I don't doubt it's possible. In fact, it's been rumored that episode 3 of The Web of Fear is in the hands of a greedy collector. I just find your claims with their lack of evidence (links, articles, etc.) dubious.
Current rumours out there in the Vortex as we head into 2017: - A complete missing First Doctor story, plus two orphaned episodes, have returned. Word of this comes from a source who correctly foretold the Enemy/Web finds and the Power animation. The title most commonly mentioned is Part 4 of Galaxy 4, the third season opener (the one with the psychotic blond Drahvins and the too-cute-to-be-menacing Chumblies). As this would put Galaxy 4 at 50% complete, animation may be an option to complete it. - The complete story, title not given, was not returned by Philip Morris. - Dan Hall, Head of Licensing at Simply Media, recently congratulated Mark Ayers & Crocman for completing restoration work on a 'lost BBC title' soon to make its online debut. Simply Media posted a WIP end slate of this coming 'classic.' (I personally suspect this isn't DW-related. May be from Out of the Unknown.) - Morris has tracked down the private collector who snagged The Web of Fear Part 3, and negotiations are in progress to get it back.
I'm guessing the missing 1st Doctor story is Marco Polo, because that's the one that was mentioned in connection with the Enemy of the World/Web of Fear finds?
Ah yes, I remember. It was all back at the BBC, fully restored and just waiting to be released. THREE YEARS AGO! Nothing is impossible but I certainly don't put any store in specific rumours anymore.
This thread continues to provide as much entertainment as the Axanar thread. It'll probably last as long too...
Reminds me of a running gag on a radio comedy talk show my father was the co-host for way back when: "We can confirm that this rumor definitely is a rumor!"
I don't know, this whole missing episodes debacle when it was in its prime was an amusing diversion. Axanar is just scary.
As unlikely as these rumors are to become true, I would like to hope 2017 will start off on a very happy note. Probably too much to hope for...
It would be nice if something turns up. Currently, I'm getting two strong, but contradictory, rumours, without any second source to make either convincing.
No, not th a one. But the others are so lacking in support that there's no point spreading them with a bit more evidence.
I heard something about "The Massacre" maybe a year ago, that it was found but had degraded so much that it was unusable.
And the episodes will feature as extras on the 'Star Trek: Axanar' special edition Blu-Ray that Alex Peters still thinks he'll be able to produce .
Marco Polo is only hyped because it was the most widely sold story yet sod's law meant that none of it survived.
Well, I think the story's own merits play a role too. It was the first real historical serial in the series (prehistory doesn't count), photos of its beautiful sets survive, and it reads and sounds like a pretty good story. Plus it's the longest and most epic of the completely missing historicals (the others being "The Myth Makers," "The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve," "The Smugglers," and "The Highlanders," all 4-parters).
But also because it was the most widely sold 1960s story. People assume that means more prints, so it must be out there somewhere, whereas it really just means the prints went through more places (Though there do we to have been more prints in circulation than for any other one. But not many more).