Introduction
This overview of the returned footage from the first 11 seasons of Doctor Who was last updated in 2005. Along with 15 more years of returns, there have also been 15 more years of research, which has brought to light some small errors in the detail we knew back then. This article may be updated in the future; for now it remains a historical document of the world of 2005. For a detailed look at the state of the archives in 2013, we recommend the book Wiped!
From Robot onwards, all episodes of Doctor Who (except The Deadly Assassin – more on that later) exist in full on their original broadcast tapes.
Simple.
The archives for the first three Doctors are, however, somewhat more complicated.
This guide will take you on a journey, from 1978 to date, of the BBC’s continued attempts to patch up the gaps in their Doctor Who collection. And you thought popping to Virgin to see what they had in stock got complicated…
Firstly: Some brief technical information. Almost all the early episodes of Doctor Who were recorded onto and broadcast from 2″ PAL videotape. PAL VT is made up of 625 lines-per screen of information, and the screen updated 50 times a second. After broadcast, they were converted to 16mm black and white film, which updates just 25 times a second (and as a result looks more jerky)- many countries overseas could not handle the PAL VT system, whereas film is a common standard. The BBC would then wipe and reuse the original tapes, thus meaning that in almost all cases the 16mm “telerecordings” were the only existing versions of the first 74 stories. A technique called VidFIRE has recently been perfected, which returns the video look to telerecordings, but in the ancient pre-VidFIRE days, original videotapes were highly sought after – and even now should one ever turn up (highly unlikely as it is), it would still be of higher quality than any existing copies.
Back to the 70s. Throughout the decade, BBC Enterprises had begun trading more and more with other countries, now selling their backlog of films as well as newer ones, and BBC Television was beginning to show repeats more often. In 1978 it was decided that the BBC’s archives (which were still being plundered for re-usable videotapes) could probably do with a bit of a clearup, and the position of Archive Selector was created. Sue Malden stepped into the role, and immediately ceased the needless destruction of archive episodes, and catalogued what she could of what still existed. She found the following b/w telerecordings…
William Hartnell
100,000BC (and the pilot version), The Mutants (1963), Inside The Spaceship, The Keys of Marinus, The Aztecs, The Sensorites, Planet of Giants, The Dalek Invasion of Earth (with a higher quality 35mm telerecording of The Waking Ally), The Rescue, The Romans, The Web Planet, The Crusade (episode 3, The Wheel Of Fortune, only), The Space Museum, The Chase, The Time Meddler (episode 2, The Meddling Monk, only), The Ark, The Gunfighters, The Tenth Planet (Episodes 1, 2 and 3 only)Patrick Troughton
The Underwater Menace Episode 3, The Moonbase Episodes 2 and 4, The Web of Fear Episode 1, The Dominators Episodes 1, 2, 4 and 5 (4 ad 5 were edited for scenes of violence – the missing sequences would not be recovered until 1996), The Mind Robber 1-5 (with a 35mm print of Episode 5), The Invasion Episodes Two, Three and Five to Eight (with cuts to Episode Six), The Krotons Episodes One (35mm), Two and Three, The Seeds of Death Episodes 1-5 (episode 5 being 35mm once more), The Space Pirates Episode 2 (35mm) and The War Games Episodes Two, Five, Eight and Nine. Shortly after, she also found a 35mm telerecording of the final episode of The Wheel in Space.Jon Pertwee
Spearhead From Space (in colour – this was broadcast from film, and existed in the native format), Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Ambassadors of Death (plus a colour 2″ VT of Episode 1), Inferno, Terror of the Autons, The Mind of Evil, The Claws of Axos (plus a colour 2″ VT of Episode One), Colony in Space, The Dæmons (plus a colour 2″ VT of Episode Four), Day of the Daleks (colour 2″ VT), The Curse of Peladon, The Sea Devils (plus colour 2″ VTs of Episodes Four and Five – the latter severely scratched), The Mutants (plus colour 2″ VTs of Episodes One and Four), The Time Monster…
…and almost every episode from The Three Doctors (ie the start of season 10) onwards as colour VTs. Exceptions to this were Planet of the Daleks’ Episode One (which existed only as a 16mm b/w telerecordings) and Invasion Of The Dinosaurs Part one and Death to the Daleks Part One which were completely missing. The Deadly Assassin Part Three had also had one small edit made to it, but an American print was able to be used to patch this in at a later date.
The British Film Institute (the BFI) were immediately able to provide redundant 16mm copies of The Dominators episodes (although Episode 3, missing at that point, was a 35mm telerecording), The Krotons (again complete, so the missing Episode Four was taken as a master) and the six missing episodes of The War Games.
The search was on for any videotapes of stories held on film, colour copies of almost all of seasons 7, 8 and 9, and any copies possible of the missing episodes. We begin in 1978…
1978
The War Machines: Episode 2
A private collector rescued a copy of ‘The War Machines’ Episode 2 from a rubbish tip in Australia. Although later a cut version of this episode would be found, this is still the only available source of a number of scenes from the story.
1979
NTSC Returns
TV Ontario in Canada returned a number of stories on NTSC videotape. NTSC not only has a different frame-rate to PAL, but also a lower number of lines per screen (only 525), so although these were the only available colour copies they differ distinctly from the original broadcast.
The Claws of Axos Episodes One to Three only – those three now exist both NTSC conversions and the b/w film prints, whereas Episode Four exists as the original PAL VT.
The Curse of Peladon The complete story, joined in the archives by the b/w film prints. Episode Three was later rumoured to be destroyed, but in fact exists in private hands.
The Mutants Episodes One and Two, completing the colour VTs of this story (the rest of which existed as the original PAL tapes). The b/w film prints of all episodes were still held.
The Time Monster The complete story, joined in the archives by the b/w film prints.
Death to the Daleks The missing Part One. This would later be superseded, in 1992.
Rumours this year..:
An Australian claimed to have Episode 4 of Power of the Daleks. Rumour has it he stole BBC videotapes as part of an incompleted trade. (In 1995, Steve Roberts claimed that the BBC were never involved with this).
1981
The Faceless Ones: Episode 1
An incomplete 16mm print of a Troughton episode was also returned from ABC-TV in Australia. At the time this was thought to be a new discovery, although upon checking, it was discovered that the BBC had held a complete copy of this all along.
The Space Museum: The Space Museum (1)
The Moonbase: Episode 4
The Abominable Snowmen: Episode Two
Roger Stevens, a private collector returned three 16mm telerecordings to the BBC towards the end of 1981. Although complete, the existing film inserts for this Abominable were of better quality, so the current master is a mixture of the two. The other two episodes were redundant prints.
1982
The Reign of Terror: Prisoners of Concierge (6)
16mm telerecording returned by a private collector via fan Bruce Campbell. This would be superseded two years later.
Invasion of The Dinosaurs: Part One
16mm b/w telerecording returned in May by a private collector via fan Roger Stevens.
1983
The Sea Devils
Colony in Space
The complete stories returned from Canada on NTSC tapes early in the year. Note that Episodes Four and Five of The Sea Devils already existed as PAL versions and both stories existed in full as 16mm b/w telerecordings.
The Daleks’ Master Plan: Counter Plot (5)
The Daleks’ Master Plan: Escape Switch (10)
16mm telerecordings found in the basement of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Clapham, London.
Inferno
A further return from Canada, at Christmas. Again this story only existed as a 16mm b/w telerecording.
1984
The Wheel in Space: Episode 3
16mm telerecording returned in May by David Stead, England.
The Celestial Toymaker: The Final test (4)
16mm telerecording returned by an Australian TV station with its ‘next episode’ caption missing.
100, 000BC
The Web Planet
The Time Meddler
The War Machines
16mm telerecordings returned by a Nigerian TV station. 100, 000BC was entirely redundant. The Web Planet was generally a redundant print, although the first and last episodes were slightly edited in the original versions, so these prints closed up some gaps. The Time Meddler: The Meddling Monk (2) was redundant, but the other episodes were all ‘new’ (although all suffered from cuts, many of which were corrected in 1992). The War Machines Episode 1 was complete, but the rest were all cut – Episode 2 was completed using the 1978 print, and parts of Episodes 3 and 4 in 1996 by the censor clips.
The Aztecs
The Sensorites
The Reign of Terror: A Land of Fear (1)
The Reign of Terror: Guests of Madame Guillotine (2)
The Reign of Terror: A Change of Identity (3)
The Reign of Terror: Prisoners of Concierge (6)
Returned in October by a Cyprus TV station – better quality copy of the final episode of ‘Reign’ than previously existed, and redundant copies of ‘Aztecs’ and ‘Sensorites’.
Frontier in Space: Episode Four
Frontier in Space: Episode Five
Redundant tapes returned by Australia
1987
The Faceless Ones: Episode 3
The Evil of the Daleks: Episode 2
16mm telerecordings recovered in April and May respectively from British collector Gordon Hendry, via Saeed Marham. The Faceless Ones was heavily damaged.
The Time Monster: Episode Six
A b/w PAL tape of this was discovered, and combined with the existing NTSC colour tape (from 1979) to create a colourised PAL copy.
1988
The Ice Warriors: One
The Ice Warriors: Three
The Ice Warriors: Four
The Ice Warriors: Five
The Ice Warriors: Six
16mm telerecording discovered at BBC Enterprise’s hold home, Villier’s House.
Rumoured this year…
In an edition of “Movie Collector’s World”, one Bruce Mai offered to trade the complete Web of Fear with anyone who had the colour Mind of Evil.
1991
The Tomb of the Cybermen
16mm telerecordings recovered from TV Asia, Hong Kong.
Daleks’ Master Plan: The Nighmare Begins [Clips]
When researching for the documentary ‘Resistance Is Useless’, the existing Day of Armageddon silent 35mm film inserts were called up for transfer. It transpired, however, than sometime during the 1980s, the original film had been stolen, and when the archives discovered this, they put 4 silent 35mm inserts from part 1 in the can in its place.
The new clips were Gantry’s death (0’54”), the TARDIS materialising (0’12”), an overlay starfield not used in isolation in the finished programme (0’09”) and The Spar landing (0’28”).
1992
The Tomb of the Cybermen
A fan returned a redundant copy of this story, in poor condition, shortly after the return from Hong Kong in 1991.
The Time Meddler: The Watcher (1)
The Time Meddler: A Battle Of Wits (3)
Uncut 16mm telerecordings found by fan Ian Levine, with the missing scenes spliced into the edit Nigerian prints.
Death to the Daleks: Part One
Last year, Dubai returned a consignment of tapes, including this, which the BBC then left in the rain for several days, before an employee spotted the important Death to the Daleks and stole it. He returned it to a more caring arm of the BBC the following year.
Rumours this year..:
The Savages, the final episode of The Tenth Planet and a PAL copy of the first episode of Death to the Daleks were rumoured to have appeared in Australia – the following year these rumours were debunked.
1993
The Daleks’ Master Plan’: Day of Armageddon [Clips]
The stolen silent 35mm The Daleks’ Master Plan inserts (see 1991) had been sold to a collector who had no idea that the film was not legally owned by the seller. As soon as he discovered this, he returned the films.
Returned were two sequences of the Daleks burning the jungle (0’38” and 0’47”), a smoke overlay not used in isolation in the finished programme (0’38”) and The Spar on the landing pad (0’12”).
The full episode was later recovered in 2004, making the two “proper” clips redundant.
The Abominable Snowmen: Episode 4 [Clips]
While researching for the documentary ‘Thirty Years In The TARDIS’, Steve Roberts discovered two short clips (0’02” and 0’06”) of Yeti had been used in the 25/11/1967 edition of ‘Late Night Line Up’.
The Tele-Snaps
Whilst researching for DWM, Marcus Hearn discovered Tele-Snaps in the BBC’s WAC for The Gunfighters up to the third part of The Mind Robber (except the fourth episode of Enemy of the World). Prior to this, only Christopher Barry’s private collection (consisting of the Daleks episodes 1-2 and 5, The Rescue, The Romans, The Savages and The Power of the Daleks) was known to exist.
Rumours this year..:
Fan Steve Phillips was rumoured to be holding the second part of The Power of the Daleks and the first part of The Invasion – he later denied this. Meanwhile, there was a rumour that the BBC had found “something” that was being rush-released to video.
Early 1990s
Cine-Footage
During the broadcast of certain Hartnell and Troughton episodes in Australia, a fan recorded around 15 minutes worth of brief clips by pointing an 8mm cine reel at his television screen. Several of these clips are from episodes now missing from the BBC Archive, and entered fandom during the 1990s (although knowledge of their existence was around prior to this). The pictures are often distorted slightly and are all silent. Mal Tanner and Steve Phillips separately managed to match all the clips up to their relevant pieces of audio with the exception of the final clip from The Myth Makers, which was found to match up around June 1998 by both Chris Smith and Rick Brindell.
The Reign of Terror
10 clips – The Doctor in Robespierre’s office, Ian in Jules’ house, Ian hoping he can trust the physician, Susan lying down, Susan looking worried* (all episode 4), Barbara in her cell, Barbara on the Doctir’s disguise, Ian in the surgery, the Doctor talking*, Ian and Barbara watch Lemaitre enter* (all episode 5)
Galaxy 4
Opening pan inside the TARDIS (from episode 10)
The Myth Makers
8 clips – Steven and Vicki watch the scanner, Steven and Vicki discuss Greece, Steven puts on his cloak (all episode 1), Vicki looks worried*, Steve describes “another miscalculation”, Steven talks about being “trussed up”, the Doctor asks about the conditions*, Vicki dressed as a Trojan (all episode 2), the Doctor talks to himself (episode 4).
The Savages
10 clips – Steven hears a noise, Steven and Dod talk (both from episode episode 3), Dodo talks to the Doctor, Dodo destroys the lab, Jano talks about needing a leader*, Steven looks surprised, Steven decides to stay, Steven says goodbye*, Steven looks back, the Doctor leaves* (all episode 4)
The Tenth Planet
7 clips – the Doctor talks to Polly*, the Doctor talks to the Cyberleader*, Polly menaced, Polly and the Doctor on the Cybership*, Ben on the Cybership, the Doctor: “It’s far from being all over”*, beginning of the regeneration (all episode 4)
The Power of The Daleks
19 clips – Ben and Polly discuss the new Doctor*, the Doctor awakens, the Doctor feels his face*, the Doctor stumbles, the Doctor rummages in his trunk, the mirror sequence, the Doctor mutters, the Doctor puts on his hat, the Doctor leaves the lab, the cobwebbed Daleks (all episode 1, the last moment was recovered in better quality in 2003), the Doctor explains the threat of the Dalek, the “Lesterson listen” tongue-twister, the Doctor looks up, the Dalek is wheeled out, the 500 Year Diary, Resno killed, the Doctor looks on, the Doctor backs away, “I am your servant” (all episode 2)
The Macra Terror
9 clips – Opening titles, the Doctor jokes, the Doctor notices how remarkable the colony is, hypnotised Ben, Polly in the mine, Jamie in the mine, Jamie looks around, Polly and the Doctor worry about Jamie, the Doctor realises there is something in the mine (all episode 3)
The Faceless Ones
The fake Polly (from episode 2).
*missing several frames/seconds
1994
The Daleks’ Master Plan: Devil’s Planet [Clip]
The Daleks’ Master Plan: The Traitors [Clip]
The Tenth Planet: Episode 4 [Clip]
The 25/10/1971 edition of the BBC’s children’s programme ‘Blue Peter’ used a clip from The Daleks’ Master Plan part 3. Although this clip was reused on later editions, so its existence was known of, it was not until 1994 that the original was discovered on a 2″ tape of a 16mm telerecording. A clip from The Traitors, and the regeneration from The Tenth Planet, was also discovered, from the 25/11/1973 edition. The episodes had been borrowed for use in the children’s programme by “Justin Smith”, who signed his name as “J Smith”, fuelling rumours that the final Hartnell episode had been stolen back in 1973.
The Dominators: Episode 5
An uncut 16mm telerecording, replacing the two 1978 versions.
Rumours this year…
Paul Lee published his infamous “Missing Without a Trace” article, which “revealed” that an oil rig worker had paid $5000 for the second part of Power of the Daleks, and still held this copy, and that a number of fans had seen The Celestial Toymaker in Canada through the 1980s.
1996
Censor clips
The Australian censor board kept all the items of film (but understandably with no care) it cut from broadcasts. In 1984, Australian fan Dallas Jones looked into the possibility that footage from missing episodes of Doctor Who had been kept, but as with all things like this, he found it hard to be taken seriously. In April 1996, Dallas Jones and another Australian fan (Damian Shanahan) were discussing this, and Damian decided to pick up where his friend had left off. Damian first researched the Australian Archives web site and found evidence of folders that existed from this time and that it was possible to get special access to this. He then contacted a further Australian fan, Ellen Parry, who was carrying out a thesis on science-fiction fandom as part of her PhD. With Ellen’s educational background it was, therefore, easier for her to get access for both of them. In both her first contact with the Archives and their first visit, they were informed that the footage they wanted was unlikely to still exist. Permission for access was finally granted and Damian Shanahan then spent seven months researching the possibilities. Eventually he found a series of folders claiming that Doctor Who material still existed (not outright proof, however) which led him to a box where he found the battered prints. The footage from Fury From The Deep and The Macra Terror was initially planned for release on the end of the The War Machines release (which, in itself, featured some of this rediscovered film), but eventually formed part of the The Missing Years release, digitally remastered and with an enhanced soundtrack. Shanahan also appeared on the video, having interviewed himself on a beach.
Fan Rod Scott has made a claim to have ‘beaten’ Damian and Ellen to finding this footage. This seems, however, to be based on him having passed some information on the discovery (given to him by an Archives officer) to the BBC before Damian and Ellen had confirmed the find.
All clips exist as 16mm telecordings, as the BBC had supplied ABC-TV with in the 70s.
The Smugglers
Cherub kills Longfoot (0’23”)
Pike kills Jamaica (3 clips) (0’15”)
Episode 2 cliffhanger (0’04”)
Stabbing (0’03”)
The Highlanders
Alexander McLaren stabs a redcoat (0’02” and 0’01”)
Redcoat sergeant orders the hanging (0’10”)
The Underwater Menace
Polly being forced onto the operating table and injected (0’14”, 0’0″, 0’03”, 0’07” and 0’08”)
Zaroff drowns (0’03”)
The Macra Terror
Polly held by the Macra (0’15”)
Polly and Ben hold each other (0’07”)
Polly and Ben discover another Macra (0’03”)
The Controller attacked by a claw (0’01” and 0’02”)
Fury From the Deep
Quill And Oak attack Mrs Harris (0’54”) The foam in the impeller shaft writhes (0’03”) The Doctor and Jamie escape the weed (0’14”) Van Lutyens dragged down (0’14”) Robson attacks the guard (0’17”) Robson operates the helicopter controls (0’03”) Robson flying the helicopter (0’11”)
The Wheel in Space
Duggan’s death throes (0’01” and 0’02”)
Also a number of clips from The War Machines and The Dominators that have bee reinserted to complete the then-edited prints.
The Power of the Daleks: Episode Four [Clips]
The Power of the Daleks: Episode Five [Clips]
These first appeared in the Australian 1970s documentary series “Perspectives” in the segment “C For Computer” with the Doctor Who theme tune dubbed over the production line clips. After years of rumours (including one fan using photos to claim he had the full episodes and another telling a more truthful variant of the story), Australian Robert Mammone found the transmission date and full title of the programme and, in 1996, passed it onto Steve Phillips who passed it on to Steve Roberts at the BBC, who was then able to order up an archive search at ABC. The full programme no longer existed there, but a single 16mm telerecorded film insert, the one they had been searching for, did.
Clips recovered were of the Daleks entering a doorway (0’10”), the production line (0’06”), the gunless Dalek (0’10”) and a Dalek assembly (0’08”)
These were superseded in 2005 by higher quality clips found as part of Tomorrow’s World.
Rumours this year..:
A colour copy of the third part of Planet of the Daleks supposedly turned up in America, but closer inspection showed this to be a poor quality PAL->NTSC conversion which exhibited random colour patterning.
1997
The Wheel in Space: Episode 1 [Clip]
Researchers for the Doctor Who Reference Guide: Production Journal discovered this year that a clip from this episode was used in the final part of The War Games.
1998
Galaxy 4: Four Hundred Dawns [Clip]
A 6 minute clip from Galaxy 4 was lifted from the original during clips selection for the 1977 documentary Whose Doctor Who. A 30 second clip of this was lifted for the documentary, and the offcuts given to two fans who were assisting in this research. The 30 second clip has been circulating widely as part of the documentary for years, and Jan-Vincent Rudzki (one of the fans) returned the offcuts in 1998 (he had made a previous attempt many years previously and been told that the BBC were not interested) and the clip was put back together (with a one line gap between the 30 second sequence and the second offcut) for The Missing Years video release.
The Space Pirates: Episode 2
A videotape copy was discovered in an old gentleman’s attic – the recording was on Sony CV-2000 and was of worse quality than the existing print.
1999
The Crusade: The Lion
16mm TR loaned to the BBC in January to transfer to D3. Found by Neil Lambess and Paul Scoones in NZ with private collector Bruce Grenville.
The Crusade: Tele-Snaps
Speaking to production manager George Gallaccio, DWM’s Peter Griffiths discovered he had Tele-Snaps of The Crusade (not previously known to exist), The Time Meddler (likewise), The Tenth Planet, The Moonbase 1-3 and The Evil Of The Daleks 3-7.
2002
More censor clips
When cataloguing a friend’s film collection, New Zealand-based fan Graham Howard discovered several more of the clips first found in 1996. These had been donated to him anonymously some years ago, but were from the same source as before.
The Web of Fear
Two soldiers fire at Yeti (0’14”)
Travers and his daughter struck by Yeti (0’12”)
Victoria discovers web-covered bodies (0’10”)
The web pulsates (0’14”)
Soldiers fire at Yeti near road junction (0’05”)
Soldiers smothered by web guns (0’07”)
Lethbridge-Stewart hides from the Yeti (0’03”)
Yeti guard roars at Victoria and Travers (0’02”)
The Wheel in Space
Flannigan fights with his colleagues (several very short clips, 0’08” total)
This clips were rush released to retail, forming part of the DVD release of The Seeds of Death.
The Power of the Daleks: Episode 1 [Clip]
In October, BBC archivist Andrew Martin discovered in incomplete trailer for this episode tacked onto the end of ‘Beyond The Freeze – What Next?’ (5/11/66) with 19 seconds worth of new footage.
Marco Polo: Tele-Snaps
Fan Derek Handley discovered Warris Hussein held as yet undiscovered Tele-snaps of all but the fourth episode of this story.
2004
The Daleks’ Master Plan: Day of Armageddon
This episode was returned to the BBC by Francis Watson, an ex-engineer who had rescued it in the 70s and since gone on to have a prominent position in a rival broadcasting company, leading him to feel uncertain about announcing its existence until his retirement in 2003. The return cemented tentative plans to release a special DVD collection (Lost in Time) for the Christmas market, including all (or almost all) “orphaned episodes” and clips discovered to date.
The Space Pirates: Episode 1 [Clips]
With just enough time to also be included on the Lost in Time set, film footage of effects sequences from ‘The Space Pirates’ was found in a can labelled “Dad’s Army Titles”. One clip lasted 1’02” (although was cut to 0’41” in the finished episode) and the other 0’24”.
Also this year, offcuts from Fury from The Deep: Episode 6 were discovered. Technically none of the footage found was used in the episode, although the Lost in Time set featured a compendium of this set to the original audio, to give a taste of what the scene probably looked like.
2005
The Power Of The Daleks: Episode 4 [Clips]
The Power Of The Daleks: Episode 5 [Clips]
On Sunday Past Times (11/9/05) clips from a 28/12/66 segment of Tomorrow’s World were broadcast. These included higher quality copies of the clips previously found in Perspectives: C For Computer, and also a brand new clip. Fans hurriedly swamped the message boards, as it appeared the archive selector for this episode was not aware of their own find.
UnplacedAt dates currently unclear to TME (mainly during the early 90s, where the BBC archives were beginning to become accessible to fans such as Kevin Davies and Steve Roberts), the following discoveries were made:
An original film spool from the second part of The Abominable Snowmen.
The ‘Daleks Conquer and Destroy’ clip from Power of the Daleks (used in Blue Peter 27/11/67 and in better quality on Whicker’s World 27/1/68).
Modelwork from the end of The Evil of the Daleks, most of which is setting up the shot, returned by the designer who had been using bits of it as toothpicks.
A 41 second PAL clip of Terror of the Autons, as part of Nationwide 22/6/73.
It was realised that a clip from Fury From the Deep Episode 1 was reused in The War Games.
Rumours..:
The Mind Of Evil aired in colour in the 1980s on WNED Channel 17, Buffalo.
The Daleks’ Masterplan: The Feast Of Steven was supposedly given to Hartnell by Douglas Camfield as a Christmas gift.
Ian Levine was rumoured to be holding Marco Polo for many years.
The Power Of The Daleks: Episode 1 is being held to ransom by a UK resident for $15,500
The Highlanders: Episodes 2 and 4, and The Ice Warriors: Three, were referred to as existing in an episode guide by fan Lee Booth.
Since the birth of the worldwide web in the late 90s, a slew of hoaxes have appeared, including the return of a colour copy of The Mind Of Evil in March 2001 (in fact a prelude to an April Fool’s gag, consisting of some hand-coloured pictures, and a couple of short videos), and several “attacks” on Ian Levine’s own forum in mid-2006.
Audio Recoveries
Throughout the 80s and 90s, it became apparent that a number of fans had been making audio recordings of now-missing episodes. These have slowly but surely made their way back to the BBC for use in official project.
Richard Landen (The Myth Makers – Underworld)
All his audios have been superseded by those of better quality, although his were the earliest to be recovered, and on occasions patches of his are better than alternate sources.
James Russell (Marco Polo – Fury From The Deep)
His copies of the missing episodes of seasons 1 and 2 are among the best in existence.
David Stead
Provided a recording of Tomb of the Cybermen that was used for the 1993 cassette release, dubbed down from James Russell’s originals.
David Holman (Marco Polo – The Three Doctors)
Along with James Russell, Holman’s audios for seasons 1 and 2 are the best in existence – his copies of Galaxy 4, The Myth Makers, The Daleks’ Master Plan 1-7 and 11 and The Celestial Toymaker are also of the highest quality currently known.
Graham Strong (The Daleks’ Master Plan 8-9, 12 – The Dominators) [except The Gunfighters and The Celestial Toymaker]
All of Strong’s episodes are better than any other recordings.
David Holman (Various from The Web Planet – Logopolis)
Allen Wilson (Galaxy 4 – The Daleks’ Master Plan)
These recordings are only useful for Mission to the Unknown.
Unknown Australian Recordist
Copies of The Invasion and The Space Pirates are better than anyone else’s recordings.
The state of the archives in 2006…
Audios exist for every episode that is missing visually.
Tele-Snaps exist for every episode that is missing visually, except for Guests Of Madame Guillotine, A Change Of Identity, Four Hundred Dawns, Trap Of Steel, Air Lock, The Exploding Planet, Mission To The Unknown, The Nightmare Begins, Devil’s Planet, The Traitors, Coronas Of The Sun, The Feast Of Steven, Volcano, Golden Death, The Abandoned Planet, Destruction Of Time, War Of God, The Sea Begger, Priest Of Death, The Bell Of Doom, The Celestial Toyroom, The Hall Of Dolls, The Dancing Floor, The Invasion: Episode 1, The Invasion: Episode 4, The Space Pirates: Episode 1 and The Space Pirates: Episodes 3-6.
| Episode | Source | Year | Notes |
| Season One | |||
| An Unearthly Child (Pilot) | BBC Enterprises | 1978 | |
| An Unearthly Child | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Cave Of Skulls | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Forest Of Fear | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Firemaker | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Dead Planet | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Survivors | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Escape | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Ambush | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Expedition | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Ordeal | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Rescue | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Edge Of Destruction | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Roof Of The World | |||
| The Singing Sands | |||
| Five Hundred Eyes | |||
| The Wall Of Lies | |||
| Rider From Shang-Tu | |||
| Mighty Kublai Kahn | |||
| Assassin At Peking | |||
| The Bring Of Disaster | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Sea Of Death | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Velvet Web | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Screaming Jungle | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Snows Of Terror | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Sentence Of Death | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Keys Of Marinus | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Temple Of Evil | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Warriors Of Death | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Bride Of Sacrifice | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Day Of Darkness | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Strangers In Space | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Unwilling Warriors | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Hidden Danger | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| A Race Against Death | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Kindap | Cyprus TV Station | 1984 | |
| A Desperate Venture | Cyprus TV Station | 1984 | |
| A Land Of Fear | Cyprus TV Station | 1984 | |
| Guests Of Madame Guillotine | 7 clips discovered in the early 90s as part of the “cine reel” | ||
| A Change Of Identity | 6 clips discovered in the early 90s as part of the “cine reel” | ||
| Prisoners Of Concierge | Cyprus TV Station | 1984 | |
| Season Two | |||
| Planet Of Giants | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Dangerous Journey | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Crisis | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| World’s End | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Daleks | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Day Of Reckoning | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The End Of Tomorrow | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Waking Ally | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Flashpoint | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Powerful Enemy | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Desperate Measures | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Slave Traders | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| All Roads Lead To Rome | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Conspiracy | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Inferno | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Web Planet | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | Edited – lower quality uncut version discovered in Nigeria in 1984 and spliced in |
| The Zarbi | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Escape To Danger | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Crater Of Needles | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Invasion | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Centre | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | Edited – lower quality uncut version discovered in Nigeria in 1984 and spliced in |
| The Lion | New Zealand Film Collector | 1999 | |
| The Knight Of Jaffa | |||
| The Wheel Of Fortune | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Warlords | |||
| The Space Museum | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Dimensions Of Time | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Search | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Final Phase | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Executioners | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Death Of Time | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Flight Through Eternity | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Journey Into Terror | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Death Of Doctor Who | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Planet Of Decision | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Watcher | Nigerian TV Station | 1984 | Edited – lower quality uncut version discovered 1992 and spliced in |
| The Meddling Monk | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| A Battle Of Wits | Nigerian TV Station | 1984 | Edited – lower quality uncut version discovered 1992 and spliced in |
| Checkmate | Nigerian TV Station | 1984 | Edited |
| Season Three | |||
| Four Hundred Dawns | Brief clip discovered in the early 90s as part of the “cine reel”, lengthier clip returned by fan in 1998 | ||
| Trap Of Streel | |||
| Air Lock | |||
| The Exploding Planet | |||
| Mission To The Unknown | |||
| Temple Of Secrets | 2 clips discovered in the early 90s as part of the “cine reel” | ||
| Small Prophet, Quick Return | 4 clips discovered in the early 90s as part of the “cine reel” | ||
| Death Of A Spy | |||
| Horse Of Destruction | 2 clips discovered in the early 90s as part of the “cine reel” | ||
| The Nightmare Begins | 3 clips discovered in 1991 in mis-labelled film can | ||
| Day Of Armageddon | Private Collector | 2004 | |
| Devil’s Planet | Clip discovered in an old edition of Blue Peter in 1994 | ||
| The Traitors | Clip discovered in an old edition of Blue Peter in 1994 | ||
| Counter Plot | London Church Basement | 1983 | |
| Coronas Of The Sun | |||
| The Feast Of Steven | |||
| Volcano | |||
| Golden Death | |||
| Escape Switch | London Church Basement | 1983 | |
| The Abandoned Planet | |||
| Destruction Of Time | |||
| War Of God | |||
| The Sea Begger | |||
| Priest Of Death | |||
| The Bell Of Doom | |||
| The Steel Sky | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Plague | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Return | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Bomb | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Celestial Toyroom | |||
| The Hall Of Dolls | |||
| The Dancing Floor | |||
| The Final Test | Australian TV station | 1984 | Edited |
| A Holiday For The Doctor | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Don’t Shoot The Pianist | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| Johnny Ringo | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The OK Corral | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Savages: Episode 1 | |||
| The Savages: Episode 2 | |||
| The Savages: Episode 3 | Brief clip discovered in the early 90s as part of the “cine reel” | ||
| The Savages: Episode 4 | 9 clips discovered in the early 90s as part of the “cine reel” | ||
| The War Machines: Episode 1 | Nigerian TV Station | 1984 | |
| The War Machines: Episode 2 | Nigerian TV Station | 1984 | Edited – gaps filled with version returned in 1978 in Australia. |
| The War Machines: Episode 3 | Nigerian TV Station | 1984 | Edited – some gaps filled with the 1998 “censor reel” |
| The War Machines: Episode 4 | Nigerian TV Station | 1984 | Edited – some gaps filled with the 1998 “censor reel” |
| Season Four | |||
| The Smugglers: Episode 1 | 1 clip discovered in 1996 as part of the “censor reel” | ||
| The Smugglers: Episode 2 | 4 clips discovered in 1996 as part of the “censor reel” | ||
| The Smugglers: Episode 3 | 1 clip discovered in 1996 as part of the “censor reel” | ||
| The Smugglers: Episode 4 | |||
| The Tenth Planet: Episode 1 | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Tenth Planet: Episode 2 | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Tenth Planet: Episode 3 | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Tenth Planet: Episode 4 | 12 clips discovered in the early 90s as part of the “cine reel” | ||
| The Power Of The Daleks: Episode 1 | 10 clips discovered in the early 90s as part of the “cine reel”, one replaced in 2003 with clip from trailer | ||
| The Power Of The Daleks: Episode 2 | 9 clips discovered in the early 90s as part of the “cine reel” | ||
| The Power Of The Daleks: Episode 3 | |||
| The Power Of The Daleks: Episode 4 | 3 clips discovered in 2005 as part of Tomorrow’s World | ||
| The Power Of The Daleks: Episode 5 | 1 clips held as part of Whicker’s World, and 2 more discovered in 2005 as part of Tomorrow’s World | ||
| The Power Of The Daleks: Episode 6 | 1 clip held as part of Tom-Tom | ||
| The Highlanders: Episode 1 | 2 clips discovered in 1996 as part of the “censor reel” | ||
| The Highlanders: Episode 2 | |||
| The Highlanders: Episode 3 | |||
| The Highlanders: Episode 4 | |||
| The Underwater Menace: Episode 1 | 1 clip discovered in 1996 as part of the “censor reel” | ||
| The Underwater Menace: Episode 2 | 3 clips discovered in 1996 as part of the “censor reel” | ||
| The Underwater Menace: Episode 3 | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Underwater Menace: Episode 4 | 1 clip discovered in 1996 as part of the “censor reel” | ||
| The Moonbase: Episode 1 | |||
| The Moonbase: Episode 2 | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Moonbase: Episode 3 | |||
| The Moonbase: Episode 4 | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Macra Terror: Episode 1 | |||
| The Macra Terror: Episode 2 | 4 clips discovered in 1996 as part of the “censor reel” | ||
| The Macra Terror: Episode 3 | 9 clips discovered in the early 90s as part of the “cine reel”, and 1 in 1996 as part of the “censor reel”. | ||
| The Macra Terror: Episode 4 | |||
| The Faceless Ones: Episode 1 | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Faceless Ones: Episode 2 | 1 clip discovered in the early 90s as part of the “cine reel” | ||
| The Faceless Ones: Episode 3 | Private Collector | 1987 | |
| The Faceless Ones: Episode 4 | |||
| The Faceless Ones: Episode 5 | |||
| The Faceless Ones: Episode 6 | |||
| The Evil Of The Daleks: Episode 1 | |||
| The Evil Of The Daleks: Episode 2 | Private Collector | 1987 | |
| The Evil Of The Daleks: Episode 3 | |||
| The Evil Of The Daleks: Episode 4 | |||
| The Evil Of The Daleks: Episode 5 | |||
| The Evil Of The Daleks: Episode 6 | |||
| The Evil Of The Daleks: Episode 7 | 1 clip held by a private collector. | ||
| Season Five | |||
| The Tomb Of The Cybermen: Episode 1 | Hong Kong | 1991 | |
| The Tomb Of The Cybermen: Episode 2 | Hong Kong | 1991 | |
| The Tomb Of The Cybermen: Episode 3 | Hong Kong | 1991 | |
| The Tomb Of The Cybermen: Episode 4 | Hong Kong | 1991 | |
| The Abominable Snowmen: Episode One | |||
| The Abominable Snowmen: Episode Two | Private Collector | 1982 | |
| The Abominable Snowmen: Episode Three | |||
| The Abominable Snowmen: Episode Four | 2 clips discovered in 1993 as part of Late Night Lineup | ||
| The Abominable Snowmen: Episode Five | |||
| The Abominable Snowmen: Episode Six | |||
| The Ice Warriors: One | BBC Ents | 1988 | |
| The Ice Warriors: Two | |||
| The Ice Warriors: Three | |||
| The Ice Warriors: Four | BBC Ents | 1988 | |
| The Ice Warriors: Five | BBC Ents | 1988 | |
| The Ice Warriors: Six | BBC Ents | 1988 | |
| The Enemy Of The World: Episode 1 | |||
| The Enemy Of The World: Episode 2 | |||
| The Enemy Of The World: Episode 3 | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Enemy Of The World: Episode 4 | |||
| The Enemy Of The World: Episode 5 | |||
| The Enemy Of The World: Episode 6 | |||
| The Web Of Fear: Episode 1 | BBC Ents | 1978 | |
| The Web Of Fear: Episode 2 | 1 clip disovered in 2002 as part of the second “censor reel” | ||
| The Web Of Fear: Episode 3 | |||
| The Web Of Fear: Episode 4 | 7 clips disovered in 2002 as part of the second “censor reel” | ||
| The Web Of Fear: Episode 5 | 1 clip disovered in 2002 as part of the second “censor reel” | ||
| The Web Of Fear: Episode 6 | |||
| Fury From The Deep: Episode 1 | 1 clip reused in The War Games | ||
| Fury From The Deep: Episode 2 | 1 clip discovered in 1996 as part of the “censor reel” | ||
| Fury From The Deep: Episode 3 | |||
| Fury From The Deep: Episode 4 | |||
| Fury From The Deep: Episode 5 | 3 clips discovered in 1996 as part of the “censor reel” | ||
| Fury From The Deep: Episode 6 | 3 clips discovered in 1996 as part of the “censor reel” | ||
| The Wheel In Space: Episode 1 | 1 clip reused in The War Games | ||
| The Wheel In Space: Episode 2 | |||
| The Wheel In Space: Episode 3 | Private Collector | 1984 | |
| The Wheel In Space: Episode 4 | 1 clip discovered in 1998 as part of the “censor reel” | ||
| The Wheel In Space: Episode 5 | 1 clip disovered in 2002 as part of the second “censor reel” | ||
| The Wheel In Space: Episode 6 | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| Season Six | |||
| The Dominators: Episode 1 | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Dominators: Episode 2 | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Dominators: Episode 3 | BFI | 1978 | |
| The Dominators: Episode 4 | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | Edited – completed with clips in 1998 |
| The Dominators: Episode 5 | Unknown | 1995 | |
| The Mind Robber: Episode 1 | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Mind Robber: Episode 2 | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Mind Robber: Episode 3 | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Mind Robber: Episode 4 | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Mind Robber: Episode 5 | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Invasion: Episode One | |||
| The Invasion: Episode Two | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Invasion: Episode Three | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Invasion: Episode Four | |||
| The Invasion: Episode Five | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Invasion: Episode Six | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | Edited |
| The Invasion: Episode Seven | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Invasion: Episode Eight | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Krotons: Episode One | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Krotons: Episode Two | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Krotons: Episode Three | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Krotons: Episode Four | BFI | 1978 | |
| The Seeds Of Death: Episode One | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Seeds Of Death: Episode Two | BBC Enterprises Sales Vault | 1978 | |
| The Seeds Of Death: Episode Three | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Seeds Of Death: Episode Four | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Seeds Of Death: Episode Five | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Seeds Of Death: Episode Six | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The Space Pirates: Episode One | 2 clips found in a film can in 2004 | ||
| The Space Pirates: Episode Two | |||
| The Space Pirates: Episode Three | |||
| The Space Pirates: Episode Four | |||
| The Space Pirates: Episode Five | |||
| The Space Pirates: Episode Six | |||
| The War Games: Episode One | BFI | 1978 | |
| The War Games: Episode Two | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The War Games: Episode Three | BFI | 1978 | |
| The War Games: Episode Four | BFI | 1978 | |
| The War Games: Episode Five | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The War Games: Episode Six | BFI | 1978 | |
| The War Games: Episode Seven | BFI | 1978 | |
| The War Games: Episode Eight | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The War Games: Episode Nine | BBC Film and Videotape Library | 1978 | |
| The War Games: Episode Ten | BFI | 1978 |
Season Seven
Spearhead From Space exists as its original 16mm colour film, found in the BBC FAVTL in 1978.
The Ambassadors Of Death Episode 1 exists as its original 2″ VT, found in the BBC FAVTL in 1978.
Doctor Who And The Silurians and The Ambassadors Of Death 2-7 exist as a 16mm b/w telerecording, recovered from Ents in 1978, and also an NTSC colour copy recorded by Tom Lundy in the 70s.
Inferno exists as a 16mm b/w telerecording, recovered from Ents in 1978, and also as 2″ VTs, found in Canada in the mid 80s.
Season Eight
Terror Of The Autons and The Daemons exists as a 16mm b/w telerecording, recovered from Ents in 1978, and also an NTSC colour copy recorded by Tom Lundy in the 70s. The Daemons Episode Two also exists as the original 2″ VT, found in the FAVTL 1978.
The Mind Of Evil exists as a 16mm b/w telerecording.
The Claws Of Axos Episodes One and Four exist as its original 2″ VT, found in the BBC FAVTL in 1978. Episodes Two and Three, and the whole of Colony in Space exist as NTSC 2″ VTs (returned from Canada in 1979) and also as 16mm b/w telerecordings, recovered from Ents in 1978.
Season Nine
Day Of The Daleks exists as the original 2″ VTs, found in the FAVTL 1978.
Colony In Space, The Sea Devils 1-3, The Mutants 1-2 and The Time Monster exist as NTSC 2″ VTs (returned from Canada in 1979 and 1983) and also as 16mm b/w telerecordings, recovered from Ents in 1978.
The Sea Devils 4-6 and The Mutants 3-6 exist as the original 2″ VTs, found in the FAVTL 1978.
The Time Monster Episode Six exists as a 2″ b/w VT, found in 1987.
Season Ten
All episodes exist as original 2″ VTs, as discovered in the FAVTL in 1978, except Frontier in Space 1-3 and 6, which were returned in 1985.
Season Eleven
All episodes exist as original 2″ VTs, as discovered in the FAVTL in 1978, except Invasion Part One, for which a b/w 16mm telerecording was returned by a collector in 1982, and Death To The Daleks, which exists in its original form only since 1992.
