This archive article from 1999 contains several out of date links. It is presented here in its original form as a historical document.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 17
24 January 1999
Edited by Bruce Robinson (robinsba@ozemail.com.au) &
Robert Franks (TelesnapGuy@csi.com)
- Storr: “Nothing is sacred to you, is it?”
- Penley: “I only ask questions. It’s in my nature I suppose.”
- Storr: “Aye, you’d swore you’d give all that up.”
- Penley: “Discovery is as exciting to me as the hunt is to you.”
MASSIVE BUMPER ISSUE – OVER 40% MORE MATERIAL!
| THE LION ROARS AGAIN |
| ICE WARRIORS … ICE HOT? |
| 1998 DWAS BOOKS – AN OVERVIEW |
| MICHAEL CRAZE OBITUARY |
| NOTHING AT THE END OF THE LANE UPDATE |
WELCOME!
Welcome to a new year of The Disused Yeti. And what an incredible way to start the year – the discovery of a missing episode! Paul Scoones, editor of the New Zealand fanzine Time Space Visualiser and one of the people behind the discovery, provides further details below. Of course, for those wondering how the reconstruction of The Crusade will be affected, then please read on as well …
Missing episodes aside, 1999 certainly promises to be another interesting year for followers of the reconstructions – although things have been a little quiet lately, within a few short months, many new and revised recons should be available. When the creators started working on the recons, they had little idea that this would one day lead to detailed research on just how the episode was really put together. And with the recent discovery of the missing episode from Crusade, all viewers will have the unique opportunity of comparing a recon with an actual episode – although those expecting a recon with pinpoint precision are bound to be disappointed!
Apart from a swag of new recons, 1999 will also see the release of our first ever attempt at a magazine (which, just to emphasise, will NOT be a regular series of releases a laDoctor Who Magazine – instead issues will be prepared whenever we have the material and/or time!). Further details about Nothing at the End of the Lane appear below.
And, oh yes, for those attending the Gallifrey convention in Los Angeles from 13 to 16 February, you may be interested to know that not one, but both editors of this newsletter will be in attendance. Certainly, your Australian co-editor (Bruce) is very keen to meet up with people that he otherwise only knows via a string of characters with a “@” somewhere in the middle …
So … any chance of seeing you at Gally 99?
Bruce and Robert
MASSIVE BUMPER ISSUE – OVER 40% MORE MATERIAL!
This issue of the newsletter is quite a bit larger than all the previous issues – in fact, it’s not far off the ten thousand word mark! In the past though, some problems have been encountered by people when receiving the larger issues over E-mail (in particular, the newsletter is truncated before the end). Therefore, to avoid any E-mail problems occurring with this issue, the plain text version of the newsletter will be distributed in two parts. Please let the editors know if you experience any difficulties in receiving this issue. We’d like to have a few expanded issues in the future, but only if it doesn’t cause too many hassles for our 700 or so E-mail recipients!
THE LION ROARS AGAIN
Even though the news broke less than two weeks ago, most fans will by now be aware of the discovery of another missing episode of DOCTOR WHO. Following is a recent interview conducted with Paul Scoones, who provides us with a better idea of how The Lion (the first episode of The Crusade) was unearthed …
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(1) Firstly Paul, could you give us a brief run-down of all the people involved in the discovery. How did they all fit into the “big picture”?
There are basically five people to consider here:
(a) Bruce Grenville is the film collector who had The Lion – he wasn’t aware that the film print was in any way valuable or sought-after.
(b) Cornelius Stone is a friend of Bruce’s. Cornelius was aware that there were missing episodes, but he did not know the precise details of which episodes were missing. After Bruce showed him the film of The Lion, he didn’t pursue the matter further.
(c) Neil Lambess, a friend of mine and member of the NZDWFC, heard about the film from Cornelius. Neil is a key figure involved in the discovery, but his role has unfortunately been rather overlooked by the media reports, due to his name being accidentally omitted from the press release faxed off to the NZ media by Bruce Grenville. (I did, however, include Neil in my Internet “press release”.) If it wasn’t for Neil’s persistence, we still might not have heard about the episode.
(d) Then there’s me. I’m the Co-ordinator / President of the New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club and the editor of Time Space Visualiser (TSV). I went with Neil to check out the existence of the missing episode. Subsequently, I handled all the negotiations for the loan of the print to the BBC, and have fielded many questions from the media.
(e) Finally, there’s Steve Roberts of the BBC’s unofficial Restoration Team. All arrangements for the handling of the print have been made with Steve.
(2) How did the print of The Lion eventually find its way into the hands of film collector Bruce Grenville?Bruce Grenville bought the film around June 1998 from an unknown individual at a film collectors’ fair for the princely sum of NZ$5 (less than two UK pounds!).
We believe (although there no markings on the film can or reel which point to this), that the film originates from the NZBC archives circa 1970. Although The Crusade was never screened in NZ, the story was received by the NZBC and held in their vaults for a time. Records do not show what became of the print after 1970, but we believe that someone probably took Episode 1 home – and subsequently, it has no doubt changed hands several times since. The other scenario, that someone went to the trouble of privately bringing the film into NZ and then let it go for next to nothing, seems highly improbable.
(3) How did you first find out about the possibility of The Lion existing? Do you recall what your reaction was at the time?
Neil Lambess had mentioned to me late last year that he had heard a rumour that a film collector in Auckland possessed a missing Hartnell episode. Neil is someone whom, albeit in the nicest possible way, is forever coming up with new rumours and conspiracy theories about missing episodes, so I was understandably sceptical. Neil phoned me again out of the blue on Sunday 3 January to tell me he’d arranged a meeting with the film collector who allegedly had the film print. Neil wanted me to accompany him, partly because I had a car, partly because I had a camcorder with which to make a recording of the episode off-screen, and partly because my status as the President of the NZ Doctor Who Fan Club would lend credibility to any negotiations and discussions with the collector. I was still very sceptical, but agreed to go along.
(4) What were your impressions on seeing The Lion for the first time? Did it take some time for the reality of it all to sink in?!
I don’t think I’ll ever forget the moment when the opening scene in the forest clearing started, which confirmed for me that it was episode 1 of The Crusade. When the episode caption THE LION came up over the shot of the TARDIS materialising, Neil leaned across and shook my hand. As I sat there watching the episode, I think I was in a slight state of shock. I tried to enjoy the experience but all I could think about was how to proceed with getting the film to the BBC and the inevitable excitement which would appear in fandom.
The print itself was somewhat scratched and dirty, but still remarkably clear and sharp given how old it was and how it had probably never been particularly well looked-after in private hands. I’d never seen an episode of DOCTOR WHO projected on film before, so this was a novel experience in itself.
(5) Obviously, once you realised that you had struck upon a genuine find, your next thought must have been how to notify the BBC as soon as possible. How did you go about doing this? Were there any subsequent problems in transporting the tape to the UK?
Neil and I immediately started sounding Bruce out on his willingness to loan the film to the BBC. Bruce was initially a little resistant, simply (I believe) because he couldn’t quite conceive that an organisation such as the BBC could be interested in his film. We had to go back to basics and explain to him how the BBC had junked many episodes and now sought to recover them.
After our meeting with Bruce, I immediately E-mailed Steve Roberts at the BBC and told him the news. I sent Steve a copy of the VHS recording I’d made the next day, so that he could get an advance impression of the quality of the print. At this stage, we weren’t sure how long it would take to arrange for the loan of the film.
After two days, I began to get concerned that Bruce might have changed his mind about loaning the print. As a result, I got in touch with him … and sure enough, the doubt had begun to creep in. Bruce had found out about the possibility of selling the film for vast sums of money and also wasn’t entirely convinced that the BBC, once they had the film, would readily return it to him. I printed out E-mails from Steve Roberts and also gave Bruce my own written assurance, which did the trick of setting his mind at rest. The end result was that on the evening of Thursday 7 January, I came away from Bruce’s flat with the film can under my arm. I sent it by urgent international courier to Steve Roberts the following morning, and it arrived with him on Monday 11 January.
(6) What are your feelings generally on the likelihood of further missing episodes being discovered. Has the discovery of The Lion altered your feelings in any way?
This find has already fuelled renewed hope in fandom for finding missing episodes. I think it’s possible that there may be more out there – I’m certainly less sceptical than I used to be about an episode being discovered.
(7) With this discovery, people may start to think that they are numerous missing episodes existing in New Zealand. Does that mean all overseas DOCTOR WHO fans should emmigrate to New Zealand immediately and start attending film collectors’ fairs?
We’ve got all the avenues covered. There are various people within the NZDWFC already following up leads with film collectors and the NZ film archives. The media attention in New Zealand given to the find means that there will most likely be increased co-operation from people in these circles.
(8) Paul, thanks for your time – fandom is certainly very grateful with the prompt manner in which you and your fellow New Zealanders returned the print to the BBC.
You’re welcome!
RECONSTRUCTION UPDATES
This issue will see a single update on each reconstruction group only – basically due to the lack of any major news on upcoming releases (with one obvious exception!).
COI RECONSTRUCTIONS (update by Bruce Robinson)
Due to a variety of reasons, work on the next few releases has slowed down somewhat. However, this is definitely not to say that the recons are being ignored – in fact, during most weeks, some progress is made on all the future releases. Although the COI front may have been a little quiet of late, I’m hoping that some time in early 1999, there’ll be a rush of releases – amongst them, The Abominable Snowmen, the enhanced version of Marco Polo, and the first six episodes of The Daleks’ Master Plan.
Of course, the reconstruction of The Crusade will now have to be re-examined following the discovery of the first episode from the story. Although the reconstruction will still be proceeding, episodes 2 and 4 will basically have to rebuilt to cater for all the new material now available. Therefore, regardless of when the first episode becomes available, further time will then be required to re-produce episodes 2 and 4. Or to put it another way … don’t expect all that much in the near future!
JV RECONSTRUCTIONS (update by Robert Franks)
The next two JV releases, The Underwater Menace and The Ice Warriors, are close to completion – as of writing, there are only a few minor details to finish. The Ice Warriors release will feature complete reconstructions of the missing two episodes, as opposed to the abridged versions which appeared on the BBC release. Ice Warriors, along with Menace, will be released at the same time, most likely in March. The next two stories to fall under the JV-style will be a revised version of Fury from the Deep and a brand new reconstruction of The Celestial Toymaker. Preliminary work has been carried out, and both should be completed by June.For further details on the COI and JV reconstructions, please consult the following web-page
:http://home.earthlink.net/~telesnapguy/
LOOSE CANNON RECONSTRUCTIONS
Rick Brindell would like to mention that his next Loose Cannon reconstruction is close to completion – The Savages should be available in February. The next stories that Rick intends working on are The Smugglers, followed by Galaxy 4.For further details on the LC series, pay a visit to the following web-page :
NOTHING AT THE END OF THE LANE UPDATE
For those not familiar with our proposed magazine, Nothing at the End of the Lane will be a 64-page publication dedicated to the efforts of people in researching and restoring DOCTOR WHO. Although we are not overtly restricting ourselves to any specific era of the show, much of the magazine will be devoted to the “early years” simply due to the fact that a majority of important research findings have revolved around the black/white period of the show.
In previous issues, it was mentioned that the magazine was hoped to be released during February 1999 (or more specifically, at the “Gallifrey” convention in Los Angeles). Unfortunately, this deadline will no longer be attainable – basically, because the editors have realised that the magazine is a bigger task than initially expected (just to provide some idea – the word count for the entire magazine will be over 60,000 words, which is longer than many Target novelisations!).
Despite this minor setback, work on the magazine is still progressing strongly. The articles for issue #1 are all now complete, and work has now progressed into the editing and layout stages. Issue #1 should hopefully be available for release in early to mid 1999 – as always, keep an eye on this newsletter for further details.
1998 DWAS BOOKS – AN OVERVIEW
The year of 1998 has seen the release of numerous reference books from the “Doctor Who Appreciation Society” (DWAS). Head of the Reference Department, David Brunt, provides us with an overview of the books released so far, and what’s in stall for the future …
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I recounted in issue #13 of the newsletter, the aim of Andrew Pixley and myself with the DWAS books was to provide as much untold information into print as possible. During 1998, a large amount of information was compiled and distributed to a wider audience. As the new year begins, it now gives us the chance to take stock of what’s happened so far …
Having already considered and abandoned the idea of single “Doctor-era” books at the end of 1997, the schedule for the year’s three books was set as the Season One and Season Six Chronicles and the long-awaited Cast and Crew volume of the Production Guide. All had been in preparation for over a year, with work fluctuating between the volumes as information was accumulated. As it was nearing completion at this stage, the revised Volume One: Locations book was also added to the schedule.
To consider each volume in turn:
THE DOCTOR WHO PRODUCTION GUIDE VOLUME THREE: CAST AND CREW
It had long been an aim of mine to publish a “complete” listing of all cast and crew members – in other words, everyone who had ever worked on the series. I don’t think Andrew or I were really prepared for what turned out to be a long slog checking through innumerable mis-spellings of names in the BBC paperwork. Whilst this was going on, Messrs Howe and Walker were busy on their own TV Companion book which, we gathered, was planning on tackling the same type of coverage. In the end, the TVC book turned out somewhat differently – however, various tradings of information occurred between the authors, as had happened on all previous publications to some extent. The Cast and Crew book was published in time for Marvel’s “Perfect Day” (in April 1998) as an A5 publication … which came as a surprise to me, as it was planned to be in A4. In any case, the print run sold out by early October.
THE DOCTOR WHO CHRONICLES: SEASON ONE
Having decided to publish the information on cut sequences, rewrites and various bits and bobs that made up the behind the scenes stories, Season One was the obvious first volume to release. A ratings breakdown was considered, but discarded early on, as was a note of the TV broadcast “opposition” programmes. Having only had a rudimentary crash course in the attributes of Pagemaker before this time (a package I’ve come to loathe even more than I did before), some of the photographs came out rather poorly (something since realised and rectified in time for the later Season Six volume). The addition of better reproduced images for Marco Polo, many never before published, came as a bonus. Published in early June, the book sold out in October.
THE DOCTOR WHO PRODUCTION GUIDE VOLUME ONE: LOCATIONS
This was a gazetteer guide to the locations used in the series, with road directions to pinpoint them. Following a large amount of location-recorded information discovered during compilation of Volume Two: The Reference Journal, a revised and amended version of the book first published in 1996 was long overdue. This saw a change in printer from the earlier books, gaining an increase in quality. Andrew and I earned our credit due to the large amount of reprinted material from Volume Two, but otherwise it was Keith Armstrong’s solo project from start to finish. Published in October, a few copies still remain.
THE DOCTOR WHO CHRONICLES: SEASON SIX
Published on 21 December, this was the final release of the year. As with the initial Season One book, a complete guide to the Season was covered. Production logistics dictated this to be the second volume as it required less work to compile the text than for Season Two. As virtually every episode had some sequences cut or rewritten before it appeared on screen, this volume is packed with far more information and detail than Season One – 700 photos and 100,000 words compared to the earlier 250/75,000. The Season Six book also features improved photo reproduction and less typos too!And what of 1999? As with ’98, there will be two DOCTOR WHO Chronicles volumes, Seasons Two and Five, separated by a Chronicles special edition on the QUATERMASS serials. And, as if that were not enough, the updated version of the Reference Journal is also pencilled in, hopefully some time in early to mid 1999. And if it can be squeezed in anywhere, the A4 version of the Cast and Crew volume too.
It really is a treadmill …
(DAVID BRUNT)
ORDERING DETAILS:
The Locations is still available at £10 (UK price); £12 (USA/Europe); £14 (Australia/NZ). Chronicles Season Six is available at £8 (UK); £10 (USA/Europe); £12 (Australia/NZ). All prices include postage.
British pound sterling cheques or postal orders should be made payable to DWAS. Card payments via Visa, Mastercard, Switch and Solo can also be made (please state the full card number and expiry date).
Post: DWAS, PO Box 519, London SW17 9XW England
Fax: 07050 622 401
E-mail: DWAS@DWAS.drwho.org (line is not secure)
MICHAEL CRAZE – OBITUARY
29 November 1942 to 07 December 1998.
Michael Craze, the actor who played companion Ben Jackson, died on the night of the 7th December of a heart attack. Michael and Anneke Wills were companions to William Hartnell’s Doctor in his last three stories (after both commenced in The War Machines). In particular, Michael and Anneke were present during the historic filming of the first regeneration between Hartnell and Patrick Troughton at the end of the The Tenth Planet. Michael left the programme, along with Anneke, during the Patrick Troughton story The Faceless Ones.
Many of Michael’s stories have since been “lost” by the BBC, and some, like the recent JV The Faceless Ones and COI The Power of the Daleks, have been reconstructed.
I met Michael once, during the recent British 35th anniversary convention “35up”. Michael had expressed an interest in the reconstructions though a mutual acquaintance – during our conversation I provided him with a copy of the recent JV release of The Faceless Ones. He was very excited to have the chance to see this story again and was very interested in the project in general. He also kindly offered to be interviewed for future reconstruction releases. Sadly, this will no longer be possible.
Michael was a very gracious, friendly and unassuming man who was willing to offer his time to help fans of his era on the programme. It is a great sadness that his death has come so suddenly at the age of 56. It can only be hoped that future reconstructions can do justice to his contribution to the series.
(ROGER ANDERSON)
Note : Roger Avon, who portrayed Saphadin in The Crusade, also passed away in December 1998. Apart from his work in DOCTOR WHO, Avon also appeared in a wide variety of television shows – from serious drama (DIXON OF DOCK GREEN, Z CARS, THE BILL) to comedy (DAD’S ARMY, STEPTOE AND SON, BLACKADDER).
ICE WARRIORS … ICE HOT?
Following much speculation, fandom has now had the chance to view the veritable feast of sixties DOCTOR WHO material that is otherwise known as The Ice Warriors release. Since the last DY issue, a number of comments have been received on specific parts of the release, as well as the release as a whole. Following, a sample of the comments will be published, along with a few responses from Steve Roberts and Paul Vanezis, producer and director respectively of The Missing Years documentary.
Officially, the BBC Video of The Ice Warriors was released in the UK on November 10, but it appears that for many DY readers, the video was not readily available until much later. Quite a few fans indicated problems with obtaining copies from outlets which were otherwise well stocked with DOCTOR WHO videos. As an example, Dominic Jackson mentioned that he “never managed to find a copy in York – I was so impatient to obtain it, that I asked a friend in Birmingham to purchase a copy!” Some fans also experienced difficulties with the actual tape quality itself. In fact, Michael Palmer mentioned that he had to visit his local video store four times before he obtained “a watchable copy”. Furthermore, it appears that the distribution problems were not limited to the UK – Rob McDade (an Australian fan) indicated that his original tape was inflicted with sound problems.
[STEVE ROBERTS responds — It does appear that there were logistical problems with this release, both in the UK and Australia. The decision to move the release date back by a week did not help the situation, with some retailers claiming that they were never told. By the beginning of December, only four thousand copies had been made available to retailers, although at least ten thousand more have gone out since. It appears that ABC Video only released about two thousand copies in Australia, which is about half the number for a normal release.]
Technical problems aside, it appears that most viewers have given the release a definite thumbs-up. Certainly, the response to the story of the Ice Warriors itself has been very positive – “The Ice Warriors is a cracking story, one of the best, and the lack of two episodes doesn’t really disrupt it” (David Howe); “The Ice Warriors are indeed creditable monsters, receiving a better start on video than most of their evil counterparts” (Matthew Henricksen). Furthermore, the quality of the story as it appeared on tape was also universally praised – “The new transfers (through the wet gate system I believe) are simply stunning – the blacks are really black, the whites are really white, and the soundtrack is perfect” (Paul Ebbs).
However, once we start considering the mini-reconstruction of the two missing episodes (2 & 3), do we receive some interesting and varied opinions – overall though, the reaction appears to have been fairly positive. Furthermore, most fans have accepted the logic of including a scaled-down version of episodes 2 and 3, as opposed to a full reconstruction – “Some purists may say that they would have preferred a full reconstruction, but it has to be borne in mind that this release is a commercial one intended for those with a general interest in DOCTOR WHO as well as more dedicated fans. The inclusion of the complete soundtrack CD of the two episodes fully makes up for any disappointment in this respect” (Stephen James Walker).
A few people mentioned that the slow moving background to the images enhanced the overall reconstruction – “The thing that most stood out for me was the background to the slide. Not only was it something that wasn’t distracting to the eye, but having it move slightly left to right I think added to the ease with which the slide were represented” (Trevor Gensch). Malcolm Morris similarly responded – “One excellent innovation was the addition of the moving border to the still pictures. I don’t understand why, but this technique certainly helped to improve the illusion of watching a ‘real’ episode.”
The use of spoken narration during the reconstructed episodes also provided a curious mix of responses. As explained by Dominic Jackson, “Some have said they found the ‘deadpan’ linking narration a little off-putting, but I was less bothered by this than the use of techniques such as the superimposition of falling snow on otherwise still pictures. To my mind, this spoils the illusion and only emphasises that we are looking at a still picture.” On the other hand, Michael Palmer disliked the use of spoken narration – “I think it distracted from the story … on-screen text would have been better.”
[SR — I personally thought that the inclusion of the moving snow and flickering monitor screens, along with panning / zooming shots and the moving background, only helped to enhance the illusion. As for spoken narration, I don’t think the inclusion of on-screen text would have married well with the fast-cutting nature of the picture editing. I wrote the narration links long before the pictures were edited, and with hindsight, it’s easy to see that many of them were probably not required – in many cases, the visuals and particularly the change in the background colour and animation, conveyed the same location information as the narrative.]
[PAUL VANEZIS responds — A full reconstruction would have been quite boring. There were simply not enough pictures to make it work – telling the story was the most important thing to do. I think Stephen James Walker, with his comment a couple of paragraphs above, hit the nail on the head.]
In addition, it appears that not everyone was in favour of all the ideas used to “frame” the two missing episodes – “The only thing that made me cringe [about the reconstruction] was the ‘communicator in the snow’ way of presenting the missing episode montage. Corny, unnecessary and not really a good way of telling the audience (who might not have necessarily fully digested the back cover blurb) what the heck these photos were for” (Trevor Gensch).
[SR — Slightly corny perhaps, but I think that it is an excellent device to explain to the less-informed viewer why the pictures have stopped moving!]
Of course, the high quality nature of the materials used for the reconstruction was praised by many fans – “I sat with mouth agape at the quality of the telesnaps. They are so clear and crisp that I had to ask myself what was a telesnap and what was a production still – believe me they are THAT good” (Paul Ebbs).
The bottom line with episodes 2 and 3 is that the reconstruction was ideal in a fifteen-minute format, however, it would have been difficult to sustain two full-length episodes with the style used. As Michael Palmer explained, “Switching to the actor as they speak was good for the fifteen minutes, but if it had been the full fifty minutes, then the lack of different close-up pictures would have meant the same few ones being used over and over again. This was beginning to happen with Arden.” Malcolm Morris summed up the general impression well – “The reconstructed episodes struck a nice balance between appealing to the hard-core fans and the casual viewer.”
The release of The Ice Warriors also featured a documentary-style presentation (The Missing Years) on many of the surviving clips from missing DOCTOR WHO episodes. Reaction to the documentary appears to have been fairly positive – at the very least, most readers appreciated the chance to witness clips that they’d otherwise only heard of via the “grapevine”. Jon Preddle, in particular, was one who emphasised the nostalgic aspect of seeing many of the clips – “The clip of the Dalek Emperor exploding brought back a flood of memories of seeing that sequence when I was an impressionable six year old in October 1970. And to finally see the Galaxy 4 sequence after hearing so many rumours over the years – Wow! The squat circular Drahvin spaceship; the Chumbly warble and probe; the sleeping Drahvin – things ‘missing’ to us from the novelisation and the audio. I was so disappointed when it ‘suddenly’ ended – I’d become so engrossed in it that I’d forgotten it was only a clip!”
Matthew Henricksen was another viewer who greatly appreciated the opportunity to witness the clips – “I’ll admit it – the clips from The Daleks’ Master Plan and Galaxy 4 were worth my twenty-five pounds plus postage. In my own fan-boy way, the tape provided lots of food-for-thought – perhaps The Evil of the Daleks:7 isn’t so great after all, and perhaps the recovery of The Underwater Menace:2 would be a greater thing (I’m serious but don’t stone me please). I have since become convinced that Galaxy 4 is the antz-pants, and it’s not because I have a crush on Maaga!”
Paul Ebbs also praised the Restoration Team for the work they performed in cleaning up some of the clips – “What the team has done with the 8mm off-screen footage is brilliant – slowed to the correct speed with just a hint of flicker and matched up with the soundtrack to perfection. My only gripe would be that there isn’t enough of the 8mm film.”
[SR — It’s important to remember that we were given a budget to make a 25-minute programme, and we really pushed it out to 35-minutes to include things like the Galaxy 4 clip, the Evil and Fury studio material, clips from The Faceless Ones, Evil of the Daleks etc. All these had to be paid for and added to the costs of the production – therefore, it was a case of having to prioritise material. If you carefully examine the 8mm clips that we included, you’ll notice that they only consist of the main cast – no additonal cast clearances were needed and this was the excuse we gave to enable us to use the clips! It would have been nice to include clips from The Savages for instance, but this would have meant additional outlay to have the audio synced and clearance costs to include actors and writers not already cleared.]
Similarly, Stephen James Walker also queried the fact that The Missing Years failed to feature all available the clips – “It’s a terrible pity that two of the existing broadcast-quality clips (the ones from The Abominable Snowmen) were omitted. I would also have liked to have seen a little more of the 8mm off-screen footage used – the clip from Galaxy 4 would have made a nice lead-in to the (superb) longer extract.”
[SR — With my hand on my heart, I have to say that the reason those two clips were not used was simply that I forgot to add them to the compilation tape that we sent off to Mark for audio syncing. Ironic, considering that I discovered them originally! By the time Richard Molesworth pointed it out, we were well into editing and just didn’t have the time or budget to correct the mistake.]
[PV — Actually, I could have included them, but I didn’t feel there was a place for them. Despite what Stephen said, the clips were only of Yeti on a hillside. The brief was not to include every existing piece of surviving DOCTOR WHO, and the video was not marketed as such.]
Other aspects of The Missing Years produced a mixed reaction. David May was typical of many of the responses, by discussing both good and bad points about the documentary. On the positive side – “The Missing Years is actually very good. It has a nice new (old?) title sequence that evokes the true spirit of DOCTOR WHO more than the old title sequence on the other Years tapes. The links are good too, providing a useful insight into the subject and well directed. Frazer Hines makes a wonderful presenter with his relaxed, natural style”. However, David conceded that some areas of the release were slightly disappointing, for instance, the fact that The Missing Years did not feature all the existing clips – “Could they not have been used as, say, background shots (as was used in Resistance Is Useless) or in some sort of title sequence montage?” David also expressed reservations that the documentary did not mention the missing episode audios, or that there was no encouragement for people to return / search for missing episodes (eg by providing a contact address).
[PV — I did want to include a contact or E-mail address, but as BBC addresses and people move around regularly, it would not have been practical or fair to do so. This aspect was not part of the brief, which was to showcase some of the surviving material. If any viewers possessed “missing” material, I think the documentary would have provided enough incentive to return the material.]
Moving towards the bottom of the list for things to criticise, poor old Deborah Watling didn’t cope well at all. Here’s a few comments on what people thought of Debbie’s presentation of The Missing Years:
“The only poor part is Deborah Watling, who is like a fish out of water. Badly directed and poorly acted, she should have been consigned to the cutting room floor and Frazer used for all the links.” (David Howe)
“The less said about Debbie Watling’s style, the better.” (David May)
“I really think that Deborah Watling would have benefited from some stronger direction. She acted like she was talking to a bunch of five year olds.” (Malcolm Morris)
Although, to be fair, some viewers did have a softer spot for Debbie – “Debbie Watling is a bit irritating and over-the-top, but not quite as bad as most people would have us all believe” (Rob McDade); and “Debbie is wide-eyed and theatrical as ever, but never embarrassing” (Paul Ebbs).
[SR — Debbie is a stage actress who has never presented for television before and I think that she did a great job on the day. It’s only when seen in the context of the finished documentary and in comparison to the much more experienced Frazer that her delivery seems slightly out of place. I prefer to think that her character shines through!]
[PV — The only thing I was disappointed about was some incorrect emphasis on Deborah’s part. However, those who criticise Deborah are not giving credit for what I believe was generally a very good performance. To accuse me of bad direction is underhand and shows a complete lack of understanding of television production. David Howe, in particular, should know from his researches that making DOCTOR WHO is fraught with problems, even when there is rehearsal time – and this DOCTOR WHO was no exception. The job of a director is, first and foremost, to get the job done in time and on budget. We had four hours of actual filming with Frazer and Deborah, with many different set-ups in a working library – this meant that some compromises had to be made. In hindsight, it may have been prudent to have autocue for the links, bearing in mind that Deborah had no presenting experience. I watched The Missing Years of the big screen at BAFTA at the launch – and thought that Deborah came over perfectly.]
One very well received aspect of The Missing Years were the interviews featured with film collectors, and others involved in the return of missing DOCTOR WHO material. As Dominic Jackson pointed out, “as well as helping to finally dispel some fan myths surrounding the junking/recovery process, it was nice to put faces and voices to names!” And similarly from Malcolm Morris – “The documentary did answer one question which had been bugging me a while – why was someone trying to sell old cans of film at a car boot sale?”
And the overall reaction to the release? The following statements are all fairly representative of the comments received …
“Ten out of ten for effort on this release – keep up the good work.” (Malcolm Morris)
“I think it shows in the finished product that this release has put together by people who care for the programme, both in the attention to detail in the reconstruction of episodes 2-3, and with the care that has been put into the documentary.” (Graham Howard)
“Overall, a superb package of 60s WHO, excellent value, and very enjoyable. 9/10” (David Howe)
“The Ice Warriors is going to represent the first must own release since The Five Doctors Special Edition.” (Paul Ebbs)
“Furthermore (and this is perhaps the best bit), we received a firm statement that there are one or two great men in the halls of the BBC, who will trade capitalistic urges in exchange for a hard labour of love.” (Matthew Henricksen)
“Let’s hope The Ice Warriors is enough of a commercial success to prompt a further release in the same vein, perhaps including the remaining individual episodes from incomplete stories that have not so far been made commercially available.” (Stephen James Walker)
(BRUCE ROBINSON)
STORY GUIDES
SEASON 2 STORY 3
L : The Rescue
(a) GENERAL
2 episodes
| Episode | TX | TI | DU | VA | CP | AA |
| The Powerful Enemy | 02 Jan 65 | 17.40 | 26’15” | 12.0 | 11 | 56 |
| Desperate Measures | 09 Jan 65 | 17.41 | 24’36” | 13.0 | 8 | 59 |
Total Duration = 50’51” (approx)
Average Viewing Audience = 12.5
Average Chart Position = 9.5
Repeat Screenings — nil on BBC1, although the story has been repeated on UK Gold.
Countries Sold To — Abu Dhabi, Algeria, Arabia, Australia, Barbados, Caribbean, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Nigeria, Rhodesia, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, Venezuela, and Zambia
(b) VIDEO FOOTAGE
Status — both episodes were originally destroyed between 1972 and 1977, however a 16mm negative film prints of the two episodes were recovered from BBC Enterprises in 1978.
Clips — n/a
Notes —
(c) AUDIO RECORDINGS
n/a
(d) RECONSTRUCTIONS
n/a
(e) PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL
Telesnaps — currently missing. PasB (Programme-as-Broadcast) documentation indicates that John Cura did provide his services for both episodes.
Behind-the-Scenes Shots — unknown
Publicity Shots —
- 01 Dec 64 – photocall at unknown location (Vicki is announced as the new companion)
- 04 Dec 64 – photocall at Studio One, Riverside (Vicki, Koquillion and the rocket ship interior)
(f) AUSTRALIAN CENSOR CUTS
| Episode | DR | FT | RA | CUTS |
| The Powerful Enemy | 11 Nov 65 | 953 | A | no cuts |
| Desperate Measures | 11 Nov 65 | 932 | A | no cuts |
(g) OTHER NOTES
REVIEWS AND COMMENTS
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THE WHEEL IN SPACE [JV4]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Wheel in Space is the fourth JV reconstruction. As with all the previous JV releases, the story is primarily recreated using full screen telesnaps with occasional subtitles – and this is a combination that has worked well in previous JV reconstructions. In the case of Wheel, only episodes 3 and 6 survive, so this has left episodes 1, 2, 4 and 5 for the JV team to reconstruct.
The Wheel in Space was the final story of Patrick Troughton’s Season 5. The story reintroduces us to the deadly Cybermen, creatures that had debuted in the final story of William Hartnell’s tenure, The Tenth Planet. In fact, Wheel marks the third outing for the Cybermen during Patrick Troughton’s era and was the second story of Season 5 to feature the monsters. In my opinion, this story is the best of Troughton’s four encounters with the Cybermen … and yes, I even prefer it over The Tomb of the Cybermen!
Wheel has often been criticised for being overlong and for having a somewhat convoluted plot. There is some truth to these criticisms, however the generally first-class acting, coupled with a good script and great atmosphere, carries the story for the six episodes (despite some inevitable padding). Like other Season 5 stories, Wheel uses the classic scenario of an isolated group of humans threatened by an alien menace. However, the main problem with Wheel does come with the nature of the plot, and in particular, the enormous amount of trouble that the Cybermen go to in an attempt to take over the base!
Apart from a few other rather embarrassing scenes (eg, in Episode 3, when the Cybermat attacks one of the crew-members … Professor Zaroff eat your heart out!), Wheel epitomises the Troughton era and is one of the most effective outings for the Cybermen.
But what of the reconstruction? Apart from the usual features one would expect from a JV reconstruction, Wheel also features a few innovations, such as the use of “semi-animations”. An example of this is in Episode 1 where the Doctor and Jamie view a series of pictures appearing and disappearing on the TARDIS screen. Although these didn’t spoil the reconstruction for me, I am unsure about the effectiveness of this approach. I prefer a simple telesnap based reconstruction to having telesnaps coupled with animation. This is something that I suspect might become more prevalent in the future in the light of the BBC’s partial reconstruction of The Ice Warriors. This technique can be distracting if overused, so please let’s see it used sparingly, if at all!
The reconstructed episodes themselves are distinguished by the wonderfully clear telesnaps and sound that have become a hallmark of the recent JV and COI reconstructions. I can well remember a time, not all that long ago, when some reconstructed stories needed a degree of endurance to watch them all in one sitting. The strain on the eyes sometimes requiring long breaks between episodes! Don’t get me wrong guys, I still loved them, but the recent improvements have immeasurably enhanced my enjoyment. The use of the occasional on screen explanations, in the form of neat subtitles against a blue background, adds the final icing on the cake. Three cheers to whoever writes these!
Apart from the excellent introductory sequence to the reconstruction, there is also a nice bonus at the end. The team have managed to secure a copy of the audio for the repeat of The Evil of the Daleks which aired the week after Episode 6 of Wheel. This is an exciting bonus since the repeat of Evil Episode 1 had a specially recorded sequence that followed on from The Wheel in Space.
All in all, another tour de force from the JV team. These reconstructions represent very professional products, which are a credit to all of those who are involved in creating them. The Wheel in Space is a reconstruction that I’ve been able to happily watch twice in single sittings over the last few weeks. It comes highly recommended, so get yourself a copy if you haven’t done so already!
(ROGER ANDERSON)
[ed : Michael Palmer from the JV team would like to point out that Wheel was completed well in advance of The Ice Warriors. Therefore, any similarities between the two are purely co-incidental!]
LETTERS AND OPINIONS
I have recently been reading DWM – in the latest issue, there is an article called “Dalek Cutaways”. This mentions a BBC show called Junior Points of View, and more specifically, the screening of “William Hartnell as Dr Who and Kevin Manser operating a Dalek in a scene specially scripted by Terry Nation as part of the January 1964 edition”. Later on in the article, there is a mention of “Muriel Young Interviewing William Shearer about operating a Chumbly on 8 October 1965 alongside a clip from Galaxy 4:Four Hundred Dawns.”
Forgive me if this is just another Trojan Horse, but I thought you might like to know about this as these two clips may be useful for a reconstruction, even if of no commercial use to the BBC.
(OWEN SPRATLEY)
[ed : The author of that DWM article, Andrew Pixley, informs us that no episodes of Junior Points of View survive and only a handful of the more adult Points of View made it through the purges of the sixties and seventies. Andrew also points out that when information such as this surfaces during his researches, he always passes it on to Steve Roberts and Paul Vanezis at the BBC … just in case.]
~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for sending the latest issue of the newsletter. I was slightly confused by the bit in the letters column about “the complete TARDIS sound effect”. How much more is there on top of what has previously been released by the BBC? I’ve checked through my records and tapes and I can find several TARDIS sound effects:
(1) The most recent is the 1min 4sec recording on the DOCTOR WHO / Radiophonic Workshop 30 years CD – this was also on the CD for The Tomb of the Cybermen.
(2) There is a shorter, stereo version on the cassette Out of this World – Sound Effects.
(3) There is a TARDIS sound effect on the cassette Dr Who – The Music.
(4) The longest version I have is the 1min 13sec recording on the record BBC Radiophonic Workshop – 21 Years (REC354, released in 1979).
How much more is there?
(DAVID BUTLER)
MARK AYRES responds :
The original TARDIS effects on the first ever effects reel prepared for An Unearthly Child are as follows (durations in brackets):
(1) TARDIS Interior (02:27)
(2) TARDIS door original (00:06)
(3) entry into TARDIS (11:57)
(4) TARDIS hum exterior (04:53)
(5) lights/motors of TARDIS (01:48)
(6) original TARDIS take-off (01:26)
(7) TARDIS take-off as used (01:22)
(8) TARDIS operating hum interior (01:13)
Band 7 is the TARDIS sound as featured on the 30 Years at the Radiophonic Workshop CD. Dick Mills, who mastered that disc, faded the effect a bit early – largely to do with the fact that there’s a bit of tape damage towards the end. The 21 Years version may be the same recording left to run a bit longer (the master wasn’t as old then!), but I haven’t had the time to extract the record from the archive to double-check.
THE MEMORY CHEATS
One of our younger readers of the newsletter, Matt Dale, happened to discover that his mother was interested in the previous Memory Cheats columns! As a result, Matt persuaded his mother Jan to send in her own thoughts about the sixties era …
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As a result of reading some of the other Memory Cheats articles, I now realise that, not only would I be the oldest contributor, but I would also be the only one who did not have to ask permission to watch the first episode of DOCTOR WHO! I was twelve at the time.
Looking at some of the old black and white episodes for the first time in many years, it was easy to smile indulgently at the sets, the fluffed lines and the general air of naivety. After all, as a life long SF fan, I’ve seen the development of techniques which could only be dreamed of in those days. The almost total loss of live television means that I’ve grown up with highly polished performances, and almost forgotten how many times a scene has to be re-shot to achieve such perfection. CGI is now the norm and has eliminated most of the shaky sets.
As I watched the early episodes again, though, I remembered the old magic I’d experienced back in the early 1960s. In those days there was little science-fiction for kids on TV. The idea of time travel had always caught my imagination and the stories held me week after week. It’s hard to explain after almost thirty-five years, but I think that because there was only black and white television, and special effects were rarely used in other programmes, I concentrated on the story and the general atmosphere it created. In a way it was a little like reading a good SF book where you developed an overall feeling and aren’t distracted by visuals.
After the first episode of the series, the main topic at school on Monday was DOCTOR WHO – and this continued for some time. Of course, the episodes could not be video-taped (sheer misery if your Great Aunt came to tea and TV was banned – no second or third set in the bedrooms). As a result, we never watched the episodes repeatedly, and thus, found it almost impossible to spot errors. Every Saturday, I’d dash home to watch the latest DOCTOR WHO episode. Twenty-five minutes later, I would develop the same feeling of frustration as the closing credits appeared. Knowing that I would have to wait a full seven days for the continuation of the story, is a feeling almost impossible to describe!
DOCTOR WHO was for me, like many others, an introduction to small screen SF. Since then I’ve progressed (or not, depending on your point of view!) through STAR TREK, BLAKE’S 7, BABYLON 5, RED DWARF, etc. However sophisticated my tastes may get though, I will never forget the sheer magic that DOCTOR WHO gave me. It was the start of a life-long love of science-fiction.
(JAN DALE)
REQUESTS
– Dominique Boies would like to remind all those interested in obtaining back-issues of the Disused Yeti, that his web-site carries an archive of the plain text versions of the newsletter (as opposed to Dominic Jackson’s site, which carries the HTML issues only). The plain text archive can be located at:
http://www.geocities.com/~boies00/who/links.htm
– Roger Anderson has recently set up a web-site devoted to newspaper and magazine clippings from the past thirty-five years of DOCTOR WHO. Further details of Roger’s efforts will appear next issue, but if you’re keen to have a look at the page now, the address is
:http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~r.anderson/doctor/doctor.htm
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to the following for help with this issue : Roger Anderson, Mark Ayres, David Brunt, Jan Dale, Dominic Jackson, Michael Palmer, Andrew Pixley and Paul Scoones. For assistance with The Ice Warriors article, thanks to Paul Ebbs, Trevor Gensch, Matthew Henricksen, Graham Howard, David Howe, Dominic Jackson, David May, Rob McDade, Malcolm Morris, Michael Palmer, Jon Preddle, Steve Roberts, Paul Vanezis and Stephen James Walker.
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:
