Story: The Web of Fear
Written By: Mervyn Haisman & Henry Lincoln
Length: 6 Episodes
Year: 1968
Joy of Joys! One of the classic stories of Doctor Who that has long been thought lost is found! Well mostly that is. Recently in Nigeria, 9 episodes considered lost forever were found. This included all the remaining 5 episodes of "Enemy of the World" as well as 4 of the 5 missing episodes. So at this point "The Web of Fear" has 5 of out 6 episodes complete, leaving only one episode still lost (which quite frankly is terrific, I could live if they just animate the one episode). So now with all these episodes returned, I have rewatched the serial to see how it holds up in it's (mostly) entirety, compared to when I watched it when only episode 1 was held by the BBC archives.
It was great! I liked the story when I was mostly listening to it while looking at still pictures, but it felt like a lot was lost in the translation. It is a fairly action heavy/atmospheric story. It has a lot of scenes that have people creeping in the London Underground in the dark, the army shooting and fighting the Yeti, and the Yeti stalking around the Underground being generally freaky. With out the motion of the actors, a lot is lost. I still liked the story without the motion, and I always thought the Yeti were a cool monster from the Troughton era...but having the actual episodes back is a real treat. The sets look good, the dark tunnels and music lead to a terrific atmospheric tale, and the action works. In short it holds up great. When the DVD comes out next year, lets hope they animate the one lost episode left, and use the same folks who did "Reign of Terror" and "The Tenth Planet".
This story features the return of the Yeti, who appeared earlier in the season. It also features the return of Prof. Travers who also made his first appearance in "The Abominable Snowmen". The best thing about this is a new character, The Brig! Well...not yet. Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart is introduced here, who in his next appearance would be promoted to Brigadier, and then would appear alongside almost every Doctor after being a regular character in the show during the Third Doctor era.
It was a wonderful treat to rewatch this episode with full motion, a real treat. The best 50th anniversary present fans could ask for. Better than a ton of new episodes. Troughton has so many lost stories, that getting to see two (almost) complete stories of his is really exciting. Here's to finding more lost stories inthe coming years, and the continuation of the DVD range (in both animation AND newly found stories). Huzzah!
NEXT TIME: A Base Under Siege By Monsters!
Written By: Mervyn Haisman & Henry Lincoln
Length: 6 Episodes
Year: 1968
Joy of Joys! One of the classic stories of Doctor Who that has long been thought lost is found! Well mostly that is. Recently in Nigeria, 9 episodes considered lost forever were found. This included all the remaining 5 episodes of "Enemy of the World" as well as 4 of the 5 missing episodes. So at this point "The Web of Fear" has 5 of out 6 episodes complete, leaving only one episode still lost (which quite frankly is terrific, I could live if they just animate the one episode). So now with all these episodes returned, I have rewatched the serial to see how it holds up in it's (mostly) entirety, compared to when I watched it when only episode 1 was held by the BBC archives.
It was great! I liked the story when I was mostly listening to it while looking at still pictures, but it felt like a lot was lost in the translation. It is a fairly action heavy/atmospheric story. It has a lot of scenes that have people creeping in the London Underground in the dark, the army shooting and fighting the Yeti, and the Yeti stalking around the Underground being generally freaky. With out the motion of the actors, a lot is lost. I still liked the story without the motion, and I always thought the Yeti were a cool monster from the Troughton era...but having the actual episodes back is a real treat. The sets look good, the dark tunnels and music lead to a terrific atmospheric tale, and the action works. In short it holds up great. When the DVD comes out next year, lets hope they animate the one lost episode left, and use the same folks who did "Reign of Terror" and "The Tenth Planet".
It was a wonderful treat to rewatch this episode with full motion, a real treat. The best 50th anniversary present fans could ask for. Better than a ton of new episodes. Troughton has so many lost stories, that getting to see two (almost) complete stories of his is really exciting. Here's to finding more lost stories inthe coming years, and the continuation of the DVD range (in both animation AND newly found stories). Huzzah!
NEXT TIME: A Base Under Siege By Monsters!
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