The BBC has revealed the names of the nine “lost episodes” of the classic Doctor Who series that were found in a storage room in the storeroom of a television relay station in Jos, Nigeria. Eleven episodes were found in all of which nine were missing from the BBC archives. The complete six-episode The Enemy of the World saga from 1967-1968 was found (only episode 3 was in the BBC archive), and five of the episodes of the six-part Enemy of the World serial (only Episode #1 was available previously) were found. Episode 3 of Enemy of the World is still missing, but it has been recreated using stills and an audio track. These two serials will be released on DVD (in the UK) next month, and they are already available on iTunes.
The Web of Fear is of particular interest to Doctor Who fans because it features the second appearance of famous Doctor Who villain, The Great Intelligence (who debuted in the Abominable Snowmen), and was also the first story to feature Nicholas Courtney as then Colonel, later Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Fans will certainly enjoy the tunnel scenes as the Doctor and friends pursue the Yeti through the London Underground.
The Enemy of the World was the fourth serial adventure of the fifth season of Doctor Who, and it aired from December of 1967 to January of 1968. It features Patrick Troughton as both the Second Doctor and in a dual role as The Salamander, a ruthless megalomaniac who is ruling the United Zones Organization in the mid-21st Century and who bears such an uncanny resemblance to the Second Doctor that the Doc is the subject of a mistaken impromptu assassination attempt intended for The Salamander. The BBC reportedly produced this saga in large part because Troughton had tired of playing the Doctor and longed for juicier roles.
Word of the discovery of some of the lost episodes spread quickly through the Doctor Who community (see "A Trove of Lost 'Doctor Who' Episodes Found"), and though some may have been wishing the discovery had involved more "lost episodes," this find was very rich indeed with 9 out of the eleven episodes from the "lost" category, a discovery that has reduced the number of missing Doctor Who episodes down from 106 to 97.
As current Doctor Who scribe Mark Gatiss put it to the BBC: "It’s incredible. Every single avenue seemed to have been exhausted, every now and then something turns up--but to have two virtually complete stories out of the blue is absolutely incredible."
The discovery comes just as the BBC is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the show with an extended 75-minute episode that will air next month, which will feature both the current Doctor Matt Smith and his predecessor David Tennant.
Nine 'Lost Episodes' Make Up Nearly 2 Complete Serials
Posted by ICv2 on October 10, 2013 @ 7:13 pm CT
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