This is why my blog post is scheduled to be posted on Christmas Day rather than today, November 23rd!
Little did I know that many of the episodes from the early years of Doctor Who have been lost due to poor storage conditions! It's hard to believe that here we are 50 years later and the Doctor has such a dominant influence among us 'geeks' and yet so much of its history is lost.
So here are my notes of what currently exists during the era of the Second Doctor and his companion, Jaime McCrimmon. I know practically nothing about Doctor Who, so there a lot of notes that fans of the show may roll their eyes at. But to quote Dr, Tyrell, "Indulge me."
Apparently the Doctor Who seasons are subdivided into stories, usually consisting of 4-6 episodes. Each story has a number, which I suppose is done to help navigate the history of this long running series. The Second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, makes his appearance in the fourth episode of Story 29 (the last of that arc). This was during the 4th season of the series, broadcast in 1966-67. The series is famous for making a casting change of the titular Doctor that was later dubbed in-world as 'regeneration'.
Jaime McCrimmon joins the Second Doctor in Story 31, a four episode arc dubbed 'The Highlanders'. This happens when the Doctor and his companions Ben and Polly arrive in Scotland just after the Battle of Culloden. The encounter and befriend some fleeing Jacobites. While Polly is away fetching water, the group is captured by the English and are about to be sold as slaves into the West Indies. Polly and a Laird's daughter helps to free them and a young piper named Jaime McCrimmon joins them in the TARDIS. This story marked the last time the series employed historical references until the Black Orchid in 1982.
Sadly, no complete episode from this entire season exists. How painful to know!
Here are the stories of the 4th Season. The number of episodes are in paranthesis and an significants notes follow after that:
- Smugglers (4)
- Tenth Planet (4) - Transition from the First to Second Doctor
- Power of the Daleks (6)
- Highlanders (4) - Jaime McCrimmon becomes a companion
- Underwater Menace (4)
- Moonbase (4)
- Macra Terror (4)
- Faceless Ones (6)
- Evil of the Daleks (7)
That is 43 episodes we don't have - incredible to believe.
The 5th Season has slightly better news from a preservation perspective. In the early 1990s the first complete story of the season, and thus the earliest for the Second Doctor, is "The Tomb of the Cybermen" (Story 37, first of Season 5). Additionally a second complete story was found this year (2013) in a relay station in Nigeria. No, I am not making this up! This story is called "The Enemy of the World" (Story 40). It came out on DVD on November 25, 2013.
Here are the stories of the 5th Season:
- The Tomb of the Cybermen (4)
- The Abominable Snowmen (6)
- The Ice Warriors (6)
- The Enemy of the World (6)
- The Web of Fear (6)
- Fury from the Deep (6)
- The Wheel in Space (6)
The 6th Season is even better in terms of availability. All but seven episodes have been preserved and there are at least audio recordings for those lost ones. The season ends with the final appearance of Jaime McCrimmon, as well as the other companion, Zoe, and even the Second Doctor himself! It marks the only time that the Doctor and all his companions were written out of the show in the same episode. Jaime is sent back to his own time by the Time Lords and has no recollection of his adventures with the Doctor. That's kind of sad.
Anyway, here are the stories of the 6th Season:
- The Dominators (5) - Story 44
- The Mind Robber (5)
- The Invasion (8) - considered to be one of the best for the Second Doctor
- The Krotons (4)
- The Seeds of Death (6)
- The Space Pirates (6)
- The War Games (10) - Story 50, the last episode with Jaime, Zoe, and Second Doctor
So what is available on DVD? Well, there is the Doctor Who - Lost in Time Collection of Rare Episodes - The William Hartnell Years and the Patrick Troughton Years (2004), which has the following episodes:
- Moonbase 2 & 4
- Faceless Ones 1 & 3
- Evil of Daleks 2
- Abominable Snowmen 2
- Enemy of the World 3
- Web of Fear 1
- Wheel in Space 3 & 6
- Space Pirates 2
This covers probably all of what is available in Season 4 and the incomplete episodes of Season 5. There are also episodes from Season 2 and Season 3 as well, but I am not listing them here since I am focused on episodes with Jaime.
Then there is the Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen - Special Edition (2012)
There is also the Enemy of the World (no link yet since I am writing this before it has been released)
For Season 6, you can get these ones:
If you want to read more, here is a nice article on Nerdist called, Doctor Who for Newbies: The Second Doctor.
No comments:
Post a Comment