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T H E    D I S U S E D    Y E T I       I S S U E   2 3

THE NEWSLETTER ON EARLY DOCTOR WHO - 23 July 2000

Edited by : Bruce Robinson (robinsba@ozemail.com.au)
            Robert Franks (TelesnapGuy@csi.com)

"Where's the Yeti??"
    (typical e-mail received over the past few months)

ONE THOUSAND SUBSCRIBERS!!!
A CHAT WITH ANNEKE WILLS
DOES THE BBC REALLY CARE?
LOTS OF RECON UPDATES
RECON RAMBLINGS - THE FULL SCRIPT

*** WELCOME! ***

Yes, yes, we know ... this issue has been a LONG time coming!

As many regular readers will be aware, we've generally tried to release an
issue every couple of months. However, it's painfully obvious that more than
two months have passed since the last issue. In fact, how does six months
sound - issue #22 was released way back in January! Well OK, there were the
survey results released in March - these can be considered an issue of
sorts. However, the fact remains that what you see before you, is only the
second regular issue of the year.

Both your editors have been caught up with a multitude of "real life"
hassles over the past few months, the details of which aren't worth going
into now (mainly because it isn't all that exciting!). However, the net
effect of this is that it's severely restricted the amount of time available
for leisure activities ... which, let's face it, is exactly what all this
stuff is about. While working on the recons, etc is generally a lot of fun,
the emphasis should be on the word "fun". It's not much fun when you spend
the majority of your working week in front of a PC, and then feel as if you
must spend most of the weekend in a similar state.

The unfortunate news is that things mightn't greatly improve in the near
future - releases of 'Disused Yeti' may become even more irregular. In fact,
the same can be said for just about everything we're involved with. We
apologise to those who like to hear nice precise deadlines regarding recons,
magazines, etc, but we're afraid this is out of the question at the moment.
While we have no intentions of giving up on any of our projects, it's a
simple case of things being complete when they're complete. Rest assured
that no-one is throwing in the towel quite yet!

Enjoy the issue,

Bruce and Robert

*** RECONSTRUCTION UPDATES ***
Obviously, due to the lengthy amount of time between issues, a fair bit has
happened since last time. Therefore, here are some slightly longer than
usual updates on each recon group ...

MASTER PLAN PRODUCTIONS (www.telesnaps.com)
Steady progress continues to be made on the first MPP story, 'Marco Polo'. A
"first draft" version now exists of all episodes, and in fact, preview
copies of three of the episodes have been viewed by others. However, the
next stage of the process, fine-tuning all the existing elements, could be
quite a time-consuming process, as the MPP team experiment with a number of
different approaches.

In a move aimed at speeding up the production process for MPP, the
full-script version will now be discontinued. Previously, it has been
reported that the MPP recons will be created in two versions - one with full
dialogue and descriptive captions, and the other with descriptive captions
only. However, due to the lengthy amount of time required to create captions
in the new video editing software, it has now been decided to continue MPP
with just the "descriptive caption only" version (or "non-script" as it's
often referred to).

In particular, the software used to create the MPP version of 'Marco' is not
conducive to including large quantities of text captions. With the extra
amount of time required to create the full-script version, it was decided
that the effort was not warranted. However, it should be pointed out that
the remaining MPP version will not simply resemble a JV story in terms of
captioning. The recon will feature quite a number of descriptive captions
extracted directly from the camera script. The creators are attempting to
reach a compromise between the "bare bones" approach of the JV recons
against the "full" captioning approach of the COI recons. Refer to the
"Recon Ramblings" column for a further discussion on the use of text
captions in the recons.

In other news, Richard Bignell has recently managed to interview both Mark
Eden (Marco Polo) and Zienia Merton (Ping-Cho) for the 'Marco' documentary
which will accompany the recon. Efforts are also underway to interview other
cast members from 'Marco'.
(BRUCE ROBINSON)

LOOSE CANNON RECONSTRUCTIONS (www.recons.com)
The 'Mission to the Unknown' reconstruction is close to completion. In the
same way that the 'Galaxy 4' recon used original set photos of the Rill
centre and planet surface to provide the background for the composite
photos, 'Mission' features previously unseen original photos of the ship
interior, distress rocket and the Kembel jungle. There are however a few
other surprises along the way. A video introduction is provided by the star
of 'Mission', Edward de Souza (Marc Cory). The reconstruction is followed by
a unique event - Edward de Souza, Jeremy Young and Barry Jackson (the
spaceship crew members) are reunited after 35 years to watch the
reconstruction and chat to camera afterwards about 'Mission to the Unknown',
DOCTOR WHO and many other topics.

Work is also progressing well on 'The Reign of Terror' and this recon should
be completed soon. A major revamp of the work on this production has caused
a delay but hopefully this will be compensated for by the improved picture
quality. This production includes a newly restored audio track for clarity,
as well as many previously unpublished set photos.

The next reconstruction in the pipeline is 'The Crusade' episodes 2 & 4,
which should also be available within the next couple of months. It is
anticipated that the telesnap quality will be the clearest to date in a
'Loose Cannon' recon.

Stay tuned to the Loose Cannon web page (URL above) for regular updates.
(RICK BRINDELL, DEREK HANDLEY AND DEAN ROSE)

*** ONE THOUSAND SUBSCRIBERS!!! ***
Sometime in March (not long after the 1999 survey results were released),
the 'Disused Yeti' mailing list clocked up its 1000th subscriber! Apart from
a handful of postal recipients, all of the subscribers receive the
newsletter in one of its e-mail formats (plain text, Word 6, HTML or the
notification only list).

DY, in one form or another, has been produced for nearly four years now. The
newsletter started off as a simple update for the 'Change of Identity'
reconstructions, but has now expanded into something much broader.
Incredibly, the first issue of the newsletter, distributed on 24 August
1996, was initially received by only six people! And just to prove it, here
are the six original recipients from issue #1 - Simon Hunt, Harold Achatz,
Chris Moore, Nick McCarthy, Brian Pearce, and Heath Mackay. With the
exception of Nick, all of the group remain on the mailing list today.

With a slightly expanded format for issue #3, the number of people on the
mailing list increased to about 40-50 people. However, the biggest "jump" in
the mailing list's history occurred after the release of the 1997 survey -
eighty new subscribers joined the mailing list within a two month period.
With the exponential-like growth of people joining the Internet, new
subscribers are received on a regular basis - approximately eight to ten
requests are received per week from people wishing to join.

Another interesting statistic about the newsletter concerns the countries
represented on the mailing list. Not surprisingly, there are healthy numbers
from the five major countries involved in DOCTOR WHO fandom - UK (445), USA
(367), Australia (186), Canada (29) and New Zealand (20). However, we also
have representatives from Italy (3), the Republic of Ireland (2), Sweden
(1), the Netherlands (1), Japan (1), Germany (1) and Singapore (1). Of
course, if there are people reading this in a country not mentioned above,
then please do get in touch - we'd love to hear from you!

So what of the future for DY? As hinted in the editorial above, our main
goal at the moment is to just find the time to keep producing them! Of
course, the continued positive response we receive from the newsletter can
only help to encourage us to keep going. So thank you again for all your
supportive messages over the years. Even though we may be distributing the
newsletter to over a thousand people now, it's amazing the effect that a
single encouraging e-mail can still have!

*** NOTHING AT THE END OF THE LANE ***
Just a very quick update on our magazine ... basically to say that issue #2
is still definitely going ahead! Due to the workload problems mentioned in
the editorial, no further work has taken place on issue #2. However, it is
the intention of both your DY editors to start seriously looking at issue #2
once the 'Marco Polo' recon is out of the way. Originally, it was planned to
have the second issue available later in the year, although this is looking
extremely doubtful at this stage.

Copies of issue #1 remain, however the stocks are starting to run a little
dry. Don't forget to visit the following web-page if you're interested in
ordering a copy:

http://www.valkyrie.net/~rfranks/

Issue #1 has already received favourable reviews in other DOCTOR WHO
publications (such as the DWAS magazine 'Celestial Toyroom', and the New
Zealand fanzine 'Time-Space Visualiser'). Extremely positive feedback has
also been received from most readers. Since there is NO chance of a reprint
once issue #1 has sold out, you are strongly advised to order as soon as
possible if you haven't already done so.

*** A CHAT WITH ANNEKE WILLS ***
DY has previously featured articles on the "Programme Preservation Society"
(PPS). Below, one of the co-founders of the PPS, David May, tells us about
the video interviews that the club compiles - the first such video features
Anneke Wills, who played Polly in DOCTOR WHO ...

~~~~~~~~~~~
The "Programme Preservation Society" was formed by myself and three
colleagues in September 1998 with the aim of promoting and preserving
classic television and radio shows, as well as bringing together fans and
collectors. The club has its own quarterly magazine, 'Radio-Telly-Scope' and
also publishes quarterly membership lists. This allows members to get in
touch with other members who share the same interests.

Twenty months on, we have had over one hundred people join our ranks -
although based in England we welcome overseas members and have ones from as
far afield as the US, Canada, Australia and Norway.

We do not want the club to just be a tape-swapping circle though. We have
already run prize competitions and we are looking at other activities
including launching a club library from which members will be able to hire
rare shows we have purchased from television archives.

We are also producing our own interview tapes with various people associated
with cult television or radio shows. The first interview was recorded in
June 1999 with the DOCTOR WHO actress Anneke Wills. The releases are similar
in style to the 'Mythmakers' interviews, although we are not constrained to
50-minute running times. Our interview with Anneke runs to 100 minutes and
covers not only her DOCTOR WHO career but also her time on other shows such
as STRANGE REPORT, THE STRANGE WORLD OF GURNEY SLADE, THE AVENGERS and THE
SAINT. In fact, Anneke kindly commented at the time that it was the
best-researched interview that she had ever been the subject of!

The tape is only available to members of the PPS, so you will need to join
if you are interested in obtaining it. Joining details can be found on the
club website:

http://www.mhearn.freeserve.co.uk/pps01.htm

During the interview, I asked Anneke about missing episodes and the
reconstructions. As I showed her some of Bruce Robinson's 'The Power of the
Daleks' recon, it is only fair that I repay my debt to Bruce by allowing him
to run a transcript of the relevant portion of the Anneke Wills interview
...

DM: A lot of your episodes were destroyed by the BBC - how did you feel
about that when you found out?

AW: In their wisdom, I know, I mean it's a shame isn't it?  It's just a
terrible shame. You can't blame them, although we like to <laughs>, we can't
really blame them because they didn't know at that time that it was going to
have such a history years later, or they wouldn't have done it. But it's
just like ... <snaps fingers> ... damn!  You know.

DM: But a few have survived ... so what was it like seeing them again after
so many years?

AW: Well, two things go on. On the one hand, it's awful to see yourself
again so beautiful and young, <laughs> you know, but on the other hand,
fascinating, absolutely fascinating to see. It jogs the memory of the things
that we were doing and the people that we worked with and the fun that we
had. It's always the fun that you remember.

DM: We also had a look at those clips that the Australians deemed too
frightening to show ...

AW: Right. I mean, on the one hand, ridiculously unfrightening when you
consider what we're used to, but on the other hand, when you hear all these
blood-curdling screams, yes, it was, it was ... it was terrifying. You know,
everybody says you watched it from behind the sofa and obviously there's a
reason for that, so yes, it was.

DM: Well, some episodes have turned up, do you think the others are out
there waiting to be found?

AW: I hope so, I hope so. Maybe what's happened is that they've got shoved
into somebody's boxes and then they've gone away and someone else will come
along and find them and say "what's this then? Ohh, look!" I'm still hoping
that they'll turn up.

DM: And to make up for the absence of some of these episodes, the fans have
tried to reconstruct them using the soundtracks and various stills. We just
had a look at some of an effort to reconstruct 'The Power Of The Daleks', so
were you impressed with that at all?

AW: Yes, I was because although I've seen the regeneration scene where it
goes from Bill to Pat, I'd never seen what led up to it and what came
afterwards. It's very well done actually, the way they manage to keep the
images and have the little captions underneath, so you get an idea. Of
course I'd love to see 'The Highlanders' or 'The Smugglers', because they
have the visuals for 'The Smugglers' don't they?  [Before anyone gets too
excited, I presume that Anneke is referring to the colour home movie
footage! - DM]

~~~~~~~

(DAVID MAY)

Addendum : Dave and his PPS colleagues have recently finished the second
release of their video interview series, featuring the stalwart British
actor Michael Sheard. Refer to the PPS web-page mentioned above for further
details.

*** DOES THE BBC REALLY CARE? ***
Throughout the history of the newsletter, DY has generally limited itself to
factual material only. Although we do feature some opinionated material,
most notably, the recon reviews, we have never published a full length
article where the writer expresses their personal feelings on a particular
issue. However, this is about to change ...

Below, Paul Scoones gives a frank account of his experiences in being
involved in the rediscovery of 'The Lion'. In particular, Paul poses the
question - are the Beeb really committed to the return of missing DOCTOR WHO
episodes? Incidentally, while we may consider publishing similar articles to
this in the future, bear in mind that your DY editors may or may not agree
with all the viewpoints being put forward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Call me naive, but until last year, I thought the BBC actually cared about
the recovery of the missing episodes. It wasn't an unfounded belief -
articles in 'Doctor Who Magazine' and the BBC's own 'The Missing Years'
documentary perpetuated this belief.

Now I know better. Incredible though it might sound to some fans, I believe
that the BBC doesn't care too much at all. Oh yes, they're happy to get the
episodes back all right; it's a money-spinner for them with video sales, but
I have good reason to believe that they're not at all interested in the
people who actually do the hard work of tracking down and returning the
episodes. I must qualify this to exclude Steve Roberts and the rest of the
"Restoration Team". I should also point out that the BBC is a large and
multi-divisional organisation. When I talk about the BBC here, I'm really
talking about BBC Resources (responsible for handling the recovery and
restoration of films - amongst many other activities) and BBC Worldwide
(responsible for producing the home videos).

I speak from personal experience as a key figure at the centre of the most
recent DOCTOR WHO episode recovery. My friend Neil Lambess and myself
confirmed the existence of 'The Lion'. I was solely responsible for
negotiating the loan of the print from its then-owner, Bruce Grenville, and
I also handled the logistics of arranging and funding the despatch of the
film print to the BBC. The experience - exciting and unique though it was -
left a bitter taste in my mouth that still lingers well over a year later.

The cost of sending the film print to the UK by express courier cost just
under NZ$200. I paid for this having been informed by Steve Roberts that I
would be promptly reimbursed in full. In fact it was more than six months
later that BBC Resources finally paid me, and only after I had repeatedly
faxed and emailed various people within this department of the BBC who were
apparently responsible for authorising the refund. My emails and faxes
either went unanswered or at best, were met with curt replies that the
payment was being "looked into".

Steve Roberts directed me at the outset to submit my bill to a specific
person within a division whose responsibility it was to arrange the payment.
When nothing happened, Steve chased the payment on my behalf, and gave me
the other contacts to write to about my overdue payment. Steve found the
lengthy delay almost as frustrating as I did, and later told me that he
wished he'd paid me out of his own pocket and then chased the payment
himself.

Eventually, what appears to have swung it for me was an email I sent
requesting that the accumulated six months' interest on my VISA bill for the
courier cost be paid to me in addition to the original sum. I faxed them a
copy of my VISA bill, and payment (sans interest, alas), was swiftly
arranged.

The only explanation I ever received for the extreme tardiness of the BBC
was that no budget is set aside for episode recovery, and therefore the
money to pay me had to be reallocated from somewhere - but hold up one
minute! What's wrong with this explanation? By the time I was paid, the
episode had been released on video in a lavishly presented package. Surely
the money to fund this video had to come from somewhere. Surely my sending
the film print should have counted as part of its production costs?

Then there's the whole debacle of the UK video cover blurb which
inaccurately describes the episode's recovery and rather offensively omits
any mention of either Neil or myself. I'm on the end credits of the video
itself as the last name of six on a list of "Thanks to" people which doesn't
include Neil Lambess. It's every fan's dream to find a missing episode. Neil
did just that. He was the man who investigated and made contact with Bruce
in the first place, and as such had an undisputedly more important role than
my own. For the BBC to so rudely ignore his contribution was heartbreaking
for him. That really stung.

A credit wouldn't cost BBC Worldwide anything out of their budget, but
engenders goodwill as well as potentially giving fans an added incentive to
seek out audios and videos and return them to the BBC.

The one positive outcome was that Steve Roberts (whose participation in the
whole affair was never less than 100% supportive and sympathetic of our
feelings) hastily arranged for a last-minute change to be made to the
Australasian video release. The offending paragraph was amended to include
our names and the part we played in the recovery of the film print. Go
Steve! Of his commitment to the recovery of missing episodes and his support
for those who seek them, there can be no doubt in my mind.

There's more. We all know the haste with which 'The Lion' was brought out on
video by the BBC. It may surprise you to learn that not once was either
myself or Neil asked whether there was any possibility that we had any leads
on the two other lost episodes of 'The Crusade'. We found one - was it not
unreasonable to assume that we might be able to uncover the others? The find
did provoke a flurry of investigations around New Zealand, all of which
ultimately proved fruitless, but the BBC weren't to know this. They never
even bothered to ask.

The only thanks myself and Neil ever received was from Steve Roberts. Steve
also sent us copies of the video. No-one from BBC Video or any other
department ever made contact. I still tell people at work about my part in
the recovery and they're amazed that I don't even have a thank you letter
from the BBC that I can show them.

Whoever was in charge of producing the video, that Neil, Bruce and myself
made possible, never contacted us, never wrote a letter of thanks. Steve
Roberts was the engineer who restored the film print. His thanks, although
appreciated, do not carry the same weight as someone actually in charge of
the video division. Again, by no means a costly move, but one which would
have engendered a lot of goodwill.

This all might seem to some of you like sour grapes. After all, I got to
return a missing episode of DOCTOR WHO to the BBC - what greater buzz is
there than that for a DOCTOR WHO fan? Well, returning an episode AND being
acknowledged by the BBC for it would have been a much bigger thrill.

I haven't even touched on the treatment the film's owner, Bruce Grenville,
received from the BBC, which initially threatened to take legal action over
his ownership of the film print. Incredibly, this was the official policy
line as laid down by the BBC's press office. If there is anyone out there in
possession of missing episodes, its no wonder they haven't come out of the
woodwork if this is the sort of reception they could expect to receive!

BBC Worldwide perpetuate the impression that they conduct searches for the
episodes in the 'Missing Years' documentary made in 1998. The documentary
itself serves in part as a call to viewers to help seek out the missing
material, and implies that any finds will be gratefully welcomed. Only a
couple of months after 'Missing Years' came out, Neil and I found an
episode, enabling us to respond to the documentary's call for missing films.
We were met with a surprising lack of courtesy and gratitude from the very
department who produced the documentary in the first place.

I'm still all for hunting out missing episodes and returning them to the BBC
because that way we'll all get to enjoy them on video. All I'm saying is
this - don't expect anything in the way of gratitude from Auntie Beeb!
(PAUL SCOONES)

[Editors' note : Do you agree with Paul's strong feelings about the BBC? Or
do you think the BBC are doing all they possibly can in regards to missing
episodes? Either way, we're interested in hearing your thoughts - a sample
of the feedback will be published next issue.]

*** RECON RAMBLINGS - THE FULL SCRIPT ***
As described in the "Recon Updates" section, the full-script version of the
MPP recons will now be discontinued. Since the text captions have played an
integral role in the development of the recons, Bruce Robinson takes a look
at why the captions were first included, and how their use in the recons has
altered over the years ...

~~~~~~~~~
Similar to most long-term projects, the reconstructions have evolved through
various stages over the years. This can be attributed to a number of
factors - improving technology, better quality source material, and changing
viewer perception (including the creators' own perception of the material).
Nowadays, it's easy to dismiss earlier efforts as being irrelevant and
unimportant, however, it's crucial to bear in mind the following points :

(1) The target audience of the recons was very, very small in the early
days. Currently, a distribution network exists to make the videos available
to as many fans as possible, however this definitely wasn't the case three
or four years ago. The only chance of obtaining the videos back then was
through the "fan chain". This often resulted in very poor quality copies
down the line, especially if PAL/NTSC conversions were involved.

(2) Good-quality source material was very difficult to obtain. Fans really
are spoilt these days in terms of "crystal clear" quality soundtracks, high
definition telesnap scans, and copious amounts of reference material, such
as camera scripts and the recollections of long-time fans (something which
is often overlooked in terms of source material). This was definitely not
the case a few years ago. The source material was simply what the creator
had in his possession at the time.

When I set out on the recon path with 'The Savages' (mid 1996), I was
obviously restricted to the material which I had in my possession. I'd only
been connected to the Internet for about six months or so, and hadn't really
made contact with other fans on the Net who may have been able to help with
my project. Luckily (and I really did consider myself fortunate here), I
already had a soundtrack of 'Savages'. Any fan who possesses an audio from
over five years ago, will be well aware that the quality of these older
recordings was average at best. Although the original recording made many
years ago may have been reasonable, multiple copies "down the line" resulted
in an indecipherable, and often incomplete, audio.

Quite simply, the story could often not be followed from the soundtrack
alone. In the early days of listening to audios, it was often mandatory to
have a copy of a detailed synopsis next to you to provide some understanding
of the story - however, even having a detailed synopsis was often a luxury.
In many cases, fans were restricted to a Target novelisation (and even this
could be an inaccurate source depending on the story). It has already been
reported before in this newsletter about my very first reconstruction - a
text-only version of 'Marco Polo' created on a Commodore 64. Including a
"full script" on the screen wasn't so much a personal preference - it was an
absolutely essential addition if one was to have any hope of following a
soundtrack which was frequently diabolical in quality! When it came around
to producing a "proper" reconstruction a few years later (ie 'Savages'),
since the soundtrack was still sub-standard in quality, I naturally decided
to continue with the idea of including "full script" captions. In fact, one
could almost argue that adding the photographic material was now the
innovation with the recons, and not the full script!

At this point, it's perhaps worth elaborating on what is meant by "full
script" captions. The term "full script" is regularly used these days, but
for a newcomer to the recons, it may be slightly misleading. Technically
speaking, it's not really a "full script" as such - taken literally, the
term suggests a verbatim translation of the camera script to screen.
Instead, it's more of a combination of descriptive captions AND dialogue
timed to appear "in synch" with the audio. At any one time in the story,
there will generally be a caption of some sort on the screen.

To confuse matters even more, the alternative style these days (ie
descriptive captions only), is often referred to as the "non-script" style.
This also isn't strictly accurate as there are definitely SOME captions in
the recon - perhaps the term "semi script" may have been more appropriate!

Terminology aside, the idea of including "full script" captions in 'Savages'
was something that I felt almost obliged to do. The soundtrack simply wasn't
up to a standard where the story could be easily followed - although the
'Savages' soundtrack was significantly better than the original 'Marco Polo'
one, it was still poor compared to today's standards. On a more personal
note, I had also enjoyed reading the DWB "photonovels" which had appeared a
few years previous to the commencement of 'Savages'. These photonovels
consisted of the telesnaps along with a transcript of the episode. I very
much saw the recons as being an extension of this photonovel concept - in
other words, similar to what had featured in DWB, but with the audio added
on top.

Therefore, before I had even completed 'Savages', I already had two good
reasons for wanting to include a full script - (1) to provide understanding
of a poor soundtrack quality, and (2) to achieve an effect similar to a DWB
photonovel. However, as the years have progressed, we've obviously managed
to obtain better quality soundtracks. Thus, the initial requirement of the
full script captions to explain the story, was not as crucial later on.
However, even the best quality soundtracks often contained slightly poorer
moments, so the full script captions still came in handy then.

Later on, when I became aware of other recon efforts, I realised that the
text captions were quite a unique feature. Up till that point, no other
recon had featured ANY kind of text caption. As a result, the 'Change of
Identity' reconstructions developed an instantly recognisable "signature".
At a later stage, other recon groups did start to utilise text captions to
explain unclear parts of the soundtrack.

However, let's make one thing very clear - as I continued producing the
recons over the years, it gradually occurred to me that the full script
wasn't simply included just to provide clarification of the soundtrack.
Nowadays, critics of the full script often say something like "well I can
understand the story from the soundtrack alone, so why do I need these
intrusive captions down the bottom?!". If the sole reason for including the
captions was to "decipher" the soundtrack, then I totally agree that the
full script captions would be a waste of time. However, in my opinion, the
full script captions served more than just this simple purpose, such as ...

(1) ENHANCING POOR QUALITY VISUAL MATERIAL
Visual material used in a recon can often be variable in quality. While a
photo may look reasonably clear on a PC monitor, a creator interested in
providing video copies to others has to bear in mind that people may be
watching the recon three, four, five, or even twenty copies down the line.
Multi-generational video copying has a much more detrimental effect on
picture quality than on sound quality. On top of this, if a PAL to NTSC
conversion was involved (or vice versa), this would cause a further
deterioration to the picture quality.

Therefore, from a creator's point-of-view, it may not cause a problem to use
a certain photo in the recon, however, if the viewer can't make out the
detail of the image on screen, then the effort required to obtain the image
has been in vain. Although captions also deteriorate down the line, they
still provide more assistance to the viewer for poor quality copies then
having no captions at all.

(2) TO PROVIDE MOVEMENT
A recon is obviously limited due to the fact that the bulk of the visual
material consists of still images only. Even to the most ardent DOCTOR WHO
fan, watching 150 minutes worth of still images requires some fairly intense
concentration. The captions are an attempt to provide more movement
throughout the recon, and thus keep the eye more interested in what's
happening on screen. I concede that the captions by themselves may not be
very exciting - however, the simple act of them moving from one caption to
the next just provides an extra "hook" to keep the viewer's attention.

(3) TO ASSIST IN VISUAL CUES
Although a creator may attempt to make a recon more understandable by
providing images of the characters as they speak, this is one technique
which could have an adverse effect if overdone. To take this further,
imagine a conversation between two characters where ten lines of dialogue go
back and forward between the characters. In this case, it would be very
disconcerting to have images appear on screen in rapid succession. Even if
the images were slightly altered between each picture change, the problem
still exists in that too many images are displayed in too short a time. A
recon should match the pace and style of a story - quick picture changes are
useful for action scenes, but they work poorly for lengthy dialogue-driven
scenes.

Including the dialogue captions can help alleviate this problem. The viewer
can still obtain an idea as to who is speaking without the need to be
continually swapping back and forward between images. Personally, I've often
thought that the most useful part of the dialogue captions was simply the
first word which stated who was speaking. This immediately allows the viewer
to associate a line of dialogue with a character. In an audio-only
reconstruction, every time a line of dialogue is spoken, a brief amount of
time is needed to determine the character who is now speaking. Although in
many cases this only takes a split-second to work out (especially if a major
character is speaking), it can often result in some dialogue being missed
due to concentrating on deducing the character speaking. The purpose of the
recon should ALWAYS be to let the original story tell itself, whilst keeping
in mind the limitations of not being able to include moving images.

~~~~~~~~~

To varying degrees, the reasons above are not so relevant nowadays with the
higher quality material available. For instance, with the soundtrack being
much clearer, it's a very simple task to determine which characters are
speaking. In 'Marco Polo', there are essentially only seven main characters
throughout the story. Each character has a very distinctive tone of voice,
so even a viewer unfamiliar with the soundtrack should have little
difficulties determining the characters which are speaking at any one time.
With the extra workload required to create the full script captions for MPP,
it was decided that any additional benefit in including the full script
captions was not warranted.

While dropping the full script captions from MPP is disappointing in one
respect, it's also a logical step forward in the progression of the recons.
I realise that some people may be disappointed with this decision, however
I'm almost certain that once you start experiencing the MPP style, you will
almost have forgotten what the "full script" captions really were. In fact,
you may come across this article in three years time, and wonder what all
the fuss was about ...
(BRUCE ROBINSON)

*** STORY GUIDES ***

SEASON 2 SERIAL 8

R : The Chase

(a) GENERAL

6 episodes

The Executioners
     TX(22 May 65)  TI(17.41)  DU(25'25")  VA(10.0)  CP(14)  AA(57)
The Death of Time
     TX(29 May 65)  TI(17.41)  DU(23'32")  VA(9.5)   CP(12)  AA(56)
Flight through Eternity
     TX(05 Jun 65)  TI(17.47)  DU(25'23")  VA(9.0)   CP(12)  AA(55)
Journey into Terror
     TX(12 Jun 65)  TI(17.41)  DU(23'49")  VA(9.5)   CP(8)   AA(54)
The Death of Doctor Who
     TX(19 Jun 65)  TI(17.41)  DU(23'27")  VA(9.0)   CP(11)  AA(56)
The Planet of Decision
     TX(26 Jun 65)  TI(17.41)  DU(26'29")  VA(9.5)   CP(7)   AA(57)

Total Duration = 148'05" (approx)
Average Viewing Audience = 9.4
Average Chart Position = 11

Repeat Screenings - nil on BBC1, although the story has been repeated on UK
Gold.

Countries Sold To - Australia, Canada, Caribbean, Chile (Spanish), Costa
Rica (Spanish), Dominican Republic (Spanish), Ethiopia, Gibraltar, Iran,
Mauritius, Nigeria, Singapore, United States, Venezuela

(b) VIDEO FOOTAGE

Status - The entire serial was originally junked prior to 1978, however 16mm
telerecordings of all six episodes were discovered in a vault at BBC
Enterprises circa 1978.

Clips - n/a (although refer to note below)

Notes -

* The story was released on BBC Video (BBCV 5006) in 1993 as part of 'The
Daleks Limited Edition Box Set' (BBCV 5005) along with 'Remembrance of the
Daleks'. Both videos were packaged separately inside a tin. A North American
version, also released in 1993, was available in a two tape box labeled only
as 'The Daleks Limited Edition Boxed Set' (CBS/Fox 4795). The UK cover for
'The Chase' was painted by Andrew Skilleter - the North American version
featured only the Dalek artwork by Alister Pearson from the tin.

* Clips from 'The Chase', mainly from the final episode, were recorded as
part of the silent 8mm cine footage (believed to have been recorded by an
Australian fan).

(c) AUDIO RECORDINGS

n/a

(d) RECONSTRUCTIONS

n/a

(e) PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL

Telesnaps - All episodes currently missing. However, the PasB
(Programme-as-Broadcast) documentation indicates that John Cura did provide
his services for all six episodes.

Behind-the-Scenes Shots - unknown

Publicity Shots -

14 Apr 65 - photocall at Ealing Studios, Stage 3 (Verity Lambert with the
Daleks and Mechanoids)
07 May 65 - photocall at Riverside, Studio One (regular cast and Mire Beast)
21 May 65 - photocall at Riverside, Studio One (the Doctor with the Daleks,
Dracula and Frankenstein)
04 Jun 65 - photocall at Riverside, Studio One (regular cast in the cell on
Mechanus)

Production Photos -

05 May 65 - Albert Embankment, Kensington Gardens, Houses of Parliament,
Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, White City Underground Station (photos
of Ian and Barbara's return to London). [Editors' note : These photos were
all taken during a single day's shoot around London and were meant to
represent Ian and Barbara's jubilant return to modern-day Earth. The images
were used in the final scenes of the serial.]

(f) AUSTRALIAN CENSOR CUTS

The Executioners           DR(11 May 66)  FT(962)   RA(G)  no cuts
The Death of Time          DR(11 May 66)  FT(894)   RA(G)  cuts A,B,C,D
Flight through Eternity    DR(11 May 66)  FT(958)   RA(G)  no cuts
Journey into Terror        DR(11 May 66)  FT(903)   RA(G)  no cuts
The Death of Doctor Who    DR(11 May 66)  FT(890)   RA(G)  no cuts
The Planet of Decision     DR(11 May 66)  FT(1001)  RA(G)  no cuts

Cut A : "At 6 mins, delete underlined words in 'What do they feed on? They
are flesh-eaters. They eat human? Yes.'" [the "Yes" is underlined].

Cut B : "At 7 mins, delete shot of girl seized around throat by trench or
tail of monster."

Cut C : "At 13 mins, delete shot of Darleks [sic] blasting the Indians."

Cut D : "At 17 mins, delete close-up of monster."

[The above descriptions are reprinted verbatim from records of the
Australian Film Censorship Board - acknowledgements to 'Data Extract', the
newsletter of the Doctor Who Club of Australia.]

(g) OTHER NOTES

* Working title - 'The Pursuers' (entire serial)

* Studio recordings for all six episodes were made at Riverside, Studio One
between 30 Apr 1965 and 04 Jun 1965. Filming for the serial began on 09 Apr
1965 at Camber Sands, East Sussex. Further filming took place at Ealing Film
Studios.

* Novelised by John Peel, 'Doctor Who - The Chase', was first published by
W.H. Allen in 1989. Numbered 140 in the "Doctor Who Library", the cover
artwork was provided by Alister Pearson.

*** LETTERS AND OPINIONS ***
It seems that our 'Fury from the Deep' special last issue has prompted quite
a  few people to put fingers to keyboard ...

~~~~~~~~~
It was most exciting to "see" 'Fury' again (as a result of the recent JV
recon). I have vivid memories of the foam and tendrils thrashing about (I
guess from Episode 6), of Maggie Harris taking a walk into the waves, and
her becoming ill in her room. I seem to recall the now famous walk into the
water being longer than is suggested on the recon, but as the audio is an
accurate record, my memory has obviously cheated. Watching 'Fury' in
Australia, I was denied the excised bits of Mr Oak and Mr Quill being horrid
to her. How ironic that it takes a 1999 recon video to allow me to see for
the first time a surviving clip of a lost 1968 story.

Looking at it now, 'Fury' isn't in my top ten. I regard it as a good story
well above the average. I find that the scary atmosphere starts to wane by
episode 5 when the action moves outside. Perhaps the story is two episodes
too long for it to be an outright classic - the plot is a little thin to
sustain the terror for its entire length I think.

In not showing too much of the threat but suggesting it by other means,
notably Dudley Simpson's eerie score, director Hugh David leaves the viewers
to scare the pants off themselves by imagining what MIGHT be down there, in
the darkness, in the pipeline, waiting ...

The recon was fortunate in that the recovered censored clips were available
just in time. I felt that a little more explanation of the visual action
could have been given. What was there was excellent and helpful, but a
couple of scenes may have done well with a little more explanation.
(DAVID McKINLAY)

~~~~~~~~~~
David Butler just did not do justice to 'Fury from the Deep' in the article
you published in the last 'Yeti'. My recollections are fortunately vivid as
the story was actually a very "adult/serious" DOCTOR WHO - and a very
terrifying one at that. Even my mother sat glued to the screen each early
afternoon as the ABC screened DOCTOR WHO repeats in "movie" format, as per
its excellent school holiday traditional treat. I was of course too young to
know these were repeats - but not too young to be totally captivated as were
most of the kids of my neighbourhood who would all meet on the nature-strip
after the end of the day's episode and play mock Cyber-Yeti-Unit battles.
All incredibly cool at the time!
(DAVID LOWRIE)

~~~~~~~~~~
A couple of weeks after 'Fury' finished, a letter from two girls was read
out on JUNIOR POINTS OF VIEW. They had written a complete new DOCTOR WHO
story in which Jamie realises that he is in love with Victoria and the
Doctor takes him back to Earth so that they can be together again!

Another "Memory Cheats" from this story ... at the back of 'The Radio
Times', a couple of weeks before each new DOCTOR WHO story, they used to
offer plot synopses of upcoming stories for deaf people. Before 'Fury', they
offered one for 'The Colony of Devils'. I waited a long time in expectation
that a story called 'Colony of Devils' would eventually turn up!
(STEVE BOYCE)

~~~~~~~~~~
When oh when will Fury be found,
It's sorely missed since it went to ground.
It's such a classic, it makes my heart bleed,
To think someone has got the malevolent seaweed.
Such acting, such plot, such a claustrophobic theme,
It's all enough to make Victoria scream.
If it's gone forever, I shall surely weep,
Because it's my favourite, is Fury From the Deep.
(IAN TAYLOR)

*** REQUESTS ***
Soon to be available via TSV Books, a side-line publishing wing of the New
Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club (www.tetrap.com/drwho/nzdwfc/), is a revised
edition of 'Timelink - An Exploration Of Doctor Who Continuity' by Jon
Preddle. This unauthorised volume covers various aspects of DOCTOR WHO
continuity, such as the controversial UNIT dates, Dalek and Cyberman
history, the Doctor's age, and Gallifreyan history. A complete DOCTOR WHO
timeline is also included. The book uses as its study material only the
broadcast television adventures from 1963 to 1989, plus K9 and Company and
the 1996 TV movie. The novels, comic strips, Shada and audio adventures are
not included.

The first edition has already sold out. The second printing is expected to
be available in mid-June 2000. The new edition will contain some updated
material, incorporating the information contained in the 'Timelink' Errata
web-page.

Jon is now taking pre-orders - pricing details and ordering information can
be obtained from the 'Timelink' web-page
<www.geocities.com/jpreddle/timelink.html> or by e-mailing Jon at
<jpreddle@ihug.co.nz>.

Although 'Timelink' is not exclusively related to the sixties era as such,
the DY editors are always on the look-out for well-researched DOCTOR WHO
reference books. Having seen the book myself, I (Bruce) can heartily
recommend 'Timelink' to anyone interested in the subject of DOCTOR WHO
continuity!

~~~~~~~~~~
Audio recordist David Butler has recently set up his own web-site. David
describes the site as follows:

"The website has only been in existence for a few weeks but I am intending
to expand it. It contains (no surprise) some DOCTOR WHO pages. At present
there is a page on DOCTOR WHO locations, a report on a local group reunion
in May and a page about 'Mission to the Unknown' including a mention of the
new 'Loose Cannon' reconstruction. I am intending to add a reviews page
containing independent reviews of DOCTOR WHO merchandise (CDs, books,
videos) and I would welcome submissions from anyone wishing to send me
material. Reviews should be kept fairly short (max 200 words) and be
suitable for publishing (ie, no offensive language). I would prefer to limit
this page to reviews of official merchandise, not reconstructions.
Similarly, if anyone wishes to send photos for the locations page with a
small amount of accompanying text, these will also be gratefully received.
The website address is http://www.dbutler22.freeserve.co.uk and the e-mail
address is <David@dbutler22.freeserve.co.uk>."

*** ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ***
Thanks to the following for help with this issue : Rick Brindell, Derek
Handley, Dominic Jackson, David May, Michael Palmer, Jon Preddle, Dean Rose
and Paul Scoones.

*** BORING STUFF ***
The DOCTOR WHO reconstructions are fan-produced endeavours completed without
the consent of BBC Worldwide, BBC Television, or any holders of the DOCTOR
WHO licence. No infringement on any such copyright holder is intended nor
are the tapes produced for any sort of monetary compensation. Tapes are
distributed through the worldwide DOCTOR WHO fan network. Support the BBC
releases!

All material published in this newsletter is copyright the 'Disused Yeti'
newsletter. Please do not reprint any of the contents in another publication
(whether electronic or print) without obtaining the prior permission from
the editors.

The newsletter is available in three formats - plain text, Word 6, and HTML.
In addition, there is also an "announcement" mailing list which simply
announces the release of a new issue, and provides details on how the issue
can be downloaded. Please send an E-mail to Bruce if you wish to be added to
any of these lists (or wish to have your details altered or removed). The
back-issues (in text, Word and HTML format) can be located at the following
web-site:

http://www.telesnaps.com/
*********************************************************