Classic ‘Doctor Who’ and Measuring Expectations Over Lost Episodes
An enormous number of 1960s Classic Doctor Who is missing. Is it possible that some of it is in private collections? Yes. But…
In most respects, it’s a lovely time to be a fan of Doctor Who. There are three specials airing in November which star David Tennant and Catherine Tate to commemorate the show’s 60th anniversary. There’s also a Christmas special coming this year as well starring new Doctor Ncuti Gatwa and new companion Millie Gibson. And returning showrunner Russell T Davies has plans in his head for seasons upon seasons to come.
And it’s a lovely time for classic Doctor Who fans as well. BBC iPlayer now has (almost) every available episode of the original series streaming. And several of those episodes feature segments of Tales of the TARDIS where classic Who companions return as their characters to discuss their time with the Doctor.
Maybe the loveliest of all is that fans of the modern series are now checking out classic Doctor Who—and finding out that they love it! That’s wonderful. However, they are also learning that much of the 1960s era of Who is missing, at least to the BBC. And that also means a whole new group of people are learning about how sometimes lost episodes get found with film collectors.
Recently there have been some rumors about more classic Who getting recovered. The information is not accurate. So, for people new to the “where are the classic episodes” game, let’s talk about what’s actually happening and how much hope to have that more classic episodes will surface one day.
Courtesy of BBC Worldwide
Missing Classic Doctor Who Episodes—A Preamble
“Why are there missing classic Doctor Who episodes” you may ask. There are a few reasons. But essentially due to lack of space, a limited amount of film material, and licensing issues, a number of Doctor Who episodes are gone. Specifically, these episodes were taped over or thrown away. Television is very ephemeral, even now, and people didn’t think Doctor Who (and indeed loads of older shows) would be missed. Obviously, that is not the case.
The good news is that, over the years, some episodes do turn up. Doctor Who is extremely popular worldwide now. And that’s true of the classic series as well. Public broadcast channels all over the world broadcast the old show throughout the ’70s and ’80s especially. And that means that overseas broadcasters, in some cases, still have episodes in their libraries.
And then there’s collectors. There are a lot of people globally who archive film materials like Super 8, 16 millimeter and 35 millimeter. Occasionally an episode of Doctor Who turns up with collectors.
Right now people are hoping that more lost episodes are with collectors. And they want those collectors to relinquish what they have. There’s a recent article from The Observer that suggests that lost episodes are out there. More than that the suggestion is that a collector is holding episodes ransom. And since the story is now everywhere, it’s important to provide context and a hearty dose of reality.
Courtesy of BBC Worldwide
Collectors, Missing Episodes, and the Latest Story
The most recent missing classic Doctor Who stories recovered come courtesy of the Nigerian Television Authority. These episodes made their way back to the BBC in 2013. The last retrieval of lost episodes from a private collection dates back to 2011. In other words, it’s been a while.
There are rumors of two individual episodes (each from a different serial) out there which come courtesy of BBC producer and director Paul Vanezis. These are, however, old rumors. In a recent interview with the Observer, film collector and curator of Film is Fabulous! John Franklin reiterated this rumor. And while Franklin has gone on record that his intention was to speak on the importance of film preservation, the Doctor Who aspect has taken over.
One rumor seems to suggest that these missing classic episodes involve famous Who villains the Daleks. However, there is no basis for this rumor. The producer and host of “Doctor Who: The Missing Episodes Podcast” took to Twitter recently with official statements from John Franklin with assurances that it is unknown what these hypothetical lost episodes contain, Daleks or not.
But the elephant in the room involves collectors themselves. Why, if there are lost episodes out there, won’t collectors hand them over? And to understand that you have to cast your eyes beyond just Doctor Who. The mistake in all of this is focusing on this one series.
Courtesy of BBC Worldwide
Collecting Film and Television
The last decade has been really interesting for film collection. And that’s because of boutique companies who find film elements for rare movies and TV, restore them, obtain licenses, and then make those rare, oft-forgotten bits of cinema available to buy.
Here’s a bit of anecdotal information you may not know: a lot of these companies have film materials they don’t have licenses for. They may not even know who owns the license. Or, they may know exactly who owns the license and hold the film material hostage because they want to be the ones to release it. It’s technically not illegal to own that stuff, but it is a little cloak and dagger. And in this case, we’re speaking of companies with owners and employees.
Most collectors don’t run boutique companies nor do they seek to turn a profit. Film collection and preservation for many is something people do because they feel nostalgia for certain kinds of stories or even just certain kinds of imagery. And oftentimes in order to find those stories and images, collectors will collect en masse. It’s not uncommon for collectors to not even know what they have.
Leave Doctor Who aside for a moment and ask: what happens if a collector dies? What happens to the films they collect? The sad truth is that films and TV episodes can be truly lost. So why might a collector be hesitant to hand things over?
Courtesy of BBC Worldwide
Classic Doctor Who and Why Missing Film is Found
Let’s say you are collecting film and TV and you come upon some cans of 16 or 35 millimeter film. And let’s say those canisters contain something like Doctor Who. How do you suppose that film made its way into your hands?
The common misunderstanding is that someone stole them. However, the far more likely truth is that those film materials were marked for destruction. There are people who work for the companies who decide to destroy film who turn around and either keep it instead or inform collectors where the film has been trashed.
There’s some paranoia about, in the case of BBC television, having to answer the question: where did you get this from? And that makes some collectors anxious. There’s also anxiety over whether or not film materials will be returned after they are digitized. On the flip side, there are also people on the studio/corporation side who may believe collectors are pirates looking to turn a profit through the illegal reproduction of film and TV within their collection.
In short, while collectors should be the best friends of someone like the BBC in theory, that may not be the case in practice. And considering there’s a New York Post article on this subject with the headline “Amateur sleuths find lost ‘Doctor Who’ episodes—and refuse to hand them over” who can blame them? People are missing the forest for the trees. If we want to see these hypothetical lost episodes, this is definitively not the way to make that happen.
If you want to hear more on this topic, check out the “Doctor Who: The Missing Episodes Podcast” episode on the subject.
