3 thoughts on “Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes: Collection 4”
Volume 4 – Nearing Completion Well what a fabulous line up of Pat’s classics we have here, 5 more classic 1960’s serials brand new and remastered with some updated linking narration from Anneke wills on The Macra Terror. I find it brilliant that the BBC are constantly updating their Doctor Who range of releases, we have had 4 volumes of these brand new box sets now and are only one volume away from completing out collection of every missing Doctor Who serial on remastered CD.So here we have the serials included in this BBC CD boxed set;The Macra Terror – {4 episodes} – {0 exist on video}The Faceless Ones – {6 episodes} – {episodes 1 & 3 exist on video}The Evil of the Daleks – {7 episodes} – {only episode 2 exists on video}The Abominable Snowmen – {6 episodes} – {only episode 2 exists on video}The Ice Warriors – {6 episodes} – {episodes 1,4,5,6 exist on video}So, now we know whats missing and what survives {on the Lost in Time DVD boxed set BBCDVD1353}, lets review the individual serials;The Macra Terror – When I first heard the Macra Terror, I loved it, and that was a battered old 2 cassette release from the early 90’s. The audio quality was poor but I still very much enjoyed it. Anneke Wills brand new linking narration is great and a real help if you are listening to the action rather than watching it via the reconstructions widely available online. If I could sum up the whole serial in one word, it would have to be atmosphere, this story screams atmosphere, the incidental music by Dudley Simpson is electric, it really adds to the production and is fantastic. There should be a BBC CD release for Dudley’s work on Doctor Who for us to enjoy, but currently no such release has emerged. Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines, Michael Craze and Anneke Wills are the centre of attention here, each with their own part in the story to play. As ever, Pat is on top form here and you get the sense that he is loving every minute of working on the series he has helped to continue. The other quest cast are all very intriquing, the Pilot, Ola and more importantly the Controller are fascinating.Synopsis: The Doctor and his 3 companions Jamie, Ben and Polly arrive on a distant world in the distant future, the planet has by now been colonised by humans and is being used as a gas refinery. The colony is run by the Pilot under command from the Controller, who although has the visual appearance of a human, is in fact a Macra, a group these alien insects who have infiltrated the colony and are brain-washing the humans in to mining vital gas for the creatures survival. The Doctor eventually finds all this out and gradually persuades the colonists that the colony is in the grip of these horrible monsters. In the end, the Macra are defeated by the Doctor and his companions. All is well until they touch down on an active runway in 1960’s London.The Macra Terror is completely lost barring a few brief clips, it is a shame that the Beeb junked these classics but lets be grateful that fans of the series recorded these episodes for us to enjoy today. The story suits audio, the Macra suit audio, the Doctor suits audio. This production is much better realised through the audio medium than if the visuals survived. The Macra in visual form were never going to be impressive, and as a person who has seen the Macra Terror in visual form, I can tell you that listeners are not missing out. I prefer the audio soundtrack to the visuals as the audio with narration really adds atmosphere and enjoyment.As for the BBC CD release, its been lovingly remastered and not rush-released like it was in the 90’s. The cover is very attractive and the narration from Anneke Wills is clear and easy on the ears, there is not too much talking from Anneke here and she never interups or talks over the actor speaking. All these factors make the Macra Terror a great addition to the Doctor Who missing adventures range on BBC audio.The Faceless Ones – is a 6 part serial from one of the greatest seasons of Doctor Who ever, season 4. All 7 stories that were broadcast in this season are unique and special. The Faceless Ones, airing late in the season is a 6 part story featuring new alien badies the Chameleons who have come to earth to steal the identities of 50,000 young earthicans. Thusly, the plot revolves around our 4 heros saving the day. By this time, Second Doctor Patrick Troughton has settled in to the role and here asserts his natural leadership over his companions and the staff at Gatwick.If The Faceless Ones suffers from one weakness, its its length. The story really could have been a more thrilling 4 part affair. The Highlanders, The Underwater Menace, The Moonbase and The Macra Terror are all classics in my eyes because they are short, to-the-point and exciting. I have always enjoyed Doctor Who’s 4 parter’s. The Faceless Ones does not drag as badly as some other 6 part…
Like Doctor Who? Buy this! I have enjoyed listening to most of these stories and been able to imagine what is going on quite readily, but I was very disappointed with The Enemy of the World, which dragged on pointlessly for 6 episodes, just giving Patrick Troughton the chance to play two characters. The inclusion of The Invasion also seemed rather pointless, as it has come out on DVD with animated episodes. On the whole the stories were very good, but there was a tendency to drag things out, such as the leaving of Victoria. On the positive side, Fury from the Deep was much better than I expected from a story about sea weed! At points I was taken back to watching the original transmissions.
Quite simply one of the most amazing things to happen to a Doctor Who fan.Now we can savour those lost stories for real. Ok, not everything about them is perfect (Enemy does drag), but so what? We can get to relive them!Love this so much!
Volume 4 – Nearing Completion Well what a fabulous line up of Pat’s classics we have here, 5 more classic 1960’s serials brand new and remastered with some updated linking narration from Anneke wills on The Macra Terror. I find it brilliant that the BBC are constantly updating their Doctor Who range of releases, we have had 4 volumes of these brand new box sets now and are only one volume away from completing out collection of every missing Doctor Who serial on remastered CD.So here we have the serials included in this BBC CD boxed set;The Macra Terror – {4 episodes} – {0 exist on video}The Faceless Ones – {6 episodes} – {episodes 1 & 3 exist on video}The Evil of the Daleks – {7 episodes} – {only episode 2 exists on video}The Abominable Snowmen – {6 episodes} – {only episode 2 exists on video}The Ice Warriors – {6 episodes} – {episodes 1,4,5,6 exist on video}So, now we know whats missing and what survives {on the Lost in Time DVD boxed set BBCDVD1353}, lets review the individual serials;The Macra Terror – When I first heard the Macra Terror, I loved it, and that was a battered old 2 cassette release from the early 90’s. The audio quality was poor but I still very much enjoyed it. Anneke Wills brand new linking narration is great and a real help if you are listening to the action rather than watching it via the reconstructions widely available online. If I could sum up the whole serial in one word, it would have to be atmosphere, this story screams atmosphere, the incidental music by Dudley Simpson is electric, it really adds to the production and is fantastic. There should be a BBC CD release for Dudley’s work on Doctor Who for us to enjoy, but currently no such release has emerged. Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines, Michael Craze and Anneke Wills are the centre of attention here, each with their own part in the story to play. As ever, Pat is on top form here and you get the sense that he is loving every minute of working on the series he has helped to continue. The other quest cast are all very intriquing, the Pilot, Ola and more importantly the Controller are fascinating.Synopsis: The Doctor and his 3 companions Jamie, Ben and Polly arrive on a distant world in the distant future, the planet has by now been colonised by humans and is being used as a gas refinery. The colony is run by the Pilot under command from the Controller, who although has the visual appearance of a human, is in fact a Macra, a group these alien insects who have infiltrated the colony and are brain-washing the humans in to mining vital gas for the creatures survival. The Doctor eventually finds all this out and gradually persuades the colonists that the colony is in the grip of these horrible monsters. In the end, the Macra are defeated by the Doctor and his companions. All is well until they touch down on an active runway in 1960’s London.The Macra Terror is completely lost barring a few brief clips, it is a shame that the Beeb junked these classics but lets be grateful that fans of the series recorded these episodes for us to enjoy today. The story suits audio, the Macra suit audio, the Doctor suits audio. This production is much better realised through the audio medium than if the visuals survived. The Macra in visual form were never going to be impressive, and as a person who has seen the Macra Terror in visual form, I can tell you that listeners are not missing out. I prefer the audio soundtrack to the visuals as the audio with narration really adds atmosphere and enjoyment.As for the BBC CD release, its been lovingly remastered and not rush-released like it was in the 90’s. The cover is very attractive and the narration from Anneke Wills is clear and easy on the ears, there is not too much talking from Anneke here and she never interups or talks over the actor speaking. All these factors make the Macra Terror a great addition to the Doctor Who missing adventures range on BBC audio.The Faceless Ones – is a 6 part serial from one of the greatest seasons of Doctor Who ever, season 4. All 7 stories that were broadcast in this season are unique and special. The Faceless Ones, airing late in the season is a 6 part story featuring new alien badies the Chameleons who have come to earth to steal the identities of 50,000 young earthicans. Thusly, the plot revolves around our 4 heros saving the day. By this time, Second Doctor Patrick Troughton has settled in to the role and here asserts his natural leadership over his companions and the staff at Gatwick.If The Faceless Ones suffers from one weakness, its its length. The story really could have been a more thrilling 4 part affair. The Highlanders, The Underwater Menace, The Moonbase and The Macra Terror are all classics in my eyes because they are short, to-the-point and exciting. I have always enjoyed Doctor Who’s 4 parter’s. The Faceless Ones does not drag as badly as some other 6 part…
Like Doctor Who? Buy this! I have enjoyed listening to most of these stories and been able to imagine what is going on quite readily, but I was very disappointed with The Enemy of the World, which dragged on pointlessly for 6 episodes, just giving Patrick Troughton the chance to play two characters. The inclusion of The Invasion also seemed rather pointless, as it has come out on DVD with animated episodes. On the whole the stories were very good, but there was a tendency to drag things out, such as the leaving of Victoria. On the positive side, Fury from the Deep was much better than I expected from a story about sea weed! At points I was taken back to watching the original transmissions.
Quite simply one of the most amazing things to happen to a Doctor Who fan.Now we can savour those lost stories for real. Ok, not everything about them is perfect (Enemy does drag), but so what? We can get to relive them!Love this so much!