Tuesday 8 October 2013

More on those Missing Episode Rumours

"They...... shall not return"

Cyberleader Krang's prediction in Tenth Planet may seem a little off by the end of this week.

When I last wrote I last wrote on the subject of the missing episodes the estimate I came up with was that 45 episodes could possibly reside in the vaults of various television companies. Since then something has happened for me to raise that estimate upwards by 22 episodes.

It was believed that the TV Station film archive was destroyed in Sierra Leona during the war. Recent research indicates it wasn't - though where I saw the information no longer contains the posts it once did. However a Radio Times website article from June 19th specifically mentions that Missing Episodes hunter Phil Morris (who appears on the commentary for episode 5 of The Reign of Terror DVD talking about his work) has been working in that country.

So if we include the prints sold to Sierra Leone that are now thought not to have been destroyed in our list of potential missing episode returns we get this:

FIRST DOCTOR
STORY COUNTRY EPISODES EPISODE COUNT
Marco Polo Ethiopia
Jamaica
Malta
Thailand
Mauritus
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 7
The Reign of Terror Gibraltar
Ethiopia
Jamaica
Malta
Thailand
Aden
Trinidad & Tobago
Rhodesia
4, 5 2
The Crusade Gibraltar
Ethiopia
Jamaica
2, 4 2
Galaxy 4 Sierra Leone 1, 3, 4 3
Myth Makers Sierra Leone 1, 2, 3, 4 4
The Masacre Sierra Leone 1, 2, 3, 4 4
Celestial Toymaker Sierra Leone 1, 2, 3 3
The Savages Sierra Leone 1, 2, 3, 4 4
The Smugglers Sierra Leone 1, 2, 3, 4 4
FIRST DOCTOR TOTAL 33
SECOND DOCTOR
STORY COUNTRY EPISODES EPISODE COUNT
The Abominable Snowmen Gibraltar
Nigeria
1, 3, 4, 5, 6 5
The Ice Warriors Gibraltar 2, 3 2
The Enemy of the World Gibraltar
Nigeria
1, 2, 4, 5, 6 5
The Web of Fear Gibraltar
Nigeria
2, 3, 4, 5, 6 5
Fury from the Deep Gibraltar 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 6
The Wheel in Space Gibraltar
Nigeria
1, 2, 4, 5 4
The Invasion Gibraltar 1, 4 2
The Space Pirates Gibraltar 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 5
SECOND DOCTOR TOTAL 34
GRAND TOTAL 67
67 episodes potentially existing making up the bulk of what's missing in seasons 3, 5 & 6. That's quite a bit closer to the number 90 being quoted in earlier rumours. And if, maybe, a few other things have been found from other sources......

Meanwhile our old friend Bleeding Cool has kept the story rumbling in the background:

Those Doctor Who Missing Episodes Rumours Take A Licking But Keep On Ticking
Dad's Army - The Smoking Gun For Doctor Who Missing Episodes?
Two Views On The Doctor Who Missing Episodes
Seems Like The BBC Just Scheduled A Missing Episode Of... Dad's Army?
The Dad's Army episodes would seem to indicate that whatever's been found is part of a wider haul. Indeed a rumour a year or so back was that 6000 cans of material had been shipped to someone in Liverpool.

Then a story, that had started in fan circles and run on niche websites suddenly got mainstream media attention over then weekend and everything went Radio Rental

The Sunday People Splashes On The Doctor Who Missing Episodes Omnirumor
How Rumourmongering Works: The Doctor Who Missing Episodes Story, Complete With Sky News Video
Doctor Who Missing Episodes - Available This Week
Doctor Who Missing Episode Release "Delayed A Couple Of Days"?
This last linked story dashed people's hopes a bit but actually there's a good reason for delaying from today: The BBC Director General Tony Hall has made a speech on the future direction of the corporation and the BFI is hosting Missing, Believed Wiped: By Popular Demand, an event showcasing recovered material. Not clashing with either of these is a good idea.

But as things stand an announcement is due Thursday....... But, as I said, Missing Believed Wiped is on tonight and DW returns have been announced at Missing Believed Wiped before.

Now I could be naughty and speculate that an announcement is necessary this week because The Tenth Planet is due out on DVD next Monday. The Tenth Planet, famously, has it's final episode missing..........

1 comment:

  1. And now the BBC finally comments:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24448063

    ReplyDelete