More Doctor Who found brackets question mark.

[Brendocon]

So, notoriously reliable UK tabloid "The [Daily] Mirror" have run a story reporting that the BBC will be announcing the discovery of more "missing" Doctor Who episodes tomorrow.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/long ... ed-2345526

Choice quotes from the article include the phrase "the Beeb flogged off a load of old footage and wiped copies or lost them" so we know we're dealing with a watertight piece of journalism.

Let's read on!

Rumours that up to 100 old episodes have been recovered have circulated for months.

In June it was claimed a company called Television International Enterprises Archives had found up to 90 episodes in Sierra Leone.

Meanwhile this weekend the Sunday People reported the episodes had been unearthed at the Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency.

A BBC spokesman played down the reports that more than 100 of the old episodes had been found.

However, when asked if there were some episodes to announce this week, he admitted: “There is a connection.”

So from this we know with absolute certainty that some people think that somewhere between one and ninety episodes have been discovered.

The article then goes on to remind us that the Mirror itself ran a story guessing that Matt Smith would leave at the end of the year, despite the fact that his tenure on the series was about at the average length for an actor in the role to move on. Therefore they are almost certainly right that fewer than 100 episodes will be unveiled tomorrow.

The recovered episodes from the 60s could include much-loved scenes from The Crusade, The Enemy of the World and The Ice Warriors series.

They could include scenes from a handful of serials the journalist has just looked up the names of. The scenes in question are "much-loved" despite not having been seen by anybody born after 1965.

JOURNALISM.

[in less sarcastic news OMGOMGOMFGFGMGSJSALSNSBALBALBFSKBSKVSSNHHHHHHH]

[Best First]

JOURNALISM!!!! is amazing isn't it?

[bumblemusprime]

This is all over the less reliable side of the Internet.

Did you know that a Pastor found the Biblical Money Code too? The Beeb flogged it off!

[inflatable dalek]

*Pops In*

Official BBC announcement of the announcement:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24448063

Deborah Watling has confirmed on her website that she and Fraser Hines will be taking part in the press conference thing, and it's looking to be almost certain Enemy of the World and (possibly still missing episode 3) The Web of Fear will be on Itunes by Friday, with strong possibilities of more to follow (Marco Polo has been with those two stories at the core of the rumour since it kicked off as well, considering it's the only 60's Who story to have been brought by every single country that broadcast the B&W episodes it's almost perverse not even one episode has turned up before).

Or it's all a blind and the press conference is really to announce a special 20th anniversary DVD of Dimensions in Time.

It's fair to say my Aunt is well and truly giddy. I'm actually holding off on starting Enemy in my Who rewatch just in case. Incidentally, forget the cheerful clown of his colour comebacks, I don't think it had ever sunk in so much before doing so many of the recons in a row the extent to which Troughton's Doctor is a complete and utter mad bastard. To the point the 6th in the Twin Dilemma looks like Peter Davison in comparison.

[Brendocon]

I hope it's Mission to the Unknown.

Just to see if the BBC have the stones to do a single episode DVD release.

[Professor Smooth]

I know precisely nothing about Dr. Who. Which makes every bit of news about a new storyline, or missing episodes, or John Hurt, or literally anything Rich Johnston says between the hours of 4 and 5 seem oddly surreal.

[inflatable dalek]

So, Enemy of the World and everything Web of Fear bar episode three. Bloody awesome. With all the conspiracy theories that have been going around all year people have been deconstructing every single line of the press conference ("The episodes we are announcing today...") to look for signs they'll be more to come as and when they're ready for release, but if this is it, that's still bloody good.

So we've got the single biggest haul of lost episodes since 1978 (the first year the Beeb actually went out looking for what they'd destroyed), more episodes found than have been discovered in the last 25 years combined, less than a 100 missing for the first time ever and we now have more than half the Troughton's back. Hell yeah.

I'm going to go give Itunes a go now (mainly so I can carry on with my rewatch, otherwise I'd wait for disc), but the DVD of Enemy is out on 22nd November, whilst Web will be early next year. No word on how the missing episode will be handled for that, but the Itunes version has a telesnaps reconstruction (I'm going to guess animation for DVD because otherwise that would have been the more obvious choice out of the two to do as the anniversary release).

Both have a new, rather funky cover design, though the spines will match and presumably the reverse covers will keep the grey roundels, two discs as well so the part of the rumours that all the documentaries and commentaries were already done turned out to be true as well.

It's actually impressive they've managed to put out a surprise DVD as there are people who go through every part of the BBFC website looking for classifications like a Transformers fan going through barcodes in a store catalogue. I don't know if they've snuck it in under another name (would the BBFC let you do that?) or are just leaving it much closer to release than normal, but that's a pretty cool thing to have managed.

Web of Fear trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPm6zcy_6j0

My mother actually pissed herself laughing watching that ("That's a yeti?!", mind, she did get excited when the [s]Brigadier[/s] Colonel turned up) but I think it actually looks pretty good, those shots of the Yeti on the street should be terrible but they're nicely batshit insane instead.

Enemy of the World trailer:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kgd8sNJhmU

Slightly duller as you'd expect from Enemy, but it's probably not helped by trying as hard as possible to include the bare minimum of the main source of entertainment, Salamander's accent. The shot of Trought looking into Trought's eyes is impressive in a "I didn't think Doctor Who would manage that" way.

At least being B&W, Letts can't have snuck any CSO into it...

[Brendocon]

NINE.

THE [DAILY] MIRROR PROMISED ME NINETY IN A VAGUE AND NON-COMMITTAL MANNER.

I AM OUTRAGED AND APPALLED AND WILL BE COMPLAINING LOUDLY ON THE INTERNET ABOUT THIS.

Or alternatively "yay nine more".

[inflatable dalek]

The Mirror was the one that promised all 106 wasn't it? And coming from Ethiopia rather than Nigeria. Comedy ineptitude.

Though at least the fact these turned up in a place that apparently they shouldn't have been gives hope that anything can turn up anywhere.

One sad fact I learnt during all this is that Sierra Leone had a whole heap of missing series 3 Hartnell's right up to the turn of the century before the TV station was blown up. As they were (illicitly) broadcasting what episodes they had during a repeat run in the 1980's it's almost certain that the likes of Galaxy 4 were being seen by viewers who had no idea the rest of the world was missing them. Whether or not having Galaxy 4 inflicted on them led to the civil war that ended up destroying the TV station is harder to say.

[spiderfrommars]

Nine discovered episodes is AMAZING. That's more Doctor Who episodes than have been shown so far in 2013 I might add.

I'm thinking of waiting for the DVDs but do let is know what they are like ID. I'm hoping Enemy will be very awesome, despite the fact that I've not heard it described as that ever.

[inflatable dalek]

I found my first use of Itunes fairly annoying, so as far as any future finds go I'll be happy to wait for the DVD's.

Web is great fun, atmospheric, scary, a bit stupid in places (though oddly the Intelligence giving the Doctor tweny minutes to surrender actually fits with the Richard E. Grant version, it's just a great big space dick) but Doug Camfield's direction overcomes all flaws. The Yeti in Covent Garden should look really stupid but instead come over as batshit insane, in a good way.

Also, Unit dating is firmly solved by posters for 1967 films in the Underground as well. The Brig/Colonel comes over very differently to how he does in the audio as well, when you can't see the battle and can only hear his breakdown afterwards you assume he's not the brave bold soldier he'll become, but instead he's actually very credible during the big fight.

Enemy is greatly elevated by being able to see it, you've got some great direction (probably Letts best for the show), and being able to see Trought in action means you get all the visual nuances he adds that elevates even the most mundane of lines.

With all we can now see of series 5, I have to say Tomb of the Cybermen is really badly made compared to its stablemates (with the possible exception of Wheel, as I've not got as far as its two episodes yet).

[Brendocon]

Given the fantastic animation work on Tenth Planet 4 (and all the other animated episodes), it sort of makes it a shame when episodes are found.

I know that the live action version, if it ever turns up, will never look as polished and professional as this.

[saysadie]

One sad fact I learnt during all this is that Sierra Leone had a whole heap of missing series 3 Hartnell's right up to the turn of the century before the TV station was blown up. As they were (illicitly) broadcasting what episodes they had during a repeat run in the 1980's it's almost certain that the likes of Galaxy 4 were being seen by viewers who had no idea the rest of the world was missing them.

I just read this and NOW I'M SAD.

[Bring back the First Doctor!]

[inflatable dalek]

There's a lovely interview with him on the Tenth Planet DVD, the only visual one known to exist. It's lovely in that in emphasises exactly how much the Doctor was a performance rather than a dodgery old man meandering around the set but (he doesn't feel especially first Doctor-ey at all) at the same time he's exactly as grumpy as you'd want him to be. In a three minute interview he spends a third of it slagging off the Daleks and the rest talking about how much he hates pantomime and how he isn't a pantomime actor.

In a puff piece to promote his appearance in pantomime. It's awesome.