Enemy of the World and Web of Fear North America Releases

Details have come to light regarding the North American Blu-ray and DVD releases of The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear. Both sets will cost US$19.98 and come with no special features. The Web of Fear will be released on April 22nd, while The Enemy of the World will be released on May 20th.

Recovered Episodes Screening

On Saturday the 22nd, Prince Charles Cinema in London will be putting on a screening of the two recently recovered Doctor Who serials. The Web of Fear and Enemy of the World will be shown back-to-back starting at 11:15am. Tickets go on sale this morning at 9am for £14. There will be a Q&A session with Deborah Watling and Frazer Hines following the screening.

Web of Fear Limited Collector's Edition DVD Info

BBC Shop has released details for the special collector's edition of The Web of Fear. The story is one of two whose recovery was announced last year, along with Enemy of the World.

Now updated with a BBC Shop exclusive slipcase cover to match the style of Doctor Who: Enemy of the World Exclusive DVD.

The second serial in the infamous "missing episodes", recovered from far flung TV out-posts and lovingly remastered and pressed to disc for you to collect and keep, Web of Fear sees the second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) meet Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, who goes on to be known as the Brigadier, for the first time.

Featuring robot Yeti, London Underground, The Great Intelligence and of course companions Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Victoria (Deborah Watling), this recovered story arc was deemed so scary that it was preceded by the following message, delivered by the Doctor sitting in one of the London Underground sets and saying:

‘Thank goodness… Oh, it's you... I thought for one moment it was... I'll just sit down for a minute.
I'm glad I met you as a matter of fact; there's something I want to tell you.
'When we start out on our next adventure – Jamie, Victoria and I – we meet some old friends.
Yes, and we also meet some old enemies. Very old enemies.
The Yeti as a matter of fact. Only this time they're just a little bit more frightening than last time.
So I'll warn you that if your Mummy or Daddy are scared, you just get them to hold your hand.
[sound of gunfire]
'Here we go again. I've got to go. See you soon – I hope!'

So you have been warned - sofas may be required for hiding behind and hands may get a little squeezed. Secure your copy of this lost classic today.

The region 2 disc will be available for sale on February 24th, but can be pre-ordered now for £13.99.

The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear DVD and iTunes Release

The two just-discovered classic series episodes are being released on DVD and iTunes. Both stories have been remastered and specially enhanced frame-by-frame and are available on iTunes worldwide right this moment.

The Enemy of the World

On Earth in the near future, the Doctor and his companions are enmeshed in a deadly web of intrigue thanks to his uncanny resemblance to would-be 21st century dictator Salamander. He is hailed as the ‘Shopkeeper of the World’ for his efforts to relieve global famine, but why do his rivals keep disappearing? How can he predict so many natural disasters? The Doctor must expose Salamander’s schemes before he takes over the world.

 The Web of Fear

The TARDIS narrowly avoids becoming engulfed in a cobwebby substance in space. It arrives in the London Underground railway system, the tunnels of which are being overrun by the web and by the Great Intelligence’s robot Yeti. The Intelligence’s goal is to drain the Doctor’s mind; can the Doctor sabotage the device before the Intelligence’s plan comes to fruition?

Trailers and Clips for The Web of Fear and The Enemy of the World

The official Doctor Who YouTube channel has released trailers and clips for the two classic series episodes whose recovery was announced earlier today.

Trailers:




Clips:

Official Press Release Regarding Found Episodes

Despite news leaking about the found classic episodes, the BBC have officially unveiled the contents of their press conference from earlier today. As reported earlier, 9 episodes from The Web of Fear and The Enemy of the World were found in an archive in Africa. The find brings Enemy to completion, with Web still missing part 3.

The official press release includes no new information, but I've made part of it available below. The two episodes have been made available to iTunes users in the UK here and here. Part 3 of The Web of Fear has been specially reconstructed for release. Presumably, the stories will eventually be released on iTunes to the rest of the world and DVD.

Nine missing episodes of 1960s Doctor Who have been found at a TV station in Nigeria, including most of the classic story The Web of Fear.

The black and white story sees Patrick Troughton's second Doctor battle robot yeti in the London underground.

Also recovered is a complete version of Troughton's six-part story The Enemy of the World.

It is thought to be the largest haul of missing episodes recovered in the last three decades.

"It's thrilling," said Mark Gatiss, an actor and writer for the 21st Century incarnation of Doctor Who.

"Every single avenue seemed to have been exhausted, every now and then something turns up - but to have two virtually complete stories out of the blue is absolutely incredible."

The BBC destroyed many of the sci-fi drama's original transmission tapes in the 1960s and 1970s.

However, many episodes were transferred on to film for sale to foreign broadcasters. It is often these prints found in other countries that are the source of retrieved episodes.

In this case, 11 Doctor Who episodes were discovered, nine of which were missing, in the Nigerian city of Jos.

The find was made by Phillip Morris, director of a company called Television International Enterprises Archive.

Mr Morris said: "The tapes had been left gathering dust in a storeroom at a television relay station in Nigeria. I remember wiping the dust off the masking tape on the canisters and my heart missed a beat as I saw the words, Doctor Who. When I read the story code I realised I'd found something pretty special."

The Web of Fear and The Enemy of the World Found

The results of today's press conference are still embargoed until midnight, but the Northern Echo has leaked the results (and subsequently pulled them). Apparently all of The Enemy of the World and part of The Web of Fear have been found in an archive in Nigeria. Apparently part three of The Web of Fear is still missing.

Both Patrick Troughton stories were uncovered by Philip Morris, director of Television International Enterprises Archive. They include the introduction of then-Colonel Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (better known as the Brigadier). The Web of Fear also includes the villainous Great Intelligence, recently brought back by Steven Moffat for Series 7. Both stories will be made available on iTunes and DVD.

FOUR decades ago, Dr Who’s encounter with the mythical Yeti left a generation of children terrified and enthralled. The six part serial Web of Fear became one of the best-loved serials of the Patrick Troughton era. Sadly, in the 1970s the well-travelled time lord faced an enemy far deadlier than the Daleks – BBC beancounters.

In an effort to save money, tapes of classic shows were wiped and recorded over. In a matter of months some of the Doctor’s greatest adventures were lost… seemingly forever. The Web of Fear is one of the most missed serials, along with another Troughton era adventure, The Power of the Daleks. But now all six missing episodes have been found – in a dusty storeroom in Nigeria.

The previously lost nine shows were among 11 traced to a television relay station and the find brings back to life an entire six-episode story, while another is almost complete. The newly found programmes – which introduce the character of Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, better known to audiences as The Brigadier – will be available on iTunes from today and will later come out on DVD.

Phillip Morris, the director of Television International Enterprises Archive, unearthed the programmes by looking up the records of overseas shipments of tapes made by the BBC.

The stories, The Enemy Of The World (1967) and The Web Of Fear (1968) and both starring Patrick Troughton as the second Doctor, have now been remastered by BBC Worldwide, the corporation’s commercial arm.

Mr Morris said: ‘‘I remember wiping the dust off the masking tape on the canisters and my heart missed a beat as I saw the words Doctor Who. When I read the story code, I realised I’d found something pretty special.’’

Only one episode of The Enemy Of The World – which featured Deborah Watling as companion Victoria and Frazer Hines, later to find fame in Emmerdale as Jamie – had remained in the archives, so the addition of programmes one, two, four, five and six have completed the story.

Fiona Eastwood, director of consumer products, BBC Worldwide, said: ‘‘We are thrilled with the recent discovery of The Web Of Fear and The Enemy Of The World and we’re very happy to be launching re-mastered versions of these treasured episodes to fans as we celebrate the 50th year of Doctor Who.’’

The BBC still had the first edition in the Web Of Fear story, and the new finds mean only number three is missing. The tale introduced Nicholas Courtney as Lethbridge-Stewart, who began with the rank of Colonel but later became Brigadier.

The missing episode has been recreated using 37 still images which were available and the original audio which survived.

The Great Intelligence's MO

All of the Great Intelligence stories (I haven't seen the classic series ones, but I've read the Wikipedia articles, so please forgive me) have certain elements in common. Be warned, some of this may be spoilery if you haven't seen The Bells of Saint John yet.

The mirroring multi-nuclear host: In each story, the Great Intelligence has a multi-nuclear (that means it has more than one nucleus, or center) host that it possesses. In the classic series stories, it was those metal balls. In The Snowmen, it was the telepathic snow, each snowflake a nucleus. The snow actually had nothing to do with the Great Intelligence, it just happened, and the Great Intelligence took advantage of it. In The Bells of Saint John, it was the wireless routers and the Spoonheads. Both the snow and the Spoonheads appeared to be able to mirror people's thoughts back at them. It would soak up images and words from the surrounding people (like the girl on the book, the Doctor, the snowmen, and "that's the way to do it!") and copy them.

The beasts/foot soldiers: There were also the creatures that the Great Intelligence controlled to do its bidding. In the classic series these were the Yeti, while in the new series they were the snowmen and the Spoonheads. The Yeti were simply animals that the Great Intelligence was controlling telepathically, though they later turned into robots. The snowmen were controlled by the Great Intelligence because they were made of the telepathic snow that the Great Intelligence was already in control of. The snow was able to remember the shape of Dr. Simeon's snowman as a child. The Spoonheads were manufactured specifically for their purpose by Ms. Kizlet's company. They were controlled by the Great Intelligence simply because they were Wi-Fi connected, and the Great Intelligence was living inside the Wi-Fi.

The boss: This was the person that the Great Intelligence had contacted as a child and was connected to telepathically. I don't know who it was in the classic series episodes (I think there was something about a monk or a professor in one of the episodes), but in The Snowmen, it was Dr. Simeon, while in The Bells of Saint John, it was Ms. Kizlet. Each of these people became telepathically linked to the Intelligence as a child. Both of them felt very alone (Simeon didn't like the other children and Kizlet's parents had disappeared) and the Intelligence used this to befriend them and use them for its own purposes.