^But how far did that hunt extend? My impression was that the BBC sent out requests asking people in other countries to search for lost episodes, and some countries didn't send any reply, and it wasn't followed up on until Morris made the effort. And I doubt many people would've been willing to brave war zones and such just to look for lost TV shows.
Basically, but it wasn't so much "didn't send any reply" as "replied saying they had nothing" or "returned only some of what they had." Nigeria, for example, sent back "The Time Meddler" and "The War Machines" in response to the original request in the mid-80s, but apparently didn't know that "The Enemy of the World" and most of "The Web of Fear" also survived at one of their relay stations. (Those sets of stories had originally been broadcast by separate networks that were later combined when Nigerian TV was nationalized.)
Having worked in TV for around 10 years now I can honestly say I've done the old 'hey, I was looking for that tape a couple of years ago' line a few times...
Hi folks Noting that there had been no further updates on this thread for a few days and no announcement from the BBC re Marco Polo I did a Google search and look what turned up dated 30 minutes ago on the Daily Mirror website: http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/doctor-who-missing-episodes-seven-2839102 I always assumed that the alleged Marco Polo find came from the same (type of) source as Enemy of the World and Web of Fear.
Wow. If this is true, that's the whole serial. Well, except for the missing audio. I hope they get John Guilor as Hartnell's voice double like they did for the "Planet of Giants" reconstruction. As I've remarked before, I find his Hartnell impression uncanny. I assume that even with digital restoration, the image quality from a homemade telecine won't be that great. Still, to have "Marco Polo" at last would be amazing. I wonder if this fan has any other surviving films -- if the story's even true.
Yeah, assuming it's true, it seems likely than any fan who was obsessed enough to record the show with a film camera (and do it in apparently a very professional way) wouldn't have stopped with just one serial. Unless his other tapes just haven't survived as well over time or something.
Would love it to be true, but the circumstances kinda sounds unlikely. Polo does seem to keep cropping up as having been recovered though...
Except there is no missing audio. I'm pretty confident the facts are nonsense, but hope there is some basis to it
No, David Holman recorded all seven episodes BUT he does have a hole at the start of episode 7 which only lasts 10". James Russell's recording, which is slightly inferior to David's, fills this gap however.
If Marco Polo is from a fan copy does that undermine the rumours of recovery of other stories from foreign stations ?
I don't have my ear to the ground on these rumors, but any more rumblings about Marco Polo or other lost stories? MP was "supposed" to be released by now, right? So, maybe it's bunk? That's the problem with the BBC not officially confirming or denying more finds. Leaving vague means we only have rumors to go on. Mr Awe
There's no problem. If it's not officially confirmed it's not real. That's how I view these rumours and it works for me. Although, I think the latest rumour regarding Marco Polo is the restoration work is running behind and we shouldn't expect an announcement until January.
^ That worked for me up until Enemy and Web were released! The rumors were right and the denials were wrong. It's hard not to take the rumors a bit more seriously. Yet, I don't want to get my hopes up unnecessarily! Mr Awe
Then don't. I view Enemy and Web as nothing more than the rumours finally hitting something after constant shots in the dark. Eventually you'll hit something.
^ Nah, the rumors were more than that. The BBC had been working on them for at least months before we knew about them. It's hard to keep something so large secret for that long. Mr Awe
True, sometimes rumors are true. But usually they aren't. It's best to avoid believing something until there's solid proof. No harm in just accepting that we don't know yet.