Currently working through the missing episode audios...

[Candlelight]

Well the macra terror turned out as well as the underwater menace; I had a sketchy transfer of the Colin baker narrated cassette version, and was very hard to hear. I understand a new Fraser Hines version is out/is coming out, so will wait for that.

The Faceless Ones it is.

[Rarewolf]

Anneke did the new version; it is already out in the collection 4 boxset. I waited till the set was low enough that I didn't mind buying the whole set for one story.

And it was certainly worthwhile. Never knew how much I didn't know about the story.

[The Borgified Corpse]

Candlelight wrote:

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Actually it was the Cyprus civil war that destroyed the archive, but I know what you mean.

Civil wars are also a bane on Dr Who - look at the now legendary Sierra Leone...

I'm not familiar with the Sierra Leone incident. Please, elucidate & enlighten.

[Candlelight]

The Borgified Corpse wrote:

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I'm not familiar with the Sierra Leone incident. Please, elucidate & enlighten.

Documentation came to light a couple of years ago indicating the entire third season - minus both dalek stories and the war machines - existed in a film store in sierra leone. Sadly, the film vault, alone with most of the country, was destroyed in the civil war. The films could've existed as late as 2002.

[Candlelight]

If you're not familiar with the missing episode tally, including the 2011 discoveries (of which Galaxy 4 ep 3 would've been redundant) we would be down to 88 missing episodes...

[The Borgified Corpse]

Candlelight wrote:

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Documentation came to light a couple of years ago indicating the entire third season - minus both dalek stories and the war machines - existed in a film store in sierra leone. Sadly, the film vault, alone with most of the country, was destroyed in the civil war. The films could've existed as late as 2002.

Holy $#!t. Well, I guess I know what my next stop is once I get a working time machine.

[Candlelight]

THE FACELESS ONES
7/10

I enjoyed this one. Despite being very little suspense and mystery about the story the very down-to-earth alien abduction storyline would've felt right at home a few years later under Jon Pertwee. The removal of Ben and Polly so early in the story was a little weird, bringing them back for one scene in the final story made for a very frustrating finale, as they'd already been gone for three weeks beforehand!

I think this story would've worked better as a four-parter, as it just doesn't hold it's length. The fact that the originals are simply hidden in a carpark at the airport and not somewhere more secure (like maybe not even at the airport) would've been more realistic.

Got some time to kill so gonna go back and try and listen to the entire The Evil of the Daleks again in it's entirety, and not try to skip two episodes this time.

[The Borgified Corpse]

Candlelight wrote:

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The removal of Ben and Polly so early in the story was a little weird, bringing them back for one scene in the final story made for a very frustrating finale, as they'd already been gone for three weeks beforehand!

Would you prefer if they just vanished and didn't show up again like Dodo?

Actually, that makes me wonder if Ben & Polly left due to a contract despute too. Anyone know?

[Rarewolf]

Not quite, Anneke was asked to stay for longer, but didn't think it was fair on Micheal, who's wasn't renewed. It's possible they were only contracted for so many episodes, and their departure scene was shot on film so may have been shot weeks earlier anyway.

[The Borgified Corpse]

I guess they just never expected Jamie to take off like gangbusters the way he did.

[VDCNI]

Just got the last box set of missing episodes audio releases so looking forward to working through them once the Olympics is over particularly Web and Fury.

[diankra]

Rarewolf wrote:

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Not quite, Anneke was asked to stay for longer, but didn't think it was fair on Micheal, who's wasn't renewed. It's possible they were only contracted for so many episodes, and their departure scene was shot on film so may have been shot weeks earlier anyway.

Indeed, their departure scene in episode six was shot with the rest of the location work between Macra Terror 4 & Faceless Ones 1, so their last work on the series was the studio for FO2.

And, as you suspect, their contracts for so many episodes had been issued before the number of episodes in each story later on in the season had been tied down, so they ran out in mid story. The oddity is that it wasn't halfway through Faceless One - they were both under contract and paid through to Evil of the Daleks (episode 2, I think, but I've not found the reference to check). There's been speculation that they were originally going to be left behind in 1966 London when the action in Evil jumped back to 1867 Canterbury, but the surviving story outlines, etc, don't back this up).

Their departure is a bit odfd and perfunctory, but the best explanation is just that having decided to switch to Jamie and the new girl (and that was originally going to be Samantha/Cleo/Mary, before ending up as Victoria next story) producer Innes Lloyd wanted to make the change as soon as possible.

[Phillip Culley]

diankra wrote:

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The oddity is that it wasn't halfway through Faceless One - they were both under contract and paid through to Evil of the Daleks (episode 2, I think, but I've not found the reference to check).

It was episode 2 of Evil - IIRC this was because they were renewed for a certain number of 4-episode stories. With The Faceless Ones being 6 episodes, this meant Wills and Craze's contract only lasted through to the first two episodes of Evil.

[Candlelight]

Phillip Culley wrote:

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It was episode 2 of Evil - IIRC this was because they were renewed for a certain number of 4-episode stories. With The Faceless Ones being 6 episodes, this meant Wills and Craze's contract only lasted through to the first two episodes of Evil.

Indeed; it's been an often quoted fact that David Whittaker originally had Ben and Polly in the first two episodes of Evil, but had to remove them when they were written out in The Faceless Ones. Pity, it's the last time until the late Tom Baker era that the Doctor had three companions. It did allow adventures to be spread over 3 or even 4 storylines when everyone splits up.

[Candlelight]

THE EVIL OF THE DALEKS (REDUX)
7/10

I managed to listen to the story the entire way through. I still find the early episodes extremely dull and in the whole scheme of things largely superfluous. That said, I do have a new found appreciation of certain elements, and enjoyed episode 5 now more than I did. The final two episodes however are still stunningly good.

THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMEN
6/10

Based on the surviving episode, I'd always had a soft spot for this serial. It felt quite good, the isolated base under siege saga isn't new but being in a 1930s monastery in Tibet adds a new flavour to it... even if it was a Welsh countryside.

But the rest of the missing serial is decidedly average. Victoria is bizarrely written, with her eager to get out there and explore, especially in the cave towards the end of episode one, when suddenly she doesn't want to go in and becomes all hysterical. The Yeti don't actually do much in this story, except walk up and down the mountain a few times. Another story which would probably have worked better as a four-parter.

Pity episode six is missing, I'd love to have seen part of the Himalayas explode.

Might as well stay with the Yeti theme and hear a story I know next to nothing about...