November 13th, 2021
158 comments
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Doctor Who Galaxy 4 DVD
Available to order from www.amazon.co.uk, www.hive.co.uk, www.zavvi.com and other selected retailers.
This item should also be available to order at a later date from www.hive.co.uk and www.base.com
BBC Studios have announced the new Doctor Who: Galaxy 4 animation starring William Hartnell as the Doctor and can reveal artwork alongside a sneak peak of what’s included in the release. The new animated release will be available online and in store on DVD, Blu-ray and a Limited Edition Blu-ray Steelbook.
Galaxy 4 (alternatively spelled Galaxy Four) is the mostly-missing first serial of the third season of the British series Doctor Who, which originally aired in four weekly episodes from 11th September to 2nd October 1965.
Following the success of the existing animations, Galaxy 4 fills another gap in the missing Doctor Who content lost from the BBC’s archive soon after the programme’s original transmission. However, audio-only recordings of all four episodes have survived and have been used here to create a brand new fully animated presentation of the entirety of this lost classic, alongside the original surviving Episode 3 and over five minutes of original footage from the otherwise lost Episode 1.
The Doctor (William Hartnell) stars alongside his travel companions Vicki (Maureen O’Brien) and Steven (Peter Purves) which sees the TARDIS landing on a planet on the verge of total annihilation as it drifts too close to the three suns which it orbits. Trapped on the planet with them are the Drahvins, a race of warrior women, and the reptilian Rills. The Drahvins want to steal the Rill spaceship to escape the planet’s death throes, and enlist the Doctor’s help, which he is forced to give when Maaga, the cunning Drahvin leader, keeps first Vicki and then later Steven as her hostage. Even though the Doctor is determined to broker a peace deal between the two sides in this conflict and help everyone escape safely, Maaga doesn’t trust him, or the Rills…
The two disc release gives fans the opportunity to enjoy the four new animated episodes of Galaxy 4, in either colour or black and white.
The release will also include:
- Remastered Surviving Original Episode 3
- Remastered Surviving Clip from Episode 1
- Telesnap Reconstructions of Episodes 1,2 and 4.
- Audio Commentaries
- Making Of Documentary
- Finding Galaxy 4 Documentary
- Photo Gallery
- Production Subtitles
Gary Russell, Executive Producer from Big Finish Creative of the 2021 production said “After a gap of many years, it is very exciting to bring the era of the First Doctor back into the animation world. Galaxy 4 is one of the most traditional adventures of 1960s Doctor Who and it’s been a real honour to work on this alternative version which hopefully reflects those technicolour thrills that sci-fi moves of the ’60s had but which Doctor Who’s monochrome TV limitations couldn’t yet achieve.”
BFI Southbank will host a special screening of all 4 episodes of the newly animated story Galaxy 4 on 7th November 2021; tickets go on sale on 16th September at 11:30 to BFI Champions and Patrons, at 12:30 to BFI Members and at 16:00 to the general public.
DOCTOR WHO: GALAXY 4
Written by William Emms
Directed by Chloe Grech (2021 Production)
Directed by Derek Martinus (1965 Production)
Executive Producers for Big Finish Creative – Gary Russell, Mark B.Oliver and Jason Haigh-Ellery (2021 Production)
Executive Producer for BBC Studios – Russell Minton (2021 Production)
Produced by Verity Lambert (1965 Production)
Starring William Hartnell, Maureen O’Brien, Peter Purves, Stephanie Bidmead, Marina Martin, Susanna Caroll, Lyn Ashley.
Categorised under: Doctor Who DVDs, DVD
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Waiting for Galaxy 4…
November 14th, 2021 - 2:03pmDispatched Friday from Amazon. Delivery Running late, could still get it Monday. :-l
No longer waiting for Galaxy 4
November 15th, 2021 - 6:48pmYay! Arrived Monday! Great animation!
Whorules
November 13th, 2021 - 9:46pmRight that’s all the extras done. The making of is fun and finding galaxy 4 is interesting. One odd thing is there are no animation making of or animation galleries. Still what is here is very good. Only the colour animation to go!
Whorules
November 13th, 2021 - 12:54pmMy hmv Galaxy 4 has arrived. Disc one, b&w plus reconstruction disc two colour plus extras. Right… off to start watching it!
Whorules
November 13th, 2021 - 3:15pmBlack and white version is fun. Nice just to be able to watch a missing hartnell story!
Whorules
November 13th, 2021 - 4:19pmThere info text included on this one.
The ergon
November 13th, 2021 - 5:15pmThe trouble with chumblies doc was amusing and insightful and who wouldnt want to know what peter purves and maureen o brien think about those varying chumblie noises.
Whorules
November 13th, 2021 - 6:17pmGoing to do the reconstruction now, might try to get some of the extras done then finish it tomorrow with the animation in the afternoon. Really enjoyed watching the animation earlier. I know there are already people complaining about it not being accurate but I think they miss the point of these animations. I’m just happy to see another hartnell story. I’m hoping people reassess Steven as well as both he and vicki are both underappreciated. I’ve already seen comments about Steven elsewhere that are just so dismissive I wondered if they had ever seen or listened to the actual episodes!
the ergon
November 13th, 2021 - 8:07pmSome people dont appreciate these animations the way we do whorules. Better just to let them air off and/or dismiss them I wasnt keen on the 3D experimental web episode but i am quite happy with these 2D versions in each animation companys varying styles until those 3D versions are perfected. The extra animation sometimes enhances the story which wouldn,t have been achievable on screen. Its a bonus and something to compare to should the originals materialise one day.
Whorules
November 13th, 2021 - 8:19pmOh I appreciate the animations hugely. And having now watched the reconstruction ergon, yes, there are differences between the original and the animation but these aren’t replacements for the originals just a version of them. Much as I enjoyed listening to the missing episodes seeing moving animation just brings these stories to life for me. There are shots here that couldn’t have been done in the original but they look great and if the budget had stretched that far I’m sure the production team would have been happy to do then that way. It’s been eight years since any missing episodes were returned. I can live in hope more will be found but the reality is it’s increasingly unlikely now. These animations do a great job of providing an idea of the original versions. I agree the 3d web animation wasn’t great but it was a limited budget experiment and if it’s the only way for certain stories I’ll accept a 3d animation just to be able to watch them. Right I’m off to watch extras!
skaroman
November 10th, 2021 - 5:57pmHas anyone’s been dispatched yet?
I know Zavvi are good with sending orders out early (I got Evil on the Thursday before it came out).
Book collector
November 12th, 2021 - 10:49amHmv have taken payment today so should be here monday
Pete X
November 12th, 2021 - 3:27pmGot a dispatch email from HMV earlier this afternoon.
Expect it will be here Monday.
Ron
November 14th, 2021 - 4:16pmAny Zavvi Order’s been received yet?
Coleman
September 25th, 2021 - 3:52pmMines been posted guys this morning from Amazon, so it shouldn’t be long before we’ve all received the Evil of the Daleks sets.
Jay
September 25th, 2021 - 10:10amCan’t wait to be able to watch this. I think the next few will be The Abominable Snowmen, The Wheel in Space and Dalek Masterplan.
Coleman.
November 15th, 2021 - 12:47pmI hope your right Jay, but doubt it as I think they’ll keep one or two of the best stories until last, otherwise theirs not a lot to look forward too.
I think Wheel and Masterplan might be one of the last to be made.
(Only guessing though)
Just trying to think of any company at all over the years that’s brought all the best Dr Who merchandising out first?
Prof Horner
September 24th, 2021 - 10:58amHere’s a thing.if the excellent Gordon is right and Wheel in Space is animated in 2023. That probably means that the earliest sixties blu-ray boxset will be 2024. I just wonder if the BBC could start releasing some sixties stories like say Tomb of the cybermen on blu-ray. Which if some of these stories are given the blu-ray treatment now it will mean less work need when we finally start getting these seasons released. Personally I would love to see Seed of death released on Blu-ray ,as it was the first DVD I bought back in 2003. Just a thought.
Whorules
September 24th, 2021 - 12:06pmSeeds of death was the first vhs I bought back in 1986!
Gordon
September 24th, 2021 - 8:51pmI wouldn’t be against steelbooks of the likes of tomb etc provided it didn’t hold up or effect other releases. Mark ayres and Peter Crocker are both working on restoring the picture and sound of 3 season sets and 3 animations a year going by this year. It’s a lot of work. Adding extra releases might make the workload unmanageable
Mark
September 27th, 2021 - 6:00pmSeeds of death was the only story on vhs that never got released in episodic form, only when its DVD release came along did we see each episode. At the time seeds of death was the first troughton story on vhs and also the first in b/w. It was also one of the last vhs titles at £24.99,
Before the sell-through range came at £9.99.
Coleman
September 28th, 2021 - 11:31amHello Mark or Gordon, what was the reason behind Seeds not being released in an episodic format on VHS. It was in episodes when it was aired in TV.
Whorules
September 28th, 2021 - 12:44pmWhen the videos were first produced Coleman it was policy to edit them into movie versions. The only two that were never released in episode form were seeds of death and talons of weng-chiang
Tim M
October 4th, 2021 - 8:46amAlso ‘The Time Warrior’ wasn’t released in episode form until it’s eventual DVD release.
Children of davros
September 20th, 2021 - 1:56pmI think some people were asking about replacement covers. I got covers for all of the missing stories from Ebay from a seller called dwoodly99 or dwoodley99 (Can’t remember if the e was there or not) I contacted him first about a bulk order and received a discount. The covers are fantastic and I still use them in place of the animated covers as I’m not keen on them.
Cyberdevil
September 22nd, 2021 - 10:15amPlease do not buy these covers. Those designs were made by another fan who did not give permission for them to be sold. They can be downloaded for free and printed at home.
Children of davros
September 22nd, 2021 - 11:38amI don’t have access to a printer so buying them was the only way
Rex Farrel
September 23rd, 2021 - 2:38pmCyberdevil: the creator of those covers can file a copyright claim, even though they’re “unofficial”.
John
November 18th, 2021 - 3:16pmYou can’t claim copyright on something that’s not yours to start with – I think the BBC might have something to say about it!
Hi
September 19th, 2021 - 12:17pmI think next years animations are The Abominable Snowmen, The Underwater Menace Special Edition And The Savages
Gordon
September 19th, 2021 - 1:27pmI’m thinking that as well.
Children of davros
September 19th, 2021 - 2:36pmOh I’d love all three of those. Savages especially as it will work better visually than as audio only
Lee D
September 19th, 2021 - 7:40pmThat would be wonderful. Any animation would be welcome.
TheWHOlegacy
September 19th, 2021 - 8:10pmAbominable and underwater i can see being done. Wouldn’t be surprised if an easier historical is done as the 3rd. Myth makers would be a nice one to start with
Prowl 1701
September 20th, 2021 - 1:18amGordon, do you think they will only animated the two missing episodes from UWM, or the whole story?
Gordon
September 20th, 2021 - 10:20amI suspect underwater menace might be a web of fear style release and be just the missing parts 1 and 4. It would be the perfect story for them to use the 3d style animation to fill in the missing blanks. It’s not a massively popular story so they can use that story to work out the kinks and improve the mo cap animation before they tackle some of the more trickier projects
Tim M
September 20th, 2021 - 10:22amI’m not Gordon, but I’m 99% certain ‘The Underwater Menace’ will be entirely animated. Colour and black and white versions respectively.
DPHill
September 20th, 2021 - 11:07amHere are the animated reconstructions of all of the stories that have been made ‘complete’ by a year-to-year basis (yes, Mission was not animated but it is probably the definitive recon for now):
2006 – The Invasion [2]
2013 – Reign of Terror, The Ice Warriors, & The Tenth Planet [5]
2014 – The Moonbase, & Web of Fear [2]
2015 – The Underwater Menace [0]
2016 – Power of the Daleks [6]
2017 – Shada SE [3 episodes worth]
2018 – Enemy of the World SE [0]
2019 – The Macra Terror, & Mission to the Unknown UCLAN [5]
2020 – The Faceless Ones, Power of the Daleks SE, & Fury from the Deep [12]
2021 – Web of Fear SE, Evil of the Daleks, Galaxy 4 [12]
2022 – Underwater Menace SE, Abominable Snowmen, & The Savages [12]
we have seen a slow trajectory rise in the episodes with 12 being last year’s and this year’s totals – it is not unlikely to assume that next year we will see at least 12, and if the upward trajectory continues, we could see around 14 if UWM gets the full treatment – I just don’t think it will due to its popularity, but who knows? Abominable we are likely to see next year and The Savages is a reall good shout.
What do people predict the next few years looking like?
2023 – The Wheel in Space, The Celestial Toymaker, The Smugglers [14]
2024 – The Space Pirates, Marco Polo [13]
2025 – The Crusade, The Highlanders, The Massacre, The Myth Makers [16]
2026 – The Dalek’s Master Plan [12/13]
Whorules
September 20th, 2021 - 1:07pmTo be honest I think underwater will be a more traditional animation release by which I mean only the missing episodes will be animated. That way it can be a side project rather than a full one. I agree with Gordon that it’s a perfect opportunity to continue perfecting the 3d animation prior to a full realise. I don’t think myth will be done soon as it features lots of characters and costume changes. Savages is a possibility as is toymaker.
Auton
September 20th, 2021 - 1:51pmThe bigger question for the underwater menace is what special features will they do? I would happily purchase the special edition with just the animated 1 and 4 and improved telesnaps but many other fans would need new special features to encourage a purchase. The original release has already got a great making of and commentary so it will be hard to make any new special features
Gordon
September 20th, 2021 - 8:39pmI was thinking that underwater menace would be a good place to hold a Patrick Troughton biog piece.
As for the schedule
2022
Bbc studios: the Abominable snowman
Big finish creative: the savages
Big finish creative (3d) underwater menace
Abominable is pretty much confirmed and I assume it’s probably going . Savages is probably the easiest of the remaining hartnells plus it’s Steven’s farewell. From memory it reminds me of a base under siege type of story so it feels an obvious choice. As mentioned It’s too soon for the 3d team to do the trickier stories so this would give them the chance to improve and get better.
2023
Bbc studios: the wheel in space (s5 complete)
Big finish creative: The celestial toymaker
Big finish creative 3d: the highlanders
The wheel in space is probably the biggest Troughton they got left for the 60th anniversary year plus it’s the next story along for the bbc studios team. Toymaker is the last sci fi first doctor story that isn’t masterplan so makes sense to do that next. Hopefully by this time the 3d team will have improved to a point where they can do a full story justice and seeing as they will have the 4 regular’s costume from underwater menace it might make a lot of sense to do highlanders as the first 1.
2024
Bbc studios: the space pirates (s6 complete)
Big finish creative: the smugglers (s4 complete)
Big finish creative 3d: the crusade (s2 complete)
Might as well get the space pirates out as it’s the last Troughton left. The smugglers is the easiest out of the s3/4 hartnell historicals so makes sense to do that first. It would make sense to do crusade before Marco Polo
2025
Bbc studios: none
Big finish creative: the myth makers
Big finish creative 3d: Marco Polo (s1 complete)
The myth makers is the easiest historical left. Marco Polo completes season 1. Due to it being 7 parts If more time is needed push to 2026. That completes the 3d team’s involvement.
2026
Bbc studios: mission to the unknown/masterplan part 1
Big finish creative: the massacre
Evil of the daleks ended up with an 18 month production due to Covid and I feel due to how big of a project and release masterplan should be afforded the same time at the very least (that’s why 2025 they would have no releases) The massacre completes the historicals and also big finish creative’s involvement.
2027
Bbc studios: masterplan part 2 (s3 complete)
This would end the missing episodes animation range
whofan44
September 21st, 2021 - 1:36pmOk so looking at that the estimate is that all missing eps will be animated by 2027 but looking at the average release for the Collection sets which I believe is 3 sets a year is what they want which would mean it would take about 5 and half years to get all the sets out which would make it very close to the animations being completed.
Do we think they may hold back and few collections sets towards the end and have a bigger gap between sets to allow them to finish the last few animations and give the animations a chance to sell separately and make some money back before they release them in collection set?
Of course this is assuming they do animate the remaining missing eps.
Prowl 1701
September 22nd, 2021 - 6:16amI like that idea, Gordon. Using UWM as another story to work on perfecting their 3D animation since we only need two episodes animated.
Erato
September 22nd, 2021 - 7:23amBig no to 3D animation for UWM for me. Why can’t we just have the planet 55 style animation and then it will blend in perfectly to the animated episode 1 of The Moonbase?
Auton
September 22nd, 2021 - 9:31amErato, you need to remember that some doctor who stories like the myth makers, the crusade and Marco Polo won’t be able to be 2D animation so we need to have 3D animation so underwater menace could be a perfect story to perfect 3D animation for those future animations.
Erato
September 22nd, 2021 - 10:07amAuton, well I might not buy them then. I haven’t purchased Web of Fear SE yet for that reasons, and I’ve seen enough of the YouTube comparison videos to know it isn’t for me. I might get it when it comes right down in price. As for animating three of my favourite historical stories in the 3D way, I will likely be very disappointed if the quality is the same as Web and may not bother to purchase.
Mr Martin Snowden
September 22nd, 2021 - 11:04amAlso watching The Web of Fear recently, the head of the animation team said that they are still refining the process they used for part 3, and it was a way to show BBC Studios that the could do other stories with a huge cast and different clothing where the other animation studios struggled… either way I’m happy as whilst the audio soundtracks exist to listen to, these give me a chance to see these lost serials in some form otherthantelesnap recons
Auton
September 22nd, 2021 - 1:01pmI understand your worry Erato and I too I’m desperately wanting the massacre, crusades and all the other pure historical stories to be animated as they are some of my favourite stories and want them to be looking as best as they can so that’s why underwater menace would be a perfect testing ground just like web of fear was to perfect 3D animation. If you watch web of fear as a whole with the animated episode 3 you get use to the style and it does fit well with the live action episodes. And if you still don’t enjoy the animation then there is always the great making of and commentary to enjoy
Erato
September 22nd, 2021 - 3:55pmAuton, I can’t fault the ‘making-of’ docs on the discs; they are the reason I have invested so heavily in ‘The Collection’ blu ray boxsets. They are superb. I will get Web SE at some point for the restoration work, documentaries and commentaries but not until it comes down. I always buy a DVD and steelbook version to support the animation work being done – but not on this occasion.
Martin, to quote you “the head of the animation team said that they are still refining the process they used for part 3”; that’s another reason I’m not paying full whack for Web SE; it doesn’t sound like it’s the best quality it could be yet and released too early.
Mr Martin Snowden
September 23rd, 2021 - 1:05amErato: the thing is the animation isn’t as terrible as everyone makes it out (or I just don’t notice it as I think if the animation is what’s distracting from the story then that’s the issue) but the wording was used more as a statement that it was In itself a test run for this kind of animation. And you look at the history of the animated recons going back to 2006’The Invasion’, all studios improve their techniques over time with each new release.
I mean there were three different releases of ‘The Power of the Daleks’ Recon, with a steel book released 3 months after the initial did and a special edition released last year with tweets to the animation
Gordon
September 23rd, 2021 - 1:58amTo be fair none of the animation teams did their best work on their first go. Scream of the shalka wasn’t the best doctor who animation from Cosgrove hall. Reign of terror isn’t planet 55’s best work. Power 2016 isn’t bbc studios best animation. I am sure if Qurios had tackled something else they would have gotten better as well
As I’ve said previously on the matter at least 6 months of production time was spent on getting the motion capture tech working. That’s where most of the time and money went. It obviously didn’t leave with much time and money to animate it. It wouldn’t have mattered which story they would have went for their first attempt the result would have been the same. I don’t blame the animators for what was delivered. They did the best they could with what budget they had especially considering it apparently didn’t have bbc America funding unlike most of the recent full blown animated releases. It really needed more time or more than just 3 animators working on it
For future projects they don’t need to spend 6 plus months setting it up. It’s ready to go. More time and money can be spent on improving the facial animation and making the body movements more natural.
Just because web wasn’t entirely successful that doesn’t mean the next 1 will be of the same standard. The potential is there and it could work if they iron out the kinks but they aren’t going to improve if they don’t get a chance to.
Book collector
September 23rd, 2021 - 1:41pmHave to agree with Martin. The first time I watched web I wasn’t keen but subsequently I’ve got used to it. It’s no where near as bad as some people say. And it’s a learning curve. If we want the historical stories and certain others then 3d is the only financially viable option. It amazes me how intransigent who fans can be.
Actually I’ve just read the new version of who and me, Barry letts’ memoirs and the funniest thing is how intransigent the fans were in the past as well. The whole “I hate this bit so everyone else has to hate it too” thing. Advantage was there was no internet so the filter of actually having to physically write a letter tempered the complaints unlike the instant hatred spouted these days about everything, not just who. It was funny reading about fans saying to Barry that the pertwee era was terrible! Some things never change I guess. 3d animations will improve. And if that’s the only way to get a completed run then I’m all for it.
Erato
September 23rd, 2021 - 4:38pmBook collector, excuse me but I’m not intransigent! It’s about personal taste and more importantly, personal finance. £45 (steelbook and DVD is what I have routinely bought in order to support the range of animations which have been released, including this month’s Evil of the Daleks release) is a lot to pay for a one episode project which the animators themselves have said is still in a developmental stage and not as refined as it could be yet. Please do not generalise me with other Doctor Who fans.
Book collector
September 23rd, 2021 - 9:15pmI didn’t. Did I say at any point it was you? I was talking about fans in general. Not aimed at all at you erato and I don’t see how you thought it was.
Gordon
September 19th, 2021 - 9:11amI’m sure that will be remastered as well.
Andrew Royer
September 19th, 2021 - 12:19pmDo you think “Mission to the Unknown” will also be animated soon due to the appearance and animation of Jeff Garvey for the ending segment of the 4th episode of Galaxy 4?
Gordon
September 19th, 2021 - 1:26pmIt was a response about the 8mm of the opening scene of galaxy 4
Andrew Royer
September 19th, 2021 - 2:31pmThe question still stands.
Gordon
September 20th, 2021 - 11:13amThe problem with animating mission is that it’s only 25 mins long. It really needs to be released with something else. It would be a tough sell as a stand alone 25 min release especially as the blu ray and steelbook would be £20/£30. I know it will probably never happen but I like the idea of a 3 disc release of mission with disc 1 being the animated version and extras, disc 2 being the uclan version with extras and disc 3 being all the masterplan extras. That way when/if they get masterplan animated it would mean they can focus more of the budget on the animation with the exception of commentary, restoration of the surviving eps and production subtitles.
simon hanlon
September 16th, 2021 - 5:11pmlooking forward to this…didn’t expect this to be released this year! all though i wonder if ‘abominable snowmen’ will be this year or next. hoping that the b&w version will give the option the watch either the animated or live action version?
Gordon
September 16th, 2021 - 10:04pmWon’t be this year. From what I gather and suspect it’s the evil team that are tackling abominable. They only finished evil in July so they have most likely not long started it
Anonymous
September 19th, 2021 - 1:43pmGordon, I cannot wait! As long as they don’t use that God awul 3d animation that they used for The Web of Fear for an entire story, I’m happy!
Rich
September 16th, 2021 - 4:41pmLooks like it will be as horrible as the Web of Fear animation
RPG74
September 16th, 2021 - 5:55pmHere’s an optimist, right on time, lol. Cheer up friend, the animation is confirmed as 2D, and even if it does veer more toward the Fury style than say, Macra, no animation on Earth could possibly be as bad as Web’s. This one is going to be fine.
Coleman
September 16th, 2021 - 6:14pmTrue, it’s confirmed as 2D so it will be more like the animations your used to.
It won’t be bad like the Web of Fear as that was experimental 3D.
Gordon
September 16th, 2021 - 9:44pmThat’s a bit of an assumption when we haven’t seen any of the human characters yet.
RPG74
September 17th, 2021 - 9:11amAt the very least Gordon, it will be okay, simply because it shouldn’t involve the ghastly mo-cap employed in Web’s animation (IMO). Personally I’d settle for the Fury or even the Captain Pugwash style of Power 2016 over the last debacle. Granted, we’ll know more when we see the inevitable preview clip in a few weeks, but I’m going to allow myself to feel hopeful about this one.
Whorules
September 17th, 2021 - 11:37amI have to say I’m not terribly concerned about the animation. I enjoyed fury and frankly I’m just happy to be able to watch galaxy 4. Hopefully it will have the option to watch the b+w version with the existing episode 3 and hopefully again with the existing one quarter of episode 1. That the way I’ll watch if I can
the ergon
September 17th, 2021 - 3:35pmI find it so much easier to watch B/W animations with stories with existing episodes. I,d rarely watch them after the first viewing if they haven,t. I tend to listen the audio soundtracks more. For me its just about filling the gaps in my collection.
Coleman
September 16th, 2021 - 11:57amJust watching the opening scenes of Galaxy Four again and I thought to myself that looks vaguely familiar.
It’s the opening sequence of Star Wars a New Hope. In space, where the huge Star destroyer is firing lasers at the smaller Blockade Runner where in turn she’s firing back at the vessel.
Then we see Tatooine, a orangey desert planet looming in the distance.
The ergon
September 16th, 2021 - 1:31pmGeorge lucas was inspired by watching galaxy 4. I like that idea coleman.
The ergon
September 16th, 2021 - 1:35pmSorry you mean the new animators but i wonder if george was inspired by watching any old who.
Coleman
September 16th, 2021 - 2:00pmHello Ergon, i should imagine the animators have been influenced by Star Wars.
Not sure if this is how it was on the original broadcast.
Is there surviving footage of the original opening?
The ergon
September 16th, 2021 - 4:05pmI think it was just a long drawn out shot of the studio backdrop as the stock music is playing in the original. The spaceships firing at each other in retaliation i believe is added animation.
Gordon
September 16th, 2021 - 9:50pmI think the space battle is especially made for the trailer. I watched it last year and I don’t remember any space battle.
RPG74
September 19th, 2021 - 7:07pmIt wouldn’t surprise me if it’s in the completed episode 1. All of the previous trailers have featured animation from the finished article (Web aside) and besides, the animators have form when it comes to controversial additions. I have to say, it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker for me. It’s an interesting few seconds that visualises some off screen continuity, so it could hardly derail the story.
Children of davros
September 19th, 2021 - 11:31pmIt may be from the episode 3 flashback which explains what happened.
the ergon
September 20th, 2021 - 10:28ami was thinking that. We are just assuming this might be the opening sequance thats been added.
Callum Barker
September 16th, 2021 - 12:51amBut will the Aztects Special Edition recon be on it?
Gordon
September 16th, 2021 - 4:19amIt’s cut down plus it’s a bit outdated as when it was made in 2008 there was no episode 3 to draw images from. With only 2 discs and 3 versions of the story (colour/bw/2021 recon) to include as well as 2 documentaries I suspect not. The 2014 version of the recon for web of fear 3 didn’t make it to the 2021 version so it wouldn’t be unprecedented
Coleman
September 16th, 2021 - 11:41amI don’t know how you remember so much stuff Gordon, your like an encyclopedia, LOL
Im so jealous, I’m in my mid Fifties now and my memories just getting worse.
Gordon
September 16th, 2021 - 9:52pmTrust me I’m not much better. I’m 36 and I can’t remember what day of the week it is half the time.
Neil
September 15th, 2021 - 10:47pmOh wow, so A,Avon have release date listed as beginning of November! Didn’t expect another one this year, makes me think we will see a few more next year, Abominable Snowmen can’t be far off surely!
San
September 15th, 2021 - 10:03pmSo excited! I wonder what episode they are working on next???
DrXshock
September 16th, 2021 - 12:51pmAbominable Snowmen will be next.
the ergon
September 16th, 2021 - 8:54pmThen wheel please.
the ergon
September 15th, 2021 - 9:59pmI love the atmospheric music by les structures sonores which was also used on The web planet. I also like the fact that the Drahvins spaceship doors make the same sound as the ones on the dalek ships and those strange chumbly noises.
There are quite a few unintentionally funny lines as well but one of the funniest scenes is when the Doctor ‘looks down his nose’ and ‘trashes’ the ‘Fossilised’ ‘cheap tin trash’ that is the Drahvin ship and steven replying in defence ‘Its got one or two good features’.
Lee D
September 15th, 2021 - 9:29pmAbsolutely can’t wait for this now. Looks great.
The ergon
September 15th, 2021 - 8:30pmSo whats happening with the supposed missing episode 4? Is the collector not quite ready to relinquish at this time or was it just rumoured?
Gordon
September 16th, 2021 - 7:30amIt was all a rumour
Dalek Eye Stalk
September 16th, 2021 - 1:12pmRumour and Speculation only. No sign of anything on the horizon concerning missing episodes at present
Liam
September 15th, 2021 - 7:16pmReally looking forward to this! Interested to see the character models for Steven and Vicki
RPG74
September 15th, 2021 - 6:12pmI finally got around to watching the abridged version of this on The Aztecs dvd about a year back, and thought it was surprisingly watchable. This’ll be quite the upgrade though.
Dalek Eye Stalk
September 16th, 2021 - 1:14pmI might have to rewatch that again soon. I recall really enjoying the recon alongside the surviving episode 3.
RPG74
September 17th, 2021 - 9:19amWasn’t bad for a Special Feature was it? But given the photo recon was a bit basic and there was around 40 minutes of plot excised it will be great to pick up this new version.
Whorules
September 15th, 2021 - 5:45pmWonder if this will be like macra with the reconstruction split over the two discs? I do hope, and presumably we will be able to, that we can watch the existing episode with the b+w animation. Looking forward to this.
Gordon
September 15th, 2021 - 6:59pmI’m hoping the black and white disc will give you the option to watch either the animation or the recon version with a button that can switch between the pair. Just like what happened with the faceless ones live action episodes
Coleman
September 15th, 2021 - 5:05pmGot to be honest I only buy the DVD, to reverse the cover and hopefully one day have a full set of Classic stories on DVD. I much prefer the quality of the Blu rays and the steelbook looks excellent. (Don’t shoot me).
Whorules
September 15th, 2021 - 5:43pmNo need to duck the bullets Coleman. I only buy the DVDs because I(‘m presumably older than yourself) so I’ve spent 40 odd years collecting the classic era on vhs (yes I’m that old) and then on DVD. Personally for me I’m not replacing them with bluray simply because of the costs and having bought them twice before. But that’s me. Have to say I would prefer them to just do the covers in the style of the other stories and just drop the animation covers as they aren’t great but it is what is and frankly it’s the stories I want.
booboo
September 15th, 2021 - 5:53pmwe always buy the DVD’s (and reverse the cover) its part of history and our collection even if we dont sometimes watch them, we also have all the VHS covers, again we keep as part of our collection and we buy the steelbooks to watch.
Coleman
September 15th, 2021 - 6:18pmHello Booboo and Whorules, I only put the (don’t shoot me line) because Id already mentioned on a previous post I wasn’t too keen on the new Doctor Who Magazine cover and had a few comments. Ah ah.
Yes, I like collecting the DVDs, it’s History as you say and to have a full set even though I never watch them anymore if I have it on Blu ray aswell.
booboo
September 15th, 2021 - 6:23pmdont worry about the comments in the DWM post, but yes i see VHS covers and DVD;s all as part of my collection
TimelordTim
September 15th, 2021 - 6:28pmI’m the same Coleman, I don’t get the classic stories on Blu-ray or steelbook. I much prefer having them all as DVDs with the matching covers.
booboo
September 15th, 2021 - 6:34pmi mean why would i want rid of these!
Gordon
September 15th, 2021 - 6:53pmI buy the dvd and the steelbook. I don’t actually watch the dvd version but I know if I don’t have that gap filled it will drive me mad and I will be impulsed to get it anyway
Coleman
September 15th, 2021 - 6:54pmNo, I wouldn’t part with them either Booboo.
It happens though, many a time I’ve seen posts on social media of people selling off their VHS collection because they’ve bought all the stories on DVD or they’ve sold their DVDs because their buying them all on Bluray.
But personally I couldn’t part with any of my collection.
(I know everyone’s different though).
Coleman
September 15th, 2021 - 6:57pmYes Tim, I’ve seen your DVDs on collections as well as your ever growing Big Finish collection.
Coleman
September 15th, 2021 - 7:04pmYes Gordon, exactly. Theirs something about collectors and collecting, whatever you collect it’s always extremely satisfying if you get a full set.
The ergon
September 15th, 2021 - 8:22pmI much prefer the classic vhs artwork and most of the dvd covers. You dont get that individuality with complete boxsets or just printed onto disc but at the same time i like to move with the times.
Children of davros
September 15th, 2021 - 8:52pmHi Coleman, once again it wasn’t a dig at you over the cover! Just a general thing. Like you I buy all of the DVD and bluray discs. Wish I had the vhs ones though but I don’t think I’ve got room!
Demdike@CultLabs
September 15th, 2021 - 8:59pmI would love to have kept my vhs collection of Doctor Who but space restrictions meant they had to go. I have thousands of movies and tv on dvd and Bd so space is always an issue.
Like many of you i’d like to keep the dvd’s but they’d simply be gathering dust and never watched again in comparison to the upscaled Blu-ray versions. The way it’s going i’ll probably end up owning the sixties stories on dvd and the rest on Blu.
Tim M
September 15th, 2021 - 9:20pmI don’t like the cartoon DVD covers. I use the Christopher Loftus unofficial DVD covers. The one he did for ‘Galaxy 4’ is superb and is the one I would use for this release.
the ergon
September 16th, 2021 - 9:44amIs he the bloke whos selling them on Ebay. seen one of those unofficial covers for Galaxy 4 yesterday and was tempted to buy one they look really good. I,ve also Seen covers for fury and more.
Coleman
September 16th, 2021 - 11:16amIt’s ok Children of Davros, I only said (don’t shoot me) with my tongue firmly in cheek.
Coleman
September 16th, 2021 - 11:25amYes Demdikeatcultlabs, I totally understand people parting with their collections because of space, I think that’s probably the main reason why most people part with collections.
I’m lucky in that respect, while I’ve only a small house, I’ve a big spare bedroom as well as the loft to keep most of my collection boxed. Failing that I could also use the shed.
Tim M
September 16th, 2021 - 1:19pmIndeed Ergon. The covers can be purchased on eBay, plus they can also be found online on Christopher Loftus Doctor Who covers website.
The ergon
September 16th, 2021 - 1:45pmThanks tim m i might just check those out. Im not too keen on animated covers even if the content is otherwise. With all those rumours circulating pre release. I was hoping there might have been some announcement on ‘The exploding planet’ but a rumour is all it was. Slightly deflated.
Demdike@CultLabs
September 16th, 2021 - 6:23pm@Coleman.
I have the entire collection of Doctor Who Weekly / Monthly / Magazine safely stored in my shed. Haha!
Grant P
September 15th, 2021 - 4:19pmLooking forward to this and it’s better to have animation than not having them! I too am not keen on the covers but at least can reserve it so will match rest of collection!
Christoff the Wise
September 15th, 2021 - 3:53pmI love to support these animations but my heart sank to see that Gary Russell is producing again after his recent Web of Fear and Fury From the Deep work. I much prefer the look and style of the Power and Evil of the Daleks releases. The limited edition steelbook of Fury is still on sale and reduced at HMV. I think I’ll wait to see any clips before ordering.
Gordon
September 15th, 2021 - 7:03pmAs much as I’d like to see the power/evil team do every story there just isn’t enough time for 1 team to do everything. It would take nearly 2 decades for 1 team to do them all.
Christoff the Wise
September 15th, 2021 - 9:26pmFair enough but get other teams of comparable quality. Also Gary Russell likes to embellish a bit too much for my taste. I see a clip has appeared but has no characters in it. However Toby Hadoke said on Twitter that he’d seen the finished thing and it looks great so fingers crossed.
Book collector
September 16th, 2021 - 1:10amI really enjoyed fury and web if fine for the budget
Bobby Davros
September 15th, 2021 - 3:52pmHow can you have a telesnap reconstruction without telesnaps?
Gordon
September 15th, 2021 - 4:17pmThey have off screen stills. They also now have footage from ep 3 to utilise which they didn’t have when they did the recon for the aztecs special edition as it was made before ep 3 turned up.
Bobby Davros
September 15th, 2021 - 5:02pmYeah I knew all that, so no telesnaps then.
Tim M
September 15th, 2021 - 6:07pmI would think that the ‘Galaxy 4’ recon (with surviving episode 3) on ‘The Aztecs: Special Edition DVD, will be extended and improved upon, and clearly split into four parts. Indeed, the photo recon on the original Galaxy 4 was very good and very watchable.
Auton
September 15th, 2021 - 6:19pmThe telesnaps don’t exist for this story due to John Wiles the producer not commissioning them during his tenure as producer. But as Gordon has said there are publicity photos and behind the scenes photos so a reconstruction can still be made without telesnaps and they can also, as Gordon has said, use the surviving footage from episode 1 as well as still shots taken from surviving episode 3 to make a reconstruction
Dalek Eye Stalk
September 15th, 2021 - 6:51pmVerity Lambert was still producer when ‘Galaxy 4’ was made. John Wiles took over for a short stint as producer from ‘The Myth Makers’ up to ‘The Ark’.
Auton
September 15th, 2021 - 7:08pmSorry my mistake
Auton
September 15th, 2021 - 3:46pmAmazing news, finally starting to have some Hartnell animations since Tenth Planet. Really looking forward to the making of, always great to get making ofs for stories that are less liked and a bit forgotten. It’s also great to have a feature about how galaxy 4 and underwater menace was found and all the other special features I’m sure will also be great as they always are
TimelordTim
September 15th, 2021 - 3:36pmSuperb! That’s two animations I’ll be looking forward to at Christmas then.
Harry George Andrew Mills
September 15th, 2021 - 3:34pmAstounding steelbook cover designs are extraordinary! Let’s hope it’ll be out in due time when time comes.
Gordon
September 15th, 2021 - 3:27pmHurrah. Only 58 episodes of animation to go. Not really that keen on the dvd cover as I feel it’s a bit basic but hartnell looks great. Do love the steelbook cover though. Hopefully he looks like that in the animation. Chris chapman is also doing the making of which is good news
Whorules
September 15th, 2021 - 3:38pmAgree about the cover but it’s still great news. I rather like this story and it’s just brilliant we are getting a hartnell story
Auton
September 15th, 2021 - 3:38pmThis is most likely the making of he hinted that he had just interviewed a 60s actress for so hopeful an interview with one of the Drahvin actresses.
Gordon
September 15th, 2021 - 4:20pmOr Maureen o Brian
Auton
September 15th, 2021 - 4:39pmI doubt it was Maureen because she is living in France and it sounded like he went to meet this actress in person but I could be wrong. They could do a remote recording with Maureen for the commentary or making of
Tim M
September 15th, 2021 - 6:14pmHurrah! Only 14 more missing stories to be animated! ‘Marco Polo’, ‘The Crusade’, ‘Mission to the Unknown’, ‘The Myth Makers’, ‘The Daleks Master Plan’, ‘The Massacre’, ‘The Celestial Toymaker’, ‘The Savages’, ‘The Smugglers’, ‘The Highlanders’, ‘The Underwater Menace’, ‘The Abominable Snowmen’, ‘The Wheel in Space’ and ‘The Space Pirates’ respectively.
Gordon
September 15th, 2021 - 7:05pmHopefully soon they can cross off abominable snowman and we can take the total down to 12 stories and 53 episodes
Auton
September 16th, 2021 - 1:37pmChris chapman on Twitter has said that the making of is 40 minutes and has Peter Purves and Maureen O’Brien and plenty more. It’s being hosted by Toby Hadoke and the 60s actress he hinted at interviewing isn’t Maureen so it’s got to be one of the drahvin actresses
Mac
September 18th, 2021 - 11:36pmWonder if they’ve managed to remaster that 8mm clip of the opening scene.
The remastered 8mm footage with The Macra Terror release looked great
Auton
September 19th, 2021 - 8:08amMac that 8mm footage will probably be in the episode 1 reconstruction so hopefully it has been restored
Gordon
September 19th, 2021 - 9:11amI’m sure that will be remastered as well.