A recreation of the missing Doctor Who episode, Mission to the Unknown, will be made available to watch on the official YouTube channel, exactly 54 years to the day of its original transmission on BBC1.
Mission to the Unknown was a one-part prelude to The Daleks’ Master Plan, and is the only story to not feature the Doctor (then played by William Hartnell), except in footage from the previous episode.
We first heard about this remake from Peter Purves, who played original series companion, Steven Taylor, and who revealed he was part of the project by The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). The episode will further feature Nicholas Briggs as the voice of the Daleks.
The episode will premiere on the Doctor Who YouTube Channel at exactly 5:50pm (BST) on Wednesday 9th October 2019 – that’s a week today!
Alongside Mission to the Unknown, you’ll be able to enjoy a special making-of documentary created by YouTuber, Josh Snares. Presumably this will include a Q&A session with Purves and Edward de Souza (who played Marc Cory in the story).
In our review of the story, we said:
“It must’ve been a surprise for a 1965 audience to have the Daleks return again so soon after The Chase, but they nonetheless add some gravitas to a tale which began as a ‘base-under-siege’ story (where the whole planet is the enemy!). Their inclusion really gives Mission to the Unknown a sense of doom and it’s this fascinating and exhilarating dread that’s kept them popular for over 50 years. You can easily see how they prop up an episode without the Doctor.”
Luke Spillane, Digital Publishing Manager for Doctor Who at BBC Studios, said:
“It is such a fantastic recreation, made lovingly with real craft and expertise by everyone at the University of Central Lancashire. I hope audiences around the world can imagine that it’s tea time on the 9th October 1965 as they rather excitingly watch a black and white episode of Doctor Who premiere on their television sets, mobile phones and tablets.”
Andrew Ireland, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Digital and Creative Industries at the University of Central Lancashire, added:
“It is such a loss to our cultural heritage that so many episodes of 1960s Doctor Who are missing from the BBC archives.
“This project presented us with an exciting opportunity to address that, to explore a new way of bringing these missing slices of TV history to life, and in the process, help students learn their craft by comparing contemporary production methods with historical approaches.
“The project gave so many people great experiences, and it is wonderful to see the Daleks menacing a black and white jungle once more.”
Mission to the Unknown will be on the Doctor Who YouTube channel 5.50pm on Wednesday 9th October 2019. Stick with the DWC because we’ll keep you updated!
(Thanks to Joe Siegler.)
