With Doctor Who available on DVD, Blu-ray, VOD and even streaming on Netflix, it’s hard to believe there was ever a time when it was little more than a knockabout sci-fi show for the kiddie, rather than the flagship event it’s seen as by many since its relaunch in 2005. It may have captured the hearts of youth everywhere, but 50 years ago the BBC didn’t have master tapes growing on trees and so many an episode would find themselves wiped from existence. As of today, 93 of the 253 episodes made in the first six years of Doctor Who are deemed missing.
Whilst some Doctor Who serials would lose one or two episodes, Power of the Daleks, a six-parter, would be extremely unlucky. Not only were master tapes wiped for every single part of the story which saw a newly regenerated Doctor battle the Daleks on the Planet Vulcan (no, not THAT Vulcan), but the copies for foreign distribution were destroyed in the ’70s. There were said to be copies in Singapore, New Zealand and Australia, but until recently the only way you were ever going to enjoy the debut of Patrick Troughton as the Doctor was to read the Target paperback or stump for a copy of the original audio recordings on cassette or CD that had additional narration by one of the original stars (If you were really lucky, you probably have a copy narrated by Tom Baker in character!).
It’s no surprise then that a lot of Whovians have been wondering what could have been. With no TARDIS to hand, they may have the next best thing. Having had success animating episodes for previous Doctor Who stories such as The Invasion and The Ice Warriors, the BBC has brought Power of the Daleks back to life by animating all six missing episodes! Produced and directed by Charles Norton, with character designs from comic book artists Martin Geraghty and Adrian Salmon, the restoration has involved using the original soundtrack, camera scripts and surviving photographs of the serial.
Power of the Daleks will get a special screening at the BFI Southbank on the 5th November 50 years after the first and only time it was broadcast in the UK. But fear not Australia for there shall also be a special limited run in various cinemas across Australia from the 12th November followed by a DVD release before the end of the year.
For now, check out this featurette.
