There have been dozens of different rumors circulating about unearthed Doctor Who episodes, but they’re all over the place, and confirmation has been thin on the ground. With the original count at 106 episodes, everyone’s hoping for a deluge, but it’s fair to say that’s wishful thinking. Here is what might actually be going down, however….
Radio Times and the Mirror both are reporting that a few new episodes will be released on Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary. The belief is that two episodes have been entirely—or at least mostly—unearthed from the Troughton era, likely “Web of Fear” and “Enemy of the World.” The BBC is known for being tight-lipped about these things where Doctor Who is concerned, so they are unwilling to confirm any of it.
How did we go from 106 episodes found in Africa to a couple unearthed in time for the birthday bash? A lot of hearsay, mostly, and miscommunications. Bleeding Cool has a great breakdown of where people have likely been getting their stories from, and why they vary so wildly.
But new episodes would be exciting for all of us! Doctor Who has been around long enough that to certain fans, these serials could be brand new, which is a special sort of gift. If this rumor is true, it looks like the episodes will first be available for download before going on sale on DVD/Blu-Ray—this is because there are rules about those releases that digital once do not have, such as promoting them in advance (which they obviously don’t want).
We’re keeping our fingers crossed on this one!
