When the BBC brings over 800 episodes of Doctor Who to its iPlayer streaming service next week, part of the celebrations will include an extra treat for Who fans young and old: the chance to listen to audio recordings of stories lost to the BBC’s archival junking program decades ago.
The Radio Times reports that the BBC’s podcasting/radio platform BBC sounds has been updated to include a new podcast set to go live on November 1, the date the corporation will add over 800 episodes of Doctor Who to the iPlayer alongside a comprehensive archive of behind-the-scenes material stretching back across 60 years of the show’s history. Simply titled Doctor Who: The Missing Episodes, the podcast is described as follows:
“Sadly, not all of Doctor Who’s earliest years survive in the BBC archive. Many episodes have been lost, seemingly forever. But thanks to the ingenuity of the fans, sound recordings of these missing episodes survived and were returned to the BBC. Combined with narration from the stars of Doctor Who, here’s a chance to listen to three adventures starring the first two Doctors.”
While it’s not specified just which stories will be streamed on the platform, the suggestion of included narration points to this making previously released audio collections of missing stories rather than entirely new restorations—the BBC has been releasing audio recordings of missing stories on CD with linking narration since 1999.
Although 97 of the 253 episodes aired over the tenures of William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton’s Doctors remain lost—after the BBC of the era junked recordings made for archival purposes or for international broadcast sales, destroying swathes of programs from TV’s earliest era, not just Doctor Who—the corporation does have access to a complete archive of audio recordings of those 97 stories. This is in part due to the effort of Doctor Who fans rather than the BBC itself: in an age where repeat broadcasts or home releases were never considered, and before the BBC began novelizing past Doctor Who stories, the only way for many fans of the ‘60s and ‘70s to re-experience the program was through their own tape recordings of episodes as they were broadcast.
Now, those recordings form the basis for the only way fans can currently experience these long-lost episodes: either as audio in releases like this upcoming podcast, or to serve as the basis for the ongoing animated remakes of largely-incomplete serials. It’s fascinating to watch the BBC make the legacy of one of its biggest mistakes with Doctor Who a key part of celebrating a major milestone in its 60th anniversary—but if it means giving fans of all stripes a chance to at least experience part of that history, it’s a worthy endeavor.
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