The Good News and The Bad News

This was heartbreaking when I read it.

Missing episode hunter Philip Morris, the man responsible for recovering nine missing episodes of Doctor Who, has told fans at a convention that he also located the missing Episode Three of The Web Of Fear, only for it to be stolen before it could be returned to the United Kingdom.

Greed and corruption hit Doctor Who fandom. Some private collector out there has one very important episode, and who knows how many more. They are more important than worldwide fandom.

Sad.

Previously missing episodes 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 of Enemy of the World were recovered in 2013, alongside episodes 2, 4, 5, and 6 of Web of Fear, two stories from the fifth Season of Doctor Who, originally screened in 1967/8. The films had been found gathering dust in a store room at a television relay station in Nigeria.

These finds completed the two stories, with the exception of Episode Three of The Web of Fear, an important episode in the history of the series as it introduces the character of the Brigadier. At the time it was claimed that this episode was not located with the other finds. The third episode was reconstructed by the BBC Doctor Who Restoration Team, for the DVD release of the story.

However, speaking at the Pandorica 2015 convention, being held in Bristol this weekend, Philip Morris announced that when he initially located the episodes, episode 3 was indeed part of the collection.

The negotiations for the return of the episodes took over six months, and when the episodes were finally returned to the UK, episode three had vanished. Morris said he believed that after word of the find leaked out an offer was made to a member of staff at the Nigerian station, and that the episode had been sold to a private collector.

Currently 97 episodes of Doctor Who remain missing from the BBC archive.

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But some good news, for those that didn’t see it in the theatre or just wanted a copy of it.

BBC Worldwide America have released a Blu-ray + DVD Combo release of the 3D version of last year’s season finale of Doctor Who: Dark Water / Death in Heaven

The release comes hard the heels of the recent cinema event, Doctor Who: Dark Water/Death in Heaven 3D, which saw the two-part season eight climax shown in movie theaters across the United States.

Special features on the Blu-ray 3D + DVD combo pack include The Doctor’s Meditation – the special prequel scene to the first episode of season nine – and a 45-minute extended interview with Doctor Who stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, hosted by Wil Wheaton of Star Trek fame.

I got mine at Target for $17.00