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Here they are - the results of
the 2002 Missing Episodes Survey. Survey questions were posted
on both the Doctor Who Gateway
and
the
Outpost Gallifrey
Forum (Thanks to Shaun Lyon for his
enthusiasm and cooperation) for three weeks between June 28 and July 12,
2002. A total of 87 respondents provided opinions on a variety of
topics related to the missing episodes saga. Thanks to all who
contributed by participating, including David Howe, Graham Howard, Shannon
Patrick Sullivan, Julian Knott, Dallas Jones, Dominique Boies, Dominic
Jackson, Paul Cornell, David McIntee, Ash Stewart, Ryan K. Johnson, Bob
Furnell, Steve Hill, Torger Kielland, Jamie Baverstock, Chris Cuthbert,
Dave Dixey, Brad Phipps, Jeffrey Ellis, Duncan Hurwood and many, many
more.
1) As of 2002, there are 109 missing
Doctor Who episodes. How
many episodes do you think still exist, whether they be in foreign TV
archives, private film collections, or dusty attic boxes?
a) None (0) - 7
b) Some (1-10)
- 45
c) Many
(11-50) - 30
d) Most (51-100) -
3
e) All or nearly all
(101-109) - 2
f) Do not know and do not
care - 0
Answering this question obviously
requires pure guesswork and speculation, however it is interesting to see
the majority of respondents (45 of 87 or 51%) answering positively yet
conservatively, choosing "Some (1-10)," with "Many (11-50)" a distant
second. Considering the time which has passed since the original
junkings, fandom would indeed be fortunate to enjoy 1-10 full episode
recoveries.
2) The last full episode
recovery came in 1999 (The Lion in New
Zealand). How long will we wait until the next full episode
find?
a) 1-2 years - 31
b) 3-5 years -
26
c) 5-10 years -
21
d) Forever! -
6
Again, a question demanding educated
guesswork, yet again we see the majority of respondents (31 or 37%)
choosing the logical answer considering the passage of time, and assuming
that whatever episodes may still exist will probably be recovered soon or
not at all.
3) From where will the next full
episode recovery originate?
a) Foreign TV archives -
30
b) Film collector aware of
the film's value - 7
c) Film collector unaware of
the film's value - 34
d) a dusty attic, cleaned-out garage, or
storage-shed - 11
The results from
this question seem to indicate a shift in belief for many fans since the
mid-90's. Not only has fandom obviously disengaged from believing
that 'missing episode clubs' & greedy fans/collectors are dealing
material through a type of black market, but two recent finds in New
Zealand (The Lion
in '99 & censor
clips in '02) seem to have convinced fans (34 or 41%) that film collectors
unaware of what they possess are more likely to hold missing
Doctor Who material than foreign
TV archives, which did come in at a close second (30 or
37%).
4) Which three stories would you
most like to see recovered in full?
1)
Power of the Daleks
- 46
2) The Daleks' Master Plan
- 32
3) Marco Polo
- 31
4)
The Evil of
the Daleks - 27
5)
The Web of Fear
- 24
6)
Fury From the Deep
- 22
7)
The Myth Makers
- 8 /
The Tenth Planet
- 8
8)
The Massacre -
7
9)
The Enemy of the World
-
6
10) The
Celestial Toymaker - 4
/
The Crusade -
4
/ The Underwater Menace
- 4
11)
The Abominable Snowmen
-
3 / The Faceless Ones
- 3 /
The Macra Terror
-
3 / The Savages
- 3
12)
Mission to the Unknown
-
2 / The Moonbase
- 2
13)
Galaxy Four
- 1 /
The Highlanders
- 1 /
The Ice Warriors
-
1 / The Invasion -
1 /
The Reign
of Terror -
1
/ The Smugglers
- 1 /
The Space Pirates
-
1 / The Wheel in Space
-
1
A question for those who enjoy fantasizing a
bit! It is interesting to note that the top four answers balance
equally missing Patrick Troughton/William Hartnell episodes, and
unsurprisingly 'established classics' are the most desired of future
returns. Is it surprising that The Web of
Fear did not rank higher than 5th place, considering
the heightened interest in this story as a result of the NZ censor clips
find only months ago? Perhaps. Is it also surprising to see
The Enemy of the World receive
more votes than generally well regarded adventures such as
The Abominable Snowmen
or The Crusade? Historical stories
also fared very well, with both The Myth
Makers and The
Massacre topping Troughton monster-era adventures such as
The Macra Terror & The Moonbase. Interest in
the Troughton-era continues to be high as
Power of
the Daleks easily tops
The Daleks' Master
Plan, and interest in the first
Doctor
Who historical Marco
Polo remains high as well, sustained perhaps thanks to
the recent Loose Canon release of a fan reconstruction in
color.
5) Which would you rather
see?
a) A complete story recovered (ie: The Evil of the Daleks)
- 57
or...b) A
selection of recovered missing episodes from various stories (ie:
Power of the Daleks 1,
Marco Polo 7,
Evil of the Daleks
5,
The Web of Fear 3, etc.) -
30
Again, a question for those who enjoy
fantasizing, although the majority (57 or 66%) clearly would prefer to see
a full story recovered than a selection of various missing episodes.
Perhaps a better question might have asked which is more
likely?
6) Have you viewed the recently
recovered New Zealand censor clips online at the BBC
Doctor Who
website?
a) No -
31
b) Yes, I viewed them once
- 31
c) Yes, I
viewed them a few times - 22
d) Yes, I
have viewed them repeatedly and cannot get enough! - 3
Was this an unfair question, considering
the recently recovered NZ censor clips have only been available online
since mid-June? Perhaps, as an equal number of respondents (31 or
36%) were just as likely to have seen them as to have not, although it is
encouraging to see that many (22 or 25%) have viewed the clips
repeatedly. A number of responses did indicate dissatisfaction with
RealPlayer as an online viewing tool.
7) Have you viewed the missing episode PhotoNovels at the BBC Doctor Who
website?
a) No - 29
b) Yes, I
viewed them once but haven't visited since - 13
c) Yes, I
occasionally view them - 41
d) Yes, I have been a dedicated viewer -
4
8) Do you collect
any of the various fan-produced missing episode video
reconstructions?
a) No, I have never seen them
- 40
b) No, I've
seen one or a few but do not collect them - 14
c) Yes, I have a collection but have
stopped adding new titles - 9
d) Yes, I
continue to collect and add new titles - 23
9) Do you collect any of the
missing stories released on CD by BBC Audio?
a) No, I have never
purchased one - 25
b) No, I've purchased one
or a few but do not collect
them -
27
c)
Yes, I
collect them - 35
ADDITIONAL
COMMENTS:
Re: Future recoveries
It wouldn't
surprise me if a good 25-30 are still out there somewhere. they were sent
all over the world and record keeping wasn't very good at the time, I bet
many were slipped out the backdoor when they were supposed to be
'destroyed or returned' - Rob Penn
I truly hope someone out there
has some more episodes, it's an awful shame that all the hard work that
went into creating them could be gone forever. This goes not only for
Doctor Who, but
The Avengers, Adam Adamant
Lives and the countless others, too - Kyle Borcz
I'd like to think we'll at least be able to reduce the number
down to double figures, I doubt it'll get past 90. I'd like it to, but the
number of episodes that have turned up in the last decade, compared with
the decade before, don't seem to indicate this - Ash Stewart
A gut
feeling is maybe 5 or 6. Some episodes have an impossibly small chance of
survival like the later Troughton stories, sad though it may be - Dominic
Jackson
Re: The New Zealand censor
clips
I
will be looking
forward to seeing them larger than postage-stamp size as a DVD extra at
some point! - David McIntee
I have viewed them only once, because
to view them repeatedly would only be torturing myself over stories I
can't possibly watch in their entirety! - Jessie Loflin
Re: Fan Video
Reconstructions
The standard of Reconstructions
continues to improve with each release. This year's Loose Cannon
Marco Polo recon was so good as
to make me wonder whether if the episodes were to be recovered, they would
be an anticlimax - Steve Hatcher
Re: BBC Audio missing
stories
These are marvellous, and perhaps I don't wish to
see full stories back in part because these releases do such a good job of
filling the gaps! They certainly give a younger fan like me the chance of
really visualising the episodes as they were transmitted - Christopher
Fare
IN
CLOSING...
Thanks again to the many fans who
took the time to participate in this survey, and thanks to Shaun Lyon and
the readers of the Outpost Gallifrey
Forum for their help. Thanks to those who
provided additional comments as well as survey answers, your efforts were
appreciated and I apologize for not being able to post all of them
here. It is encouraging to see that interest in the missing episodes
is still high and still largely positive; as fan Christopher Fare
indicated, "Missing episode finds do have a habit of occurring just when
we're about to give up hope, after
all!" |
