Doctor Who Missing Episodes - Reconstruction

Reconstruction

In addition to recovered short video clips and audio soundtracks, there also exist still photographs taken off-screen by photographer John Cura. Cura was hired by the BBC, and independently by many actors and production staff, to document the transmission of many of their most popular programmes from the 1940s to the 1960s, including Doctor Who. These "tele-snaps" were generally used to promote BBC programmes and for actors, directors, and other production crew members to keep a visual record of their own work in the days before home video recorders. In many cases, they form the only visual record remaining of several Doctor Who serials and other missing episodes of many programmes.

Since the late 1990s, reconstructions of the missing serials have been made by fan groups such as Loose Cannon Productions, who distribute them free. These "recons" are based on the directors' original camera scripts, and use a combination of the surviving soundtracks, surviving footage, photographs, still images (especially Cura's tele-snaps) and specially-recreated material. Although technically infringing copyright, these recons have been tolerated by the BBC, provided they are not sold for profit and are only distributed in degradable, non-digital formats such as VHS.

"Official" high-quality reconstructions using the same methods were made for the BBC Video releases of The Ice Warriors (a 12-minute "highlights" reconstruction bridging the missing Episodes 2 and 3) and The Tenth Planet (a full reconstruction of the missing Episode 4). The DVD box set Doctor Who: The Beginning consisted of the first three serials and a 30-minute reconstruction of Marco Polo, of which absolutely no footage exists (although this is debated; see above). The Doctor Who Restoration Team has hinted that similar reconstructions might be done in future.

In June 2005, BBC Audio began to release reconstructions as part of their "MP3 CD" line. Under the Doctor Who: Reconstructed banner, the CDs include the same audio portions as the previous audio CD releases, but are on a single disc with Macromedia Flash-animated and synchronised slideshow of tele-snaps and other (publicity) photographs. The surviving clips could not be included. The tele-snaps play in sequence when viewed on a computer, or a listener has the option to play the audio-only portion on an MP3-compatible CD or DVD player. The Power of the Daleks was the first and last such reconstruction to be released: a mooted release in this form of the following story, The Highlanders, did not go ahead, due to poor sales of the initial release.

On 6 November 2006, The Invasion, an eight-episode Second Doctor serial of which six episodes survive in the archives, was released on DVD with the missing Episodes 1 and 4 animated by Cosgrove Hall, matched up with a newly-remastered soundtrack created from the extant fan recordings. With the advent of ever-more powerful home computers and more specialisation programmes for them, many fans are also working on unofficial animations of the missing episodes, and this is widespread with many clips being shown online.

Although it is not strictly a missing serial, production of the 1979 Tom Baker story Shada was curtailed by a technician's strike after several scenes had been completed. The half-finished material would usually have been junked as useless, but incoming Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner placed a preservation order on it, as he still hoped to salvage Shada as a finished production at a later date. The serial, which was written by Douglas Adams, was eventually released on video in 1992 with linking narration by Tom Baker. A clip from Episode 1 was used to allow the Fourth Doctor to appear in the 1983 story The Five Doctors after Tom Baker declined to reprise his role. Shada would later be released as an audio play with animation featuring the Eighth Doctor and produced by Big Finish Productions, broadcast from 2 May to 6 June 2003 on BBCi and later webcast on the BBC website, then (in a slightly different version) on the BBC7 Digital Radio Station in 2005 and 2006.

In 2009, the Jon Pertwee serials Frontier in Space and Planet of the Daleks were released together as the Dalek War boxset. Until recently, Episode 3 of Planet Of The Daleks was only available in black and white. However, using a process last used on a recovered episode of Dad's Army, it has been restored to full colour.

On 2 June 2011, 2/Entertain announced on its @classicdw Twitter page that the missing episodes 4 and 5 of The Reign of Terror would be animated for its late 2012 DVD release. A test still based on an available promotional shot was also revealed and the company announced the animators to be Big Finish and Thetamation.