WHAT IS MISSING?

I have only elected to include the 95 missing episodes from the Hartnell and Troughton eras, Jon Pertwee’s episodes all exist although in varying states of colour restoration. As technology has successfully allowed for most of these episodes to be recoloured, only one episode - Invasion of the Dinosaurs 1 - would benefit from a superior version being found. I have also included incomplete episodes, Suppressed Field recordings, episodes originating from 35mm film and trailers.

 

 THE UNTRANSMITTED EPISODES

In the 1960s Doctor Who produced 256 episodes, but only 253 of them screened. Below is a list of those that didn't make it.

 

TITLE	CODE	NO. OF EPS	EP#	ON-SCREEN TITLE	EXISTS	DETAILS
N/A (pilot episode)	-	1	1	An Unearthly Child	YES	Originally shot in September 1963, the pilot episode was considered a poor effort by the show's creator Sydney Newman. He ordered it be restaged, and the pilot was never watched again. That is until 1978 when Sue Malden, newly appointed Archive Selector of the Film and Videotape Library stumbled across it in a wrongly labelled film can.
The Daleks	B	7	1	The Dead Planet	NO	In a similar fashion to Doctor Who's first serial, the second serial also had to have its first episode remounted. When reviewing the first episode of The Daleks the production team found production audio had been picked up on the studio microphones, and thus rendered it unacceptable for transmission. This episode was never retained, however one small portion does exist; the reprise of the cliff-hanger in episode 2 (Barbara being menaced by the Dalek) is from this episode.
Planet of Giants	J	4	3	Crisis (original version)	NO	Donald Wilson, BBC Head of Serials at the time, felt that this story (which was shot in the first series’ production block but held back) was a poor opener for series two, and that The Dalek Invasion of Earth would be a better choice. Due to Carole Ann Ford's departure in that serial however meant the swapping of the stories was a moot point. Thus he ordered the final episodes to be edited together as he felt four episodes didn't work. The new episode three retained the title "Crisis", but kept the end credits from "The Urge to Live", thus Douglas Camfield (who directed the original episode 4) is credited as Director while Mervyn Pinfield (who directed the original episode 3) remained uncredited. The material not used in the final version of "Crisis" is generally believed to have been junked, although a recreation was attempted on the DVD release. To allow for the removal of fourth episode, Wilson commissioned an extra episode for the end of the second production block. This eventually became the single part story – and prologue for The Daleks’ Master Plan - Mission to the Unknown.
			4	The Urge to Live (original version)	NO

 

Due to the fact these episodes weren't transmitted, they aren't considered part of the missing episode tally.

 

 THE MISSING EPISODES

Note: Off-air soundtracks for all missing episodes exist, and thus these will not be listed in the WHAT EXISTS column. I have also chosen to only list what episodes in each serial are missing.

 

TITLE	CODE	NO. OF EPS	EP#	ON-SCREEN TITLE	DURATION	WHAT EXISTS
SEASON ONE – 42 EPISODES / 9 MISSING
Marco Polo	D	7	1	The Roof of the World	24’12”	- Tele-snaps exist (72 snaps exist)
			2	The Singing Sands	26’34”	- Tele-snaps exist (78 snaps exist)
			3	Five Hundred Eyes	22’20”	- Tele-snaps exist (75 snaps exist)
			4	The Wall of Lies	24’48”
			5	Rider from Shang-Tu	23’26”	- Tele-snaps exist (70 snaps exist)
			6	Mighty Kublia Khan	25’36”	- Tele-snaps exist (69 snaps exist)
			7	Assassin at Peking	24’48”	- Tele-snaps exist (80 snaps exist)
The Reign of Terror	H	6	4	The Tyrant of France	24’46”	- 8mm footage shot off a TV screen exists (~10”)
			5	A Bargain of Necessity	23’51”	- 8mm footage shot off a TV screen exists (~11”)
SEASON TWO – 39 EPISODES / 2 MISSING
The Crusade	P	4	2	The Knight of Jaffa	23’28”	- Tele-snaps exist (72 snaps exist)
			4	The War-Lords	23’40”	- Tele-snaps exist (67 snaps exist)
SEASON THREE – 43 EPISODES / 26 MISSING
Galaxy 4	T	4	1	Four Hundred Dawns	22’21”	- Extract exists (5’53”) - 8mm footage shot off a TV screen exists (~10”)
			2	Trap of Steel	24’51”
			4	The Exploding Planet	24’47”
Mission to the Unknown	T/A	1	1	Mission to the Unknown	24’42”
The Myth Makers	U	4	1	Temple of Secrets	24’45”	- 8mm footage shot off a tv screen exists (~21”)
			2	Small Prophet, Quick Return	24’43”	- 8mm footage shot off a tv screen exists (~20”)
			3	Death of a Spy	25’39”
			4	Horse of Destruction	24’25”	- 8mm footage shot off a tv screen exists (~15”)
The Daleks’ Master Plan	V	12	4	The Traitors	24’42”	- Extract exists (58”)
			6	Coronas of the Sun	24’45”
			7	The Feast of Steven	24’36”
			8	Volcano	24’42”
			9	Golden Death	24’38”
			11	The Abandoned Planet	24’34”
			12	The Destruction of Time	23’31”
The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve	W	4	1	War of God	24’51”
			2	The Sea Beggar	24’43”
			3	Priest of Death	24’33”
			4	Bell of Doom	25’06”
The Celestial Toymaker	Y	4	1	The Celestial Toyroom	24’40”
			2	The Hall of Dolls	24’45”
			3	The Dancing Floor	24’10”
The Savages	AA	4	1	Episode 1	23’41”	- Tele-snaps exist (70 snaps exist)
			2	Episode 2	23’57”	- Tele-snaps exist (65 snaps exist)
			3	Episode 3	24’59”	- 8mm footage shot off a tv screen exists (~8”) - Tele-snaps exist (70 snaps exist)
			4	Episode 4	24’41”	- 8mm footage shot off a tv screen exists (~36”) - Tele-snaps exist (73 snaps exist)
SEASON FOUR – 43 EPISODES / 33 MISSING
The Smugglers	CC	4	1	Episode 1	24'36"	- Extracts exist (23”) - Tele-snaps exist (71 snaps exist)
			2	Episode 2	24'27"	- Tele-snaps exist (67 snaps exist)
			3	Episode 3	23'55"	- Extracts exist (21”) - Tele-snaps exist (71 snaps exist)
			4	Episode 4	23'37"	- Extract exists (3”) - Tele-snaps exist (71 snaps exist)
The Tenth Planet	DD	4	4	Episode 4	24'02"	- Extract exists (27”) - 8mm footage shot off a tv screen exists (~51”) - Tele-snaps exist (76 snaps exist)
The Power of the Daleks	EE	6	1	Episode One	25'43"	- Extracts exist (trailer) (19”) - 8mm footage shot off a tv screen exists (~35”) - Tele-snaps exist (70 snaps exist)
			2	Episode Two	24'29"	- 8mm footage shot off a tv screen exists (~24”) - Tele-snaps exist (69 snaps exist)
			3	Episode Three	23'31"	- Tele-snaps exist (67 snaps exist)
			4	Episode Four	24'23"	- Extracts exist (31”) - Tele-snaps exist (68 snaps exist)
			5	Episode Five	23'38"	- Extracts exist (58”) - Tele-snaps exist (66 snaps exist)
			6	Episode Six	23'46"	- Extract exists (6”) - Tele-snaps exist (75 snaps exist)
The Highlanders	FF	4	1	Episode 1	24'33"	- Extracts exist (13”) - Tele-snaps exist (64 snaps exist)
			2	Episode 2	23'41"	- Tele-snaps exist (71 snaps exist)
			3	Episode 3	22'54"	- Tele-snaps exist (71 snaps exist)
			4	Episode 4	24'19"	- Tele-snaps exist (69 snaps exist)
The Underwater Menace	GG	4	1	Episode 1	24'18"	- Extract exists (14”) - Tele-snaps exist (66 snaps exist)
			4	Episode 4	23'20"	- Extract exists (3”) - Tele-snaps exist (68 snaps exist)
The Moonbase	HH	4	1	Episode 1	24'12"	- Tele-snaps exist (71 snaps exist)
			3	Episode 3	26'11"	- Tele-snaps exist (78 snaps exist)
The Macra Terror	JJ	4	1	Episode 1	22'58"	- Tele-snaps exist (62 snaps exist)
			2	Episode 2	23'21"	- Extract exists (26”) - Tele-snaps exist (64 snaps exist)
			3	Episode 3	23'23"	- Extract exists (2”) - 8mm footage shot off a tv screen exists (~52”) - Tele-snaps exist (64 snaps exist)
			4	Episode 4	24'41"	- Tele-snaps exist (57 snaps exist)
The Faceless Ones	KK	6	2	Episode 2	25'22"	- 8mm footage shot off a tv screen exists (~3”) - Tele-snaps exist (68 snaps exist)
			4	Episode 4	24'48"	- Tele-snaps exist (64 snaps exist)
			5	Episode 5	23'34"	- Tele-snaps exist (63 snaps exist)
			6	Episode 6	23'08"	- Tele-snaps exist (61 snaps exist)
The Evil of the Daleks	LL	7	1	Episode 1	24'07"	- Tele-snaps exist (63 snaps exist)
			3	Episode 3	24'27"	- Tele-snaps exist (61 snaps exist)
			4	Episode 4	24'43"	- Tele-snaps exist (63 snaps exist)
			5	Episode 5	25'23"	- Tele-snaps exist (67 snaps exist)
			6	Episode 6	24'48"	- Tele-snaps exist (65 snaps exist)
			7	Episode 7	24'33"	- Extract exists (3”) - Tele-snaps exist (64 snaps exist)
SEASON FIVE – 40 EPISODES / 18 MISSING
The Abominable Snowmen	NN	6	1	Episode One	22'57"	- Tele-snaps exist (62 snaps exist)
			3	Episode Three	23'55"	- Tele-snaps exist (60 snaps exist)
			4	Episode Four	24'15"	- Extracts exist (8”) - Tele-snaps exist (63 snaps exist)
			5	Episode Five	23'51"	- Tele-snaps exist (63 snaps exist)
			6	Episode Six	23'31"	- Tele-snaps exist (59 snaps exist)
The Ice Warriors	OO	6	2	Two	24'10"	- Tele-snaps exist (64 snaps exist)
			3	Three	23'58"	- Tele-snaps exist (66 snaps exist)
The Web of Fear	QQ	6	3	Episode 3	24'34"	- Tele-snaps exist (59 snaps exist)
Fury from the Deep	RR	6	1	Episode 1	24'54"	- Extract exists (19”) - Tele-snaps exist (59 snaps exist)
			2	Episode 2	23'08"	- Extract exists (54”) - Tele-snaps exist (63 snaps exist)
			3	Episode 3	20'29"	- Tele-snaps exist (60 snaps exist)
			4	Episode 4	24'17"	- Extracts exist (31”) - Tele-snaps exist (63 snaps exist)
			5	Episode 5	23'40"	- Extracts exist (31”) - Tele-snaps exist (60 snaps exist)
			6	Episode 6	24'24"	- Tele-snaps exist (62 snaps exist)
The Wheel in Space	SS	6	1	Episode 1	23'47"	- Extract exists (4”) - Tele-snaps exist (60 snaps exist)
			2	Episode 2	22'50"	- Tele-snaps exist (60 snaps exist)
			4	Episode 4	24'14"	- Extracts exist (4”) - Tele-snaps exist (62 snaps exist)
			5	Episode 5	21'55"	- Extracts exist (7”) - Tele-snaps exist (62 snaps exist)
SEASON SIX – 44 EPISODES / 7 MISSING
The Invasion	VV	8	1	Episode One	24'32"
			4	Episode Four	24'18"
The Space Pirates	YY	6	1	Episode One	24'11"	- 35mm film inserts exist (1’05”)
			3	Episode Three	23'50"
			4	Episode Four	22'25"
			5	Episode Five	24'44"
			6	Episode Six	23'26"
SEASON ELEVEN – 26 EPISODES / 1 MISSING (COLOUR COPY ONLY)
Invasion of the Dinosaurs	WWW	6	1	Part One	25’29”	Only a single 16mm monochrome telerecording exists of this episode, the original 2” master tape was wiped in 1974. Colour recovery was attempted on this episode in 2011 but wasn’t 100% successful due to the condition of the film print.

 

 INCOMPLETE EXISTING EPISODES

Either by way of the censor's knife, an edit decision or simple damage to a surviving film print, many episodes exist as incomplete versions. Below is a list of episodes that have footage missing, and why. Two episodes are not included on this list; a few frames are missing from the opening titles and end credits of The Evil of the Daleks 2, and the ‘Next Episode’ caption at the end of The Celestial Toymaker 4 was missing. Being only part of the titles and credits, these were recreated for the DVD release and thus I consider the search for a replacement episode solely based on these missing segments a moot point. 

 

TITLE	CODE	NO. OF EPS	EP#	ON-SCREEN TITLE	DURATION	WHAT IS MISSING
SEASON ONE
The Keys of Marinus	E	6	2	The Velvet Web	25’37”	In contrast to an episode found to be edited by the censor, the cuts appear to be present on the master, either by damage or physical editing of the tape. Five edits, a total of seven seconds missing.
			4	The Snows of terror	24’54”	In contrast to an episode found to be edited by the censor, the cuts appear to be present on the master, either by damage or physical editing of the tape. Three edits, a total of ten seconds missing.
SEASON TWO
The Time Meddler	S	4	4	Checkmate	24’00”	12 seconds are missing due to the censor’s knife, depicting Saxons stabbing two Vikings with their swords.
SEASON THREE
Galaxy 4	T	4	3	Air Lock	24’19”	The last 27 seconds + closing credits are missing. The Restoration Team attempted to rebuild this missing material with existing footage.
The War Machines	BB	4	3	Episode 3	23’58”	Due to the censor, almost a minute is missing. Much of this was recreated for the DVD release.
			4	Episode 4	23’11”	Due to the censor, a few seconds are missing. Much of this was recreated for the DVD release.
SEASON FOUR
The Underwater Menace	GG	4	2	Episode 2	25’00”	20 seconds of censored footage was missing but was found independently of its 2011 discovery, and cut back into the episode. Damage in one section of the surviving print renders one line of dialogue missing; the Restoration Team attempted to cover the damage with existing footage.
The Faceless Ones	KK	6	3	Episode 3	24’09”	The print was returned to the BBC in a bad way, due to being played on an improperly maintained projector and other factors. A total of 20 seconds is missing. Much of this was recreated for the DVD release.
SEASON FIVE
The Abominable Snowmen	NN	6	2	Episode 2	23’15”	The audio from one line of dialogue spoken by the Doctor is missing (parts in red are absent): "You were right about one thing Victoria - this creature certainly doesn't seem to be flesh and blood!" As this appears on the surviving print and all known off-air audio recordings it was likely an error on the master tape and was broadcast as such. Because of this, it is unlikely a complete version of this episode will ever be found. This line was rebuilt by Mark Ayres for the DVD release, using dialogue from other Patrick Troughton episodes.

 

 SUPPRESSED FIELD RECORDINGS

For the first two seasons of Doctor Who, the BBC sent the 16mm film recordings to overseas TV stations using a format known as Suppressed Field. Suppressed Field recordings allow the interlaced field structure of television to be recorded onto the progressive structure of film. Suppressed Field recordings essentially skipped over the second field line, but this had one major drawback; one field represents one line of resolution, and thus if it is removed then the overall picture resolution is halved. In 1965 the BBC began to roll out Stored Field recordings, possibly with the season three opener, Galaxy 4, as the first story, and back dated all their overseas sales with Stored Field recordings, which could explain why no master tape was wiped prior to 1966; the BBC were working on a way to perfect their film recording techniques before the master tapes were junked. This new technique allowed both fields to be captured and thus the original video resolution remained intact.

A Suppressed Field recording contained only 188 lines of resolution, compared to the original resolution of the episodes:

An Unearthly Child 1 - The Ice Warriors: 377 lines of resolution (Suppressed Field recordings are known to have been made up until at least The Chase)

The Enemy of the World - The War Games 10 (plus The Power of the Daleks 6): 576 lines of resolution (Suppressed Field recordings had been phased out by this time)

 

Compared to today's resolutions; High Definition televisions run at 1080 lines of resolution, while Peter Jackson's The Hobbit was shot at 5K, which is 2700 lines of resolution!

The following is a list of recovered episodes that exist as Suppressed Field-only recordings that I’m aware of.

 

TITLE	CODE	# OF EPS	EP#	ON-SCREEN TITLE	DURATION	ORIGIN	IMPORTANCE
SEASON ONE
The Daleks	B	7	5	The Expedition	24’31”	Found at Ents c.1978	Stored Field negative exists but negative damaged
						Returned by Francis Watson c. 2004	Stored Field negative exists but negative damaged
			7	The Rescue	22’24”	Found at Ents c.1978	Only known copy of episode in existence
The Edge of Destruction	C	2	2	The Brink of Disaster	22’11”	Found at Ents c.1978	Last 5 minutes only, rest of print Stored Field. Only known copy of episode in existence
The Reign of Terror	H	6	1	The Land of Fear	24’24”	CBC in Cyprus	One of two known copies in existence
						Sold on eBay March 2012	One of two known copies in existence
			2	Guests of Madame Guillotine	24’04”	CBC in Cyprus	Only known copy of episode in existence
SEASON TWO
The Crusade	P	4	1	The Lion	24’56”	NZBC in New Zealand	Only known copy of episode in existence