What Other Missing Shows Could Be Found? Part One

By Ken Parker

Wendy wants to find more missing episodes!

With rumors of missing Doctor Who episodes found, numbers ranging from 11 to 97, one has to wonder what else might have been found.  If we are talking a huge find of thousands of film cans, what other gems could we be looking at soon?  That is a tough question because many older series do not have the popularity like Doctor Who.  Some of these series might not have been sold to that many countries and even if some of this stuff is found, would the money be spent to restore and release these?  In theory, yes.  Beyond some historical gems like the BBC's Apollo 11 coverage and some appearances by The Beatles, there are so many other series that people fondly remembered from that time period.

There are a fair number of sci-fi and fantasy series included in the missing category and it would be great to see these recovered.  What else could be found?  Here is a list of some of the series that I would love to see returned. Some of these I have seen parts of the seasons, the ones that exist.  Others I have just read about and am curious.

Ace of Wands (1970-72)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ace_of_Wands

This precursor to The Tomorrow People is a fantasy series about a magician investigating the supernatural. Made for children, this Thames Television series would no doubt be very inexpensive looking.

What is missing? – all 26 episodes of the first two series. All 20 episodes of Series 3 exists.

There was a DVD release of the existing episodes.

http://mondo-esoterica.net/Ace%20of%20Wands.html

Adam Adamant Lives! (1966-67)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Adamant_Lives!

An adventurer from 1902 wakes up in 1966. This series is perhaps of interest to Doctor Who fans not only because of some similarities with the character but that producers Sydney Newman and Verity Lambert worked on it together after Doctor Who.

What is missing? - All but one of the 16 episodes of series 1 exists but only 2 of the 13 episode series 2 is currently in the archive. The unaired pilot also does not exist.

What exists is out on DVD.

A is For Andromeda (1961)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_for_Andromeda

A radio signal sends instructions on creating a super computer which in turn is used to create a life form, Andromeda (Julie Christie).

What is missing? - Not much of this 7 part serial exists. Part 6 was found in 2005 and clips from other episodes are all that is left.

Remakes were made in 1971 and 2006 (with David Tennant).   

The Avengers (1961)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Avengers_(TV_series)

The first season of this popular series starred Ian Hendry as Dr. Keel and Patrick Macnee as Steed.

What is missing? - All but 2 of its 26 episodes are missing. The first episode only has 22 minutes existing.

http://declassified.theavengers.tv/keel_main.htm

Big Finish is recreating these missing episodes in audio form.

http://www.bigfinish.com/ranges/v/the-avengers

Counterstrike (1969)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterstrike_(1969_TV_series)

An alien living on Earth aims to prevent an alien invasion.

What is missing? - Out of 10 episodes, only the first 4 exist. Of the missing 6, one never aired.

Doomwatch (1970-72)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomwatch

A group of troubleshooters try to prevent ecological disasters.

Gerry Davis and Kit Pedler (Doctor Who) produced this series

What is missing? - of the 3 -13 episode seasons, 14 of them are missing, most from the 3^rd series. The 3^rd series has one episode never produced and one never aired.  

Sources -  

http://www.from-the-archive.co.uk/

http://www.missing-episodes.com/

http://www.lostshows.com/default.aspx?search=