Exclusive: Long-Lost Doctor Who Episode Rediscovered and Revitalized in Breathtaking Animation!

Summary

The lost Doctor Who story "The Underwater Menace" from 1967 is being fully restored in animated form for release in November 2023.

Two episodes of the story are still missing, but the animation will utilize audio from existing as well as missing episodes as a foundation for the recreation.

Animated recreations of Doctor Who have successfully safeguarded numerous early seasons of the show. Despite previous reports of animation cancellations, the release of "The Underwater Menace" comes as a delightful surprise to viewers.

A Doctor Who story from 1967, titled "The Underwater Menace," is currently being restored and reconstructed in animated form. This adventure, led by Patrick Troughton as the second incarnation of the Time Lord, follows the departure of the original Doctor played by William Hartnell. The story focuses on the Second Doctor and his companions as they confront a scientist determined to drain the Earth's oceans and uncover the lost city of Atlantis. The episode originally aired in 1967 and is now set to be released as a full-length animated story in November 2023, coinciding with Doctor Who's 60th-anniversary celebrations. A new trailer will also be released on Doctor Who's YouTube channel.

Doctor Who's Animated Recreations Have Helped Preserve Much Of The Show's Early Seasons

There are currently 49 missing episodes of classic Doctor Who, including both complete stories like "Marco Polo" and individual episodes from stories like "The Celestial Toymaker." The loss of many of Hartnell and Troughton's stories occurred because the BBC would erase or discard tapes of older shows to make room for new programming between 1967 and 1978. Despite this unfortunate practice, the BBC has undertaken extensive searches worldwide to recover and restore these episodes.

Since 2006, the BBC had only animated missing episodes in partially recovered story releases. However, in 2016, they started creating fully animated versions of complete stories for home release, beginning with "The Power of the Daleks" which had been leaked previously. As of now, eight stories from the time of Hartnell and Troughton, including "The Underwater Menace," have received full animated recreations. Unfortunately, in January 2022, it was reported that the animated recreations of Doctor Who's lost stories were cancelled due to BBC America withdrawing funding.

Despite this cancellation, there is some good news for fans as "The Underwater Menace" is still scheduled for release, providing a pleasant surprise for dedicated viewers. With Disney now involved in Doctor Who's future through its global distribution deal with the BBC, there is a possibility that the corporation could contribute to ensuring that these classic tales can still be enjoyed by audiences. In any case, the release and recreation of "The Underwater Menace" is a wonderful way to commemorate the show's 60th anniversary milestone.

Source: RadioTimes, Doctor Who