Dr Who episode travels in time
- Publication: The Guardian
- Date: 1999-01-14
- Author: Janine Gibson
- Page: 4
- Language: English
TO THE undiluted joy of all Dr Who fans, a missing episode of the series has turned up in New Zealand, writes Janine Gibson.
The 34-year-old episode, just 30 minutes long, was verified last week by the New Zealand branch of the Dr Who fan club, after being discovered at a collectors' sale. It has been returned to the BBC to be copied.
Stephen Cole, the BBC's Dr Who expert, said yesterday that he believes the print had originally been sold by the BBC to a New Zealand broadcaster in 1967, but was never transmitted.
First shown in Britain in 1965, The Crusade is the first in a series of four, starring William Hartnell as the Doctor.
The episode is set in 21st century Palestine and is loosely based on the adventures of Richard the Lion-heart.
Such is the mythology surrounding the missing episodes of the time-travelling series that it is widely rumoured that The Crusade was written entirely in iambic pentameters. Mr Cole was yesterday unable to confirm this because he had not yet seen the episode.
However, fans will be able to count the syllables for themselves. The BBC plans to restore the 16mm black and white film, and issue it on video later this year.
There are 109 early episodes of Dr Who still missing, believed to have been lost after the BBC wiped much of its black and white archive with the advent of colour tapes in the early 1970s.
Dr Who is still an immensely profitable business for the BBC, which issues a new time-travelling video every two months on average.
Caption: William Hartnell, star of the original Dr Who series. He plays the Time Lord in The Crusade, which was discovered at a New Zealand collectors' sale
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- APA 6th ed.: Gibson, Janine (1999-01-14). Dr Who episode travels in time. The Guardian p. 4.
- MLA 7th ed.: Gibson, Janine. "Dr Who episode travels in time." The Guardian [add city] 1999-01-14, 4. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Gibson, Janine. "Dr Who episode travels in time." The Guardian, edition, sec., 1999-01-14
- Turabian: Gibson, Janine. "Dr Who episode travels in time." The Guardian, 1999-01-14, section, 4 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Dr Who episode travels in time | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Dr_Who_episode_travels_in_time | work=The Guardian | pages=4 | date=1999-01-14 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=26 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Dr Who episode travels in time | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Dr_Who_episode_travels_in_time | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=26 March 2025}}</ref>
