How Doctor Who's Missing Episode Audio Survived

[@whovian59]

I was delighted to see my dear late friend Dave Butler mentioned in your video. He was able to make a number of audio contributions that have since been used and enjoyed by Who fans. I was surprised, however, to see the photo of him that I took during one of his visits to my home in Worcestershire UK. How on Earth did you get that? I will forward a link to his daughter Michelle so that she and Dave's widow Teresa can enjoy your video as much as I did. Thank you.

[@JoshSnares]

Thank you! I did a LOT of investigating to find it. He used to host a website, and I used the WayBackMachine to find an About Us page, and that photo was there! I’m glad to hear I was correct that it was a photo of him! A legend in my eyes!

[@whovian59]

@@JoshSnares And you are in mine ♥️

[@gogostify]

@@JoshSnares omg, you used (time machine) a TARDIS 😅

[@chimmychunger6376]

Im so glad that in the early 60's doctor who had such a strong and dedicated fan base, without them there's no chance we'd have anywhere near as many recovered episodes /audios.

[@blueknight07]

I'm so glad the audios exist. Some other shows from the 60s have episodes lost to time forever. At least some stories partially exist as audio recordings.

[@crimsong8068]

If only video recording had existed back them... there probably wouldn't be a single missing episode. Still, having the audio is great, it means that all the stories can survive in another format like animation, which is unheard for most lost media.

[@arthurvasey]

And, with further advancements in technology, as long as the title sequences remained intact - people didn’t do stupid stuff like editing out titles and ad breaks, if it had been recorded from a commercial channel - a bit of editing by a professional would have edited out the commercials without making it look disjointed - - advancements in technology could see the black and white episodes colourised and made them look and sound as if they were brand new!

[@professormemorabilia3499]

David Holman has been a good friend of mine for over thirty years and doesn't get the credit he deserves for recording those now very precious Doctor Who audio recordings. Thank you for including David in your documentaries Josh.

[@adrianace1725]

A friend of my father's used to record Doctor Who off air in the 1960's. I grow up listening to these recordings in the early 90's long before the soundtracks were released on CD and vinyl. The sound quality wasn't great but it was an interesting window into a lost past. He still has all of his original recordings on open reel/cassette.

[@ender7278]

Make sure those get digitized and archived permanently. You never know when they might come in handy, regardless of the quality.

[@adrianace1725]

@@ender7278 I'll have a word with my father's friend and get that done!

[@arritractive]

@@adrianace1725any updates?

[@adrianace1725]

@@arritractive Sadly he's in ill health so unable to do much nowadays.

[@xxcoolxx2313]

It goes to show the value of the show and the dedication of the fans. Many shows from pre vhs are missing with no trace of anything. So the fact that doctor who has got audio recordings of all missing episodes shows that there was value in it and that there were people who fell in love with this show since day one. Honestly that’s what I love about this community

[@JoshSnares]

Definitely!

[@Kent933]

@@JoshSnares we also have little clips

[@christopheralthouse6378]

Let’s not forget the animations as well…there’s enough value that the BBC has been willing to SPEND MONEY to make several of them now watchable, including my personal fave “Evil of The Daleks”! Telesnaps do NOT do these episodes justice…😅😍🥰😁

[@Timmymantwo]

Thank you to all the dedicated Doctor Who fans who saved history that would have been lost otherwise. Great video Josh, thank you

[@richardswift343]

Terrific reminder of the tremendous positive impact that these fans had on our insights and enjoyment of sixties Who.

[@C_irving96]

It’s amazing to see such a following for classic Doctor Who. The fact they even thought about recording stories is remarkable. One day we may just have every Doctor Who story

[@kevin10001]

I know cause I love the whole show from 63-23 and ultimately it doesn’t matter what doctor I’m watching I’m just happy watching the show cause in the end I’m still watching the doctor

[@C_irving96]

@@kevin10001 absolutely. Many great things to come too!

[@horrorstew3577]

I've been hunting for lost Doctor Who media and episodes in my spare time since 2009 and come up with nothing but dead ends..... That being said tho, I'll NEVER stop looking and I'll continue to follow every lead. ..... Because I firmly believe that these episodes are still around (Maybe not 'Feast of Steven' but the others absolutely) Until then I thank Gallifrey for these audio's 🙏 If I ever find myself holding a lost episode film reel Its gonna be YOU who hears about it first Josh. You ❤️ this like I do and I respect that about you kid. FYI... Keep doing these high quality productions and I have a feeling one day you will be involved in making Real Doctor Who .....the fans of yesterday are the show runners of today, Trust me ;)

[@MushroomHaterProductions]

We should be very thankful that every single episode exists to some degree. As a lifelong Whovian, I owe it to the fans who preserved and donated these recordings for future use. Brilliantly crafted, Josh!

[@markbelsom3174]

Just want to say a massive thank you to all those dedicated fans who recorded the sound tracks , without them we wouldn't be able to enjoy the animations or the audios of the missing stories, I think we're all extremely greatful.

[@TrentonBlessWrestlemania489]

I'm glad you made a separate video for the audio tapes. I've always wanted a little bit more info on them. Your videos are definitely the definitive guide to the missing adventures of Doctor Who, and it isn't even close.

[@interstellar1962]

Thanks for that Joshua. We must count our blessings that we have audio recordings, telesnaps & novelisations for each missing story. Spare a thought for BBC programmes like United!, a football-themed soap which ran from 1965-67, but as it was never sold overseas, all 147 episodes wiped, no clips, no audio survived, all gone. Eternal thanks to all those who made these recordings.

[@JAProductions494]

Despite knowing who made the audio recordings, I always wondered how they were made. I’m surprised that something as simple as holding a microphone to a speaker would work so well even if Graham Strong’s recording is of the highest quality (sorry, just had to recite your old documentary) I really hope one day you do a video on how the reconstructions were made

[@Bellocks1]

I think I’m in love with Josh Snares. Another absolutely fantastic DW video. Really does explain more of these wonderful audio recorders and going back to your missing episodes videos, feels like we know these people more.

[@kevin10001]

Josh is great for classic era information cause it feels like he puts the time into his research for the video and I found him through his 3 part documentary on the saga of the missing episodes

[@rassilontdavros3004]

Info on the audio recordings is a _lot_ harder to find than info on the sources from which missing episode _films_ have been recovered, so this is a really nice video!

[@WordTweak]

Takes me back to when I recorded chip tunes with a cassette tape player.

[@timescales]

This is a great documentary that has been properly researched and presented in a well edited format. Good job Josh!

[@FishDS9]

Thank you for this video Josh! I've always felt that these Whovians didn't get the thanks and recognition they deserved. They provided BBC with content for audio cds and dvds and blu-rays and all they received in return was a studio tour? Shame on BBC.

[@hereticosjc]

Honestly, I love your work these videos are amazing. Please keep it up you're a treasure to the fandom.

[@5SSS]

Hey Josh, I think it would be a really cool if you got the community together to reanimate missing doctor who episodes, I’d love to take part

[@Thenesrookie]

But it has to be something awful like The Space Pirates Episode 1 or something 😂

[@5SSS]

@@Thenesrookie or the wheel in space

[@rassilontdavros3004]

The sheer abundance of "Reanimated Collabs" out there gives me hope. Even if the end result of such a collab probably wouldn't be as stylistically cohesive as one would want for the only extant version of an episode, it'd still be a really neat experiment! Maybe they could use _Web_ 3 as a test run, since pretty much everyone agrees the official animation for that one is... less than ideal, to put it nicely.

[@anelson8856]

Id love that. There are so many up-and-coming animators around KZbin who are wonderful at their craft. I'd love to see the BBC hire them to animate some of the missing serials.

[@timescales]

The Celestial Toymaker and The Savages existed in full at least until the early 1990. They were off air (Betamax) recordings from Nova Scotia Canada that were available through mail tape trading newsletters. The problem with them was that they had been copied so many times that the quality was extremely low. I do believe that the Doctor Who Restoration team has copies of these but they are not in the condition that they can be restored for commercial release. They have to still be out there somewhere.

[@ianscales4347]

Beautiful epilogue. Brought tears to my eyes. Thanks as ever for these videos.

[@michaelsmoviecorner]

Another amazing video josh love learning more about lost episodes

[@PirateNovelist]

Every video produced gets better and better! Your videos are a joy to watch. This one is extra special to me as a physical media/audio nerd.

[@BraydenShanksChannel]

I will say I am enterally grateful to all people involved in preserving and maintaining these audios for so many years. As a 19 year old who is so interested in early doctor who, I feel so spoiled having access to all episodes when so many did not for many years. I love the 2nd doctor and he always touches my heart so I’m so greatful I’m able to experience his episodes. And of course thanks to Josh for covering so much of classic doctor who. Love you

[@yuriythebest]

Excellent! With the recent advancement of neural networks and using this audio, we can soon have a full re-imagined original episodes in 4K!

[@Alpha-oo8]

It’s frankly incredible we have an entire set. How many shows can claim to have so many?

[@mjfouldes6822]

A lot of these stories have been told before but I love how you make them seem so fresh and new. You always make your videos interesting and I am sure there was stuff in there that I hadn't heard about before (well, maybe I read about in Wiped! years ago but forgot!!). That was brilliant! Thanks, Josh. I look forward to more!

[@michaelcarpenter2498]

Thank you for this video. Your works are always high quality and informative.

[@LicencetoWho]

Another brilliant video Josh! We truly are lucky to have so many surviving episodes and even audio records seeing as there are so many television series out there that are essentially gone forever never to be seen again. Another series I can think of that was lucky enough to be saved on audio was Broaden Your Mind, the series was completely wiped with only 9 minutes of footage left surviving. But we are lucky that someone recorded the audio for every episode.

[@AnotherScifiGuy]

A great watch, Josh. I’m always impressed by your content and production values.

[@rogeregerton8531Gorton-Red]

Hello Josh, I'm loving the old HMV tele playing away in the background, please keep this going as it makes me feel all nostalgic, as I watched Dr Who just like this back in 1963, I was 4 years old when the series began, nothing compares to Classic Doctor Who, I adore the first Doctor, but my favourite was and still is the Trought, he absolutely nailed that first regeneration. Fantastic attention to detail in your work as always. Take care of yourself. Regards Roger Egerton.

[@AnthonyP73]

Nice summary Josh, here's hoping the 60th can bring us some little miracles.

[@Ryfangor]

I think at this point I want more episodes to be found partly to see them but also partly because I wanna watch your video on it. Really been loving your work! :p

[@JoshSnares]

Thank you!

[@lukedean4128]

Good staff as usual Josh! I’d love to be able to hear the original opening continuity announcements!

[@TimLeeSongs]

These videos are so well researched and comprehensive, thank you.

[@macra_]

A fantastic video Josh! I love missing episodes doc (I rewatch it from time to time still) and this is a great little extension to it! Super well researched, keep it up!!

[@paulvcooke]

Brilliant stuff as usual Josh. Informative, respectful and realistic. I can't thank you enough for these great videos (especially any videos about ME's). You do great work.

[@LukeNyul]

Excellent video Josh! I think these audio recordings are so important, because of these no episode of Doctor Who is completely lost! It's certainly helping mine and my partners current watch-through of the show (and to my surprise she was adamant that we don't skip any stories so we will be enjoying these audio recordings). Despite that, I do hope a few more episodes show up one day...

[@JoshRazauskas]

I always enjoy your in-depth breakdowns. Thank you for all your hard work it really shows!

[@williamwood7338]

Great video, I think it’s wonderful people recorded the shows, I know I used to record on video the 80’s episodes to rewatch. I’ve never been inclined to get audio alone, but I hope one day we’ll have the episodes animated using this precious audio. And hopefully there are still some missing episodes to find to fill the gaps.

[@RIPDavidBear]

Wow this is incredible! I just always assumed the BBC destroyed the video tapes but kept the audio tracks for some reason

[@youraveragejoe9286]

Loved this topic! A video about how color was brought back to some of the Pertwee episodes would also be a fun video to see.

[@masterpainter72]

Maybe do a detailed in depth story of the fans who used the old Super 8mm home movie cameras for the off-air Doctor Who recordings...?!?

[@ChannelWales2009]

Second the comment about David Butler, a good friend and allowed many of us to hear stories during the early eighties.

[@bowski477]

I love this one. I feel like I would have been someone who did this had I been born in a different decade. I used to record my favorite episodes of Rugrats when I was a kid. Even then I was like "who does this?". Passionate fans do and boy am I thankful for these Doctor Who fans.

[@BlueSkyBS]

Great video, Josh. It never fails to amaze me how Doctor Who bred fans both dedicated and tenacious as these.

[@shoestringscifi]

Great video! Love the TV as well!

[@tonyp3824]

Said it before and I’ll say it again- great video. Essential watching for any DW fan.

[@thegd2567]

I feel so lucky as a dr who fan. We have a way to experience literally every doctor who story, despite everything that’s happened, and that’s so so special. Thanks for making this video and giving light to the amazing people who made this possible!!!

[@outsideinside9990]

cool video josh!

[@theloyalorderofclassictv5435]

The mystery of the Australian audio recordings of "The Invasion" and "Space Pirates" is one that should be explored further... It deserves it's own video.

[@JoshSnares]

The name is apparently known, but it’s less mysterious. They just don’t want their name public, want to be anonymous. Nothing more to say, really.

[@theloyalorderofclassictv5435]

@@JoshSnares There's still basic facts like when did the recordings surface and if the continuity announcements pin down when they were recorded.

[@jonathanmurphy3141]

Thank You, Josh, for this fine documentary! I've all the Who audio-episodes on CD or cassette since release in the 90's -and many LC recons throughout the network on VHS =anticipate getting "Season 2 on Blu when it's released in the US next month. I taped a few stories off US TV from 1978-80, on cassette like Happy Days, Battlestar Galactica, James Bond films on TV, and "the Star Wars Holiday Special" -the cassettes, ;one gone. Yet, viewing the SW Holiday years later on booklet tape, I could remember being annoyed listening back to Wookie "dialogue" that I didn't want to listen to the audio, anymore! My family got a Beta Video in 1983, and I started to tape Who off PBS. I threw out a number of those tapes, when the Beta packed-up. I wish I had some for PBS adverts for Who, and some of the edits' to Who -yet, as you observe, not all is saved for later archive.

[@smithpm81]

again, another amazing video mate

[@gfunkin3d]

What a fantastic video! ❤❤

[@WhovianWars]

Junking the audio for celestial toymaker is heartbreaking. I get it, I really do and I'm greatful for all what we have already though picturing celestial toymaker getting scrapped stings

[@johngurnhill8743]

One of the best KZbin channel.

[@bugmancx]

Love this history. Keep it up

[@carucath97]

While I understand why these recorders would cut out “fluff” to preserve space for the important bits (the main story) it is a shame that announcements were cut as I think the stuff around the episodes helps give a good context of the time (or are pretty funny like the Celestial Toymaker one on the Randolph Tapes)

[@Thatonedoctorwhofella]

Love this vid. I adore 1960s doctor who.

[@craigix]

I work in an archive, and you'd be amazed how much we throw away because there simply isn't space to keep it. Fortunately, we digitize most of it. But some things are still junked. We just don't have the money to do it all. I'd imagine it's the same at most archives.

[@gwfdrwho6061]

We are very lucky to have a full set of audio for every single episode not many 1960 shows do

[@puregrand]

Girl you’ve done it again

[@LucyliciousDoccyWho]

You have the most wholesome Whotuber vibes. It's a good time

[@AnotherScifiGuy]

I agree, so happy to see Josh so active again!

[@IanCaiMercer]

Thank the Gods of Ragnarok for people like Graham for recording the audio!

[@kevin10001]

Thank u so much for being the information keeper of the classic era of the doctor cause I love knowing behind the scenes information like this about movies and television shows I love and while watching the video the it came to mind thst these audios could help restore missing episodes if they are found with good or decent video quality but bad sound quality cause the video could be digital remastered to clean it up and these audios could be used to digital replace the bad audio quality and even though I don’t personally know any of those recorder I’m thankful thry did it cause we have way to restore the audio quality of the 60’s serials thanks to them

[@Logan_Irrelevant]

This has been my biggest question about Doctor Who. Great video.

[@jamesa.fitzpatrick1566]

God bless these fans!

[@themikeywho]

YESS :) more Doctor who Lost Media videos :)

[@TheHylianBatman]

I still hope we get tapes of every story so we can watch it as intended, but I'm quite grateful we have something from the missing episodes! The fact that our library is complete in at least one sense is amazing!

[@davidcallinicos1976]

The Randolph Tapes are DMP1 (2nd half) to Moonbase 1

[@doctorwhoproductions834]

We are so lucky, other BBC shows are completely missing and chances are they will never been seen or heard of again, unless someone remakes them, but with Doctor who we have the audios that means telensnaps and animations, as much as I’d love to sit down and properly watch the celestial toymaker at least we have photos and audio so we can still hear and see what is was like, we really shouldn’t grumble

[@Poliss95]

I'm not so sure about there being very few repeats in the 60s. I remember reading the letters pages in the newspapers of the 60s complaining about how many repeats were on the telly. So much so, that in the 70s the word 'repeat' was dropped, to be replaced with the phrase 'Another chance to see...' With Doctor Who being on for 48 weeks of the year there wouldn't really be a call to repeat them, especially as there where only two channels until 1964.

[@rogerturner1881]

i was in NZ in the 1969-1979 period and i was already a big fan. it was very unfortunate that i didn't have a good quality R2R and my TV was a MURPHY [with an RCA INPUT-how many tv's had that?] So that i could record many things incl bewitched, dr who. But unfortunately the recordings were disaster. Anyway they were from John Pertwee and tom baker seasons.

[@mjfouldes6822]

PS I finally get your "How could I possibly forget to do that" sign off! I just saw a compilation of famous Who actors saying it for the official channel and heard Tom saying your iconic sign off!! First time I have ever seen that! So it made me smile!

[@marcse7en]

As a 13 year old fan, I started recording Doctor Who audio in the mid-70's (not many had a VCR at that time), using a portable battery powered Cassette Tape Recorder and microphone, but the family often spoke over my recordings! 👎😭 ... So, by 1978, I had a Stereo Cassette Tape Deck with Dolby Noise Reduction, and I bought an impedance-matching device to connect it directly to the TV (the TV didn't have audio out). I removed the back from my Dad's expensive colour TV, and attached two crocodile clips to the TV speaker. This provided VERY good quality recordings, and when I wasn't recording, my Dad NEVER noticed the coiled up cable hanging from the back of his TV, terminated in a 5-pin DIN plug! 🤣 EDIT: My Dad passed away in 2022 aged 90, so my secret is safe!

[@raydarable]

Great video! What are the names of the songs in the background?

[@thatcopkransky]

Thanks for this informative video Josh! I’m a massive fan of Doctor Who, but I missed all the Australian broadcasts around the 80s because i was too scared of it at the time, haha. I’ve been playing catch up with the wonderful Blu-Ray re-releases. Really looking forward to being able to enjoy Patrick Troughton thanks to the enthusiasm of the fans!

[@AtelierGod]

Dubs from my country kinda fall into the same category as doctor who lost media, there are recordings of them, dvds, vhs tapes, but unless you are Disney (even then it’s not guaranteed) you’re not likely to ever a modern rerelease since without even testing the waters distributers have come to the conclusion there’s no market for them and therefore they’re in lost media.

[@pastorbri]

I often wish I could have thanked Greham for his recordings but believe he has passed on now.

[@AnotherScifiGuy]

Sadly he passed in 2018 I believe.

[@josephryan362]

I love the audio for ever doctor who audio

[@Adam_M13]

Could you do a similar video about the found clips to the doctor who episodes, that were added to the still missing episodes ?

[@matthewlawrenson3628]

And people laugh at me for recording podcasts on cassette tape. Well, you never know - something could happen.

[@paulharries9558]

I wonder at what point Doctor Who was recorded. Did "An Unearthly Child" (as in the episode itself, not the whole 4 part story) work a spell on people to record it? Are there audio recordings of it? I would have thought the first Dalek Story would have inspired many to record from then on.

[@endofthelane1]

Yes, audio recordings were made by various people from the transmission of the very first episode onwards.

[@paulharries9558]

@@endofthelane1 So it did work magic on them. I find it amazing that there is any audio recordings the first episode.

[@aducharme01]

Wow, I did not know that the Strong recordings were that... dangerous, I guess. Just more evidence for my "doctor who fans are mildly terrifying" theory, I suppose...

[@ptcarbonproductions2013]

*Graham Strong has joined the chat*

[@Hawkeye26]

Unfortunately, even if someone DID manage to go back in time to prevent the junkings or find some other means or restoring the Doctor Who library to a fully complete status, the following would or could transpire as a result: 1) If they prevented the junkings somehow, and preserved the BBC library somehow, this would make the 1990s more difficult for Doctor Who, as an entity, to continue to endure and thrive. The "Wilderness Years" were strongly supported by the release and distribution/sharing of the telesnap reconstructions of missing episodes, and the audio releases as well. With these stories already readily available in the archives, and gradually being released on VHS, there'd be a lesser sign of a "market" for the series' return. Its cancellation taken as a full and proper end to a series that can still be enjoyed in its entirety, with the 1996 Tele-Movie further sinking any potential for a revisitation. (this is, by no means, my way of downplaying the role of fan clubs, conventions, and the new books that were being released) 1B) Then there's the Back to the Future Part II Factor: The "present day" that the person, or group, would travel from to prevent the junking, would not be the same if they returned to it. 2) If they managed to go back and use, perhaps, more modern methods of recording/copying the missing material to bring them back to present day and restore the series to a fully complete status... .... ... .......actually, that'd work! We need to do that! 😛

[@alexfletcher5192]

The availability of soundtracks and pictures today seems almost unreal. My first experience of this show was Tom Baker being shrunk at the Bi-Al Foundation - but I couldn't have told you that until a decade later, because in the UK it was repeated once and never again! Just think how memories of those stories still not returned must seem today. The memory, famously, cheats...

[@idavid42]

I'm curious if you need to sync the frames of what you're displaying on your TV with what you're recording, or does the analogue TV make that unnecessary?

[@alexjensen1524]

Deadheads 🤝 Whovians “We Love Tapers!”

[@endofthelane1]

Just for the record, it's Richard Develyn you're talking about rather than Richard Delavyn. 🙂

[@JoshSnares]

I KNEW I messed up the pronunciation! I did a few different takes and chose that one. Oops! Lots of love to the real Richard Develyn! 💕

[@heene]

I used to record lots of TV on my cassette recorder in the 70's such as film clips, Kenny Everett and Top of the pops, and it seems others did that before me. Good for them!

[@kazinwho]

Media pirates will save us all.

[@rrxisgod8708]

We still have all the scripts right.

[@JoshSnares]

Yeah

[@shaunnolan]

Josh, do you think video versions of all of the missing episodes exist out there in the possession of collectors who aren't willing to share? Or do you think the episodes that still remain missing really are "lost"?

[@IanLevine]

I spent my life trying to track them down. But the missing ones now really are lost, which is why we so badly need to see them animated.

[@Kryojenix]

These are the true Doctor Who nerds! 🤓

[@thecelticdruid7707]

My grandfather Bill used to audio record episodes of 'The Incredible Hulk ' 'Space 1999' and of course, Dr Who.