CENSOR CLIPS

 CENSOR CLIPS

Censorship rules vary from country to country depending on legislation, culture, religion and various other factors. In the 1960s it was common practice in numerous countries to physically remove that footage which was deemed offensive or unsuitable for the allotted timeslot by slicing out sections from the film print. Currently only documentation and/or clips from Australia and New Zealand are known to exist, details of which are listed below.

This page would not have been possible without the help and support of researcher and fellow New Zealander Jon Preddle. I have graciously been given approval to reproduce material from his TSV articles and his BroaDWcast website, both of which I highly recommend reading and go into much greater depth than I have gone here. Special thanks must also go to Martin Dunne, whose research into this area of Doctor Who has made this page possible.

EPISODE MISSING - CENSOR CLIP EXISTS

EPISODE EXISTS - CENSOR CLIP EXISTS

CENSOR CLIP EXISTS IN SOME OTHER FORM

CENSOR CLIP MISSING

 NEW ZEALAND

 

The description column may refer to a single clip or several clips. Censor clip descriptions may have been modified from the original censor notes to correct errors and other information. Identification of a character has been added where possible. Anything listed in green can be explained below the table.

STORY	CODE	EP#	ON-SCREEN TITLE	CENSOR NOTES / CLIP DESCRIPTION	CENSOR CLIP EXISTS
SEASON ONE
Inside the Spaceship	C	2	The Edge of Destruction	Delete views of Susan stabbing couch repeatedly with scissors	YES
				Susan picking up scissors again	YES
				Barbara taking the scissors off Susan	YES
Marco Polo	D	3	Five Hundred Eyes	Delete woman’s screams as she is grabbed by Tegana	NO
				Delete threat to bound woman prisoner	NO
				Delete close up view of mask face	NO
				Delete view of woman with knife at throat	NO
		4	The Wall of Lies	Delete scream and close up view of mask	NO
				Delete scream of girl	NO
				Delete view of dagger in man’s back	NO
		5	Rider from Shang-Tu	Delete view of dagger in man’s back	NO
				Delete view of knife in man’s chest and throttling of man in tent	NO
		6	Mighty Kublai Khan	Delete or reduce screaming of girl and holding knife at girl’s throat	NO
				Delete scream of girl and knife attack	NO
		7	Assassin at Peking	Reduce knife attack	NO
SEASON TWO
The Romans	M	4	Inferno	Delete view of lighted torch being jabbed into man’s face	YES
				Delete view of others bending over man’s body	YES
The Space Museum	Q	3	The Search	Reduce fight, deleting kick & rabbit chop etc	YES
				Delete remark “wanting to see Morogs dead”	YES
				Delete remark “don’t kill me”	YES
				Delete remark “but it might be enjoyable”	YES
				Delete remark “kill them”	YES
The Time Meddler	S	2	The Meddling Monk	Reduce or delete threat with knife (twice)	YES
				Reduce battle, particularly close stabbing axe blows, etc	YES
		3	A Battle of Wits	Delete threat with knife & remove remark “go on kill me”	YES
		4	Checkmate	Delete killing of Vikings after they surrender	NO
SEASON THREE
Galaxy 4	T	1	Four Hundred Dawns	Delete remark “they kill”	NO
				Delete remark “do you want to be killed?”	NO
				Delete remark “you want to kill us”	NO
		2	Trap of Steel	Delete remark “very well, we will kill the girl”	NO
				Delete remarks about killing Steven	NO
				Delete scream of girl & reduce/delete views of monster face	NO
		3	Air Lock	Delete scream & reduce or delete views of horror face consistent with dialogue	YES
				Delete chop by Steven to Drahvin woman	YES
				Delete underlined remark “kill me now, I have failed in my duty”	YES
		4	The Exploding Planet	Delete underlined remark “after them and kill”	NO
				Delete remark “she will die willingly”	NO
				Delete all close views of monsters consistent with dialogue	NO
				Delete remarks by man “kill kill”	NO
The Myth Makers	U	1	Temple of Secrets	Delete reference to wife being unfaithful & reply	NO
				Delete reference to knife between ribs & reduce threat with sword	NO
				Delete reference to “cut out his tongue for insolence”	NO
		2	Small Prophet, Quick Return	Delete remarks about “cutting throats”	PARTIAL
				Delete references to “killing girl” and “she must die”, reduce threat	NO
				Delete remarks “kill them, kill them”	NO
		3	Death of a Spy	Delete remarks “kill her, kill all of them”	NO
				Delete views of Steven hitting guard & return blow	NO
		4	Horse of Destruction	Delete remarks “I shall kill you”	NO
				Reduce or delete killing of Trojans	NO
				Reduce sword fight between Troilus & Achilles, particularly final views	NO
				Reduce sacking of city, screams and remarks of “kill them”	NO
The Massacre	W	3	Priest of Death	Delete loading of gun, reduce views of attempted assassination	NO
		4	Bell of Doom	Reduce or delete views of massacre, particularly detailed views of killings	NO
The Ark	X	1	The Steel Sky	Reduce or delete views of one-eyed creature	YES
		3	The Return	Reduce views of Monoids, particularly close views	YES
				Reduce or delete use of heat gun on man	YES
				Delete or reduce remark about destroying population	YES
				Reduce killing of man, deleting screaming	YES
		4	The Bomb	Reduce or delete close views of Monoids	YES
				Delete remark “they will die”	YES
				Reduce view of Monoids but retain dialogue about hiding place of bomb	YES
				Delete close views of Monoids and reduce views of battle & killing of Monoids particularly close views	YES
The Celestial Toymaker	Y	2	Hall of Dolls	Delete remark “does he really mean to kill us”	NO
		4	The Final Test	Delete remark “and you will be killed”	YES
The War Machines	BB	2	Episode 2	Delete view of bottle & pad in man’s hand in kidnap attempt	YES
				Reduce or delete sequence of tramp being killed in factory	YES
				Delete demonstration of killing of man & delete later view on floor if necessary	YES
		3	Episode 3	Delete remarks “machines programmed to attack all forms of human life”	YES
				Delete remarks “all human beings will be eliminated”	YES
				Reduce attack on troops	PARTIAL
		4	Episode 4	Delete killing of man in phone box	YES
				Delete remarks to Polly about being killed by WOTAN	NO
SEASON FOUR
The Smugglers	CC	1	Episode 1	Reduce threat to Joseph with knife	NO
		2	Episode 2	Delete Cherub’s physical & verbal threats with knife	NO
				Delete Captain’s remark “I’ll slit your gizzard”	NO
		3	Episode 3	Delete cherub holding knife across Tom’s throat	NO
		4	Episode 4	Reduce views of Captain thrusting and withdrawing sword from Cherub’s body	PARTIAL
The Tenth Planet	DD	4	Episode 4	Delete screaming girl (Polly)	PARTIAL
				Delete view of girl (Polly) being rendered unconscious	PARTIAL
The Power of the Daleks	EE	5	Episode 5	Reduce to minimum chanting of Daleks vowing to kill human beings	PARTIAL
		6	Episode 6	Reduce to minimum chanting of Daleks vowing to kill human beings	PARTIAL
				Reduce to minimum shootings & killings by Daleks	NO
From this point on all censorship was handled internally by the NZBC.
The Evil of the Daleks	LL	4	Episode 4	Unknown, possibly reduction of the Jamie / Kemel fight	NO
		5	Episode 5	Reduce sword fight between Jamie & Arthur Terrell	NO
SEASON FIVE
The Enemy of the World	PP	4	Episode 4	Delete line “I want to be there to see his face when he dies”	YES
				Reduce death scene with Negress, to absolute minimum, deleting the word “Good!” spoken by man when he is told she is dead.	YES
		5	Episode 5	Delete man pulling girl’s head back by her hair	YES
				Reduce close-up of man picking up iron bar	YES
The Web of Fear	QQ	1	Episode 1	Delete 3 close-ups of hairy monster - delete, leave long shot	YES
				Delete 1 close-up of hairy monster - delete	YES
				close-up of monster attacking man	YES
				Delete dead old man covered in cob-webs	YES
				Delete man’s cry, if possible	YES
		2	Episode 2	Delete all close-ups of monsters [during next 2 min sequence], reducing long shots to a minimum	YES
				Two soldiers fire on advancing Yeti	YES
		3	Episode 3	Delete prolonged close-up of face & claws of monster, coming in as he turns his back Delete close-up of monster, coming in on closing credits	NO
		4	Episode 4	Opening sequence with monsters, screams & old man being dragged along by monster. Delete all except quick glimpses of man being dragged along.	YES
				Delete shot of recumbent human covered with cobwebs & a scream	YES
				Delete scream (Evans)	YES
				Reduce following fight sequence between monsters & army to absolute minimum, deleting screams	YES
				Delete close-ups of monsters	YES
				Delete final attack on man (Captain Knight)	YES
		5	Episode 5	Delete girl’s scream & view of monster	YES
		6	Episode 6	Delete close-up of man’s blackened face with monster’s claws around his throat	YES
				Delete shot of blackened corpse on ground	YES
The Wheel in Space	SS	3	Episode 3	Delete close-up of man’s face with open mouth & accompanying scream	YES
		5	Episode 5	Laleham trying to throttle Flannigan	YES
				Flannigan being attacked from behind and elbowing his assailant	YES
				Flannigan repeatedly bashing his assailant's head against a door	YES
		6	Episode 6	Delete close-ups of dead woman lying on floor	YES
SEASON SEVEN
The Silurians	BBB	2	Part 2	Reduce shot of dinosaur	YES
				Delete shot of dinosaur	YES
				Delete heavy breathing	YES
				Cut heavy breathing of wounded Silurian	YES
				Reduce woman screaming, creature attacks farmer in barn	YES
				Reduce heavy breathing	YES
		3	Part 3	Delete opening shot	YES
				Creature wounded - heavy breathing sound very base-y.	YES

The Myth Makers 2 – Exists as part of the 8mm collection recorded off-air by a fan in Australia

The War Machines 3 – Some of the shots exist as part of the film reel of Australian censor clips recovered by Damian Shanahan in 1996 (see below)

The War Machines 4 – Clip exists as an extract from an episode of Blue Peter

The Smugglers 4 – Clip with roughly the same duration exists as part of the film reel of Australian censor clips recovered by Damian Shanahan in 1996 (see below)

The Tenth Planet 4 – Exists as part of the 8mm collection recorded off-air by a fan in Australia

The Power of the Daleks 5 & 6 - Clip with roughly the same duration exists as part of the clip recovered from Whicker’s World

 AUSTRALIA

 

Damian Shanahan found a collection of censor clips in 1996.

STORY	CODE	EP#	ON-SCREEN TITLE	CENSOR NOTES / CLIP DESCRIPTION	CENSOR CLIP EXISTS
SEASON ONE
Marco Polo	D	5	Rider from Shang-Tu	At end of reel delete chop to guards back	NO
		7	Assassin at Peking	Delete knife in thief’s back	NO
The Keys of Marinus	E	2	The Velvet Web	Near end remove sequence in which girl smashes brain creatures. A brief flash or two may be seen, but remove all screams and close up shots of creature	YES
The Reign of Terror	H	5	A Bargain of Necessity	Delete shots of Dr Who picking up a bottle and following Gaoler to cell whilst bottle is still visible as weapons threat	NO
SEASON TWO
Planet of Giants	J	2	Dangerous Journey	Delete shots of man turning over body and displaying blood-stained face and chest	YES
				Delete shots of two men turning over body and dragging it away	YES
The Dalek Invasion of Earth	K	1	World’s End	Delete dagger sticking out of man’s body	YES
		4	The End of Tomorrow	Delete monster appearing from [13 minutes in] to end of episode	YES
		5	The Waking Ally	At start delete shot of Slyther	YES
The Chase	R	2	The Death of Time	Delete underlined words in “What do they feed on? They are flesh eaters. They eat humans? Yes”	YES
				Delete shot of girl seized around through by tail of monster	YES
				Delete shot of Daleks blasting the Indians	YES
				Delete close up of monster	YES
SEASON THREE
Galaxy 4	T	4	The Exploding Planet	At end delete item by newcomer (Garvey) “I must kill” (3 times)	NO
Mission to the Unknown	T/A	1	Mission to the Unknown	“These episodes were all considered unsuitable for TV rated “G”, not because of specific scenes but because of their storylines. The importer therefore elected not to attempt reconstruction, and the episodes were not registered.” - Basil Sands, BBC Sydney, March 1967	N/A
The Dalek’s Master Plan	V	All	Various		N/A
The Ark	X	1	The Steel Sky	Delete shot of one-eyed creature	YES
		3	The Return	Reduce close up shots of Monoid faces	YES
		4	The Bomb	Reduce number of close up shots of Monoid face and reduce killing of Monoids with beat rods. In particular reduce to minimum screams of victims.	YES
The Gunfighters	Z	3	Johnny Ringo	Delete shot of barman’s body lying across counter	YES
		4	The OK Corral	Delete shot of bodies strewn across street	YES
The War Machines	BB	3	Episode 3	Delete sentence “All human beings who break down will be eliminated” and accompanying shot of man knocked down with blow to neck	YES
				Reduce by about half hand-to-hand fighting and delete shot of soldier killed by spray from machines	YES
		4	Episode 4	Reduce writhing and delete fall of scientist after he is sprayed by machine	YES
SEASON FOUR
The Smugglers	CC	1	Episode 1	Delete shot of knife being thrown, shot of it protruding from man’s back and his final groans and fall	YES
		3	Episode 3	Delete dialogue “but not for you” and subsequent wiping of blood from hook and dropping bloodied handkerchief on Jamaica’s dead body	YES
				Delete scream of Kewper as he is struck in back with knife	YES
		4	Episode 4	Delete shot of sword being withdrawn from Cherub’s body	YES
The Highlanders	FF	1	Episode 1	Delete the grunt of man after stabbing in two instances	YES
				Remove the sight of feet of men about to be hanged, and the officer’s word “take the [strain]”	YES
The Underwater Menace	GG	1	Episode 1	Reduce sequence in which Polly struggles against the Atlantians who are preparing her for artificial gill operation	YES
		2	Episode 2	Reduce sequence in which Polly is prepared for artificial fish gill operation – deletions to include close ups of her arm as it is held for injection and reduce her sobs	YES
		3	Episode 3	Reduce throttling of Ando by Zaroff with spearshaft and delete off-screen stabbing of Ando and girls screams	YES
		4	Episode 4	Delete second shot of Zaroff behind bars as his head goes under water	YES
The Macra Terror	JJ	2	Episode 2	Reduce considerably shots of Polly being attacked by clawed creatures and reduce some of her cries	YES
				Reduce attack on man on screen with clawed arm	YES
		3	Episode 3	Reduce attack on man on screen with clawed arm	YES
The Faceless Ones	KK	1	Episode 1	Allow ray gun to be aimed and cut to body on floor	YES
				Reduce shots of hand emerging from cupboard	YES
				Reduce close up shots of faceless creature	YES
SEASON FIVE
Fury from the Deep	RR	2	Episode 2	All Mr Oak and Mr Quill to enter Mrs Harris’ flat and tinker with the gas plant, then delete the sequence in which they  enter her bedroom and approach her with staring eyes and open mouths, breathing out toxic fumes that cause her collapse	YES
		4	Episode 4	Reduce the scene in which Van Luytens is attacked by weeds in the bottom of the shaft and his screams	YES
				Delete the shot of body on the floor surrounded by the pulsating mass	YES
		5	Episode 5	Delete the close up shot of Robson’s hand covered with seaweed growth	YES
				Reduce emphasis on Robson’s seaweed hands	YES
The Wheel in Space	SS	4	Episode 4	Reduce to minimum attack on man by laser beam. Reductions will include man’s groans	YES
SEASON SIX
The Dominators	TT	4	Episode 4	Reduce to minimum killing of Tensor in senate	YES
				Reduce to minimum punishment of young man at drill site by robots with invisible force	YES
		5	Episode 5	Reduce to minimum killing of senator and accompanying cries	YES
The Invasion	VV	5	Episode 5	Reduce screams of children and reduce shots of policeman as he is killed by Cybermen.	YES
		6	Episode 6	Reduce the demonstration of the deadly machine against the Professor	YES
				Delete the blow to the Professor’s head.	YES
				Delete the death struggle and cries of the man killed by Cyber rays.	YES
		7	Episode 7	Delete dialogue - "Why not just kill him - he's caused us enough trouble already" "You forget Packer, he's our insurance".	YES
The War Games	ZZ	4	Episode 4	Reduce battle deleting throttling with rifle and stranglehold.	YES