Lost Doctor Who episodes found in 'eclectic' collection

[highplainsdem]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g7kwq1k11o

A cardboard box found in a collector's "ramshackle" collection of vintage films contained two episodes of Doctor Who that have not been viewed since airing in the 1960s.

The episodes feature the first incarnation of the Doctor, played by William Hartnell, tackling a Dalek plan to take over Earth, the solar system and the galaxy in a storyline only ever shown in the UK.

Peter Purves, who played the Doctor's assistant Steven Taylor, was invited to the Phoenix Cinema in Leicester on Wednesday under false pretences to view the two episodes, and he said: "My flabber has never been so gasted."

Restored versions of the episodes will be released on BBC iPlayer this Easter.

-snip-

[Orrex]

1. Long story, bear with me.

Did a job for a customer a few years ago, part of which involved assigning certain smart devices to certain rooms. The customer had called one room The Conservatory, though there were no musical instruments to be seen. However, he had a bunch of Dr. Who memorabilia, like a cardboard cutout of Tom Baker draped in a scarf, a sonic screwdriver, a few models of the TARDIS, etc. I suggested calling it the Doctor Who Room instead.

He wasn't interested. In fact, he was kind of a stick in the mud about it.

I then had to go to a utility room in the basement, but instead I found out why he didn't want to call the room upstairs the Doctor Who Room.

A side room in the basement was fully converted to a TARDIS command center, including a full-size console with working switches, lights, and knobs. I'd guess the whole thing must have cost $50K or so, given the scope.

The utility panel that I needed was behind a sliding wall section--the sections were about two feet wide with large, illuminated, circular cutouts. I guessed wrong with the first section, and instead I found shelves and shelves full of large-format tapes (i.e., bigger than VHS) of Doctor Who episodes. Many dozens, at least.

I've wondered if he has any lost episodes in his collection, but his demeanor prevented me from asking.

[buzzycrumbhunger]

2. Wow!

[highplainsdem]

3. A second Wow! here. Great story! I hope his collection will go to a Doctor Who fan or fans who'll

appreciate it.

[littlemissmartypants]

6. Very cool!

[BootinUp]

4. Awesome. Nt

[Skittles]

5. I watched the original episodes in England

so I likely saw them.....how cool is that

[littlemissmartypants]

7. See number 6. 🤓😎

[dickthegrouch]

8. I watched the very first episode back in 1962

I wasn’t allowed to watch for the rest of the season; I was so badly scared by the monster that I didn’t sleep for multiple days. (I was ~7yo).
I’ve been a lifelong Sci-Fi fan though.

[Skittles]

9. in the 70's I was back in the States

was at a high school chum's house when I heard that theme song from a TV in another room and I just froze, it felt so eerie, so familiar.......really spooked me out, took me a while to realize where I knew it from