The Mirror reported a similar story this weekend, but of course being the Mirror, they promised a hell of a lot more. Hopefully this is just the tip of the iceberg, but as with all Who rumors, I'm waiting to see it before I believe anything.
And admittedly I'm pretty selfish in that I'm more interested in complete stories than random episodes... if these finds and hopefully more add to the sum total of those (even if it makes more live action/animated hybrid reconstructions possible), then I'll be really, really excited. Come on Power of the Daleks (and Evil of the Daleks, for that matter... and Daleks' Masterplan... and and and...)!
Any new Troughton episodes are welcome. Even Hartnell's most missing season still has a fair amount of complete stories. For two seasons you get virtually nothing for Troughton, a situation that I feel has unfairly diminished his run in the eyes of many fans. I remember in the days before they had even recovered Tomb of the Cybermen. The reruns airing on PBS would jump from Hartnell facing down the War Machines to Troughton's third season.
I'm just about to wrap up watching all the First Doctor stories, so this is especially good timing for me. If It's true that they've unearthed some Hartnell as well, then I guess I'll be re-watching some of those early stories.
The Mirror reported a similar story this weekend, but of course being the Mirror, they promised a hell of a lot more. Hopefully this is just the tip of the iceberg, but as with all Who rumors, I'm waiting to see it before I believe anything.
And admittedly I'm pretty selfish in that I'm more interested in complete stories than random episodes... if these finds and hopefully more add to the sum total of those (even if it makes more live action/animated hybrid reconstructions possible), then I'll be really, really excited. Come on Power of the Daleks (and Evil of the Daleks, for that matter... and Daleks' Masterplan... and and and...)!
While it certainly makes better business sense to find whole stories (it's a lot easier to sell the DVDs that way), sometimes I think I'd also be happy if they managed to find at least one episode of each story. Especially in the cases where we're not even sure what the monsters looked like. I've never liked "Galaxy Four", but after watching that recently recovered episode... well, I still don't think it's a lost masterpiece, but it was certainly better than I expected. The monster (which had previously only existed in one still photograph) looked decent, and the Drahvin, which had always seemed silly to me, were actually directed in a way that made them more threatening than the audio alone conveyed. It actually elevated the overall story a little bit for me.
Sadly, Daleks' Masterplan is supposedly the one they say is going to be the toughest to recover. Apparently, it wasn't sold overseas, and was the first of the episodes destroyed. It's a shame, as it's good story. If you can get ahold of a reconstruction, it's definitely worth the time, barring a couple weak episodes in the middle. It's about as epic as Hartnell, and maybe even Classic Who itself, ever got. I would love to see it recovered.
Meanwhile, this guy breaks down all of the various rumors and attempts to figure out the likelihood of what we'll actually see versus what sources like The Mirror have claimed (which at one point claimed that all 106 missing-presumed-wiped episodes were found). - http://thedragonsmaw.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/what-are-newly-recovered-doctor-who.html
That's a really interesting article on missing episodes. I've often wondered what the actual odds were of locating them, and that breaks it down quite thoroughly.
If they're bringing along Watling and Hines, that makes me think they've likely recovered a chunk of Season 5. Maybe even (fingers crossed) nearly all of it. Although that article makes it sound like Fury From The Deep is likely forever lost, which is too bad, as that one of my favorite novelizations back in the day. Definitely worth checking out, as somehow the author convinced Target to let him nearly double the standard length, so it really feels like a complete, fleshed out novel. I don't remember much of the dozens of novelizations I read, but that one has always stuck with me.
If I had to pick a season to recover, I think five would be it. Out of necessity a lot of attention has been placed on Troughton's final season, but I've always suspected that his peak was probably his second season. They finally get the companion mix right, they're done with the historical stories and the Daleks, so it's just pure Second Doctor at that point - Cybermen, Ice Warriors, Yeti, etc. Aside from the Dalek stories, there's not much from Troughton's first season that would be high on my list of wants, and we have enough of Hartnell's final season to tell me that what we're missing is not as big a loss.
Not that I don't want to see it all recovered - just saying that if it had to be one season, five is probably the best option.
So 11 Troughton episodes were announced to have been found, 9 of which were lost, which now gives us the complete Enemy of the World and the almost-complete (short an episode) Web of Fear (featuring the debut of then-Colonel Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart). They're iTunes exclusives for now, but Enemy comes out on DVD next month and Web is promised for early 2014.
No word yet if we can expect more, but hopefully it's the tip of the iceberg. If not, though, getting more of the Troughton era is a very good thing.
Not as many as some of the rumors had implied. Although, like others, I'm wondering if this is just the first announcement of more to come, since they took the time to remaster and prep these two for DVD before going public.
Regardless, along with Tomb of the Cybermen and the nearly complete Ice Warriors, we now have more than half of Troughton's second season. And they're good stories to have - Web of Fear is supposed to be very good, and Enemy of the World is unlike any other Who story. As I've been watching all the Classic Who in order, I was dreading that two seasons of missing episodes. Now I can't wait.
FOUND! Against all hope and logic, nine episodes of Doctor Who once thought lost forever have been found and returned to the BBC Archives. Such a monumental occasion warrants a rare Radio Free Skaro cutaway episode, wherein the Three Who Rule discuss the return of five episodes of The Enemy of the World and four episodes of The Web of Fear, the extravagant efforts that Doctor Who’s newest hero, Philip Morris of Television International Enterprises Archives, went to in order to uncover these lost treasures…and also reveal a little bit of the intense research that was done by the Skaro boys over the past few months to try to get to the bottom of all the rumours! Rejoice, Who fans!
Anyone had a chance to watch the newly found episodes yet? Finished off The Enemy of the World and really enjoyed it. There are some weird editing issues in spots, and the story takes a weird turn toward the end of Episode 4 that I was not expecting at all, but still, it was entertaining as hell, and as many others have said, a nice departure from the long string of Base Under Siege stories that pretty much define the Troughton era. I also have a certain amount of respect for any story that calls attention to its own budget shortfalls by writing justifications for certain events into the script, or else calling attention to the fact that there's a lot happening just outside of camera range. :))
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Written by Neil Gaiman (though credited to Steven Moffat)
Not that there's anything wrong with PYT's, mind you.
And admittedly I'm pretty selfish in that I'm more interested in complete stories than random episodes... if these finds and hopefully more add to the sum total of those (even if it makes more live action/animated hybrid reconstructions possible), then I'll be really, really excited. Come on Power of the Daleks (and Evil of the Daleks, for that matter... and Daleks' Masterplan... and and and...)!
The Mirror later reported that the announcement is getting pushed to Friday.
hopes rising
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24448063
I'm just about to wrap up watching all the First Doctor stories, so this is especially good timing for me. If It's true that they've unearthed some Hartnell as well, then I guess I'll be re-watching some of those early stories.
Sadly, Daleks' Masterplan is supposedly the one they say is going to be the toughest to recover. Apparently, it wasn't sold overseas, and was the first of the episodes destroyed. It's a shame, as it's good story. If you can get ahold of a reconstruction, it's definitely worth the time, barring a couple weak episodes in the middle. It's about as epic as Hartnell, and maybe even Classic Who itself, ever got. I would love to see it recovered.
Or even better, travels back and wipes them in order to keep the events portrayed from having happened.
Meanwhile, this guy breaks down all of the various rumors and attempts to figure out the likelihood of what we'll actually see versus what sources like The Mirror have claimed (which at one point claimed that all 106 missing-presumed-wiped episodes were found). - http://thedragonsmaw.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/what-are-newly-recovered-doctor-who.html
If they're bringing along Watling and Hines, that makes me think they've likely recovered a chunk of Season 5. Maybe even (fingers crossed) nearly all of it. Although that article makes it sound like Fury From The Deep is likely forever lost, which is too bad, as that one of my favorite novelizations back in the day. Definitely worth checking out, as somehow the author convinced Target to let him nearly double the standard length, so it really feels like a complete, fleshed out novel. I don't remember much of the dozens of novelizations I read, but that one has always stuck with me.
If I had to pick a season to recover, I think five would be it. Out of necessity a lot of attention has been placed on Troughton's final season, but I've always suspected that his peak was probably his second season. They finally get the companion mix right, they're done with the historical stories and the Daleks, so it's just pure Second Doctor at that point - Cybermen, Ice Warriors, Yeti, etc. Aside from the Dalek stories, there's not much from Troughton's first season that would be high on my list of wants, and we have enough of Hartnell's final season to tell me that what we're missing is not as big a loss.
Not that I don't want to see it all recovered - just saying that if it had to be one season, five is probably the best option.
http://www.doctorwho.tv/whats-new/article/two-missing-doctor-who-adventures-found
So 11 Troughton episodes were announced to have been found, 9 of which were lost, which now gives us the complete Enemy of the World and the almost-complete (short an episode) Web of Fear (featuring the debut of then-Colonel Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart). They're iTunes exclusives for now, but Enemy comes out on DVD next month and Web is promised for early 2014.
No word yet if we can expect more, but hopefully it's the tip of the iceberg. If not, though, getting more of the Troughton era is a very good thing.
Regardless, along with Tomb of the Cybermen and the nearly complete Ice Warriors, we now have more than half of Troughton's second season. And they're good stories to have - Web of Fear is supposed to be very good, and Enemy of the World is unlike any other Who story. As I've been watching all the Classic Who in order, I was dreading that two seasons of missing episodes. Now I can't wait.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24521790
Ben Wheatley to direct Peter Capaldi's first two episodes. Anybody who hasn't seen Kill List, put it on your netflix queue immediately.
Looking forward to tackling The Web of Fear next!