The Invasion (Nov 2006)
Produced & Directed by Steve Maher [for Cosgrove Hall Films]
Recreation Executive Producer: James Goss
B/W 4:3
In November 2006, a DVD of The Invasion contained a 4:3 b/w animation of the missing episodes, produced by Cosgrove Hall and paid for by BBCi shortly after production of Scream of the Shalka. The DVD budget would never, it seemed, stretch to funding their own animations, and this ‘freebie’ from the well-funded online channel would likely be the only missing episodes to be animated…
Disc 1:
- 2x animated episodes, 2x surviving (all with optional audio commentary and production text)
- Flash Frames
- Love Off-Air
- Animation Trailers
- Character Design
Disc 2:
- 4x surviving episodes (with optional audio commentary and production text)
- Evolution of The Invasion
- 1993 VHS Links
- Photo Gallery
2013-4 DVDs: Planet 55 and Qurious
Through 2013 and 2014 Big Finish Productions, oversaw creation of three further animations using Theta-Sigma, later known as Planet 55. These made heavy use of rotoscoping from existing clips, and were produced by multiple animators independently – this lead to some sequences in their first release, The Reign of Terror, to be made up of several very quick cuts between characters, prompting negative feedback. The Tenth Planet and The Moonbase were much better received. Planet 55 were initially contracted to produce The Underwater Menace until the decision was made to release the DVD with a simple telesnap reconstruction instead.
Also during this period, Qurious produced animations for The Ice Warriors missing episodes. Qurios were headed up by Chris Chapman, who later produced many documentaries for The Collection. This team had produced clips of The Tenth Planet and Evil of the Daleks in their Ice Warriors pitch and late also pitched to produce The Daleks’ Master Plan with a colour sequence but closed down soon after.
All of these animations were made in authentic 4:3 B/W.
| Studio | Date | |
|---|---|---|
| The Reign of Terror (4, 5) | Planet 55 | Jan 2013 |
| The Tenth Planet (4) | Planet 55 | Jun 2013 (episodes only, as part of Regeneration set) Oct 2013 (full 2-disc release) |
| The Ice Warriors (2, 3) | Qurious | Aug 2013 |
| The Moonbase (1, 3) | Planet 55 | Jan 2014 |
The Reign of Terror
Directed & Produced by: Austen Atkinson
Executive Producer for Big Finish: Jason Haigh-Ellery
Executive Producer for Pup: Dan Hall
A Pup / Theta-Sigma / Big Finish Co-Production
- 4x surviving episodes (with optional audio commentary and information text) and 2x animations
- Don’t Lose Your Head
- Robsespierre’s Domain Set Tour
- Photo Gallery
- Animation Gallery
- Coming Soon: The Ark in Space SE
The Tenth Planet
Directed & Produced by: Austen Atkinson
Executive Producer for Big Finish: Jason Haigh-Ellery
Executive Producer: Dan Hall
A Planet 55 Production for Pup Ltd
Disc 1:
- 3x surviving episodes (with optional audio commentary and information text) and 1x animation
- Frozen Out
- VHS reconstruction from 2000
- Photo Gallery
- Coming Soon: The Moonbase
Disc 2:
- William Hartnell interview
- Doctor Who Stories: Anneke Wills
- The Golden Age
- Boys! Boys! Boys!
- Companion Piece
- Blue Peter
The Ice Warriors
Produced by: Chris Chapman & Neil Bushnell
Directed by: Chris Chatterton
Executive Producer: Dan Hall
A Qurious Production for Pup Ltd
Disc 1:
- 4x surviving episodes (with optional audio commentary and information text) and 2x animations (with optional audio commentary)
Disc 2:
- Cold Fusion
- Beneath the Ice
- VHS links (mini-recon from 1998)
- Blue Peter: Design-a-Monster
- Original Trailer
- Doctor Who Stories: Frazer Hines Part Two
- Photo Gallery
- Coming Soon: Scream of the Shalka
The Moonbase
Directed by: Sean Zwan
Produced by: Stephanie Youlten
Executive Producer for Big Finish: Jason Haigh-Ellery
Executive Producer for Planet 55 Studios: Austen Atkinson
Executive Producer for Pup Ltd: Dan Hall
A Pup / Planet 55 Co-Production for BBC Worldwide
- 2x surviving episodes (with optional audio commentary and information text) and 2x animations (with optional audio commentary)
- Lunar Landing
- Coming Soon: The Underwater Menace
Qurios demos:
With budget only available to produce animations of partly-complete stories that needed just one or two episodes to finish them, it seemed there might only be few other options available. And even then, with the DVD range winding down, such budget would never be forthcoming.
And then, after several years break, seemingly out of nowhere BBC Studios began a release of lavish HD animations using an in-house animation team headed up by Charles Norton, who had recently produced a Dad’s Army animation. More surprisingly, they began with the six-part story Power of the Daleks. Jointly funded by BBC America, it seemed as though anything was possible…
The Power of the Daleks (Nov 2016)
Produced & Directed by: Charles Norton [uncredited on colour version]
Executive Producer: Paul Hembury
B/W 16:9 and Colour 16:9
This B/W animation was retrospectively coloured by Prime Focus, at the behest of BBC America. This animation was the first produced in HD and the first released on Blu-ray. The change from 1-2 animated episodes per release to 6 was a drastic one that paved the way for future projects.
The team also made some creative choices, most notably the addition of a pre-title sequence to the first episode, recapping the final moments of The Tenth Planet.
This was released on a 2x DVD package (containing only the B/W version), 3x DVD (inc the colour version) and a 2x BD steelbook.
Blu-Ray Disc 1:
- Episodes in B/W
- Animation & Photo Gallery
- Animation Test Footage
- Original Title Sequence
- Servents & Masters – The Making of The Power of the Daleks
- Surviving Material & Original Trailer
- Original Dalek Recordings
Blu-Ray Disc 2:
- Episodes in Colour
- Telesnap Reconstruction [basic slideshow from 2005 CD-Rom release, which used the Anneke Wills narration from the 2004 audio CD]
Shada (Dec 2017)
Directed by: Charles Norton
Executive Producers: Paul Hembury & Rebecca Richmond
Colour 4:3
Going back to the original recordings from 1979, this production made use of new audio and animation to create a finished version of Shada. The finished product was realised in omnibus form, which proved unpopular with some fans but was ultimately how Norton felt it was best served. The deceased actors Denis Carey (Chronotis) and David Brierley (K9) had their lines cut from the animated sequences as much as possible, and patched using clips from existing episodes (including, in Carey’s case, from The Keeper of Traken). New music was scored by Mark Ayres in the style of Dudley Simpson, model sequences were created by Mike Tucker’s workshop, and an epilogue was filmed with Tom in a replica TARDIS console room – in all cases, audio and video technology appropriate to 1979 recordings was used.
Released on a 2x DVD set, and a 3x BD steelbook.
Disc 1:
- Shada [with optional commentary]
Disc 2:
- Taken Out of Time*
- Now and Then*
- Strike, Strike, Strike!*
- Studio Session 1979
- Dialogue Recording
- Studio Shoot 2017
- Model Effects Filming
- Deleted Scenes
- Title Seqence Film
- Live Action Reference Footage
- 1979 Gallery*
- 2017 Gallery
*released on previous Shada DVD
Disc 3 (BD steelbook only):
- Shada – 1992 Video Compilation [production subtitles from previous DVD absent]
- The Return to Shada – 2003 Webcast
The Wheel in Space: Episode 1 (2018)
Directed by: AnnMarie Walsh
Executive Producers: Paul Hembury & Rebecca Richmond
Colour 16:9
A 10-minute cutdown version of the first episode was produced for screening at a BFI event in 2018, and later included as a bonus feature on The Macra Terror.
The Macra Terror (Mar 2019)
Directed by: Charles Norton
Executive Producers: Paul Hembury & Rebecca Richmond
Animation by Sun & Moon, uncredited
B/W 16:9 and Colour 16:9
Unlike The Power of the Daleks, the colour version was planned from the start. This release also included a telesnap reconstruction by Derek Handley, a standard for all future releases.
Note that this reconstruction featured optional narration taken from the recording made for an earlier CD release – another standard for the future. When Mark Ayres prepared the CD releases in the late-90s to early-2010s, often the scripts would have to explain a lot (due to the complete lack of visuals on the CD format) and as such he would find the narrators recording went on for longer than the ‘gaps’ in the audio – he would extend gaps by looping and extending the sound. As the reconstruction runs to the correct original length, this was no longer an option, but equally some of the extended narration was less necessary as the visuals help tell the story, so Mark re-edited them here, removing some elements to fit as much in as relevalant. Therefore the optional Wills narration is not identical to that on the 2012 CD, but a close approximation.
For The Macra Terror, the team took many liberties with the design to maximise the potential that animation had to offer, creating something that looked far more grand than would have been possible in the 1960s, and as with Power of the Daleks, included a pre-credits sequence recapping the end of The Moonbase (this played in b/w even in the colour version). One small change also gathered a lot of fan attention: to avoid creating a whole new model of Polly for the opening scenes, the sequence where the ‘rough and tumble machine’ (which would give her a new haircut) was excised.
Released as 2x DVD and 2xBD sets, and a 3x BD steelbook, with the third disc given to Gridlock and its associated Doctor Who Confidential episode.
Disc 1:
- Episodes in Colour [with optional commentary]
- Episode Reconstructions [1-2, with optional Anneke Wills narration from the 2012 ‘Lost TV Episodes Collection Four’ audio CD]
- Bonus Mini Episode [The Wheel in Space Episode 1 cutdown]
- Animation Test Footage
- Animatics
- Animation Gallery
- Teaser Trailer
Disc 2:
- Episodes in B/W [with optional commentary]
- Episode Reconstructions [3-4, with optional Anneke Wills narration]
- 1992 Audio Presentations [Colin Baker-narrated soundtrack]
- Surviving Footage
- Behind the Scenes Film
- Censored Film
- Title Sequence
- Photo Gallery
Disc 3 (BD steelbook only):
- Gridlock
- Doctor Who Confidential – Are We There Yet? [cutdown 11-minute version]
The Faceless Ones (Mar 2020)
Directed & Produced by: AnnMarie Walsh
Executive Producers: Paul Hembury & Rebecca Richmond
B/W 4:3 and Colour 16:9
As with Macra, this animation took bold steps to make the finished presentation larger and more impressive than the original 60s production. No significant cuts were made – and indeed, the existing episodes were even animated, to enable the viewer to have a consistent watching experience.
AnnMarie Walsh took over directing and producing duties from Charles Norton, after The Wheel in Space as an ‘audition piece’, but using mostly the same team that had succesfully produced the previous three full-length stories.
Released as 3x DVD, 3x BD and 3x BD steelbook editions.
Disc 1:
- Episodes in B/W [with optional commentary for Episodes 4-6]
- Surviving Episodes 1 & 3 [with optional commentary]
Disc 2:
- Episodes in Colour [with optional commentary for Episodes 4-6]
Disc 3:
- Reconstructions with Existing Episodes 1 & 3
- Face to Face with The Faceless Ones
- Stock Footage from Original Production
- Surviving Film Fragments
- Trailer – Fury from the Deep
The Power of the Daleks: Special Edition (Jul 2020)
Directed & Produced by: Charles Norton
Executive Producers: Paul Hembury & Rebecca Richmond
B/W 16:9
A ground up rework of the 2016 version, which Charles Norton had never been happy with due to a tight deadline. This time a retrospective colourisation was not added, but extra bonuses and a Handley reconstruction was (replacing the older reconstruction which had been lifted from an even older CD-Rom).
Released as 3x DVD and 3x BD.
Disc 1:
- Episodes [with optional stereo, 5.1 and audio commentary]
- Animation Gallery
Disc 2:
- Episode Reconstructions [with optional Anneke Wills narration from the 2004 CD]
- 1993 Audiobook [cassette with Tom Baker narration]
- Original BBC1 Trailer
- Surviving Footage
- Original Title Sequence Film
- Original Dalek Session Recordings
- Incidental Music
- Photogrammetry
- Photo Gallery
Disc 3:
- The Power of the Daleks – From Script to Screen
- The Power of the Daleks – Behind the scene
- Servants & Masters – The Making of Power of The Power of the Daleks
- Whicker’s World [some minor edits]
- Daleks: The Early Years [re-edited to remove full episodes]
- Robin Hood – 1953 Episode
- BBC South Today Footage
- BBC Wales Footage
- Blue Peter
- Newsnight Report
- BBC Breakfast Report
- Animation Trailers
- Animation Test Footage
- Animatics
- BBC Radio Spots
Fury from the Deep (Sep 2020)
Animation by Digitoonz Media & Entertainment PVT. Ltd.
Producers/Directors: Luke Marcatili & Gary Russell
Executive Producers for Big Finish Creative (UK) Limited: Jason Haigh-Ellery, Mary B. Oliver, Gary Russell
B/W and Colour 16:9
At this point, Big Finish came back into the fray, now using a variety of animation houses to create the finished work.
Fury was another re-imagining, with larger set pieces than would have been possible back in the 60s. Russell took a purist approach to the audio, however, and unlike the Norton and Walsh animations, refused to make any ‘dead air’ edits.
Released as 3x DVD, 3x BD and 3x BD steelbook editions.
Disc 1:
- Episodes in B/W [with optional stereo, 5.1, audio commentary and information text by Martin Wiggins]
- Surviving Footage
- Episode 6 Film Trims
- Episode 6 Behind the Scenes 8mm Footage
Disc 2:
- Episodes in Colour [with optional stereo, 5.1, audio commentary and information text by Martin Wiggins]
- Animating Fury from the Deep
- Teaser
Disc 3:
- Reconstructions [with optional Frazer Hines narration from the 2004 audio CD]
- The Cruel Sea – Surviving Fury from the Deep
- Photo Gallery
- The Slide Audio Drama
- Interview with Peter Day
- Interview with Victor Pemberton
Unusually this release did not include the 1993 cassette release with Tom Baker narration.
The Web of Fear (Aug 2021)
Animation by Shapeshifter
Director: Adam Boys
Executive Producers for Big Finish Creative (UK) Limited: Jason Haigh-Ellery, Mary B. Oliver, Gary Russell
B/W 4:3 and Colour 16:9
A reissue of the 2014 DVD, which had contained minimal bonuses, this time with an animation for the missing episode and a small number of new bonuses.
The animation was produced in a new 3D style making use of motion-capturing technology. Russell’s liner notes explained this was less jarring when transitioning from live action to animation; Head of Production David Devjak explained in a bonus feature that this also potentially opened up scope for ‘harder’ stories such as Marco Polo.
Released as 2x DVD, 2x BD and 2x BD steelbook editions.
Disc 1:
- Episodes, including b/w Animation [with optional 2021 commentary on all, and 2004 commentary for the first episode]
Disc 2:
- Episode 3 Colour Animation [with optional commentary]
- Going Underground
- Shapeshifter Animation Process
- The Missing Years [2004 version]
- The Many Voices of Jack Woolgar
- Episode 3 Telesnap Reconstruction [with optional Frazer Hines narration from the 2000 CD]
- Photo Gallery
- Trailer
The Evil of the Daleks (Sep 2021)
Directed & Produced by: AnnMarie Walsh
Executive Producers: Paul Hembury & Rebecca Richmond
B/W 4:3 and Colour 16:9
As with previous serials from this team, minor trims were made to ‘dead air’, and the visuals were embellished somewhat; in particular the final battle on Skaro which has a very epic feel to it.
Released as 3x DVD, 3x BD and 3x BD steelbook editions.
Disc 1:
- B/W animations (with optional ‘1968 repeat audio’ on Episode 1, and optional commentaries on Episodes 4, 5 and 7)
- Episode 2 (with 2x optional commentaries)
Disc 2:
- Colour animations (with same audio options as above)
- An Assignment with Grim Evil (Chris Thompson interview)
- 1993 Tom Baker audiobook
- Photo gallery with interview
- Animation gallery
Disc 3:
- Telesnap reconstructions of missing episodes (with optional ‘1968 repeat audio’ on Episode 1, and Hines narration options on all episodes, based on that from 2004 CD)
- The Dalek Factor documentary
- The Last Dalek behind the scenes film reel.
A short film trim was not included due to concerns over the low quality.
Galaxy 4 (Nov 2021)
Animation by Digitoonz Media & Entertainment PVT. Ltd.
Produced and Directed by Chloe Grech
Executive Producers for Big Finish Creative (UK) Limited: Jason Haigh-Ellery, Mary B. Oliver, Gary Russell
B/W 4:3 and Colour 16:9
Using the team from Fury, the first Hartnell story in the newer wave of HD animations was both announced and released in late 2021. As with Fury, no audio edits were made, although the team took the opportunities presented by animation to create a visually more impressive production than the 1960s original.
Disc 1:
- B/W animations (with 2x audio commentaries on first and last episode, and 1x commentary on middle two)
- Reconstruction (with optional narration by Peter Purves based on the 2000 CD release)
- Surviving clip (with optional commentary)
Disc 2:
- Colour animations (with commentaries as above)
- Making-of Documentary
- Finding Galaxy 4
- Photo Gallery
- Trailer
The Abominable Snowmen (September 2022)
Animation by Digitoonz Media & Entertainment PVT. Ltd.
Produced and Directed by Chloe Grech and Gary Russell
Executive Producers for Big Finish Creative (UK) Limited: Jason Haigh-Ellery, Mary B. Oliver, Gary Russell
B/W 4:3 and Colour 16:9
The final of the wave of BBC America co-funded releases, this set included:
Disc 1
- B/W animations with audio commentaries
- Surviving Episode Two with two additional commentaries
- Existing clips from Episode Four
- 2x 8mm home movie footage
- 31 Who interview
Disc 2
- Colour animations with audio commentaries
Disc 3
- Reconstruction of missing episodes, with optional 2001 narration by Frazer Hines
- Surviving Episode Two with two additional commentaries
- Troughton in Tibet
- Teaser Trailer
- Photo gallery
The Underwater Menace (November 2023)
Directed & Produced by: AnnMarie Walsh
Executive Producers: TBC
B/W 4:3 and Colour 16:9
Disc 1
- Colour animations
- B/W animations
Disc 2
- Surviving episodes 2 & 3
- Reconstructions of 1 & 4
- Making of [A Fishy Tale]
- Australian Censor Clips
- NEW: The Man from Miditz
- Frazer Hines Episode 3 intro from The Ice Warriors / The Missing Years VHS
- NEW: BBC News Report (South Today)
- NEW: BBC Radio Solent Report
- NEW: Photo Gallery
- NEW: Animation Gallery
- PDF material inc camera script
The Smugglers (2023)
Reported for newspaper The Mirror by the same journalist who leaked several previous releases including The Underwater Menace.
Index
| Marco Polo | Not announced (DVD released with cutdown telesnap recon) |
| Reign of Terror | January 2013 |
| The Crusade | Not announced (BD released with telesnap recon) |
| Galaxy 4 | November 2021 |
| Mission to the Unknown | Not announced |
| The Myth Makers | Not announced |
| The Daleks’ Master Plan | Not announced |
| The Massacre | Not announced |
| The Celestial Toymaker | Not announced |
| The Savages | Not announced |
| The Smugglers | Rumoured 2023 |
| The Tenth Planet | June 2013 |
| Power of the Daleks | November 2016 / July 2020 |
| The Highlanders | Not announced |
| The Underwater Menace | November 2023 |
| The Moonbase | January 2014 |
| The Macra Terror | March 2019 |
| The Faceless Ones | March 2020 |
| The Evil of the Daleks | September 2021 |
| The Ice Warriors | August 2013 |
| The Abominable Snowmen | September 2022 |
| The Web of Fear | August 2021 |
| Fury from the Deep | September 2020 |
| The Wheel in Space | Not announced (cutdown first ep 2018) |
| The Space Pirates | Not announced |
13 partly or fully missing 60s stories animated (not inc The Wheel in Space); 12 not yet announced…
Addendum: Disc space
The newer Blu-ray releases have often been said to be split across more discs than necessary, in order to maintain a standard menu structure with the DVD versions. When it comes to The Collection releases, they might be compressed down to fewer discs, either with a little extra compression applied, or some shuffling of bonuses. Below are the data totals for each story, including all bonuses and menus, and the proposed number of discs The Collection might need. Note that a standard BD disc is 50gb.
| The Macra Terror (2 discs) Not inc steelbook third disc, which contained new series material only | 61gb | 1 |
| The Faceless Ones (3 discs) Includes two copies of the existing episodes | 86.7gb | 2 |
| The Power of the Daleks: SE (3 discs) Includes several Troughton-generic pieces which could be moved to season six | 108.4gb | 2 |
| Fury from the Deep (3 discs) | 120.2gb | 2 |
| The Web of Fear (2 discs) Includes The Missing Years – generic documentary could be moved anywhere | 59.2gb | 1 |
| The Evil of the Daleks (3 discs) Includes two copies of the existing episode | 119.5gb | 2 |
| Galaxy 4 (2 discs) | 69gb | 1 |
| The Abominable Snowmen (3 discs) Includes two copies of the existing episode | 86gb | 2 |
| The Underwater Menace | 70gb | 2 |
