The Disused Yeti Issue 13

This archive article from 1998 contains several out of date links. It is presented here in its original form as a historical document.

THE DISUSED YETI

THE NEWSLETTER ON EARLY DOCTOR WHO
ISSUE 13
11 JULY 1998
Edited by Bruce Robinson (robinsba@ozemail.com.au) &
Robert Franks (TelesnapGuy@compuserve.com)

  • The Doctor – “Oh, I used my own special technique.”
  • Klieg – “Oh really Doctor? And may we know what that is?”
  • The Doctor – “Keeping my eyes open and my mouth shut.”
    (The Tomb of the Cybermen Episode 1)

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

HISTORY OF THE RECONSTRUCTIONS PART II
THE DWAS REFERENCE BOOKS
ANNOUNCING FIVE HUNDRED EYES – OUR FIRST MAGAZINE!
MYSTERY 8mm CLIP IDENTIFIED!
BARRY LETTS ON THE ENEMY RECONSTRUCTION

WELCOME!

We can finally make the big announcement – we’re heading into magazine territory!

While the news item below provides the “what” and “when” about our proposed DOCTOR WHO magazine, it doesn’t really answer the “why”. Well, there’s only so much that can be achieved with an E-mail version of the newsletter. Of course, E-mail is handy for keeping people up-to-date with the reconstructions, as well as providing short articles of an informative nature. However, E-mail has its obvious limitations, for instance, we’re unable to include lengthy analytical articles, or include photographic material.

We’d be very interested in hearing your thoughts about the magazine – what type of articles do you think should be included? We’d also like to hear from those interested in contributing. In particular, we intend including in-depth reviews of every reconstruction released during 1998. Also, if you think you have a better name for the magazine (Five Hundred Eyes is only a working title), then please write in!

We are hoping to compile a truly informative volume, which will feature the names of many recognisable DOCTOR WHO researchers and writers. Future issues of the newsletter will contain further details about the magazine, but we DO want to hear your thoughts!

Take care and enjoy the newsletter,

Bruce and Robert

RECONSTRUCTION UPDATES

Due to current uncertainty, we have decided to withdraw the reconstruction updates from this issue. This is in response to a recent UK case which touched upon the subject of distributing DOCTOR WHO related videos (in fact, the reconstruction videos formed a significant part of the case). Since the situation is still very uncertain, we’ve decided to temporarily postpone all news on upcoming releases. A full and extensive report of the situation will be published in issue #14 of the newsletter.

MYSTERY 8mm CLIP IDENTIFIED!

Previously in this newsletter, we have raised the issue of the “mystery” 8mm cine clip of Hartnell talking to himself (for example, this is discussed in Steve Phillips’ article in issue #11). Thanks to the efforts of two fans, the true identity of this clip now appears to have been ascertained. In separate research efforts, Chris Smith and Rick Brindell have managed to pinpoint the clip to the following scene in The Horse of Destruction (The Myth Makers:4) –

DOCTOR : His name is Steven. [clip starts] And remember Katarina, you must call me Doctor.

KATARINA : As you wish Doc.

DOCTOR : I’m not a doc, and I’m not a god. Oh, my dear Vicki, I hope you’ll be all right. I shall miss you child. [he turns and the clip ends]

THE ANNOUNCEMENT LIST

Some readers may recall that in the 1997 survey results, it was suggested that an “announcement only” mailing list option be created for this newsletter. In other words, recipients on this list would simply receive a short E-mail message indicating that a new issue was available, and that the issue can be downloaded from a web-site. Well, for those interested, this mailing list option is now a reality. Please send Bruce an E-mail if you are interested in having your name included on the announcement list.

FIVE HUNDRED EYES

Following months of preliminary discussion and planning, we can finally announce the proposed release of Five Hundred Eyes. The exact format of the magazine has yet to be determined, however keep an eye on the newsletter for further details. We anticipate that the magazine will be available for distribution in February 1999 (to co-incide with the Gallifrey convention in Los Angeles).

The magazine will primarily consist of “new” articles not yet featured in the DY newsletter. We have already secured the services of a number of highly respected researchers into DOCTOR WHO, including Andrew Pixley and Stephen James Walker. In addition to the material, we will be revamping selected material from the newsletter.

The magazine will be edited by the two editors of the DY newsletter – Bruce Robinson and Robert Franks. However, due to the scope of the project, a third editor will also be assisting us – Richard Bignell, from the UK. Richard has been responsible for editing a number of high-quality DOCTOR WHO fanzines in the past, most notably the Proteus fanzine from 1990.

For further information about the magazine (including details on how you can contribute), please consult the on-line FAQ at :

http://members.aol.com/dwundergrd/dyfaq.htm

HISTORY OF THE RECONSTRUCTIONS

Following on from Part I of this article, which mainly concentrated on the reconstruction creators, we now turn our attention to a variety of other matters …

DOMINIC JACKSON

Apart from the contributions mentioned in Part I, there are other people who have been heavily involved in the reconstruction projects. These contributions can encompass a range of tasks, such as assistance with the source material, discussing ideas, or distributing the tapes. One such person is Dominic Jackson, who is now primarily responsible for co-ordinating the UK distribution of the reconstructions. In early to mid 1997, Ian Davenport, then UK distributor, was unable to keep up with the continuing demand. Ian resigned from the job, in effect indicating that with the increased number of tapes, the job was too large for one person to handle.

In April 1997, Dominic decided to step into the breach. With the help of others (most notably Richard Develyn and Robert Franks), a distribution network was set up throughout the UK. Keeping in mind the difficulties faced by Ian, a method was devised whereby certain dub-sites would only be responsible for specific stories, thus ensuring the workload would be fairly distributed between all. The system has been in action for approximately a year, and Dominic is happy to note that things appear to be running very smoothly!

THE “JV” SERIES

Around about August 1997, the reconstructors considered the idea of pooling their resources to create a single product. This spawned the “JV” (Joint Venture) series of reconstructions. The whole JV idea was developed as a result of obtaining the high quality scans of the telesnaps, which were a significant improvement over previous efforts.

As a result of obtaining the scans, the “JV” reconstruction team was formed. This team consisted of Richard Develyn, Michael Palmer and Robert Franks (with assistance from other people). The JV team decided it would enhance Richard’s previous reconstructions by inserting in the new telesnaps. As both Michael and Robert had collaborated with Richard to produce The Power of the Daleks, a similar strategy was adopted for the JV reconstructions.

The JV creation process is primarily based around Richard’s original telesnap reconstruction. In most cases, such as the recently released The Web of Fear, the reconstruction had already been completed a number of years ago. Based on Richard’s original reconstruction (and hand-written notes), Michael creates a PC version of the episode using video-editing software. In the meantime, Richard has painstakingly gone through each telesnap one-by-one, and processed it for use in the reconstruction (eg by adjusting brightness and contrast, removing unwanted marks, etc). Michael, after optimising the telesnaps for a TV screen, takes a copy of each new telesnap, and then inserts it into the correct position in the reconstruction file.

After all the telesnaps have been inserted into place, Michael carefully evaluates the end-result, and makes appropriate changes (eg the new telesnaps may reveal features that were not apparent with the old set). Michael then adds text captions to explain unclear parts of the narrative. Simultaneously, Robert Franks prepares the credit captions, and sends those to Michael for insertion into the reconstruction file.

Following this general procedure, the JV team, apart from enhancing all of Richard’s previous efforts, also intend working on the stories yet to be completed. This includes the remaining telesnap stories (eg The Faceless Ones), as well as some of the non-telesnap stories.

HOW AUTHENTIC SHOULD A RECONSTRUCTION BE?

One question that is often raised by people, is how closely the creators work together in preparing the videos. Generally, the teams will swap material back and forth, but will work on the actual reconstruction independent of each other. Occasionally, E-mail discussions will occur on contentious issues. In the past, the reconstructors have debated such topics as the inclusion of authentic credits, using non-telesnap photos in telesnap reconstructions, and the inclusion of the on-screen script. Of course, a mutual agreement is sometimes never reached!

One such “sticky” point is whether the reconstructions should be as close as possible to the original episode. Richard Develyn admits that when he started creating the reconstructions, his initial aim was to put together something as close as possible to the original episode. As Richard explains, “watching the reconstructions is like going into a trance, in which you try to kid your mind into making that last little jump from stills to moving picture. Anything which rudely reminds you of the imperfection of the reconstructions, breaks the spell.” However, Richard points out that this approach doesn’t always work as well in practice!

Richard has now accepted that since the reconstructions can never replace the original episodes, there is little point in attempting to create them as close as possible to the original. Instead, Richard now views a reconstruction as a media form in itself, in which it can present a story in its own unique way. “I think it’s a better way than either books or soundtracks or telesnaps on their own can achieve. In fact, it’s the best way, short of the episodes themselves.” Richard now believes that the “JV” style format, which recently culminated in the The Web of Fear, is the ideal way to present the material that exists from the missing episodes.

In Michael Palmer’s view, the most important factor when creating a reconstruction, is to highlight the “flavour” of the story. As an example, the existing Dalek video clips in The Daleks’ Master Plan were capable of being used in Mission to the Unknown, due to the similar nature of the storyline. However, Michael admits that he uses a more “authentic” approach when faced with the telesnap stories.

Bruce Robinson, based on his original aim of creating a photo-novel on video tape, has never considered the reconstructions as something that should be an exact replication of the original episode. Similar to Richard’s view of the reconstructions being a media-form in their own right, Bruce has always wanted to present the stories in a way that makes them the most “digestible” to modern-day audiences. Obviously, authenticity is still important, and Bruce would like to think this is achieved by reviewing the text captions against the BBC camera script, as well as creating the end credits as close as possible to the original. However, Bruce is prepared to present the photo-visual material in such a way that viewer interest is maintained, even if this means occasionally displaying telesnaps out-of-order.THE FUTUREHaving considered the past and the present of the reconstructions, what can we expect in the future? Obviously, the JV team have very clear ideas of their ambitions. The team-members firstly intend to devote their time to the telesnap stories. The team have estimated that it will take approximately another two years to re-do all of the stories with the enhanced telesnaps. As mentioned above, the team also intend to complete some of the non-telesnap stories.Bruce Robinson is interested in reconstructing as many stories as possible, both telesnap and non-telesnap. Bruce’s eventual ambition is to see a whole suite of COI tapes adorning his video shelf! However, like most things with life, it mainly depends on sufficient motivation.

All the reconstructors agree that one of these days, all the missing episodes will be reconstructed in one form or another. At first glance, stories such as The Myth Makers and The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve may be problematic to reconstruct due to the paucity of available material. However, with some creative flair, it is possible that these stories may eventually come to life, albeit in a slightly different form to the conventional reconstruction.LIKES AND DISLIKESWhat actually drives the creators in putting together these videos? As is the case with any other hobby, creating the reconstructions has both its good and bad sides. Firstly, we will consider the most satisfying reasons:

Richard Develyn — seeing it done, hearing people on the Internet enjoying them too, and being part of a praise-worthy section of Who fandom.

Michael Palmer — when preparing the JV reconstructions, it’s terrific to see the improved quality after all the “new” telesnaps have been inserted into place.

Robert Franks — seeing people enjoy the tapes! At conventions, I love to sit in the screening rooms and listen to all of the comments. I enjoy talking to fans, and since the Hartnell and Troughton eras have always been my favourite, it’s like having a bunch of new friends to discuss this with.

Bruce Robinson — hearing comments from people who say things like “well, I used to think the Hartnell and Troughton era was really, really dull and boring, but after seeing some of these reconstructions, I’ve changed my mind completely”. If the reconstructions can contribute a small part to making this era of the show more prominent, then they must be on the right track.And now, the least satisfying reasons …Richard Develyn — all the bloody work! There have been times when my resolve has faltered. Scanning little pictures at 400 DPI with a hand scanner is a pain – you go too fast, you slip, the scanner gets stuck and you judder, or you get a hair on the thing, etc, etc. I must have scanned over three thousand of the little blighters. Picture inserting is even worse – three to four hours per episode of pushing buttons on the VCR. I must have inserted over five thousand of them.

Michael Palmer — having to watch all the copies off the computer to make sure they came out OK. Intently watching the same episode six times or more in a row is not the most enjoyable activity. By the end of it, I have whole lines of dialogue stuck in my mind.

Robert Franks — I suppose the most frustrating thing is trying to please everyone. Many people are demanding new stories, but they don’t realise the time and effort that goes in behind the scenes (this includes the collection of material, and the assembling). Rest assured that all stories will be appearing, but we won’t complete some of them until we can guarantee a quality product with as much material as possible.

Bruce Robinson — undoubtedly, having to deal with problems of a technical nature that have nothing to do with the actual reconstruction. I’m not as technically-minded as some of my colleagues, and dislike the fiddly editing that is required to put these things together on video tape. It’s also annoying when something that looks fantastic on the PC, looks fairly mediocre when transferred to the lower-resolution medium of video tape.SUMMARY OF RELEASESTo conclude this article, a list of all the reconstructions completed to date is presented below. Please note that release dates are approximate, as it is often difficult to pinpoint an exact date on which a story first became available.

The following key is used for the list – “RD” for Richard Develyn, “MP” for Michael Palmer, “COI” for Change of Identity (Bruce Robinson), and “JV” for the Joint Venture reconstructions (Richard, Michael and Robert Franks). The numbers immediately following the codes indicate the order of completion. For Richard’s reconstructions in particular, this highlights how the order of completion can differ drastically from the order of release. In the case of The Evil of the Daleks, Richard actually completed the reconstruction some time ago. However, the story was never released in its original form. With the formation of the JV team though, Evil has been the second story released in that series.1995

  • The Web of Fear [RD1] — March (enhanced as “JV” version – see below)
  • The Wheel in Space [RD3] — June
  • The Ice Warriors [RD4] — October

1996

  • Fury From the Deep [RD2] — March
  • The Tenth Planet [MP1] — August (enhanced August 97)
  • The Savages [COI1] — August (enhanced July 97)
  • The Underwater Menace [RD8] — September
  • Mission to the Unknown [MP2] — October (enhanced August 97)
  • The Power of the Daleks [COI2] — November (enhanced March 98)
  • The Highlanders [RD7] — November
  • The Moonbase [RD9] — November

1997

  • The Smugglers [RD5] — January
  • The Reign of Terror [MP3] — February (enhanced August 97)
  • Marco Polo [COI3] — February
  • The Abominable Snowmen [RD10] — February
  • The Moonbase [COI4] — July
  • The Power of the Daleks [RD6] — September
  • The Invasion [MP4] — September

1998

  • The Web of Fear [JV1] — March
  • The Enemy of the World [COI5] — April
  • The Evil of the Daleks [JV2] — May

THE DWAS REFERENCE BOOKS

Following on from the Production Guide series of reference books, David Brunt now provides details about his next DWAS project ….

~~~~~~~~

“What happens when you have enough unpublished DOCTOR WHO information to fill several books?”

“Start publishing it!”

This hypothetical question faced Andrew Pixley and myself both before, and after, the compilation of the Doctor Who Production Guide series, which we had prepared for the Doctor Who Appreciation Society. In compiling the earlier works, we had accumulated a vast array of additional material that didn’t really fit into the Guide books (eg details of unused stories). Therefore, to compliment the Guide books, we decided to start another series which would concentrate not only on the televised serials, but on the unproduced stories as well. And thus, the Chronicles series was born.

The research stage involved us trawling through all the paperwork we’d already trawled through a dozen times before. With all the text to hand, we started arranging it into a cohesive shape, while I attempted to find a layout which would present the material in a user friendly manner. This task was completed alongside the latter stages of the third Guide book (the Cast and Crew guide).

The Chronicles were originally planned as two independent volumes, one for Hartnell, and one for Troughton. This is because our initial aim was merely to cover the black/white era only. However, this all changed when the sixties books were split into the six seasons. The main reason we changed from an “era” focus to a “season” focus was simply one of logistics and size. For example, Season One, when completed, took up 100MB in disk space, and a manageable 120 pages. On the other hand, the era books would have been close to 500 pages.

In essence, the bulk of the book is a scene-by-scene story synopsis of every episode of the season. Each episode has a double-page spread to itself (except for three instances, as noted below). Accompanying the synopsis (as boxed footnotes) are details of the film inserts in each episode, positioning of the title captions, and the Radio Times billing. The largest footnotes are those which detail the original storylines for the episode (extracted from the rehearsal rewrites and the camera scripts). For instance, did you know that Napoleon was 25 years old?

Fortunately, with the help of the BBC Written Archive and private collectors, we have obtained access to all the camera scripts. As an example, the BBC hold rehearsal scripts of only four epsiodes from the original Dalek serial, along with camera scripts of the remaining three. Therefore, there were numerous factual material which had never been located before, mainly because no-one knew where to look for it! However, this all changed with the Chronicles. In particular, Andrew Pixley managed to discover what the Doctor was really doing prior to 100,000 BC – it’s a lengthy section featured in The Sea of Death (The Keys of Marinus:1). It’s hardly surprising they didn’t use it though … colour TV indeed!!

The Chronicles series also feature the commissioning and delivery dates for all transmitted, and untransmitted, stories. There’s also an appendix of additional material, such as the three versions of the Series Format Guide used during Season One, synopsis of The Giants and The Masters of Luxor, and short précis of three other storylines that were at one time considered for inclusion in the season.

And then there’s the photos. How does the thought of fifty Marco Polo photos grab your interest … of which almost thirty are seldom-seen or previously unpublished? So extensive was the number of photographs for three of the episodes that additional pages were inserted to utilize them all. Overall, there are approximately 250 photos in the Season One book.

As for the future, we now have enough information to cover all twenty-six seasons, so there’s no reason (apart from weariness!) why we can’t continue. The second book in the series (Season Six) is well into compilation, and should be available in October this year. In addition to DOCTOR WHO, we’re also considering an exploration other series, such as QUATERMASS (which has more unpublished facts and material than you could ever imagine).

Right now though, you can obtain a copy of The Doctor Who Chronicles: Season One. The price is £6.50 for UK purchasers (post included). The price for Australia and USA is £9.00 British sterling (post included). Credit card orders can be sent on-line to dwas@dwasdrwho.org (though be aware that this is not a secure line at present). If ordering by credit card, please note the full card number and expiry date. Orders can also be faxed to 07050 622 401. Otherwise, the postal address is DWAS, PO Box 519, London, SW17 9XW.

(DAVID BRUNT)

THE SEASON 2 CLIFFHANGERS

The Romans – Inferno

Scene — Frenetically working at the controls, the Doctor explains to Ian that the TARDIS has been dragged down. “To what?” queries Ian. The Doctor remains silent, with a concerned expression on his face …

Caption — The picture fades to black and ‘Next Episode THE WEB PLANET’ appears, followed by the end title music.

Notes — A 35mm film insert reprises this scene in The Web Planet.

The Web Planet – Invasion

Scene — Vrestin provides the Menoptera force with directions on where to land. The warriors step back to watch the sky.

Caption — The scene fades to black and then ‘Next Episode THE LION’ fades up, followed by the end title music and credit scroll.

Notes — There is no reprise in The Lion. Another version of Invasion exists with the caption reading ‘Next Episode THE SPACE MUSEUM’ (this was because The Crusade was banned in some countries due to its content).

The Crusade – The Warlords

Scene — As the Doctor is about to argue with Barbara about her distrust of the TARDIS, the room darkens and the time travellers are “frozen”. However, the time rotor is still lit, and continues to slowly move up and down …

Caption — ‘Next Episode THE SPACE MUSEUM’ appears over the immobile crew. As the picture starts to fade to black, this is replaced by the credit scroll.

Notes — A film insert was used to reprise this scene in The Space Museum.

STORY GUIDESSEASON 1 STORY 7

G : The Sensorites

(a) GENERAL

6 episodes

EpisodeTXTIDUVACPAA
Strangers in Space20 Jun 6417.1524’46”7.91759
The Unwilling Warriors27 June 6417.4024’44”6.93959
Hidden Danger11 Jul 6417.1524’53”7.42256
A Race Against Death18 Jul 6417.1524’49”5.55860
Kidnap25 Jul 6417.1525’47”6.92957
A Desperate Measure01 Aug 6417.1524’29”6.93957

Total Duration = 149’28” (approx)
Average Viewing Audience = 6.9 million
Average Chart Position = 34.0

Repeat Screenings — nil on BBC1, although the story has been repeated on UK Gold.

Countries Sold To — Abu Dhabi, Australia, Caribbean, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Libya, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Rhodesia, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Trinidad, Tunisia, Uganda, Venezuela, Zambia

(b) VIDEO FOOTAGE

Status — all six episodes were originally destroyed at an unknown time between 1972 and 1977. The serial now exists on 16mm monochrome film (negatives of all six episodes was recovered from BBC Enterprises during 1977/78).

Clips — n/a

Notes —

  • never released on BBC Video

(c) AUDIO RECORDINGS

n/a

(d) RECONSTRUCTIONS

n/a

(e) PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL

Telesnaps — currently missing. PasB (Programme-as-Broadcast) documentation indicates that John Cura created telesnaps for Strangers in Space and The Unwilling Warriors only. However, it is probable that telesnaps were taken by Cura for all six episodes.

Behind-the-Scenes Shots — unknown

Publicity Shots —

  • 29 May 64 – photocall at Television Centre Studio Three (regular cast, spaceship crew)
  • 05 Jun 64 – photocall at Television Centre Studio Three (spaceship crew, Sensorites)

(f) AUSTRALIAN CENSOR CUTS

EpisodeDRFTRACUTS
Strangers in Space22 Dec 64934Anone
The Unwilling Warriors22 Dec 64927Anone
Hidden Danger22 Dec 64935Anone
A Race Against Death22 Dec 64940Anone
Kidnap22 Dec 64969Anone
A Desperate Venture22 Dec 64926Anone

Both Strangers in Space and The Unwilling Warriors were originally rated A (adult), but changed to G with the following handwritten note “reclass G & cut. See files.” No further information is available.

(g) OTHER NOTES

  • the recording studios for The Sensorites varied greatly, with three separate studios used. Strangers in Space and The Unwilling Warriors (episodes 1 & 2) were both recorded at TC3 on 29 May 64 and 05 Jun 64 respectively. Hidden Danger (episode 3) was recorded at Lime Grove Studio D on 12 Jun 64, A Race Against Death (episode 4) was recorded at TC4 on 19 Jun 64. Kidnap and A Desperate Venture (episodes 5 & 6) were both recorded at Lime Grove Studio D on 26 Jun 64 and 03 Jul 64 respectively.
  • no episode of DOCTOR WHO was screened on 4 July 1964 (ie between The Unwilling Warriors and Hidden Danger) due to the coverage of the Ashes Test Match between England and Australia, as well as the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
  • at one stage, Donald Baverstock (Chief of Programmes for BBC1) stated that Season 1 would conclude with the final episode of the The Sensorites (and this would be followed by a six week break in transmission). However, Baverstock subsequently ordered the break in transmission to occur after The Reign of Terror (and for a duration of four weeks only).
  • novelised by Nigel Robinson, Doctor Who — The Sensorites (#118) was first published in hardback by W. H. Allen in February 1987. The paperback release followed in July of the same year. The cover was painted by Tony Masero.

REVIEWS AND COMMENTS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD [COI5]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Enemy of the World has often been criticised by fans over the years. It is certainly an oddity, coming in the middle of Patrick Troughton’s second season which is often referred to as the “monster season”, and yet containing no monsters. It is, in essence, more of a low budget thriller in the JAMES BOND mould. Characters like Salamander, the mad would-be dictator, and Benik, his sadistic but camp number two, could quite happily fit into any number of Bond films.

The new twist in Enemy however, is that the dictator (Salamander) is a near-exact double of the Doctor. What follows is a complicated plot, packed with intrigue and double-crossing and full of interesting and well-drawn characters. It is here where the story really scores, with the majority of the characters, especially Denes, Benik and Fariah being convincing and detailed. The actors are also assisted by some excellent dialogue – a common feature in David Whitaker’s work. Unusually for DOCTOR WHO, many of these characters even have (gosh!) first names! The only defect in this area is with the cave dwellers, who only have three recognisable characters, two of which, Colin and Mary, are very stagy and seem to conform to clichés. This is something that the rest of the story just about manages to avoid.

Another reason for the negative views many fans have of this story is that the remaining Episode 3 is actually quite poor. It would be a shame to misjudge the story from this, since it is actually quite unrepresentative of the story. Its cheap-looking sets and jumpy editing are not noticeably present in the reconstructed episodes (although presumably were in the original programme). It also has a noticeable lack of incident which the rest of the story is not afflicted with. For example, Episode 1 has an excellent chase sequence at the beginning which Bruce, aided by some very good telesnaps, has made an excellent job of reconstructing. The cliff-hanger to Episode 2 has an epic quality about it which is made even more compulsive by top-class acting.

The regular cast have mixed fortunes in this story, with Patrick Troughton being called upon to play two parts, a challenge to which he rises admirably. The viewer can really believe that Salamander is a different character, and he even manages to make the Doctor’s impersonation of Salamander slightly different from the real thing! His companions don’t fare so well, though. Jamie seems distinctly out of character, although Victoria is reasonable. Both have very little to do in the second half of the story.

What about the reconstruction? Once again, Bruce has done an excellent job with this. The framing material is very good (helped by Michael Palmer’s reconstructed trailers), and his trademark script on the screen is accurate and does not distract from the very clear pictures. The fact that no telesnaps exist for Episode 4 has not deterred him, either, and only a lack of continuity with costumes of some characters occasionally reminds the viewer of this problem. The images are sensibly arranged throughout and make the story both easy and pleasurable to watch. I’m looking forward to The Crusade already!

(CHRIS SMITH)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you so much for sending me the reconstructed version of The Enemy of the World. It’s brought back a lot of memories, some good, some appalling. The one negative thing that stands out – for it’s impossible to judge my neophyte directing totally from that one naff episode – is that the script was even worse than I remembered!

Still, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, and I’m knocked out by the ingenuity and skill shown in the reconstruction. I remember John Cura’s telesnaps well as I was a regular customer. I still have one or two dating back to the first time I was directed by Shaun Sutton in Rex Tucker’s The Three Princes, which was the Christmas play in 1954. As it went out live on Boxing Day, we had to spend Christmas day in camera rehearsal. I had my Christmas lunch reheated in the evening.

(BARRY LETTS – director of The Enemy of the World)

[The Evil of the Daleks (JV2) will be reviewed next issue]

LETTERS AND OPINIONS

Thanks for the latest issue of the newsletter. After flicking through it, I did notice one small point. In the information on The Aztecs, it is stated that the BBC video release is uncut apart from the end of part four. In fact, though, there is also one word of dialogue missing from the Bride of Sacrifice episode. This is in the scene where Ixta is explaining to Tlotoxl why the Doctor unwittingly helped him in his fight against Ian. The BBC video release has Ixta saying: “He promised to help me if I told him the secret of my work”. The complete line, however, is: “He promised to help me if I told him the secret of my FATHER’S work” (emphasis added). I noticed this as soon as I saw the video, as by that stage I knew the dialogue virtually word for word! It wasn’t a deliberate edit made by BBC video, but rather the result of them using a damaged print (if you look carefully, or play it back in slow motion, you can actually see this). Fortunately there is a complete print in existence, although I am uncertain whether or not the BBC possesses a copy.

(STEPHEN JAMES WALKER)

[Ed : The negative film print held by the Film and Videotape Library is complete. However, it appears that the BBC release was prepared from an incomplete viewing print.]

THE MEMORY CHEATS

Following on from his contribution in issues 7 and 11, the prolific Chris Avery continues his recollections from The Abominable Snowmen …

The Abominable Snowmen — This story started seven days after my fifth birthday, and the images of it are particularly strong. I remember a dazed Professor Travers saying something like “They just wanted their ball back!” after the Yeti had attacked and retrieved a control sphere. I also remember the much more agile “real” Yeti bounding away over the rocks (not unlike the one in The Five Doctors!) closely followed by Travers.

The Ice Warriors — The only real memory I have of this is the first episode when they discover the warrior in the ice. I watched the reconstruction recently, and although I really enjoyed it, this scene was not as impressive as I remembered it.

The Web of Fear — Lots of memories of Yeti and dark underground tunnels. I remember the little Yeti models. Surprisingly I have no recollection of Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart in this, although I remember thinking “Oh it’s him again” when I saw the The Invasion! I am currently watching the reconstruction of this and it’s excellent. It really does capture the atmosphere of the story, which is something I do remember.

(CHRIS AVERY)

REQUESTS

Judging by comments received, the Memory Cheats column has proven to be a popular feature of the newsletter. However, we do need further contributions to keep it going. If you think you can help, then please send a note to the editors. All you require is a recollection of the sixties stories when originally broadcast.

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Paul Ebbs <paulebbs@compuserve.com>, with the help of a few mates, has recently commenced an audio series project under the banner Season 27. Please point your browser to …

http://www.timelord.demon.co.uk/

… for a preview of Profit of Doom, the first story from Season 27. Here you will find a three minute trailer to download, as well as information on how you can contribute a script to the ongoing series of adventures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tim Roll-Pickering <rollpickering@mcmail.com> is interested in creating a Galaxy 4 reconstruction. Please send Tim an E-mail if you can help with the project in any way.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to the following for help with this issue : Chris Avery, Richard Bignell, Rick Brindell, David Brunt, Richard Develyn, Dominic Jackson, Michael Palmer, Andrew Pixley and Chris Smith.

BORING STUFF

The DOCTOR WHO reconstructions are fan-produced endeavours completed without the consent of BBC Worldwide, BBC Television, or any holders of the DOCTOR WHO licence. No infringement on any such copyright holder is intended nor are the tapes produced for any sort of monetary compensation. Tapes are distributed through the worldwide DOCTOR WHO fan network. Support the BBC releases!

All material published in this newsletter is copyright Change of Identity Productions. Please do not reprint any of the contents in another publication (whether electronic or print) without obtaining the prior permission from the editors.

The newsletter is available in three formats – plain text, Word 6, and HTML. There is also an “announcement” mailing list which simply announces the release of a new issue, and provides details on how the issue can be downloaded from a web-site. Send an E-mail to Bruce if you wish to be added to any of these lists. The back-issues (in HTML format) can be located at the following web-site:  

http://www.telesnaps.com/