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Rating: 
Summary: Lost in time... but worth the find!
Review: As most Doctor Who fans know, there are huge gaps in the archives for the black and white era of the show that featured the first two actors to play the role, William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton. Due to a total disregard for archiving material and, criminally, as a cost cutting exercise, there was a systematic junking policy for `expired' TV shows across many broadcast networks through to the 1970's. In many ways, Doctor Who fared better than most with many complete stories surviving either in private hands or more often by happy accidents.
Although anything to have survived is miraculous, in many cases, irritatingly, stories were left incomplete on the archive shelves. Pretty much useless to any broadcaster and indeed seemingly for home DVD or video release. But the bright guys at the BBC have spotted a way to gather up all this stray material and package it together on a collection of three discs featuring not only eighteen complete episodes but a whole myriad of other snippets and gems from the vaults.
As a huge Doctor Who fan, I was thrilled to see all these homeless relics gathered together, but from a wider commercial viewpoint, I don't think it's a particularly interesting project. But isn't it wonderful for fans to be indulged in this way? I'd never seen either episodes of The Faceless Ones before, so this was a real treat, as it was to see the newly discovered gem from The Daleks' Master Plan.
The problem for me is that alone, or even where two or more episodes exist, it's exceptionally frustrating to watch what remains of these stories. If you're watching episode one for example, you're completely hooked by the end and then hugely disappointed that there is no more! For stories that just have the odd episode from the middle of the story, it's enough to drive you barmy. My biggest irritation came from watching episode 4 of The Celestial Toymaker. What on earth is going on? It would have been so, so much better had the DVD contained a synopsis of what was missing to help flesh out some of the material and put things into context. Definitely an opportunity missed. In a step towards this, there are soundtracks included for two missing episodes from The Crusade and The Moonbase, which does help complete those stories, but since photos exist of both missing episodes, why weren't they included? When all there is to hear is music or sound effects, it leaves you bewildered as to what might be happening. A photo or a subtitle would have been so much more effective.
Also gathered from the cutting room floor are many, many short clips (in some cases, don't blink or you'll miss them) from other completely deleted episodes. It's sad that in so many cases these split second clips are all that have remained. There's also a lot of home movie footage, which is really interesting. I believe this to be the only color examples of footage from the era and although short, they are wonderful to see.
We can but hope that as time goes on, some of the missing material will turn up. No one would have thought the complete Tomb of the Cybermen would suddenly reappear in 1992. So hope springs eternal. Until then, here's some classic Who, brilliantly restored and remastered to enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing Patchwork
Review: I was somewat disappointed by this patchwork as it has no complete story at all. While the Moonbase and the Crusade offer Audio for the missing episodes there is no commentary so you are left to wonder what is happening in the silences.
I expected more from the BBC
The episodes that are shown are captivating and do give an insight into the quality and occasional lack of quality that makes up Doctor Who.
The Underwater Menace with its string transported Fish People and exaggerated evil madman was quite amusing.
Yes the Show was great what a shame the DVD production is not.
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous for collectors
Review: This collection is a must for true Doctor Who fans and especially those who like Patrick Troughton, the Second Doctor. As has been said in other reviews, so many of the Troughton and Hartnell episodes were either destroyed or lost. So what we have here is a hodgepodge of existing episodes, clips, and even audio tracks.
There's really only one full story here and that's "The Moonbase." All four parts exist but episodes #1 & #3 exist as audio tracks only. However all exisiting audio & video are presented here. I admire the BBC for putting out the audio tracks of this gem from Troughton's first year as the Doctor but it's a shame that they didn't utilize more of the exisiting photographs to give it a little bit of extra life. It was annoying listening to a 20 minute audio track with just a single picture of a Cyberman staring back from the TV screen.
Along with "The Moonbase," you're getting episodes from "The Faceless Ones," "The Underwater Menace," "The Evil of the Daleks," "The Enemy of the World," "The Abominable Snowman," "The Enemy of the World," "The Web of Fear," "the Wheel in Space," and "The Space Pirates."
You're also getting some BBC promotional clips, 10-15 second clips from scattered episodes, images shot off TV screens, and even a 10 minute 8mm documentary called "The Last Dalek," which showed some of the production techniques used to bring the famous metallic menaces to life.
By far this is a great DVD for fans and collectors but is of little value to the casual Doctor Who viewer.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic buy for Trougton fan, if you know what it is
Review: This review is partly in response to another reviewer who complains that this collection simply contains "footage from missing episodes," but no complete episodes. This is not true. This set does indeed contain complete episodes, but they are from incomplete stories.
Doctor Who was a serialized television program. Each story was split into multiple episodes which were usually about 22 minutes long. Doctor Who stories generally lasted 4-6 episodes. The Lost in Time - Patrick Trought Years collection does indeed contain complete episodes. However, you get 1 or 2 episodes from a story that was originally 4 or 6 episodes. For example, you get episode 1 and episode 3 of the Faceless Ones, but you don't get the other 4 episodes because they no longer exist. The collection also contains surviving clips from other episodes that no longer exist.
The official Amazon description gives a good impression of what the set contains. This set will be a fantastic find for some people and not so good for others. For Doctor Who fans who want to see the remaining pieces of Patrick Troughton stories that no longer exist in their entirety, this is an outstanding collection. For people who watched these episodes when they were originally on, this is a good trip down memory lane. For people who want to get a sense of vintage British science fiction, this is great. However, for people who can only stand watching complete Doctor Who stories, this will be frustrating for them.
I love Doctor Who and I am particularly fond of the Patrick Troughton era. It is a shame that the stories no longer exist in their entirety, but this DVD collection makes the best of the situation. Much of this material has been released else where, but it is very nice to have it all collected in on place instead of scattered over many different videos. It is a Doctor Who fan's dream.
Highlights of the collection are Web of Fear episode 1 and the Dalek material. Overall this is a great collection!
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the price of admission
Review: This thing should be selling for about 15 bucks. You are getting about an hour and a half of damaged episodes.
The box and cover make it look like you are getting a complete compilation but the "collection of rare episodes" should say "a collection of footage from missing episodes". This again is NOT a box set of all Troughton episodes, and is VERY OVER PRICED.If you want the entire doctor who collection go mortgage your home because it'll cost you over $5,000 to do it. Get every Trek episode from all shows and you'll run about $2,500 for twice the viewing time. I think the BBC needs to seriously rethink their pricing scheme.
Rating:
Summary: For true dr.who fans! Especially Troughton fans!
Review: What a great buy. I usually ignore the over priced dr. who dvd's and go for the used vhs editions instead. What little Troughton I've seen has been a joy to watch so this was a easy buy since it seemed to be a well packed 2 disc dvd set. I actually feel lucky to be able to view these gems, both video and audio. TO hear the old 'thud' they used for the Tardis landing and the original (reamstered?) theme is worth the price alone. WHen you see the strings attached to spaceships you know you've come home again :-)
The picture is B&W crystal clear (great job), the episodes are the sci-fi type (no historical stories, yeah!) and the sound is very good considering the time period it was shot. Who knows what condition these episodes were in before they got the treatment.
I think including the audio only for the remaining missing parts is genious. Just lay back n close your eyes and listen. Pray to the gods of Zena or the PTB more of the lost Troughton (and Hartnell) episodes will be discovered, restored, and released. Also I hope the new series is good enough to run a few seasons.
Note to the bbc: lower the prices of these dvd's, you'll get more fans. For what I paid for this set I could have got a complete season of Angel or Buffy.
Rating:
Summary: Great rare gems from early Doctor Who!
Review: What a treat this DVD set is! 12 rarely-seen episodes from the Troughton era of Doctor Who, on a 2 DVD set. In fact, these have never been aired on US television. The sad reality about Doctor Who, is that a fair number of the earliest episodes of the program have not survived, so we are left with certain early stories which only have the occasional episode in existence.
Thank heavens that the powers-that-be felt there might be interest in a collection such as this. To be fair, these odds and ends may not be to everyone's taste, as they don't consist of complete stories, but they are interesting in their own right, and provide a nice sampling of the remarkable series that is Doctor Who:
THE UNDERWATER MENACE 3 - Originally a four-part story, only the third part exists, but it does provide the earliest existing episode to feature Patrick Troughton's unique take on the Doctor, accompanied by his companions Ben, Polly and Jamie. The episode is rather bizarre, featuring an adventure in Atlantis with fish-people and a mad scientist, but it is unlike anything else ever seen in the series.
THE MOONBASE 2 & 4 - Enter the Cybermen for this adventure, in only their second appearance on Doctor Who. This time the action takes place on the moon itself, and as an added bonus, the two missing episodes (1 & 3) are included in audio-only format, so one can follow the entire story. Find out how Polly's tea-making skills save the day!
THE FACELESS ONES 1 & 3 - Two existing episodes from the six-parter in which chameleon-like aliens are hijacking airline passengers for their own nefarious plot. Features location footage at Gatwick Airport in London, and is also the last story to feature Ben and Polly as the Doctor's companions.
EVIL OF THE DALEKS 2 - The final appearance of the Daleks in the 1960's, this existing episode from the 7-parter, offers a unique look at a story many consider to be one of the all-time classics. Also, features the debut of Victoria. Commentary track is available for this episode.
THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMEN 2 - The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria encounter the deadly Yeti in the Himalayans in this surviving episode from the 6-parter. This episode also has an optional commentary track.
THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD 3 - A taste of espionage in this thriller, in which Patrick Troughton doubles as the villanous Salamander. The only surviving episode from the 6-parter.
THE WEB OF FEAR 1 - The Yeti return, this time in the Underground System of a deserted London. This is the existing first part of the 6-part story. There is an optional commentary track for this episode.
THE WHEEL IN SPACE 3 & 6 - The Cybermen return in this adventure set on a space station. Zoe makes her first appearance in the series, and episode 6 features an optional commentary. Originally a six-part story.
THE SPACE PIRATES 2 - This sole survivor of the six-part story puts the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe in the midst of a grand space adventure.
As if these 12 episodes weren't enough, also included are an insane number of clips from other 1960's Doctor Who adventures, plus a meaty documentary about The Missing Years.
Again, these odds and ends may not be for everyone, but they are a unique collection of episodes that are quite rare, and they have all been cleaned up and have never looked better. A worthwhile investment for any Doctor Who fan. Please consider the companion DVD devoted to the Hartnell era as well.
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