Doctor Who Restoration
The Doctor Who series went through a purge at the BBC vaults during the 1970s. These episodes took up too much space on the shelves. So what did the BBC do? Purge the shows to make more room.
So who suffers the most from such a blatant move? The episodes from the Doctor Who series from 1963 to 1969. Mainly the B&W era. Nearly a hundred 25-minute segments were lost during the purge. Damned to oblivion, never to return to their former glory.
The purge. It sounds like a force to be reckon with. It is a source of brutality of art. The most heartless, incessant maneuver ever devised at the BBC archives. For what?
For newer viewers, there’s no way of viewing the episodes that were originally broadcast before they were born. For older viewers, their cherished memories of the series are forever lost in a sudden, reckless swipe.
Idiots, idiots, idiots. They should never be forgiven for this. But they are making up for it. Sort of. There’s a recent answer to rectifying the problem.
What if there’s some way to fill in the gap and make the entire show whole again? There are ways to do this now due to newer technology. And Cosgrove Hall, an animation company, pose this question for a long time.
And they may have found the closest way of reviving the episodes from the limbo once again. Building it all from scratch. Cosgrove Hall and the BBC worked together to bring forth an eight part serial called “The Invasion” first shown in 1968. It was recently released on DVD in mid-November.
But parts one and four are missing. So what happened? Cosgrove Hall decided to animate the episodes by using old soundtracks with the original voices on it.
What comes out is an interesting conglomeration between animated episodes and those that survived in 1968. It’s a brilliant move… and the BBC should be thanked for making such a bold move. Besides, it was the BBC who lost the shows during the mighty purge anyway. What were the dorks of BBC thinking anyway?
The results are a clever mix. You finally get to see what happened in parts 1 and 4. The bridges lost in the original run are finally brought together in a whole. The animation is a work of art using a trick called flash frames. Basically it is using 25 frames per second, looking more like a cartoon series.
The characters are photogenic. The movements are fluid, very smooth, and it’s a wonder to see what happened during the Bermuda Triangle of episodes. No longer are they missing. They have been recreated through animation and original soundtrack. It's great stuff.
Patrick Troughton played the Doctor from 1966 to 1969, an era which offered a sort of monster mash, Created from scratch were a horde of new, popular creatures such as the Yeti and the Ice Warriors. A wonderful era that went for atmosphere and mood, hardly tainted by the B&W images that seemed to augment the horror elements. And returning villains such as the Cybermen were always back to menace the Doctor. There was a sense of mystery Troughton always played on.
The Cybermen are the centerpiece villains for the “Invasion” episode brought to life. In perfect timing too. Considering their return to the new Doctor Who series this year at the BBC.
“The Invasion” remains a very stoic piece of filmmaking, very frantic pacing, with a powerful storytelling about humanity vs. machine. Several great performances including the crudley-faced oddball Kevin Stoney and Nicholas Courtney making his second appearance as the much beloved Brigadier Leghbridge-Stewart.
Troughton was the perfect choice for the restoration of lost episodes of Doctor Who. Of the earlier shows, his era suffered the most from the sudden purge. Nearly two-thirds of his series had been struck down. There’s a kind of sadness for those who had never seen his episodes. But this might be changing. It will depend on how well received “Invasion” is on DVD.
So what about the number of episodes lost during Troughton era? Will we get to see those as well?
Only time will tell.
So who suffers the most from such a blatant move? The episodes from the Doctor Who series from 1963 to 1969. Mainly the B&W era. Nearly a hundred 25-minute segments were lost during the purge. Damned to oblivion, never to return to their former glory.
The purge. It sounds like a force to be reckon with. It is a source of brutality of art. The most heartless, incessant maneuver ever devised at the BBC archives. For what?
For newer viewers, there’s no way of viewing the episodes that were originally broadcast before they were born. For older viewers, their cherished memories of the series are forever lost in a sudden, reckless swipe.
Idiots, idiots, idiots. They should never be forgiven for this. But they are making up for it. Sort of. There’s a recent answer to rectifying the problem.
What if there’s some way to fill in the gap and make the entire show whole again? There are ways to do this now due to newer technology. And Cosgrove Hall, an animation company, pose this question for a long time.
And they may have found the closest way of reviving the episodes from the limbo once again. Building it all from scratch. Cosgrove Hall and the BBC worked together to bring forth an eight part serial called “The Invasion” first shown in 1968. It was recently released on DVD in mid-November.
But parts one and four are missing. So what happened? Cosgrove Hall decided to animate the episodes by using old soundtracks with the original voices on it.
What comes out is an interesting conglomeration between animated episodes and those that survived in 1968. It’s a brilliant move… and the BBC should be thanked for making such a bold move. Besides, it was the BBC who lost the shows during the mighty purge anyway. What were the dorks of BBC thinking anyway?
The results are a clever mix. You finally get to see what happened in parts 1 and 4. The bridges lost in the original run are finally brought together in a whole. The animation is a work of art using a trick called flash frames. Basically it is using 25 frames per second, looking more like a cartoon series.
The characters are photogenic. The movements are fluid, very smooth, and it’s a wonder to see what happened during the Bermuda Triangle of episodes. No longer are they missing. They have been recreated through animation and original soundtrack. It's great stuff.
Patrick Troughton played the Doctor from 1966 to 1969, an era which offered a sort of monster mash, Created from scratch were a horde of new, popular creatures such as the Yeti and the Ice Warriors. A wonderful era that went for atmosphere and mood, hardly tainted by the B&W images that seemed to augment the horror elements. And returning villains such as the Cybermen were always back to menace the Doctor. There was a sense of mystery Troughton always played on.
The Cybermen are the centerpiece villains for the “Invasion” episode brought to life. In perfect timing too. Considering their return to the new Doctor Who series this year at the BBC.
“The Invasion” remains a very stoic piece of filmmaking, very frantic pacing, with a powerful storytelling about humanity vs. machine. Several great performances including the crudley-faced oddball Kevin Stoney and Nicholas Courtney making his second appearance as the much beloved Brigadier Leghbridge-Stewart.
Troughton was the perfect choice for the restoration of lost episodes of Doctor Who. Of the earlier shows, his era suffered the most from the sudden purge. Nearly two-thirds of his series had been struck down. There’s a kind of sadness for those who had never seen his episodes. But this might be changing. It will depend on how well received “Invasion” is on DVD.
So what about the number of episodes lost during Troughton era? Will we get to see those as well?
Only time will tell.
posted by K.M. Paters at 11:10 AM
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