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Saturday, 15 March 2014

Missing Stories: MOST WANTED!

Marco Polo

by John Lucarotti
Directed by Waris Hussein (1-3, 5-7) and John Crockett (4)
22nd February to 4th April 1964

Arriving in Central Asia in 1289, the Doctor and his companions join the caravan of the famous Venetian explorer Marco Polo as it makes its way from the snowy heights of the Pamir Plateau, across the treacherous Gobi Desert and through the heart of imperial Cathay, eventually arriving at the mighty Kublai Khan's Imperial Palace, where the travellers manage to save the Khan from an assassination attempt by the Mongol warlord Tegana.

What's missing? All 7 episodes

Reputation: Very Good
Mystery: As with all the "Missing Stories" the soundtrack exists in its entirety, and in addition we have not just a set of telesnaps but also the rare luxury of a fair few colour photographs, that demonstrate some rather luxurious costumes that would be a joy to behold in action...
Popularity: Easily one of the most popular choices, an opulent sprawling epic that hails from that invincible early period of the very first season, and whilst some may baulk at its 7 episode length, the fact that rumours of a possible return for this story in the not too distant future seem to have elevated it to the top, or very near the top of a lot of fans' most wanted lists.  It's the first story after the initial 13 episode run that saw the original TARDIS line up slowly come to trust and respect one another, this is the first real foray into the 'costume drama' style of historical story. 


by David Whittaker
Directed by Douglas Camfield
27th March to 17th April 1965

The TARDIS arrives in 12th Century Palestine where a holy war is in progress between the forces of King Richard the Lionheart and the Saracen ruler Saladin. Barbara is abducted in a Saracen ambush and the Doctor, Ian and Vicki make their way to King Richard's palace in the city of Jaffa. Ian is granted permission to ride in search of Barbara - the King knighting him Sir Ian of Jaffa to fit him for the role - while the Doctor and Vicki stay behind and try to avoid getting involved in court politics.


What's missing? Episodes 2 & 4, with 1 & 3 currently available on "Lost in Time"

Reputation: Good
Mystery: With episodes 1 and 3 back in the archives and available on the "Lost in Time" set, it could be argued that there's not too much guesswork required to judge The Crusade as a whole. But with powerhouse guest performances from Julian Glover and Jean Marsh, direction from the peerless Douglas Camfield, and a dazzling script from the always classy David Whittaker, this season 2 historical sees the TARDIS regulars, and the series as a whole, in full flight and firing on all cylinders. Any return of the missing half of this story would at the bare minimum give us more of the heroic Sir Ian, Barbara at her fiercest defending Maimuna, and a Mercurial Hartnell twinkling at Vicki one minute and holding court head and shoulders above Richard the Lionheart the next.
Popularity: Seemingly well enough liked, but not a lot of people voting for this one, perhaps people feel they know a story already 50% complete well enough, and would just prioritize something a little more 'lost' for rediscovery?

Galaxy 4

by William Emms
Directed by Derek Martinus
11th September to 2nd October 1965

The Doctor, Vicki and Steven arrive on an arid planet where they meet the occupants of two crashed spaceships: the beautiful Drahvins and the hideous Rills with
 their robot drones, which Vicki nicknames 'Chumblies'. The Rills prove to be friendly, compassionate explorers while the former are a group of mindless cloned soldiers terrorised by a warlike matriarch, Maaga.


What's missing? Episodes 1, 2 and 4
Reputation: Fair
Mystery: One of Verity Lambert's final stories, and one that was shrouded in mystery, particularly regarding it's monstrous protagonists, the Rills, until episode 3 resurfaced and was strangely dumped out sewn into a cut down recon on a DVD revisiting 'the Aztecs'.  
Popularity: Perhaps oddly simplistic but still incredibly atmospheric nonetheless, and seemingly a fair few people's wild card third choice...

by Terry Nation
Directed by Derek Martinus
9th October 1965

Space Security Service agent Marc Cory suspects the Daleks have established a base on the planet Kembel, where his companions both fall victim to the poisonous thorns of Varga plants and are themselves transformed into Vargas, while the Daleks plot with representatives of the six outer galaxies to overthrow the solar system. Cory records a warning message and prepares to send it into orbit with a rocket launcher, but before he can do so, he is discovered and exterminated.

What's missing? All 1 of it!
Reputation: Very Good.
Mystery: Forget Doctor-lite, this story is Doctor-free! Perhaps a story that gave a taster of what Terry Nation's Dalek series might have turned out like? As a vehicle to show that the Daleks don't necessarily need the Doctor around to boss the screen, it sounds like it makes quite the convincing argument - but with no telesnaps, this is one that's perhaps more of a mystery than most...
Popularity: Probably inseparable in most people's minds from the story it foreshadows, the love for The Daleks' Masterplan rubs off, though not one people ask for on its own...

The Myth Makers

by Donald Cotton
Directed by Michael Leeston-Smith
16th October to 6th November 1965

When the TARDIS arrives on the plains of Asia Minor, not far from the besieged city of Troy, the Doctor is hailed by Achilles as the mighty god Zeus and taken to the Greek camp, where he meets Agamemnon and Odysseus and is given just two days to devise a scheme to capture Troy, while Steven and Vicki are taken prisoner by the Trojans. The Doctor is eventually driven to 'invent' the famous wooden horse, and in the climactic battle Steven is wounded by a sword-thrust to his shoulder and Katarina, handmaiden to the Trojan prophetess Cassandra, helps the Doctor to get him back to the TARDIS, while Vicki having adopted the guise of Cressida, remains on Earth with the Trojan prince Troilus, with whom she has fallen in love.

What's missing? All 4 episodes
Reputation: Very Good
Mystery: From the pen of the same writer that gave us the marmite The Gunfighters, this seems to be more of a muscular, boisterous cousin to The Romans. Another story with no telesnaps and therefore another whose return could be completely revelatory.
Popularity: Definitely a popular choice, but not the top of many people's lists.

by Terry Nation (1-5,7) and Dennis Spooner from an idea by Terry Nation (6, 8-12)
Directed by Douglas Camfield
13th November 1965 to 29th January 1966

The TARDIS arrives on Kembel, where the Doctor and his friends meet Space Security Service agent Bret Vyon, who has been sent in search of Marc Cory. Learning of the Daleks' scheme, which hinges on the use of a weapon called the time destructor, they determine to warn the authorities on Earth. This proves problematic as the human leader Mavic Chen, Guardian of the Solar System, is a traitor in league with the Daleks.

Fortunately the Doctor has managed to make off with the taranium core of the time destructor, disrupting the Daleks' plans. In one of a number of attempts to regain the taranium, Chen dispatches Space Security Service agent Sara Kingdom to track down the Doctor's party.

Sara, unaware of Chen's treachery, kills Bret - her own brother - before the time travellers can convince her of the truth. She then joins forces with them and, after an encounter with their old adversary the Monk, they all arrive back on Kembel. There, the Doctor contrives to steal the time destructor and turn it against the Daleks, annihilating them. Sara has ignored his instruction to return to the TARDIS, however, and she too is killed.
 


What's missing? Episodes 1, 3, 4, 6-9, 11 & 12
Reputation: Excellent
Mystery: With perhaps the most missing of missing episodes in the form of The Feast of Steven (episode 7) and being the story probably the least circulated abroad, we've really no business having three episodes of this whilst all 7 episodes of Marco Polo are still absent. No telesnaps, but a fair selection of production stills and an evocative audio soundtrack bolstered by a good spread of existing episodes featuring Nicholas Courtney, Katarina's only existing episodes, the startling Kevin Stoney as Mavic Chen and a return from the Peter Butterworth's Meddling Monk, have given us a taster that just isn't enough! Thrills, spills and a variety of settings make for a gruelling ride that takes its toll on the 1st Doctor and his companions - with not just one but two (perhaps even arguably three) companions killed...

Popularity: This gargantuan epic tops many people's lists.


by John Lucarotti
Directed by Paddy Russell
5th to 26th February 1966

The TARDIS materialises in Paris in the year 1572 and the Doctor decides to visit the famous apothecary Charles Preslin. Steven, meanwhile, is befriended by a group of Huguenots from the household of the Protestant Admiral de Coligny. It appears that hated Catholic dignitary, the Abbot of Amboise, is actually the Doctor in disguise. Held responsible for the failure of a plot to assassinate de Coligny, the Abbot is executed by the Catholic authorities and his body left lying in the gutter. To Steven's relief, it transpires that the Abbot was not the Doctor after all, but merely his physical double. The two time travellers meet up again at Preslin's shop, where Steven has gone in search of the TARDIS key, and regain the safety of the ship just as the massacre begins. The TARDIS then lands on Wimbledon Common in 1966 and the Doctor and Steven gain a new companion, Dorothea 'Dodo' Chaplet.

What's missing? All 4 episodes
Reputation: Very Good
Mystery: Another story with no telesnaps, and from the popular pen of John Lucarotti, who gave us Marco Polo and The Aztecs, this has the added attraction of a seemingly startling double performance from William Hartnell, who plays the Abbot of Amboise, line perfect, with no stammering or so-called Billy fluffs. Were this to return it could be seen as something of an evil twin to The Enemy of the World, a more sombre doom-laden doppleganger tale that puts Peter Purves center stage, where he pleasingly excels.

Popularity: A very popular third choice.

The Celestial Toymaker

by Brian Hayles
Directed by Bill Sellars
2nd to 23rd April 1966

The travellers arrive in a strange domain presided over by the Celestial Toymaker - an enigmatic, immortal entity who forces them to play a series of games, failure at which will render them his playthings. The Doctor has to solve the complex Trilogic game while Steven and Dodo are faced with defeating a succession of apparently child-like but potentially lethal animated toys in contests such as 'blind man's buff', musical chairs and 'hunt the key'.
What's missing? Episodes 1-3
Reputation: Fair
Mystery: A story that probably suffers more than most from having so little visual representation, though with that set there are a smattering of rather lovely colour photos that at least show some of the inventiveness at play in the costume department.

Popularity: perhaps suffering by its reputation and a lack of both Hartnell and plot, not one that too many people would prioritize it seems...


by Ian Stuart Black
Directed by Christopher Barry
28th May to 18th June 1966

The TARDIS has arrived on a far-distant and seemingly idyllic world, but the Doctor, Steven and Dodo discover that it hides a terrible secret: the apparently civilised Elders maintain their advanced society by draining off and transferring to themselves the life-force of a group of defenceless Savages. Outraged at this exploitation, the Doctor is seemingly helpless to prevent it when some of his own life-force is tapped by the Elders' leader, Jano. In the process, however, Jano also acquires some of the Doctor's attitudes and conscience. Steven agrees to remain behind on the planet to become leader of the newly united Elders and Savages.


What's missing? All 4 episodes

Reputation: Rarely mentioned, and perhaps a little under the radar...
Mystery: Ostensibly a poster-boy for fair to middling stories that no one hates but no one really loves either, the Savages is yet another example of early attempts to write out William Hartnell's Doctor, with the Doctor's personality transplanted into the villainous Jano for a couple of episodes. As such it does have a certain unique appeal but it's probably fair to say that with the audio soundtrack and telesnaps available, this would perhaps be one to watch for the performances from the regulars more than anything else.

Popularity: As an oft-overlooked story, it does seem to be one whose lack of familiarity has perhaps started to pique the interests of those who've already pored over the better known big-hitters of the Missing Episodes.

by Brian Hayles
Directed by Julia Smith
10th September to 1st October 1966

The TARDIS arrives on the coast of seventeenth century Cornwall - much to the astonishment of Polly and Ben. Pirates led by Captain Samuel Pike and his henchman Cherub are searching for a hidden treasure, while a smuggling ring masterminded by the local Squire is trying to off-load contraband.


What's missing? All 4 episodes

Reputation: Another one that's a bit of an unknown quantity.
Mystery: Usually seen, along with The Highlanders, as one of the lesser historicals, it doesn't have the weighty worthiness of the likes of Marco Polo, or The Massacre, nor the boisterous rompery of The Myth Makers, and with Ben and Polly aboard the TARDIS, the 1st Doctor's days are numbered. As such, other than a few fruity "aarrrgh!" piratical performances and the same kind of villainous hammery Paul Whitsun-Jones treats us to in the only story called The Mutants (thank you very much, DWM ;-P), this is another we might need to see in full-costumed action to really appreciate. We do know that there would be some location work that was a rarity for the time that would probably add a little extra.

Popularity: Another overlooked story, but still not one registering on the radar of too many.

by Kit Pedler & Gerrt Davis
Directed by Derek Martinus
29th October 1966

As the Cybermen take over Space Command in Geneva, the Doctor realises that their plan is to destroy the Earth with the Z-bombs, thus saving Mondas. Ben, Barclay, and the others regain control of the base, and Mondas explodes, disabling all the remaining Cybermen. Ben makes his way back to the Cybermen's ship to rescue the Doctor and Polly. The Doctor appears to be very ill and confused and makes his way back to the TARDIS and closes the door. As Ben and Polly hammer on the door, the controls operate of their own accord and the central column begins to rise and fall. The Doctor opens the door and Ben and Polly finally get in. Barely conscious, the Doctor falls to the floor, and before the astonished eyes of his companions, he becomes enveloped in a bright light. After the light dies down, the Doctor`s face is different and has the appearance of a younger man...

What's missing? Episode 4, only the one with the first flipping regeneration!
Reputation: Once the Holy Grail, now available on DVD in animated form
Mystery: Perhaps one of the very least mysterious of the missing episodes, and let's be honest, not one of the finest until the last five minutes, but there's still nothing quite like seeing that regeneration for yourself it seems...

Popularity: The fact that it's on this list says it all - I've not listed other "orphaned episodes" where the partially existing story has been completed with animation, but this is the only one that people were prepared to use up their third choice for!


by David Whittaker
Directed by Christopher Barry
5th November to 10th December 1966

The TARDIS brings the new Doctor, Polly and Ben to the Earth colony planet Vulcan. The Doctor witnesses a murder and, investigating the body, discovers a pass badge allowing him unrestricted access to the colony. The dead man was an Examiner who had been secretly summoned to investigate the activities of a group of rebels. A scientist, Lesterson, has meanwhile discovered a crashed space capsule containing inert Daleks, which he is now in the process of reactivating. The Doctor's warnings are ignored when the Daleks claim to be the colonists' servants. As the rebels grow in strength, their operations covertly led by Head of Security Bragen, the Daleks take advantage of the colonists' naive trust to establish a reproduction plant - on a conveyor belt system - with which to increase their numbers...


What's missing? All 6 episodes

Reputation: If the Tenth Planet 4 was the Holy Grail, is this the Ark of the Covenant? (Okay, I've tortured that enough, decide for yourself which story is the Temple of Doom. The Underwater Menace, maybe?).
Mystery: As the recently rediscovered The Enemy of the World demonstrates, there's so much more missing performance-wise when it comes to Troughton and of course this is where he was not only brand new, but experimenting in ways he probably never did again. Add the Daleks at their most manipulative to the first ever brand new Doctor and you've got practically the perfect storm. You have to suspect that Episode 1 alone is going to have that rarely repeated hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck magic that only comes with the likes of An Unearthly Child or The War Games Episode 10.

Popularity: The runaway winner. Everybody wants to see the first new Doctor's first story!


And now, with the announcement that this story is to be released in fully animated form, it seems "we will have our power!"


The Highlanders

by Gerry Davis
Directed by Hugh David
17th December 1966 to 7th January 1967

The time travellers arrive in Scotland in the aftermath of the battle of Culloden. The Doctor gains the trust of a small band of fleeing Highlanders by offering to tend their wounded Laird, Colin McLaren; but while Polly and the Laird's daughter, Kirsty, are away fetching water, he and the others are all captured by Redcoat troops under the command of Lieutenant Algernon ffinch. Grey, a crooked solicitor who sells prisoners for transportation to slavery in the West Indies, then secures the group into his custody.  Grey and the unscrupulous captain of the Annabelle, Trask, are overpowered and the vessel returned to its rightful owner, MacKay, who agrees to take the Scots to safety in France. The Doctor, Polly and Ben return to the TARDIS, where they are joined on their travels by the young piper Jamie McCrimmon.


What's missing? All 4 episodes

Reputation: A low-key standing in most people's thinking, it seems.
Mystery: Much like The Smugglers, it seems that this is to a certain extent viewed as something of a lesser historical, a little fforay into a particular time rather than the more pivotal moments of history that the 1st Doctor used to frequent, but that said, as only Troughton's 2nd story this also has the allure of coming from his most experimental period, with crazy accents and cross-dressing galore, that will surely be unlike anything we're used to from the mighty Trout. From the audio it seems a strong story for the companions, with Ben using his smarts on more than one occasion, Jamie McCrimmon making an instant impact, and Polly in particular running absolute rings around the hapless Ffinch.

Popularity: Only a few curious expressions of interest; everyone loves Jamie, but in the monster era, the last of the "pure" historicals doesn't get much of a look in.

by Geoffrey Orme
Directed by Julia Smith
14th January to 2nd February 1967

The TARDIS arrives on a extinct volcanic island and before long, the travellers are captured and taken into the depths of the Earth, where they find a hidden civilisation - the lost city of Atlantis. The Atlanteans worship a goddess named Amdo and use Fish People - men and women operated upon so that they can breathe under the sea - to farm the plankton-based food on which they survive. A deranged scientist, Professor Zaroff, has convinced them that he can raise their city from the sea, but actually he plans to drain the ocean into the Earth's molten core, so that the resultant superheated steam will cause the planet to explode...


What's missing? Episodes 1 & 4
Reputation: Recently improved thanks to the superiority of the more recently recovered Episode 2 over the previously held Episode 3. Now available on DVD, albeit sadly with only an inferior slideshow representing the missing episodes, it seems that nothing in the world can stop it now!
Mystery: Again, a story with existing episodes that we already have a flavour for, so there's perhaps not too much we don't already know.

Popularity: Recently increased due in no small part to the return of the aforementioned Episode 2, a few people seem to fancy a bit of fun with Zaroff and his pet octopus!


by Ian Stuart Black
Directed by John Davies
11th March to 1st April 1967

The time travellers visit a human colony that appears to be a happy place run along the lines of an enormous holiday camp but has in fact been infiltrated and taken over by a race of giant crab-like creatures - the Macra. The brainwashed inhabitants are forced to mine a gas toxic to themselves but vital for their oppressors' survival. Ben at one point comes under the Macra's malign influence and turns against his friends. He eventually regains his senses, however, and under the Doctor's guidance destroys the gas pumping equipment, thus killing the Macra and restoring the colony's freedom.




What's missing? There are no such thing as all 4 episodes!
Reputation: Fair to Good
Mystery: The same fun that's been building through The Highlanders and The Underwater Menace is in full blossom here, pre-empting The Prisoner with it's trippy conspiratorial sinister holiday camp atmosphere. 

Popularity:  Not exactly regarded as a classic, but a few people choosing this one presumably to see the early version of Troughton's Doctor at his anarchic peak.


by Malcolm Hulke and David Ellis
Directed by Gerry Mill
18th April to 13th May

The TARDIS arrives on Earth in 1966 - on a runway at Gatwick airport. Polly witnesses a murder in a nearby hangar and is then kidnapped by the perpetrator, Spencer of Chameleon Tours. Subsequently Ben also vanishes. The Doctor and Jamie are left to try to convince the sceptical airport Commandant that there has been foul play. It transpires that a great many other young people have also vanished, all of them while on Chameleon Tours holidays. With the help of Samantha Briggs, the sister of one of the missing youths, the Doctor and Jamie uncover a plot by the alien Chameleons to kidnap human youngsters in order to take their identities - for the Chameleons have lost their own in an accident on their home planet. The Doctor offers to help the Chameleons find another solution to their problem and the kidnapped humans are released.

What's missing? Episodes 2, 4 to 6

Reputation: Fair to Good
Mystery: Much here that the telesnaps and soundtrack don't seem to do justice to, and the airport setting is novel, lending the story a vague Dr. No meets the Bodysnatchers feel whose expansiveness avoids the samey-ness that season 5 may have fallen prey to as the weeks went on. An interesting monster/villain in the Chameleons that the telesnaps don't seem to do justice to, and Jamie's first story as centre-stage companion.

Popularity: Losing out to the bigger hitters, and the more distinctive curios, another story (perhaps appropriately enough) that's off people's radar. 


by David Whittaker
Directed by Derek Martinus
20th May to 1st July 1967

The TARDIS has been stolen by antiques dealer Edward Waterfield, who lures the Doctor and Jamie into a trap. They are transported back to Waterfield's own time, 1867, where his daughter Victoria is being held hostage by the Daleks to ensure his cooperation. The Daleks force the Doctor to monitor Jamie's performance of a test - the rescue of Victoria - with the supposed intention of identifying the human factor: the special quality possessed by humans that enables them always to defeat the Daleks, but the Doctor discovers that the Daleks' true aim has been to isolate the Dalek factor - the impulse to destroy - and implant it into humans. The Emperor Dalek informs him that his TARDIS will be used to spread the Dalek factor throughout all time... By a ruse, however, the Doctor is able to infuse many more Daleks with the human factor. A civil war breaks out between the two Dalek factions and they are apparently all destroyed. As Waterfield has been killed during the course of the action, the Doctor offers Victoria a place aboard the TARDIS.

 
 

What's missing? Episodes 1, 3 to 7

Reputation: Excellent
Mystery: Much is lacking here, from the deviousness of Theodore Maxtible to Jamie's rage at the suddenly darker, less trustworthy 2nd Doctor, and to the might of the colossal Dalek Emperor.

Popularity:  Perhaps a little overtaken by the significance of The Power of the Daleks, the current buzz surrounding Marco Polo and the undeniably epicness of The Daleks' Masterplan, this is by no means a distant 4th, even overtaking one or other of that top 3 for a lot of voters.


The Abominable Snowmen

by Mervyn Haisman & Henry Lincoln
Directed by Gerald Blake
30th September to 4th November 1967

The TARDIS arrives in Tibet in 1935 and the Doctor visits the remote Detsen monastery in order to return a sacred bell, the ghanta, given to him for safe keeping on a previous visit. There he meets an Englishman, Travers, on an expedition to track down the legendary Abominable Snowmen or Yeti. It transpires that the Yeti roaming the area are actually disguised robots, which scare away or kill anyone who approaches. The High Lama Padmasambhava, whom the Doctor met hundreds of years earlier on his previous visit, has been taken over by a nebulous alien being, the Great Intelligence, which has artificially prolonged his life and is now using him to control the Yeti by way of models on a chessboard-like map...

What's missing? Episodes 1, 3 to 7
Reputation: Fair to Good
Mystery: Episode 2 is available on "Lost in Time" so we do have a taste of this story, but perhaps not too much of the more overt presence of the Intelligence, more prominent in the story's later stages, and we're denied much of the Mark 1 Yetis in action too. 

Popularity:  May well enjoy a resurgence in the wake of its sequel's record breaking DVD release...


by Victor Pemberton
Directed by Hugh David
16th March to 20th April 1968

The TARDIS lands on the surface of the sea, just off the east coast of England, in the restricted area of a gas refinery. At the refinery base, run by a man named Robson, the Doctor learns that one of the rigs has sucked up a parasitic form of seaweed, which is capable of releasing poisonous gas or a strange kind of foam that allows it to take control of the minds of those it touches. The weed spreads rapidly and seems set on establishing a huge colony centred around the rigs. The Doctor makes the chance discovery that it is very susceptible to high pitched noise; consequently he is able to use the amplified sound of Victoria's screams to destroy it. Victoria elects to stay with the family of one of the refinery workers, Harris. The Doctor, although sharing Jamie's sadness at her departure, understands her decision to settle down to a quieter life.

  
What's missing? All 6 episodes
Reputation: Very Good
Mystery: Certainly highly atmospheric on audio and the telesnaps do nothing to suggest that the visuals would betray that, and whilst we know to expect something of a foam party, many of the guest roles are an unknown quantity, and of course we have not only Victoria's last bow, but also the first ever appearance of the Sonic Screwdriver. It remains to be seen whether the trademark Troughton sparkle was still in evidence by this point or if base-under-siege fatigue had started to disinterest even the mighty Trout as it appeared to do contemporary viewers, despite more modern perceptions of this as a taut exercise in nerve shredding menace. 

Popularity: Its sinister atmosphere and claustrophobia make this a popular choice, but can it live up to its reputation or will it get the "good but not great" treatment The Web of Fear drew from some quarters?

by David Whittaker from an idea by Kit Pedler
Directed by Tristan de Vere Cole
27th April to 1st June 1968

The TARDIS materialises on board a spaceship, the Silver Carrier, where the Doctor and Jamie are attacked by a Servo Robot. Jamie manages to contact a nearby space station known as the Wheel and they are rescued. Meanwhile, the Silver Carrier discharges some Cybermats, which also travel to and enter the station. These pave the way for the penetration of the station by Cybermen, who intend to use its direct radio link with Earth as a beacon for their invasion fleet. The Doctor sends Jamie and a young woman named Zoe Heriot over to the Silver Carrier to fetch the TARDIS's vector generator rod. Meanwhile he manages to free the Wheel's crew from the Cybermen's hypnotic control and to destroy all the Cybermen on the station. When Jamie and Zoe return, he installs the rod in the station's X-ray laser, making it powerful enough to destroy the Cyber-fleet. An approaching force of space-walking Cybermen is also vanquished.

 
What's missing? Episodes 1, 2, 4 & 5
Reputation: Poor to Fair
Mystery: With episodes 3 & 6 on "Lost in Time" we're denied the largely padded episode 1 with its novel Servo-Robot and more of this one-time only design for the Cybermen, but we've enough to go on to at least allow us a grip on the venue and guest cast. 

Popularity: Not a hugely popular choice, perhaps one for only the most hardcore Cyber-fan or devotee of Zoe?


The Space Pirates

by Robert Holmes
Directed by Michael Hart
8th March to 12th April 1969

The TARDIS materialises in Earth's future on a space beacon just before it is attacked by pirates. The travellers find themselves trapped in a sealed section of the beacon as it is blown apart and flown to where the pirates will plunder it of the precious mineral argonite. They then witness a conflict between the pirates and the Interstella Space Corps, led by General Hermack and Major Warne. The ISC are convinced that the pirates' mastermind is an innocent yet eccentric space mining pioneer named Milo Clancey, while their true leader is a man named Caven. Caven has a secret base on the planet Ta and is assisted by Madeleine Issigri, daughter of his ex-partner Dom, who - unknown to her - is now his captive.


What's missing? Episodes 1 & 3 to 6
Reputation: Poor to Fair
Mystery: Another story ripe to pull a rabbit out of a hat on the visuals; on audio it suffers terribly, from the complete absence of the purportedly good model work (I'm not convinced this would be enough to save the story personally) to the diabolical accents and dreary plodding plot - but by that token perhaps the strongest candidate to "do an Enemy of the World" and wow us all?

Popularity: A reasonably popular 3rd choice, but perhaps more amongst those curious to see a story that's so largely unknowable at present than necessarily an audience won over by its soundtrack?


So over to you - if you could pick just 3 stories to have back, which would it be?


Bob McCow ‏@BobMcCow
Marco Polo, the Myth Makers, Power of The Daleks. They all sound like they would be awesome.

Vicki Davidson ‏@VickiDavidson1
Marco Polo, The Massacre & Fury From The Deep

Darth Marenghi ‏@DarthMarenghi
Boring answer but Marco, Masterplan and Power.

James Smith ‏@thejimsmith
Marco Polo. The Daleks' Master Plan. The Massacre. #TeamHartnell Tho' part of me thinks "If stories without tele-snaps. We'd learn more." So maybe Master Plan, Massacre, Space Pirates.

Mark ‏@quigonsmith
The Daleks' Master Plan, The Massacre, The Power of the Daleks.

ProfDorkmen ‏@ProfDorkmen
Power of the Daleks, Massacre, Savages

Angela ‏@margitan
Tough choice, maybe Power of the Daleks The Highlanders, and Fury From the Deep.

Charisse Hake ‏@CharisseHake
Power of the Daleks, Fury From the Deep, and the Highlanders (at least for today)

James VHS Gent ‏@EducationNinja
Evil of the Daleks, Power of the Daleks, The Macra Terror.

Entitled Toad ‏@tchamber123
Power, Masterplan, Evil, in that order.

Simon Blunt ‏@SiBlunt
The Myth Makers, Daleks Master Plan and Tenth Planet

Danny Cunningham ‏@starfightpilot
The three Hartnell historical M's - Marco, Myth Makers, Massacre!


David! ‏@DaveTrayus
Galaxy 4, Daleks' Masterplan and Power Of The Daleks

Sam Radmall ‏@salmonics
The Daleks' Master Plan, Power of the Daleks and Fury From The Deep.


World Journeys ‏@WorldJourneys75
Massacre, Macra and Power. because they are cool. :D


Fiona Allen ‏@Flongallen
Marco Polo, Smugglers, Power of the Daleks (love these from the audios and want to see the moving pictures)

Jo ‏@Tegan_Jovanka
My top 3 would be: 1. Power of the Daleks 2. Evil of the Daleks 3. Fury from the Deep.

♠DorothyAce ‏@WickedlyAce
ANY Patrick Troughton will do me fine!
The Myth Makers - The Evil of the Daleks - and The Abominable Snowmen.

Mark Walker ‏@Mark_Walker
Dalek's Master Plan would have to come top for me I think.

Stefan Lipinski ‏@ScubaStiff
power of the daleks . Troughtons debut stupidly wiped

Terry ‏@TGParsons1701
Just give me Power of the Daleks. You can have Timelash back :p

The Hand Of Fear ‏@TheHandOfFear
Power of the Daleks, The Myth Makers, Daleks' Master Plan

The Phantom Piper! ‏@face_4radio
The Daleks Master Plan, Fury from the Deep and The Macra Terror. Tough choice though.

Sue Smith ‏@suzysue4
My votes go to The Massacre, Power Of The Daleks & The Daleks' Master Plan.

Steve Pompa ‏@DJsteveOD
Power of the Daleks, The Massacre, Celestial Toymaker

Andy Ecelson ‏@AEcelson
Fury from the Deep, Power of the Daleks and The Massacre

Andy Lawrence ‏@AndyLawrence5
Marco Polo, The Massacre, Power of the Daleks.

Prog-tor WHO ‏@MarcDoctor
Power, Evil and Fury...

Steve Laithwaite ‏@sglaithwaite
Marco Polo, Evil, Fury

Daniel W. ‏@Yetaxa_95
1. The Crusade 2. Fury from the Deep 3. Marco Polo :)

sue stokes ‏@Sue_Stokes The Massacre - more so because of "An Adventure In Space And Time."

Deta ‏@Detaleader
Marco Polo, The Highlanders, the rest of Evil of the Daleks.

Tim ‏@parks8472
I want some Troughton-Dalek stories

aston Lewis ‏@astonlewis666 
Hartnell would be The Daleks' Master Plan, Troughton has to be The Power of the Daleks.

Doctor Who Thing ‏@DoctorWhoThing
Either Troughton Dalek stories, Fury From The Deep, Macra PLZ!

Pierre Sigman ‏@DWfan9
The Highlanders. Can we just say all of them!

50dw50 ‏@50dw50
Has to be Power of the Daleks for me (The Space Pirates can stay lost!)

Patrick Byrne ‏@mynamespat 
Power and Evil of the Daleks.

The Fourth Dimension ‏@Mike_J_Lord
Marco Polo & Power of the Daleks

Kev McQuade ‏@hairymonster75
Fury from the deep


Ed Watkinson ‏@CouncillorEd 
The Massacre

Deta ‏@Detaleader
The Highlanders at the moment.



Simon Pittman ‏@LibraryPlayer 
Evil of the Daleks. Loved the follow-up story in the DWM 8th Doctor comics so would like to see it. :-)

Jason McLaughlin ‏@jangomac72
 It definitely has to be the two Troughton Dalek stories Power & Evil for me!!

Nick Mellish ‏@nickmellish Any return is a treat, but has to be Power, Fury or more of Master Plan for me. All wonderful.

atruedrwhofan ‏@atruedrwhofan
Marco Polo for me.



1Man2Cats ‏@1Man2Cats
Massacre, Power, Highlanders here, smugglers too - I must be the odd one.


Lee Mahon ‏@Lee_JM75

3 comments:

  1. Tenth Planet, Evil of the Daleks and Power of the Daleks

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mine: Marco Polo, Power of the Daleks, Abominable Snow men

    ReplyDelete
  3. 1) The Macra Terror
    2) The Massacre
    3) The Myth Makers

    ReplyDelete