We're in for a treat - Doctor Who lost episodes

[Ryujin]

Seems it's only two episodes, but they're episodes of the original doctor that have only ever been seen in the UK before.

Lost Doctor Who and the Daleks episodes discovered in 'ramshackle' collection

The Doctor's assistant Peter Purves was invited to a screening of the episodes in Leicester.

www.bbc.com

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Wooohoooo!

 

[Aeson]

he said: "My flabber has never been so gasted."

 

[wicked cool]

So would love to know more details on the mystery collector. The whole story seems bizarre. Why wouldn’t you share these missing episodes and how did they get them

 

[Ryujin]

So would love to know more details on the mystery collector. The whole story seems bizarre. Why wouldn’t you share these missing episodes and how did they get them

They could be from almost anywhere. I seem to recall that some episodes were found in African TV station archives, some years back. BBC would routinely purge their stores of stuff they didn't think was important and "childrens' programming" fell into that category. This early stuff was filmed but later they used magnetic tape, which they recorded over, for the same reason.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

The BBC was not alone in this attitude of purging stuff. And that makes me cross.
I get it, back then video tape was expensive. And storing it was even more expensive. But, grrrr!

On a related note, about 25 years back I worked at an editing place in London, and I got to do the preservation of some previously lost episodes of the second doctor, Patrick Troughton, and the Cybermen. Went from 1" to digibeta, IIRC.

 

[Ryujin]

The BBC was not alone in this attitude of purging stuff. And that makes me cross.
I get it, back then video tape was expensive. And storing it was even more expensive. But, grrrr!

On a related note, about 25 years back I worked at an editing place in London, and I got to do the preservation of some previously lost episodes of the second doctor, Patrick Troughton, and the Cybermen. Went from 1" to digibeta, IIRC.

It's sad that they could only recover audio of some of the Troughton episodes. The animated replacement for the video is less than idea. The emotion is lost and there are far too many pregnant pauses, that likely originally had some physical activity in them.

 

[Zardnaar]

So would love to know more details on the mystery collector. The whole story seems bizarre. Why wouldn’t you share these missing episodes and how did they get them

Some people recorded them off the TV and they still exist.

Or they find old film on a warehouse people forgot about. Or back in the day ABC was supposed to throw something out or took it home instead.

Lost in an archive outside the UK as well. Put in a wrong tin and labeled incorrectly.

 

[Morrus]

Some people recorded them off the TV and they still exist.

I assure you that nobody recorded them off the TV in the 1960s.

All these lost episodes predate VCRs. They're usually film reels, physically sent to partner broadcasters overseas, then forgotten about in a basement, not videocassettes. Once VCRs came in, there's suddenly no lost episodes, for obvious reasons.

 

[Zardnaar]

I assure you that nobody recorded them off the TV in the 1960s.

All these lost episodes predate VCRs. They're usually film reels, physically sent to partner broadcasters overseas, then forgotten about in a basement, not videocassettes. Once VCRs came in, there's suddenly no lost episodes, for obvious reasons.

Maybe not doctor who. Other shows have had it hapoen apparently.

Also some older stuff did get broadcast later in other countries and was recorded. Maybe not Doctor Who specifically.

"Lost" films way more likely. They found two tins for lost episodes here fim was missing though.

1980s everything was government owned. Everyone stole from their workplace back then (wifes work "lost" a train car of booze years ago). Railways "lost" 3 train carriages.

So it's not impossible someone stole the film and recorded it. I watched movies at a theater in 1980s as a kid that never got official theatrical release apparently.

I dont know when the last known broadcasts of some lost episodes were worldwide. Thats why I mentioned it.

First home recorders were 1965 and more common 1971. Just saying. Its very very unlikely.

U-matic - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Wouldn't hold my breath but not impossible.