Power of the Daleks

BBC Audio reconstruct the 'missing' adventure.

Out in June is a groundbreaking release which reconstructs a classic Doctor Who serial that no longer exists in the BBC Television archives.

The MP3-CD release of The Power of the Daleks combines the off-air recorded soundtrack for the Troughton tale with 'telesnaps' taken at the time (presented on this very site).

The result - a visual slide show of images over the original soundtrack - goes some way to 'recreate' the original film episodes.

The Power of the Daleks sees the first ever Doctor Who regeneration, in which his companions Ben (Michael Craze) and Polly (Anneke Wills) suspect that he is an impostor after his whole body apparently transforms before their very eyes. But when the TARDIS materialises on the planet Vulcan, they must unite and fight for their lives together - against the evil Daleks!

Doctor Who Reconstructed: The Power of the Daleks (MP3-CD) will be published by BBC Audio on 20 June 2005.

Gordon
Just watched it. EXCELLENT WORK GUYS! I feel like I genuinely have watched this adventure for the first time. Please release more, The Macra Terror would be brilliant like this!

Paul Pritchard
Hold on, you critics -- this is a BBC Audiobooks release : DVD release is not their job. Complain to the DVD division. I'm grateful for what this is : the nearest that we can get to seeing the story as it was when first broadcast. Future releases should, I think, be (as with this release) of stories of which no complete episodes exist, and, obviously, for which telesnaps exist. 'The Highlanders' would be great, and how about the two sea-monster stories, 'The Macra Terror' and 'Fury from the Deep'? Or the Hartnell stories 'The Savages' and 'The Smugglers'? This is an exciting development, I've ordered my copy, and I'm going to enjoy it!

james r
i would like to see the abominable snowman done next.

Nick Gowman
Just seen the first episode as I received the disc on Saturday. I actually found it easy to follow - easier than the audio only releases whcih I tended to lose interest with. As has been commented on already, it is a shame the existing clips are not included, even if they were extra avi files on the CD. I like the idea of the Highanders coming next as, even though it hasn't got a great reputation, it would follow on nicely for myself and others who have not yet experienced these stories in any shape or form.

Phil Allely
This is what we want classic episodes that we've read about or only heard about, this is as close as we'll get to the original and for us completists it will fill the still too many gaps in our collections. More please!!

Gavin Bollard
Please, Please, Release these things as DVDs so that we can all play them on Normal TV systems rather than having to use computers and OS'es which may become obselete. Also - has anyone thought about abandoning the Telesnaps and doing the whole thing as a cartoon with the original soundtrack (ie: clone wars style).

alex grant
I think it would be a AWESOM idea to remake it in lego

Eric
Why don't they redo the missing episodes with traditional animation?

Joseph (no.1 Dalek fan)
Brill-much better than a C.D! It brings back old memorys.

Doctor Jerkula
Great idea! Let's see more lost stories get this treatment- but include the moving video!

Jake
This is gonna be so successful. I think every missing/incomplete story should have this treatment. Well worth it! Can't wait!

Henry Flynn
Let's have The Web of Fear next please. It's much better than the rubbishy old Highlanders

Tim
It is NOT too distracting ( as stated by BBC audio ) to put in the brief surviving clips as well as the telesnaps - especially if the 1st & last frames of such clips were to be frozen for a second ot two seconds. The BBC released "The 10th Planet" episode 4 on vhs as a reconstruction complete with all the tiny suirviving clips ( as well ass the longer ones at the end of that episode ) - & that worked fine - Although the images on that release should have been at nearly fullscreen size - not half size with the rest of the screen as a background. This "Power Of The Daleks" reconstruction under discussion here, is a half measure & a lazy effort by the BBC & seems rather cynical as no doubt they will later sell the missing stories to us for a 3rd time on DVD - eventually. Having said that I hope the BBC do release a proper reconstruction on DVD - which I would definitely buy - unlike this present item. A proper recon would need - in addition to the telesnaps - to include all clips, use publicity photos & set photos, cutting & pasting etc from surviving episodes including using images from those stories which are entirely complete when appropriate - Also such a proper DVD version should have options for both narrated audio & explanatory subtitles but SHOULD ALSO BE VIEWABLE WITH NEITHER OF THESE : So that it can also be enjoyed without either ie with narrationless & /or subtitleless sound & vision. The explanatory subtitles ( explanatory as in providing a role equivalent to narration ie not just production notes - though these would be wellcome as a 2nd subtitle option ) would probably work best in a tickertape type style moving fom screen right to screen left. The imaginative use of CGI effects would also be wellcome where appropriate - as long as it is faithfull to the original design concepts & style of the program at that time. Such a truly inspired & proper reconstruction on a proper format ie DVD - which is far more user-friendly than having to watch at a computer - would be a worthy offering from the Corporation which destroyed the originals of these episodes.

Algernon
I'd like to see The Web of Fear done next. Much of the story's atmosphere depends on visuals, so pics would really do something for the audio remains of this story.

Christopher Bowles
I think you should do a reconstruction of some of the Hartnell stories like smugglers or if you have the telesnaps;Marco Polo, the Massacre

Spasticus
Yeah - let's throw some resources at remaking all the old Doctor Who stories! And it doesn't have to be too expensive as, Lego aside, marionettes proved their versitility in the recent Team America movie. Or how about we get a son of Pat Troughton (David or Michael - I'm not fussed) to recreate their father's role. That would be sweet, and would provide acting jobs too.

James Main
Good. Great. Yes. I'll be buying this badger asap. Been waiting quite a while to have the soundtracks and telesnaps in one place at the same time!

Mark from Newcastle
Well I think this is a bad move from BBC Audio, speaking as one of the many thousands of fans who bought PotD when it was recently released as part of the audio range. As such I can't see too many other fans who did the same shelling out yet more cash for the addition of a few telesnaps. Still the BBC is a money making business so I suspect more will follow

Chris Cousins
Why not reconstruct the whole thing using CGI. Expensive. But would be ace.

Phil Allely
This si what we want, classic shows pieced together and put back as close as we can get to the long-lost original. With so many Who stories lost or partly lost it's great to see that we can at least relive some of them through cd-rom and dvd.

Peter
This is great news, and I eagerly await its release, however personally I'd rather see a DVD box set of reconstructed stories eleased in this manner, each set could contain a set number of stories and could be viewed visually on the TV set and not require a PC. I feel that official BBC DVD recons would really be welcomed far more in proper DVD format. Overall though I really look forward to this release.

Bobby Foster
It's a very good idea, only spoilt by the non-inclusion of the existing clips. the idea that the clips would be distracting is rubbish, as the unofficial recons have shown.

Perry Vale
I think this is a fantastic idea, and I look forward to getting a copy. As for suggestions for a follow up release...I agree a 'consecutive' approach (with The Highlanders) makes much sense, but how about doing Hartnell's 'Marco Polo', as this has the added advantage of them (the telesnaps) having only recently been rediscovered?

Neil Young
I had often thought that the Photo Novels online would be good issued on CD/DVD and this sounds even better. I have not yet ventured into buying the audio CD's but would definitely buy this and any future audio/telesnap CD's. I think it would be better again to perhaps include them in the DVD release schedule too. It would be a way of having the majority of the stories in one uniform collection.

Chris Martin
Its great that this material is still considered commercially viable, but I think DVDs including all surviving material are the way to go. Can we be sure these CDs will be compatible with future versions of Windows? I'd much prefer something I can just bang on my TV and relax; mucking about with PCs just feels like work!

chris mould
i think that the power of the daleks is one of the baest dalek storys ever made it will be so good to acutally watch the story after listening to it or reading it thank you so much.

rob_vano
Why not remake it in Lego!!!!

Jack Andrzejczak
A step in right direction. Once all complete stories are out on DVD, each incomplete Hartnell & Troughton story should have a DVD with any remaining clips, full episodes, photos, tele-snapes, pictures & audio all combined to give as complete "DVD package" of all remaining pieces of the story. With DVDs you can add text/subtitles & also director/actor comments as an optional overlay to clarify the story. By the time all the complete stories are out on DVD, this may give a few years to hopefully find 3 or 4 (hopefully all !!) extra clips or missing episodes. Something for the future !!

kirk
with computers it should be possable to reconstruct the video and colour it

Jim25NWLondon
I think the BBC releasing reconstructed episodes is a terrific, long-overdue idea. However I must agree with others in this forum that a better idea would be a DVD with existing clips and remaining episodes!!

MarbleMad
It'd be nice if we could have it on DVD rather than having to mess around with PC media players to see the slideshow.

Tom Parr
im 11 and i'm hooked on the new series i can't wait to see all the old ones!

Mark Hevingham
Not really "groundbreaking" as fans have been reconstructing episodes for almost 20 years! In fact Power of the Daleks was the very first of these to be completed back in the 80s!

Owen Peake
Surely this will be just the first of many re-releases of the audio soundtrack CD's, now with tele-snaps, so people will buy them all over again. The original audio CD releases should have been issued with an accompanying tele-snap booklet, or other photos that existed from the production.

Henry
Why not read a book the instead

Neil Francis
People, this is a wonderful addition to the legacy. Using CGI etc would be a joke. I'm 26, suffice to say there's alot I will never see, but I will be adding this to my collection. Let's not take this as a glass being half-empty, but half full. I brought the reconstructed Troughton Ice Warriors show on VHS and that was excellent. If this job is as good I will be a happy Whovian!

Garry Carmody
What a fantastic idea-one of Troughtons best,would love to see them try it on Fury From The Deep.

Seb Bird
Its great how the BBC is bringing back the lost episodes. Its a shame they destroyed most of Patrick Troughton's adventures though. And William Hartnell's. Its not as good without watching it.

Adrian W
Why don`t they go the whole hog and re-film the entire story with lookalike actors. It`s not like they`re going to have any trouble getting dalek lookalikes. ;) They could then do a DVD with both a color version with new and old soundtrack (choices) and an authentic looking b&w processed version with old soundtrack only. Of course, I`m assuming the BBC still have the script! ;)

Richard from Down Under
I agree it is brilliant idea to do this. Please do this to all other missing stories. An artistic archaelogy such as this is essential for the classic early lost Doctor Who episodes. The cslide show will work fine and give a good feel for the lost show. Could be good as a DVD slide show as well as MP3 disc for your computer. Good on da BBC!

Hugh Jands
Sounds great but I to would like to see some exisiting live footage added. And will it be tragically overpriced like the new series Boxed set DVD (don't get me started on that one!)

Gregg
A good idea but not quite there, a DVD including both existing episodes and telesnaps with additional narration for the missing episodes is surely the ideal package

ian
The Tenth Planet was released on video as a reconstruction;real episodes plus audio over slides. I thought then that this was obviously the way forward for the missing episodes. So why no clips that exist ? Don't understand!

AJ
Excellent! Now we can find out what realy happened at the 1st regeneration! Good one BBC Audio!!

Peter
Why do the BBC always go for half measures? Why not go the whole way and do a proper job on DVD using telesnaps, publicity shots, surviving clips, CGI, etc. Instead they just release something that most of us could recreate on our home PCs in the space of a couple of hours. Seems like a great idea poorly executed.

Craig Johnson
I would like to see all the lost Cybermen episodes done like this, Who knows they might still find all the lost episodes, they found The tomb of the Cybermen in 1991.

Greg Schaal
One of my favorite Dalek stories! Thank you BBC Audio.

ed smyth
i love the sound of this!

David Richards
It's a shame that there don't seem to be any plans to include the clips that exist.

Scott Elcock
Fantastic! (To coin a phrase) Do Auntie Beeb have plans for this happen with other John Cura Telesnapped Who?. A recon of Evil Of The Daleks is a must surely?

James Slayton
Imagine time traveler going back to the 60s to get a copy of these episodes, telling people that one day, Doctor Who will become a cult almost as Star Trek!

Peter - 405 Lines
Fantastic!!! I've been longing for the BBC to do recons of the missing episodes and look forward to this one. Please consider doing more recons, especially with the existing cine film footage etc in place.

Elliot
Great! But why bother it's already out on CD?

Paul Metcalfe
I would like to see them issue similar for all the missing episodes and where there are existing episodes to include them. I think it is a good idea that will be welcomed by old, new and yet to be fans.

Brian Jones
PLEASE GIVE US MORE LIKE THIS, IT's AS NEAR AS YOU CAN GET TO A MISSING STORY. IT WILL BE FANTASTIC.