1960s High-Definition/Film Elements
This list covers the pieces of 1960s Doctor Who that exist, or potentially exist, in such a format to be viewable in true High-Definition.
In most cases, the material in question is not readily available in HD and I have presented it here in the highest quality to hand.
Planet of Giants: Episode 1
1 frame from a film insert showing the glass shot of Forester's house was printed in the 1986 reference book Doctor Who: The Early Years. The image is cropped differently to what appeared on-screen after being telecined to videotape, and part of it was printed over the book's centrefold. Nevertheless, even a scan from the book is higher quality than a screen-capture from the episode's surviving telerecording.
The Dalek Invasion of Earth: Episodes 1 & 3
The original trailers for this story, which exist on 16mm film, contain 7 clips from the location shoot for Episode 3 as well as the model shot of the Dalek Saucer from Episode 1. These clips were transfered from the original film rather than a telerecording of the finished episode. In each case the shot is cropped differently, and the model shot even runs 33 frames longer. The model shot is also flipped horizontally between the trailer and the episode, so it is unknown in which orientation the shot was filmed. 4 of the shots have a superimposed caption reading "Dr. Who". These shots have duller highlights and are possibly not as sharp. The total length of inserts used in the trailer comes to 40 seconds, with 16 seconds of that suffering the caption. The trailer was released as a DVD extra. See a comparison between the trailer footage and the telerecording here.
The Rescue: Episode 1
Sometimes "photo captions" would be used, when a studio camera would focus on a printed photo to cover the whole frame. In this case the existing photo constituted about 5 seconds of footage, with the image then fading to a live shot of the TARDIS prop in studio. This created the illusion of the TARDIS materialisation.
The Web Planet: Episode 6
This photo was used on screen for about 1 second to depict Barbara's view of the TARDIS, and was released on the story's DVD photo gallery.
The Space Museum: Episode 1
Near the end of the episode, this photo constituted 4 seconds of footage showing the TARDIS crew stood frozen in their Palestinian clothes. It's obviously quite unusual for a photo caption to feature people, and this is actually the only existing High Definition "footage" of Hartnell's Doctor used in the show. This photo was also released on the Photo Gallery of the story's DVD. Whilst this photo does still exist, its sister shot of the crew in normal clothes unfortunately doesn't. All we know of its fate is that it was pinned up in the Doctor Who production office in 1970 (see right).
The Chase: Episode 3
The stock film of New York was located in the BBC Archives to be instated for the DVD release of The Chase, which serendipitously masked some particularly bad tape damage to that sequence on the existing copy of the episode.
The Time Meddler: Episode 2
The stock shots of the Viking ship were taken from a BBC newsreel item about a Viking recreation on the south coast of England. The newsreel still exists on 35mm film, which was located and reinstated during the restoration of The Time Meddler for DVD. 6 shots were used in the story, but the complete item can be found on the DVD release as a special feature.
(I believe these are the only examples of stock footage having been tracked down from its original source for reinsertion into a story. As such, I'm not personally aware of what other stock used in the show may still survive. But as an aside, it is worth noting that the aircraft footage used in The Faceless Ones was taken from the same source as was used by the 1968 documentary film 'Flight of Fancy', in which some of the same shots appear in colour. Also some clean shots of the volcanic eruption footage used in The Enemy of the World and The Dominators were released on the DVD of Inferno, which used the footage under its opening captions and in Episode 6. But again, I'm not aware of the ultimate source of these materials. Similarly, the shot of the exploding helicopter that gets used in The Enemy of the World and The Daemons is said to originate from the James Bond film From Russia With Love. But it must be either test footage or an unused take because it's not the shot used in the film itself.)
The Daleks' Master Plan: Episodes 1 & 2
7 sequences shot at Ealing Film Studios for the Daleks' Master Plan survive in the BBC Film and Videotape Library on 35mm film. From the first episode are the 11-shot sequence of Kert Gantry's extermination, the shot of the TARDIS materialising on Kembel, the model shot of Mavic Chen's ship landing on the planet, and an unfinished shot of the Dalek City lights (this footage would have been composited with further material, not used on its own).
And from the second episode are the 5-shot sequence of Daleks burning the jungle, the model shot of Chen's ship as smoke approaches, and the smoke footage that would also be used as part of a composite shot.
The Massacre: All 4 Episodes
A print of an 18th Century woodcut depicting the Seine in Paris was used under the opening captions at the beginning of each episode. The woodcut is held in the collection of The British Museum. Due to these episodes being missing, it is not known exactly what section of the image was used in frame. However, a design department photograph from the studio rehearsals for Episode 1 shows Camera 1 trained on the woodcut print.
The Ark: Episode 1 (Unused Film Trim)
A frame from an alternate take of the shot depicting an Elephant approaching the Doctor, Steven, and Dodo was printed (with text overlaid in the top portion) in The Barry Newbery Signature Collection book, published in 2012. Barry Newbery was the designer on this story. Another (almost identical) frame from the take was printed on a 2002 "Strictly Ink" Doctor Who trading card. To the right is the chosen shot that appeared in the finished episode.
The War Machines: Episodes 3 & 4
19 shots across two sequences from Episode 3 exist on 35mm film, as do 5 shots from Episode 4. These all feature the attacking War Machine. The material was loaned from its private owner to the Restoration Team to be scanned and instated for the VHS and DVD releases of the story. The first two sequences were also included as a special feature on the DVD, showing the slightly extended beginnings and ends of both.
The Power of the Daleks: Episode 4
In 2005 it was discovered that a 1966 episode of Tomorrow's World had used 3 shots from this episode, copied to 16mm film directly from the original film inserts. The first is a model shot of the Dalek production line, which usurped the slightly shorter version that existed as an excerpt taken from the telerecording of the final episode.
In 2019 the BBC purchased 11 short strips of film from designer Derek Dodd's private collection, which had been put up for public auction following his death. They appear to have been created as exposure tests when printing the negative film to a positive ready to be telecined to videotape, as each strip gets progressively darker with each frame. Of the 11 short clips, which run about half a second each, 9 are from Episode 4.
The Power of the Daleks: Episodes 5 & 6
A 1968 episode of Whicker's World entitled 'I Don't Like My Monsters To Have Oedipus Complexes' made use of 2 shots, both copied to 16mm film from the original inserts. They feature the Daleks receiving their orders to "exterminate all humans" as they file out chanting "Daleks conquer and destroy", which was inserted as the climax to Episode 5 and the reprise in Episode 6. The shots were used in Whicker's World to accompany an interview with Terry Nation, the creator of the Daleks. Like the model shot from Episode 4, these also exist as excerpts from the telerecording of the finished episode (which were used in a 1974 edition of an Australian programme called Perspective: C For Computer).
The 2 remaining strips of exposure tests from Derek Dodd's collection hail from this same scene.
The Power of the Daleks: Episode 6
During research for Thirty Years In The TARDIS it was discovered that a 1968 episode of Tom Tom, a sci-fi themed children's magazine show, had used a clip from this episode consisting of 6 shots of Dalek destruction. These were also copied from the story's original film inserts, and exist on 16mm film. All of the surviving material from The Power of the Daleks was included as a special feature on the story's DVD release.
The Highlanders: Episode 1 (Unused Film Trim)
A 10 second film trim from the location filming at Frensham Common survived in the possession of the story's Production Assistant Fiona Cumming, who appears in the film holding a clapperboard. This clip was released on the Lost in Time DVD set, but was clearly sourced from a videotape transfer of the footage, rather than the original film.
The Evil of the Daleks: Episode 7 (Unused Film Trim)
A 10 second 35mm film trim from the model work depicting the Dalek civil war survives in private hands. The first 6 seconds feature the hands of unknown members of the crew adjusting the positions of the Louis Marx toy Daleks used in the scenes. There is also a small jump cut at about the 8 second mark, and the entire clip is mute. A multi-generation VHS copy of this footage can be seen here.
The Abominable Snowmen: Episode 2
All of the 16mm film inserts from this episode were retained in the BBC Film and Videotape Library, with the exception of two cutaway shots of Travers from the same angle. The first sequence includes material shot at Ealing Film Studios, whilst the rest are comprised entirely of location footage shot at Nant Ffrancon Pass in Snowdonia.
Fury from the Deep: Episode 6 (Unused Trims)
In 2003 about 3 and a half minutes of 16mm film trims from this episode were discovered in the BBC Archives at Windmill Road. They were found amongst other reels of "waste film" to be used as filler and leader material. The footage hails from assorted sequences depicting the attack of the weed creature shot at Ealing Film Studios, including retakes of the same scenes. The accompanying audio was not found.
The Dominators: Episode 1
The photo caption used to depict the TARDIS materialisation on Dulkis appeared on the DVD Photo Gallery of this story. The photo is of the 1:3 scale TARDIS model created for The Romans, and is the last appearance of the Saint John Ambulance Logo on the model.
The Seeds of Death: Episode 6
Another photo caption of an empty set, this time to demonstrate the TARDIS dematerialisation at the end of the story. This photo was also included on the Photo Gallery of the story's DVD release.
The Space Pirates: Episodes 1 & 2
In 2004 about 1 and a half minutes of 35mm film inserts from both of these episodes were discovered in a wrongly labelled can marked "Dad's Army Old Titles". The footage includes live action material and model work of the spaceships, all shot at Ealing Film Studios. Of the 13 shots, 3 were used in Episode 2, 1 was used in both episodes, and the last shot (a push in on the isolated section of Alpha 4) seems not to have been used at all. (Also included with that material was a transfer of the first episode's final scene, which was inserted as the following episode's reprise, but features 1 second more of the final shot than is seen in Episode 2. That final shot was included with the rest of the inserts as a feature on the Lost in Time DVD Boxset.)
Miscellaneous Material
The following is a list of existing material that was used in various ways within the programme.
Marco Polo & The Celestial Toymaker
A photograph of the TARDIS was taken during the production of Marco Polo Episode 1 and used in Episodes 6 & 7 as a blowup cutout. The full size prop was not employed in this case due to size restrictions on the relevant set. The photo survived in the estate of Ian Scoones, and is covered with chinagraph pencil inscriptions with production information. The annotations reveal that the photograph was later used in the first episode of The Celestial Toymaker, with 6 cutouts ordered at the size of 5 inches. These were used for the scene of TARDISes filing past on a conveyor belt.
The Sensorites
The Space Museum
The image on the left is a section of the backdrop that was used on the set for the Sensorite city in The Sensorites Episode 3, 4, 5, and 6, as seen in the shot to the right --->
The photo of William Hartnell in a swimsuit seen in Episode 2 survives in the possession of Hartnell's family, but has not been released.
The Chase
For the composited sequences of the TARDIS and the Dalek Time Machine travelling through the Time Vortex in episodes 3, 4, and 6, photographs of the props were taken on set of Episode 1. Both of these photos appeared on the Photo Gallery of the story's DVD.
The Daleks' Master Plan: Episodes 1 & 2
In the reception area of the Dalek city on Kemble, seen in Episodes 1 and 2, there is a window which looks out onto the landing pad. On set, this "window" was represented by this photo of one of the model spaceships taken by Raymond Cusick on 35mm film during the model filming for the story.
The Daleks' Master Plan: Episode 8
Contact prints of a few frames of the volcano model footage were found in the photo files of Doctor Who Magazine. There are 5 "sequences", one with 4 frames, one with 7 frames, one with 8 frames and two with 10 frames.
Some of the model volcano footage was used as a back projection in the studio (as seen in a rehearsal photo). With the episode missing, it's difficult to know whether the surviving frames were seen full-frame, confined to back projection, or were from trimmed footage that didn't make it to screen.
The Ark
The Gunfighters
A photograph exists showing a clean view of a section of the backdrop used behind the Monoid statue model.
A print of the photo of Laurence Payne as Johnny Ringo used on the Wanted Posters still exists with its original chinagraph pencil markings intact.
The Power of the Daleks
A print of the photo blowup used as the window in the Rocket Room also survived in the collection of designer Derek Dodd. It was sold on eBay in 2021. On set, it was used upside down. It is not specifically known whether this was deliberate.
The Power of the Daleks
To bolster the number of Daleks onscreen in the story, full sized cardboard cutouts of a Dalek photo were used in the background of some scenes. This method had been employed before in The Dalek Invasion of Earth and The Chase. But on this occasion a new set of standees were printed from a photo taken on the set of The Chase Episode 1, which was also included on the Photo Gallery of that story's DVD release.
The Power of the Daleks
In the final episode of The Power of the Daleks, a photograph of the full size TARDIS prop was used as an inlay over a shot of the dying Dalek in an empty landscape. The photo inlay was then faded out of the image to synthesise the dematerialisation effect. It is believed that the apparent hole in the TARDIS lamp is in fact a hole in the photo itself, made so that a small light could be seen behind it as the dematerialisation took place. This photo appeared on the DVD release of the story's official animation as part of the Photo Gallery.
The Evil of the Daleks
A photograph of Frazer Hines as Jamie taken during the location filming of The Highlanders was used in The Evil of the Daleks Episodes 1, 2, & 3. This may be the earliest example of a publicity photo being repurposed within the fiction, where the Daleks supply the photo to Maxtible and Waterfield to identify the character. This photo still exists in the BBC Photo Library, and is one of the most commonly printed photos of the character. Sadly, the library does not hold a copy of the photo of Troughton taken and used in the same circumstances.
The Wheel in Space
A scene in Episode 6 shows a Cyberman having Vallance identify the crew members of the Wheel as an image of each person appears onscreen. When the image of the Doctor appears, he cannot identify him. The photo of the Doctor used in this sequence has survived in a private collection and was printed as part of the cover art of a 1998 edition of TV Zone magazine, celebrating the 35th anniversary of Doctor Who.
The Wheel in Space
There is another photograph used in the production of Episode 6 that has since been printed, which is a photo of the Power House set. This photo appeared on a monitor near the beginning of the episode as the Doctor, Tanya, and Leo are searching for Jarvis on the internal surveillance cameras. In 2019, three more set photos that had been used in the same way were seen to be in the collection of designer Derek Dodd, which was being sold at auction.
The Invasion
The 3 photos of IE visitors seen onscreen in Episode 2 still exist, as do many alternative photos taken at the same time. The 3 used feature producer Derrick Sherwin as Gordon Jones, Edward Dentith as Major General Rutlidge, and Murray Evans as the Lorry Driver. They were used in the title cards of the DVD release's Photo Gallery.
Cine films
Despite 8mm film not being a High-Definition format, I have listed Doctor Who related material that exists on this format as a matter of interest.
I have also included material past the 1960s due to their overall scarcity.
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
Double-exposed footage taken by Carole Ann Ford on the Dalek Saucer set during camera rehearsals for Episode 6
Shawcraft Film
A 10 minute film at the workshop of Shawcraft Models showing various props, including the construction of the Macra
The Abominable Snowmen
Taken by Gerald Blake, the Director, during the story's location filming at Nant Ffrancon Pass
The Daemons
Robot
6 minutes of footage showing the location filming, plus 3 minutes of off-air clips of Episodes 1 & 2
Taken during the location shoot at Wood Norton by Roger Squires, who played a UNIT soldier in the story
RAF Finningley Airshow
A public appearance by William Hartnell on the 18th of September 1965. Seen in More Than 30 Years In The TARDIS
Australian Off-Air Clips
Off-air clips from various episodes between The Reign of Terror Episode 1 and The Faceless Ones Episode 2, taken by an Australian fan
The Smugglers
16mm film taken by Donald Trewern in Cornwall, featuring Hartnell's body double but none of the regular cast
The Evil of the Daleks
Tony Cornell 's Black and White 8mm film showing the Ealing filming of Episode 7's climactic battle, including model work
The Abominable Snowmen
Taken by Frazer Hines during the location filming at Nant Ffrancon Pass. Used in Frazer's Myth Makers interview.
The Sea Devils
Fury From The Deep
Tony Cornell 's film showing the Ealing filming of Episode 6's climactic battle with the Weed Creature
Jon Pertwee in Southampton
Taken by David King, one of the Naval men on site during the location filming in Portsmouth
Shada
8mm footage of Jon Pertwee at a signing on High Street and another event in Beaulieu was found as a VHS transfer
Longleat
Taken by Steve Cambden, assistant K-9 Operator, and used in The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond by BBV. Steve's films from the location filming of The Leisure Hive and Full Circle have not been released
8mm films were shot at the 1983 Longleat 20th Anniversary event by Matt Ashman, Richard Bignell, and Darren Setter.