Long-Lost Doctor Who Episodes Found, But Owners May Not Turn Them Over For Fear Of Prosecution By BBC
Long-lost Doctor Who episodes have finally been found, but the owners may not turn them over because they fear being prosecuted by the BBC.
Two classic Doctor Who episodes have been found, but they may never reach the public. The hunt for the long-lost episodes has been ongoing since the BBC purged their copies of many episodes from the William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, and Jon Pertwee eras. There has been an ongoing effort to recreate the episodes through animated reconstructions, but some secret recordings have been discovered over the years.
Just a few weeks before the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary specials, The Guardian has revealed that two more lost episodes have been found. The episodes, which both feature Hartnell as the Doctor, have been lost for decades. While other episodes have been given to the BBC for distribution, the owners of these recordings, who have not revealed their names, will not be distributing them. As former BBC employees, they fear that they could face prosecution from the BBC for stealing the episodes.
How Many Lost Doctor Who Episodes Are There?
In the first six years of the show’s history, there were 253 episodes produced and released. Unfortunately, 97 of them are still missing. These new discoveries would bring the total down to 95, but only if the BBC offers the proper assurances to the owners. The recovered episodes would be another step toward reviving the lost history of Doctor Who.
The original episodes were divided into serials, rather than the single-episode format of the modern era. A string of episodes be referred to as a serial, and many of these serials are incomplete. Some missing footage is in the middle of a batch, and some entire serials, including “Marco Polo”, have been completely lost. Even “The Celestial Toymaker”, a serial revolving around a returning 60th Anniversary Doctor Who villain, is missing three episodes.
Doctor Who is not the only show missing episodes, as the BBC’s policy was to erase unnecessary archival footage until as late as 1978.
The scripts themselves still exist and are in the BBC’s possession, but the footage has been fully purged from the BBC archives. The scripts existing allows for animated reconstructions, but it means that viewers are unable to fully appreciate the original vision of its creators. If the BBC chooses to promise to protect collectors from prosecution, more Doctor Who lost episodes could soon be revealed.