The stash of recently discovered Doctor Who episodes includes a fan favorite “Web of Fear” and more. Fans can download the discoveries right now!
According to the BBC press release:
…a stash of BBC master tapes from the 1960s featuring missing episodes of Doctor Who has been recovered in Nigeria, Africa. The BBC has re-mastered the tapes, and is making two stories, The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear, now available exclusively on iTunes (www.itunes.com/DoctorWho).
Eleven Doctor Who episodes were discovered (nine of which have not been seen for 46 years) by Philip Morris, director of Television International Enterprises Archive, by tracking records of tape shipments made by the BBC to Africa for transmission. Morris says, “The tapes had been left gathering dust in a store room at a television relay station in Nigeria. I remember wiping the dust off the masking tape on the canisters and my heart missed a beat as I saw the words ‘Doctor Who’. When I read the story code I realized I’d found something pretty special.”
The first recovered story, The Enemy of the World, is a six-episode tale which first aired on the BBC in December 1967. The story features Patrick Troughton as both the Second Doctor and his antagonist (Ramon Salamander), alongside companions Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Victoria (Deborah Watling). Episodes 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 had previously been missing from the BBC Archives, and were returned by Morris.
Also recovered is the 1968 six-episode story, The Web of Fear. Also starring Patrick Troughton alongside Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling the story introduces Nicholas Courtney for the first time as Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart (who later returns as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart). Episodes 2-6 were feared lost, but now episodes 2, 4, 5, and 6 have been recovered. With episode 3 still missing, the restoration team has reconstructed this part of the story using a selection of the 37 images that were still available from the episode along with the original audio, which has been restored.
Fans of the reboot era of Doctor Who may remember Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (A.K.A. The Brig) from his appearance in The Sarah Jane Adventures. Sadly, The Brig never appeared on reboot Doctor Who, though his character was referenced several times by both the 10th and 11th Doctor.
Fans may remember the scene where the 11th Doctor went to visit the Brig after the episode The Wedding of River Song, only to discover that his old friend had passed away. Nicholas Courtney, who played the Brig, passed away in 2011 around the same time as Elisabeth Sladen who played companion Sarah Jane Smith.
