This is not a drill! Two missing Doctor Who episodes have been returned to the BBC – episodes one and three of ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan.’ Could more be on the way?
Let us remember this day. It has been nearly 13 years since we last had a missing Doctor Who episodes announcement, and now we have a double whammy: two instalments from what is widely regarded as the First Doctor’s greatest adventure. The return of ‘The Nightmare Begins’ and ‘Devil’s Planet’ means that fans can now watch the opening quarter of ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan‘ uninterrupted (episode two was recovered in 2004.)
Apparently, these missing Doctor Who episodes were discovered in a “ramshackle” collection belonging to a film collector who had recently passed away. This collection was donated to the charity Film is Fabulous! and the two missing Doctor Who episodes were quickly identified. Apparently, a number of films had suffered from water damage, making the episodes’ survival nothing short of a miracle.
In fact, it’s a miracle that we have anything of ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ at all, let alone five whole episodes (episodes five and ten were, famously, discovered in the basement of a Mormon church back in the 80s.) This Doctor Who story was never sold abroad, and therefore wasn’t widely copied. According to legend, a single set of ‘audition’ prints was sent to Australia, and soon rejected as the story was deemed too violent. The BBC therefore asked for the films be returned to the UK for disposal.
It seems, therefore, that when these missing Doctor Who episodes came back to the BBC, they were ‘purloined’ by curious BBC employees. At least, that’s what happened with episode two. These latest episodes survived because they were ‘cutting copies’ made to check for defects – although nobody quite knows how they ended up with the private collector.
It’s all part of the great paradox when it comes to missing Doctor Who episodes. Logically, ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ should be the rarest and most elusive story – yet we have nearly half of it. In contrast, we should be drowning in copies of the 1964 adventure ‘Marco Polo‘ – perhaps the most widely copied of all – and yet it has vanished without a trace.
That being said, Doctor Who fans have every reason to be optimistic following the latest news. Film is Fabulous! have been working with the estates of several collectors for some time now, and they previously confirmed that they knew the location of “several” missing Doctor Who episodes. And if the latest rumours are to be believed, the discovery of the missing parts of ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ is just the tip of the iceberg – a bonus discovery, if you will, meaning that there could well be more on the way.
So is it possible that we may yet find more of ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan‘? Absolutely. If episodes one and three can turn up after all this time, against all the odds, then all bets are off. Crucially, the fact that these latest missing Doctor Who episodes are ‘cutting copies’ is significant; there is no paper trail for these, meaning that even the most elusive episode of all time, ‘The Feast of Steven,’ could be back on the table.
A more likely contender, though, is episode four (‘The Traitors’) whose disappearance has always been shrouded in mystery. Apparently, the BBC’s sole copy was loaned to the children’s TV show Blue Peter so that they could use a clip in one of their programmes – and it was never returned. Fans have long believed that some sneaky BBC employee decided to keep the film for themselves.
The same is true of ‘The Tenth Planet‘ episode four – perhaps the most sought after of all the missing Doctor Who episodes. This, too, went on loan to Blue Peter and went AWOL soon afterwards which, given its historical significance, is unsurprising; it is the first episode in Doctor Who history to feature a regeneration, and the last to feature the original Doctor William Hartnell. So there is a high possibility that this, too, could have found its way into a private collection.
In addition, it’s important to think about timing. It’s sad to say, but we’re reaching the point where many film collectors of a certain age are starting to pass away, and families are being left with huge film collections that are in danger of being dumped. That is part of the reason why Film is Fabulous! was formed in the first place – to secure these collections before they’re incinerated.
Because, as hard as it may be to believe, many collectors don’t appreciate the significance of their hoards. According to the Doctor Who Missing Episodes Podcast, the owner of ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ prints wasn’t particularly interested in the show, and seemingly had no idea that he had two missing Doctor Who episodes in his possession. Apparently, there’s no evidence that these films were ever screened by the collector, and were seemingly set aside. (He had duplicates other Doctor Who episodes in his archive, too: episodes from ‘The Daleks,’ ‘The Web Planet’ and ‘The Chase.’)
But then there are those collectors (hopefully few and far between) who are very much aware of the importance of their material, and have no intention of sharing their films with the wider world. The missing Doctor Who episodes hunter Philip Morris believes this to be the case with ‘The Web of Fear‘ episode three, which he found at a TV station in Jos only for it to disappear under mysterious circumstances. He believes the film was sold to a private film collector, who retains the episode to this day. ‘The Web of Fear’ episode three is particularly important in the history of Who as it’s the first to feature Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier.
But who knows, maybe the wind will change and we will see more announcements regarding missing Doctor Who episodes soon. In the meantime, rejoice! And look forward to watching the newly-discovered parts of ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ soon: They are coming to BBC iPlayer on the 4th April.
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