The classic Doctor Who story ‘Galaxy 4’ is coming to DVD and Blu-ray in animated form.
First broadcast in 1965, this First Doctor story opened Doctor Who‘s third season, and saw the Doctor, Steven and Vicki exploring a barren alien world which was on the verge of destruction. The trio soon found themselves caught up in a battle between the reptilian Rills and the female Drahvins who, along with their robot servants the Chumblies, planned to steal the Rills’ ship and escape annihilation.
Sadly, ‘Galaxy 4’ has been missing from the BBC archive since 1977, and for many years survived only in the form of audio recordings, a six minute extract, and the complete episode three. However, the BBC has now announced that a fully-animated version of ‘Galaxy 4’ will be coming to DVD and Blu-ray in November 2021. The surviving episode three will also be remade, although the original will also be included on the release, along with the other surviving footage.
Moreover, fans will be treated to a slew of extras including telesnap reconstructions, audio commentaries, a making-of documentary, and a documentary about the discovery of the third episode. In addition, the new ‘Galaxy 4‘ animation will be released as a limited edition steelbook.
And if you’re keen to get an early look at the adventure, BFI Southbank in London is hosting an advance screening of ‘Galaxy 4’ on November 7th, and tickets can be purchased from them directly.
Speaking of the new release, Gary Russell, Executive Producer at Big Finish, said: “After a gap of many years, it is very exciting to bring the era of the First Doctor back into the animation world. ‘Galaxy 4’ is one of the most traditional adventures of 1960s Doctor Who and it’s been a real honour to work on this alternative version which hopefully reflects those technicolour thrills that sci-fi movies of the ’60s had but which Doctor Who’s monochrome TV limitations couldn’t yet achieve.”
This is certainly an exciting time for fans of Doctor Who missing episodes. The new ‘Galaxy 4’ animation is the latest in a series of releases, coming shortly after the ‘Web of Fear‘ episode three animation and ‘The Evil of the Daleks,’ which is due out in September. Other popular stories which are still waiting for the animation treatment are ‘Marco Polo,’ ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan‘ and ‘The Abominable Snowmen,’ among others. It remains to be seen whether these adventures will ever be re-made for DVD.
But why are there so many missing episodes in the first place? Well, the answer is a bit complicated. You can read the full low-down on the situation here.
And whilst it’s unlikely that we will be seeing the original, unanimated version of ‘Galaxy 4’ anytime soon, there is always hope that missing Doctor Who episodes will turn up. In 1998, the BBC famously announced that it was highly unlikely that they would find any more, but at least 13 have come to light since. So you can never say never. Indeed, the third episode of ‘Galaxy 4’ was discovered as recently as 2011.
In the meantime, the animations are a great way to re-experience some lost Doctor Who classics. For more information on ‘Galaxy 4,’ check out our guide to the adventure here.
Will you be purchasing the newly-animated ‘Galaxy 4’? And which other Doctor Who stories would you most like to be re-made? Let me know in the comments below.
‘Galaxy 4’ will be released in the UK on the 15th November 2021.
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Love to see The Daleks Masterplan and The Savages animated. I still would love to see the alternate season 23 animated too, The Nightmare Fair, The Ultimate Evil, and Mission to Magnus.
Ah yes, they’d be great to see! Maybe they will consider animating some of the Big Finish audios one day?