Glen here...
Listeners to the WHOTININNIES podcast I host with Ken Plume may’ve heard that my mom recently had a stroke, the fallout from which has temporarily upset the rhythm of life ‘round these here parts.
Her recovery is going quite nicely and her prognosis is as positive as one might expect given her circumstance (advanced age, overall health, etc), but some matters needed to be attended to this week - and the process of addressing them prevented me from finishing up my planned Docback from MIND OF EVIL (Pertwee, Story #56). What I’ve seen so far has been rather interesting; I’ve always been fascinated by efforts to rehabilitate criminals and whatnot, so this one zings a few nerves for me. Look for a fuller report next week.
Nonetheless, I did want there to be a Docback (as far as I’m concerned there should always be a Friday Docback, even if it’s only a simple one), so here’s a breaking newsbit to mull:
Sounds like a number of vintage, long presumed missing DOCTOR WHO episodes have been recovered and may be lying in wait for surprise issuance later this year (one article on this new development can be found HERE). These are episodes originally believed to have been lost forever when BBC deleted and purged the masters of these stories as part of regular housecleaning practice back in the day. Over the years, a very wide net has been cast in the hopes of recovering some of the lost installments (in some cases, only PARTS of stories were missing, in other cases, entire tales were trashed). This effort has met with varying and irregular degrees of success. But, as I’ve mentioned a number of occasions here on the Docback (ahem), it seemed a certainty that somewhere out there...perhaps unbeknownst or unrecognized even to the people possessing them...lost DOCTOR WHO was waiting to be re-discovered.
I can confirm that the recovery of missing episodes does appear to be the case.
This said, I’ve been unable to glean exact numbers of episodes recovered, and I’ve yet to ascertain their condition. Rumors of this recovery have been popping up on DW-themed message boards for a while now (I’m unable to exact links at the moment), where some rather staggering numbers have been advanced (in terms of how many episode shave been located). The number I’m hearing is considerably less than is being represented on said boards - but is still an impressive and promising amount. This said, the situation may be in flux and the smaller number I’m hearing may actually be escalating.
As far as BBC’s plans for the episodes? I have no ACTUAL idea whatsoever. My strong sense of the matter is: I think it would be a very, very, very safe bet to assume that the eps are, indeed, being kept hush-hush to better exploit the 50th Anniversary later this year. Which is rolling towards us quickly, so we’ll find out soon enough.
Speaking of the 50th Anniversaary, I’ll be in London for the 50th Anniversary Convention in November. I’ll also be hitting Cardiff. On the whole, how crowded is the DOCTOR WHO EXPERIENCE on a given day? Presumably it might be a tad more busy ‘round the actual anniversary?
More on the recovery saga as we know more...
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Glen Oliver
"Merrick"
- Google +
[[[[[ A LIST OF PREVIOUS DOCBACKS CAN BE FOUND HERE!! ]]]]]
DOCBACK CODE OF CONDUCT
1) a Docback should be about completely open and free discourse regarding all things WHO with, obviously, some variation on subject matter from time to time - the real world intervenes, discussions of other shows are inevitable, etc.)...
2) matters of SPOILAGE should be handled with thoughtful consideration and sensitivity. Posts containing SPOILERS should clearly state that a SPOILER exists in its topic/headline and should never state the spoiler itself . "** SPOILER ** Regarding Clara" is OK, for example. "** SPOILER about that Motorcycle" is fine. **SPOILER** Why did everyone die?" Is NOT good.
And, above all...
3) converse, agree, disagree, and question as much as you want - but the freedom to do so is NOT a license to be rude, crass, disrespectful, or uncivilized in any way. Not remaining courteous and civil, as well as TROLLING or undertaking sensational efforts to ignite controversy, will result in banning. Lack of courtesy may receive one (1) warning before a ban is instigated. Obvious Trolling or Spamming will result in summary banning with no warning. One word posts intended to bump-up any Docback's figures on AICN's "Top Talkbacks" sidebar will be considered actionable Spam - they not only complicate efforts to access Docback from mobile devices, but impede readers' abilities to follow or engage in flowing conversation.
In short, it's easy. Be excellent to each other. Now party on...
