Doctor Who: Animating the Lost Episodes

I watched an old episode of Doctor Who tonight – part 2 from the episode “The Moonbase” from season 4, early in Patrick Troughton’s era. Episode 1 has been lost, although the audio survives. A great many episodes from the early years of Doctor Who – and in particular from Patrick Troughton’s time as the Doctor – have been lost or damaged so as to be unwatchable. This is unfortunate, since the Second Doctor was the one to really develop the Doctor’s comical side, in a way that would inspire Tom Baker and, more recently, Matt Smith.

But just because the episodes have deteriorated or destroyed and been lost, that doesn’t mean that there is no way for the lost episodes to “regenerate” and have a new life. One approach is to animate them. Here’s what one fan has done to restore part 1 of “The Moonbase.”

I suspect that, when animating them, it would be possible to also introduce color, update the appearance of the cybermen, and in various ways improve the special effects beyond what was possible in a live action show in 1967.

If this were to be done, and done well, I could see children today appreciating the older series. I could see early Doctor Who “regenerating” and developing a young fan base.