Political correctness may prevent a lost episode of cult sci-fi series Dr. Who from making it to air. More than 30 years after it was filmed, the previously unseen episode surfaced at a recent film collectors' fair in Auckland, N.Z. The episode, The Lion, stars William Hartnell, the original Doctor, as the grandfatherly space-and-time traveller whose ship, the Tardis, lands in Syria during the Crusades. The Crusaders help the Doctor rescue his assistant, who has been captured by Saladin, a Muslim leader. Although the BBC is considering plans to launch the episode on video later this year, "the depiction of the warriors is not acceptable today," a BBC spokesman said. "The actors have quite clearly been 'blacked-up' for the parts. Even at the time, the show was not distributed to Arabic-speaking countries," Said Douglas Sutherland, a Dr. Who expert: "it would probably be offensive to Arabic countries. Saladin was actually a very decent man, by all accounts."
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