The hoopla of the press event is over
and after hours of a BBC imposed press embargo, the word is out –
Missing Doctor Who Episodes were found!!!
The news is that the 5 missing episodes
from “The Enemy of the World” and 4 episodes of “The Web of
Fear” were returned to the BBC. Both stories already had one
episode each and so the 6 part “The Enemy of the World” is now
complete and “The Web of Fear” is now missing only one episode.
Both stories are now available online through Itunes. No word yet on
a DVD release.
In the 70's, the BBC junked the
majority of their video taped catalog including most of the first 6
seasons of Doctor Who. Many had been returned with the work
of fan Ian Levine but over 100 were still lost, until now.
Philip Morris, Episode Hunter as some
call him is executive director of the Television International
Enterprises Archive and had been hunting for episodes for years by
tracking shipping records from the BBC when they sent films copies of
the Doctor Who episodes to foreign countries. The trail led
him to Nigeria where he found the films covered in dust. The quality
of the film was excellent.
The press conference included viewings
of one episode from each story and had Deborah Watling (Victoria) and
Fraser Hines (Jamie) in attendance.
Patrick Troughton starred as the Doctor
for both of these stories. Companions Victoria and Jamie were also
in those two stories which aired back to back with “The Enemy of
the World” ending on a cliffhanger that leads right into “The Web
of Fear.”
“The Enemy of the World” is a story
that pits the Doctor against the evil Salamander (played by Patrick
Troughton in a duel role), who looks just like the Doctor. “The
Web of Fear” is a sequel to “The Abominable Snowmen” from a few
stories earlier. Not only do the Yeti and Great Intelligence appear
in “The Web of Fear” but it is the first appearance by Lethbridge
Stewart (Nicholas Courtney).
This brings the total missing episode
count down to 97 but there may be more to come. Rumors for the past
few months have stated larger numbers but press at the press
conference event seemed to get the impression that there may be more
episodes on their way back.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24467337
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24467337
ITunes Download
