Arataniello Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 I would love some of the recovered material to be a complete historic story from the First Doctor. Marco Polo, the Troy Story or The Massacre. Guess we will find out later today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 It sounds like either 9 (the 5 missing episodes of Enemy of the World plus four of the five missing episodes of The Web of Fear) or 14, with Marco Polo being fully recovered. The latter rumour seems to have lost lots of momentum in the last few days though, so that might be hoping for too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 How did a bunch of Doctor Who episodes get lost in the first place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 How did a bunch of Doctor Who episodes get lost in the first place? 'Lost' is a euphimism for 'deliberately destroyed', as I outline here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 It sounds like either 9 (the 5 missing episodes of Enemy of the World plus four of the five missing episodes of The Web of Fear) or 14, with Marco Polo being fully recovered. The latter rumour seems to have lost lots of momentum in the last few days though, so that might be hoping for too much. Since they've got Frazer Hines (Jamie) and Deborah Watling (Victoria) along to the press conference, I think we're safe in thinking the material is mostly Troughton. Though there's nothing stopping any orphan episodes being announced too, and they could still announce Marco Polo even if it isn't immediately ready for release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 Wert,Very interesting. I forget about pre-"home video" days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 OK. It's apparently a substantial but realistic number, and is certainly not 106. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 My own completely uninformed guess: 19 (full Enemy of the World (5 previously missing), Web of Fear (5 previously missing), Marco Polo (7 previously missing), and a couple of strays - none of which are the Tenth Planet Episode 4). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 The press conference is over, but the results are embargoed until midnight. However, a whole bunch of people said screw that and confirmed that it's 9: the remaining episodes of The Enemy of the World and four of the five missing episodes of The Web of Fear. Nothing else was confirmed, but one commentator said that the BBC had said there might be more. Another fansite at the event indicated negotiations between the BBC and the person who holds the tapes remain ongoing, and were nearly scuppered by the previous online speculation. That suggests that the BBC themselves don't know how much has been recovered or what state it's in. The financial exchanges may be significant: Ian Levine paid one collector over £3,000 for a missing episode in the 1980s (about £20,000 in modern money). Given the tightness of the BBC's budget, they may not be able to afford to get them all back in one go. EDIT: Even if it's just the nine and everything else is BS, that's more than has been returned to the BBC since 1988 (8 episodes have been recovered since then) and more than twice the largest number of episodes returned in one go (which was 4, for Tomb of the Cybermen in 1992). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 Confirmation. The Northern Echo clearly has no fear of the BBC's embargoes. Or also of clearly-written information. Or fact-checking. The stories, The Enemy Of The World (1967) and The Web Of Fear (1968) and both starring Patrick Troughton as the second Doctor, have now been remastered by BBC Worldwide, the corporation’s commercial arm. Mr Morris said: ‘‘I remember wiping the dust off the masking tape on the canisters and my heart missed a beat as I saw the words Doctor Who. When I read the story code, I realised I’d found something pretty special.’’ Only one episode of The Enemy Of The World - which featured Deborah Watling as companion Victoria and Frazer Hines, later to find fame in Emmerdale as Jamie - had remained in the archives, so the addition of programmes one, two, four, five and six have completed the story. Fiona Eastwood, director of consumer products, BBC Worldwide, said: ‘‘We are thrilled with the recent discovery of The Web Of Fear and The Enemy Of The World and we’re very happy to be launching re-mastered versions of these treasured episodes to fans as we celebrate the 50th year of Doctor Who.’’ The BBC still had the first edition in the Web Of Fear story, and the new finds mean only number three is missing. The tale introduced Nicholas Courtney as Lethbridge-Stewart, who began with the rank of Colonel but later became Brigadier. The missing episode has been recreated using 37 still images which were available and the original audio which survived. Many programmes from the era, along with many classic shows, disappeared as a result of efforts to save space. There are still 27 Doctor Who stories which have not been recovered or for which episodes are missing. Still, some official quotes to be going on with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 Ha, link now not working and the article wasn't up long enough for Google to get a cache of it. ETA: Yes it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendan Moody Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 Even if it's just the nine and everything else is BS, that's... more than twice the largest number of episodes returned in one go (which was 4, for Tomb of the Cybermen in 1992). Actually, the largest previous return in one go would be six episodes in 1985: three each from "The Time Meddler" and "The War Machines," completing both stories. Interestingly, those were also found in Nigeria, though in the archive of a different station from the one that would have supplied this year's astounding recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 Actually, the largest previous return in one go would be six episodes in 1985: three each from "The Time Meddler" and "The War Machines," completing both stories. Interestingly, those were also found in Nigeria, though in the archive of a different station from the one that would have supplied this year's astounding recovery. Actually, I meant in that 25 year period. I believe there were several groups that were larger in that earlier period (there'd have to be, as 35 or so episodes were returned in that period). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 BOOM. The episodes were recovered from a TV station in Nigeria. SFX seem to be severely underplaying any suggestion of there being more out there, but not completely ruling it out. There's some nice interviews with Deborah Watling and Frazer Hines on the filming of both stories as well. The Enemy of the World will be released on DVD on 25 November. However - interestingly - Web of Fear will be held back until 2014. This is going to fuel the conspiracy theory which holds that many more episodes - including Web 3 - have been recovered but not remastered yet. Releasing Web of Fear soon with a missing episode and then replacing it with a complete set next year wouldn't fly, so this might be the reason for the delay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 There's a rumour they do have Marco Polo, but it needs much more extensive restoration. If there are any more episodes in the pipeline, it's a twofold issue of restoration and finding the money to get them back. But nine episodes. Woohoo. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Yup, the rumour mill is already saying that Marco Polo will follow - I believe it's actually the most widely-distributed missing story, and it's been a bit of a puzzle why it hasn't been found before - and possibly The Macra Terror as well. However, I'd take that very much with a pinch of salt. The BBC seem to be significantly downplaying any suggestion that more episodes will follow, but some of their statements seem to be a bit oddly worded: The elephant in the room was never quite addressed – is this haul the tip of the iceberg and to what extent has there been an element of hostage negotiation in the episodes’ recovery? But there were seemingly loaded statements nonetheless.A video interview with Philip Morris, the executive director of Television International Enterprise Archive and the man who discovered the episodes revealed yesterday, saw him assert, ‘I have the Doctor Who fans’ best interests at heart, believe me.’Meanwhile Dan Phelan, Head of Communications at BBC Worldwide, directly addressed the rumours: ‘There has been lots of speculation – some of it better informed than others’. When Phelan presented the episodes to the press, he spoke of them as ‘the missing episodes we’re announcing today’ – a phrase which, it seems to us, can be taken one of two ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felice Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 However, I'd take that very much with a pinch of salt. The BBC seem to be significantly downplaying any suggestion that more episodes will follow Before this week the BBC and other people in the know were significantly downplaying any suggestion that any episodes had been recovered. There may be nothing more to come, but I'm leaning towards optimism. I'd be a lot happier if online sales of Enemy and Web weren't restricted by country, though; guess I'll have to wait for the DVDs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Wolf Smith Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 At this point, one would think, that the BBC would send a few people to Nigeria and other African countries to see what else they could find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 Before this week the BBC and other people in the know were significantly downplaying any suggestion that any episodes had been recovered. There may be nothing more to come, but I'm leaning towards optimism. I'd be a lot happier if online sales of Enemy and Web weren't restricted by country, though; guess I'll have to wait for the DVDs... What country are you in? They're certainly available in Canada and the States. At this point, one would think, that the BBC would send a few people to Nigeria and other African countries to see what else they could find. The BBC has no official programme or remit to go globe-trotting to look for missing episodes. Remember, they operate with public money and likely they would be unable to justify (except to a comparatively small number of Doctor Who fans and British television and film history buffs) spending tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds traipising around Africa looking for needles in haystacks rather than using that money to create new programming. These episodes were recovered by a private firm, and apparently that firm is currently back in Africa following additional leads which may lead to other finds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 felice and I are Kiwis. The iTunes version of these recovered stories are not available in New Zealand. As such, all we can do is wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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