode 1
8. In episode one of The Web Planet Hartnell appears to forget his lines during a discussion with William Russell (Ian). Exhibiting extraordinary patience and a determination not to spoil the scene, Russell prompts Hartnell. Russell’s facial expressions are absolutely classic and brilliantly disguise an otherwise awkward situation.
IAN: Well, come on then, Doctor. Ah. How do we open the doors? We have no power.
DOCTOR: Ah, dear, dear, dear, dear, dear. Hmm. It’s one thing after another.
IAN: Hmm?
DOCTOR: Yes, well, I, er, I, er, I didn’t want to, er.
IAN: Hey?
(The Doctor takes his signet ring off).
DOCTOR: This is not merely a decorative object. Come along, come along.
The Doctor and Ian in The Web Planet
7. In episode one of The Smugglers the Doctor discusses with his new companions, Ben and Polly, the difficulties he experiences landing the TARDIS. After advising his friends that he can neither determine where or in which period he lands, the Doctor then points to the scanner and says, “Oh, now, you see that scanner? That is what I call a scanner up there”.
Ben and Polly take their first trip in the Tardis in The Smugglers
6. In The Sensorites, rather than a problem being solved the Doctor accidently states that a solution had been settled – “Yes, well, I rather fancy that’s settled that little bit of a solution”.
Special Feature – Forgetting the Lines – The Sensorites
5. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan land on a strange beach in The Keys of Marinus. Having removed her shoes, Susan goes back to the TARDIS to collect another pair. The Doctor admonishes Ian by saying, “And if you had your shoes on, my boy, you could have lent her hers”
The TARDIS crew land on a mysterious island in The Keys of Marinus
4. Having landed on a beach in The Time Meddler the Doctor and his companions are confronted by a steep cliff face. Although the Doctor suggests to Steven and Vicki that they walk along the beach until they find a cliff face running down to sea level, Steven is convinced that it would be quicker just to climb the cliff. In response the Doctors says, “But I’m not a mountain goat and I prefer walking to it any day, and I hate climbing”.
The TARDIS Crew land on a beach with a steep cliff face in The Time Meddler
3. The Doctor, Steven and Vicki land on a seemingly deserted planet in Galaxy 4. Keen to explore, the Doctor agrees and says that “I think that we shall get some well deserved, undeserved peace for once”.
The Doctor and his companions don’t receive the rest they anticipate in Galaxy 4
2. Landing in 20th Century London, the Doctor and Dodo see the newly completed Post Office Tower. In perhaps one of the best lines in The War Machines the Doctor states, “You know there’s something alien about that tower. I can scent it.”
The Doctor can sense an alien force in the newly opened Post Office Tower in The War Machines
1. In discussing whether Ian and Barbara can return to Earth in the Daleks’ time machine the Doctor tells the teachers in The Chase that “You’ll end up as a couple of burnt cinders flying around in Spain … space.”
First Doctor Billy Fluffs
TOMORROW – DAY 46 – The 10 Best William Hartnell Moments
YESTERDAY – DAY 48 – The Top 10 Cliff Hangers of the Sixties
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
Today The Doctor Who Mind Robber commences its 50 Day Countdown to Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary. Today the author will also conclude the 1960s component of her Ultimate Doctor Who Marathon by viewing the final episodes of Patrick Troughton’s last serial, The War Games. What more appropriate era to concentrate our daily articles on than Sixties Doctor Who?
For the next 50 days we will publish a daily article on a 1960s related topic. Perhaps appropriately, given the ongoing Missing Episodes Hysteria, our first survey will be on the Ten Most Wanted Missing Episodes.
10. THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMEN
Having just finished reading Terrance Dicks’ novelization of The Abominable Snowmen I’d love to see the five missing episodes returned to the BBC Archives. Episode two has been released on Lost in Time.
The first of Doctor Who’s two Yeti stories, The Abominable Snowmen is set in the Himalayan Buddhist Monastery, Det-Sen in 1935. Together with introducing the Yeti to the world of Who, the story is also the first appearance of the Great Intelligence. Given the Intelligence’s reintroduction as the major protagonist of Series 7 (The Snowmen, The Bells of Saint John, and The Name of the Doctor), The Abominable Snowmen has obvious marketing potential to New Series fans.
Together with providing fans with another full adventure with the little seen companion Victoria, The Abominable Snowmen is also significant for including the father and daughter team of Deborah (Victoria) and Jack (Travers) Watling. The story was one of the first to involve extensive location filming and features some splendid Welsh scenery as Snowdonia substituted for Tibet. The Yeti, whilst menacing, are also adorably cute.
Patrick Troughton on the set of The Abominable Snowmen
9. THE FACELESS ONES
Ben and Polly’s farewell serial, The Faceless Ones is one of my personal favourites. Episodes one and three are in the BBC Archives and have been released on the Lost in Time compilation.
Set in modern day London, The Faceless Ones was filmed at Gatwick Airport and features Pauline Collins as the would-be companion, Samantha Briggs. Collins would appear in Doctor Who 39 years later as Queen Victoria in Tooth and Claw. The serial has certain similarities with the Mark Gatiss penned Series 2 serial, The Idiot’s Lantern.
As one of the few “present day” serials of Doctor Who’s monochrome era, The Faceless Ones is a worthy companion to Ben and Polly’s first serial, The War Machines. The pair departs on the same day as their arrival in the aforementioned story, which is unfortunately their only complete serial. The most under-represented of all 1960’s companions in terms of extant episodes, it would be a delight to finally see Ben and Polly’s farewell to the Second Doctor in episode six. As the companions who flawlessly provided the continuity between the First and Second Doctors, Ben and Polly justifiably deserve more screen time.
The four members of the Tardis Crew before they scatter at Gatwick Airport in The Faceless Ones
8. THE MACRA TERROR
Another Patrick Troughton serial with a monster revived in New Series Doctor Who (Gridlock), The Macra Terror is entirely missing from the BBC Archives. Featuring Ben and Polly as the Second Doctor’s companions, The Macra Terror features the monster which put paid to model maker Shawcraft Models’ association with Doctor Who. The few off air clips available are just fabulous. As previously mentioned, there are far too few Ben and Polly episodes so any finds will allow us to fully appreciate their significant contribution to this tumultuous period of Doctor Who’s history.
A publicity shot for The Macra Terror
7. THE DALEKS’ MASTER PLAN
The 12 part Hartnell era masterpiece, The Daleks’ Master Plan has nine of its episodes missing. Episodes two, five and ten have been released on Lost in Time.
The DMP is resplendent with firsts, including Nicholas Courtney’s premier appearance in Who as secret agent Bret Vyon, the first deaths of companions, and the first return of a humanoid villain, the Monk. The short-lived companion Katarina, played by Adrienne Hill, is killed in episode four, which also sees the death of Bret Vyon at the hands of his sister Sara Kingdom (played by Jean Marsh). Sara Kingdom, who also subsequently becomes a companion, is killed in episode 12.
The DMP is perhaps the least likely of all serials to be recovered. Although sold to Australia it was never broadcast as a consequence of censorship problems. The DMP is in fact the only Doctor Who serial to have never been screened in Australia. Australia is the only country to have purchased all Who serials since the first serial, An Unearthly Child. Australia’s neighbour, New Zealand, has an equally prestigious record of long standing support, having purchased all serials save for the DMP. The ABC has confirmed that it no longer holds the episodes. The serial was sold to no other countries.
Magnificent flame throwing Daleks in The Daleks’ Master Plan
6. THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD
The only non-Monster story in Season 5, The Enemy of the World is one of the most sought after Troughton era serials. Only episode three is held in the BBC Archives and has been released on the Lost in Time DVD.
Very much in the style of a James Bond movie, The Enemy of the World is unique in that Patrick Troughton plays two roles – the Doctor and also the evil would-be world dictator, Salamander. Featuring Who’s first helicopter and hovercraft scenes, which will become all too familiar during Jon Pertwee’s tenure as the Third Doctor, The Enemy of the World is so unlike the “Base Under Siege” stories as to warrant an exulted position in the archives of Doctor Who.
Patrick Troughton as Salamander in The Enemy of the World
5. THE WEB OF FEAR
The second and final Yeti story, The Web of Fear has only one episode in the BBC Archives. Episode one has been released on Lost in Time.
The Web of Fear is set in the present day London Underground and introduces Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart. Quickly promoted to Brigadier, Lethbridge-Stewart went on to have a distinguished career of more than 40 years with Doctor Who and its franchises. Bringing monsters to London foreshadowed the Third Doctor’s earth-bound tenure and Jon Pertwee’s much quoted phrase, “Yeti on the Loo”. It precipitated Doctor Who’s propensity to bring horror and science fiction to the mundane, everyday streetscapes of viewers.
The Doctor first met Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart in less than perfect circumstances
4. THE EVIL OF THE DALEKS
The second and final Dalek serial of the Troughton era, only episode two of the seven part serial is held in the BBC Archives. It has been released on the Lost in Time DVD.
Coming in at 18 in the 2009 Doctor Who Magazine Mighty 200 poll, The Evil of the Daleks was the most highly placed Second Doctor story. Set in Victorian England, it introduced the new companion Victoria who, having lost her father to the Daleks, was effectively adopted by the Doctor and Jamie. The story featured the concept of the “human factor” in Daleks, something which would re-emerge in the first Dalek story of 21st Century Who, Dalek. It also included some lovely scenes in which “baby” Daleks, who had been impregnated with the “human factor”, gleefully played trains with the Doctor.
The Evil of the Daleks was the first Doctor Who serial ever repeated and the first and only repeat to be scripted into serials
3. THE POWER OF THE DALEKS
The Power of the Daleks is Patrick Troughton’s first serial as the Second Doctor. In what could only be described as criminal negligence, none of its six episodes are held in the BBC Archives.
Widely acclaimed as one of the better 1960s Dalek stories, Power of the Daleks introduces a Doctor not only wildly different from his predecessor, but also significantly divergent from Troughton’s later portrayal. This is the first the viewer sees of a Doctor who will rapidly transform during the course of Season Four. The recorder, stove-pipe hat and baggy trousers will soon be a thing of the past. More importantly, however, the Doctor’s personality significantly evolves. The Power of the Daleks is also remarkable for the magnificent Dalek production line, which by luck rather than good management, is still available for our viewing pleasure as a short clip.
The Doctor, Polly and Ben are confronted by Daleks in The Power of the Daleks
2. THE TENTH PLANET – EPISODE 4
Although episodes one, two and three of The Tenth Planet exist in the BBC Archives, episode four has been lost in time. Together with the recently animated lost episode, The Tenth Planet will be finally released on DVD in November 2013.
Often described as the proto-type for the Troughton era “Base Under Siege” stories, The Tenth Planet heralded the introduction of the Cybermen. It is perhaps best remembered, however, as William Hartnell’s final story as the Doctor. It is most unfortunate that of all episodes to be lost, it is the final episode with Doctor Who’s first regeneration that doesn’t grace the shelves of the BBC’s Archives. This loss is compounded by the complete absence of Patrick Troughton’s first serial, The Power of the Daleks, from the Archives as well. Gone also was the opportunity to see the regeneration reprised in the first episode of the next serial. As luck would have it, however, an amateur film taken off-screen during the broadcast of episode four exists and allows fans to witness this historic regeneration, albeit in a rather grainy form.
The Tenth Planet introduces the Cybermen to Doctor Who for the first time. A Cyberman is pictured here with Polly and the Doctor
1. MARCO POLO
Undoubtedly the most highly sought after missing Doctor Who story is Marco Polo. The fourth story of the series’ first season, this historical drama is the earliest missing story. Directed by Waris Hussein, who also directed Doctor Who’s first serial An Unearthly Child, all that remains visually of this story is a collection of beautiful colour photographs taken during the filming. On the basis of these photos alone, Marco Polo appears to have been an exceptionally cinematic production. As the most widely sold Hartnell era serial, it’s nothing short of bizarre that not a single episode has resurfaced.
A thirty minute reconstruction of Marco Polo was released with the three disc box set The Beginning, which also includes An Unearthly Child, The Edge of Destruction and The Daleks.
The Doctor and his companions in Marco Polo
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
2. The Savages
3, The Massacre
6. The Crusade
TOMORROW – DAY 49 – The 10 Least Remembered Monsters of the Sixties
For the latest developments in the Missing Episodes Hysteria please see our articles on recent Mirror and Radio Times articles.
Orphan episodes have been released on the triple DVD set Lost in Time
Vivien Fleming
©Vivien Fleming, 2013.
I was recently browsing YouTube and came upon this fabulous compilation of colourized clips from William Hartnell’s tenure as the First Doctor. Here’s what the producer, who is known only by the alias of “It’s far from being all over”, says about his work:
“My Tribute to the man that started it all, William Hartnell.
I always felt many of his adventures deserved to be seen in colour, so I set to work. It’s taken about three months and I’ve colourised something in the region of 2,125 frames – one by one, frame by frame.
Some clips work better than others – as I reached the end I found myself dropping shots I didn’t like and recreating new ones! It’s been a labour of love and I hope you enjoy seeing some classic 60’s Doctor Who – in Colour!
Big thanks to ‘Pelham Cort aka @johnxgin3’ for his colour references and support throughout – I’ll do some Troughton soon! “
The Hartnell Years – In Colour
All four episodes of The Savages are missing from the BBC Archives. For the purposes of this marathon I viewed Loose Cannon’s reconstructions, the links for which are below.
Loose Cannon’s The Savages, Episode 1 Part 1
Loose Cannon’s The Savages, Episode 1 Part 2
Loose Cannon’s The Savages, Episode 2 Part 1
Loose Cannon’s The Savages, Episode 2 Part 2
Loose Cannon’s The Savages, Episode 3 Part 1
Loose Cannon’s The Savages, Episode 3 Part 2
Loose Cannon’s The Savages, Episode 4 Part 1
Loose Cannon’s The Savages, Episode 4 Part 2
The Doctor Who Mind Robber 