Long Lost Doctor Who Story Power of the Daleks To Be Released As An Animation

Power of the Daleks the long lost Patrick Troughton debut story will finally get a DVD release but not in the way most fans have expected.  All six episodes will be released as an animation release exclusively on the BBC Store on Saturday the 5th of November which is the 50th anniversary of Power of the Daleks and Patrick Troughton's first episode.


Power of the Daleks does not have any surviving episodes in the BBC Archives as it was junked back in the 70's during the time most of the classic BBC shows were destroyed.  But the soundtrack and lots of telesnaps do survive and that is what helped the animators create this special release.  With this special animated release it is probably a certain that Power of the Daleks will not be found but at least the BBC did give us this special release.  The special release will be availble exclusively from the BBC store from November 5th to November 14th and then will see a DVD release on the 21st of November. Below is the official press release from the BBC and BBC Worldwide.

It's one of the Doctor’s most celebrated adventures and yet no complete film recordings of The Power of the Daleks are known to have survived. The master negatives were destroyed in an archive purge in 1974. 

BBC Worldwide has announced that a brand new black and white animation based on audio recordings of the programme using the original cast, surviving photographs and film clips will be released 50 years to the minute after its only UK broadcast on BBC One.

The six half hour episodes feature the regeneration, or as it was then called ‘renewal’, of First Doctor William Hartnell into Second Doctor Patrick Troughton, as the Time Lord and his companions Polly (Anneke Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze) do battle with the Daleks on the planet Vulcan.

Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks is being produced by the team behind the highly successful animation of lost Dad’s Army episode A Stripe For Frazer, first released on BBC Store in February this year. The producer and director is Charles Norton, with character designs from acclaimed comic book artists Martin Geraghty and Adrian Salmon.

Charles Norton says:
The Power of the Daleks animation is the most ambitious Doctor Who archive restoration ever attempted and we’re all very honoured to be a part of such a an exciting project. Intelligent, suspenseful and magnificently staged, Power of the Daleks is one of the great lost classics of 1960s television and a superb example of the black and white era at its finest.

Paul Hembury, Executive Producer, BBC Worldwide says:
Charles and his team are remarkably talented and passionate about Doctor Who and we are thrilled that fans will soon be able to enjoy this rather sinister but wonderful, classic story.