Yes, the Underwater Menace only had a UK release so far, with no other release dates scheduled (or at least announced) for the USA. While it may eventually get a release here, you may want to consider ordering the UK edition if all else fails. (Region-free DVD players are easy to find and are very cheap these days.) In fact, I have the whole classic series on Region 2 (UK) DVDs, simply because they are considerably cheaper than the US DVDs, plus they are at a higher resolution and don't have some of the edits (like the removal of The Beatles from The Chase) or errors (like The Moonbase playing at the wrong speed) that the US DVDs have. In the end, I estimated that I saved 50% by collecting the UK releases... even after factoring in the higher shipping costs. For the Underwater Menace DVD, one should be aware that the reconstructions for Episodes 1 and 4 are severely simplified on this release, with only the soundtrack and the original tele-snaps (photos taken from a television screen), with each photo presented once...with no panning, zooming, re-inserted censor clips, information text, or use of other production photos. They have even gone as far as to not include opening titles. The restoration team wanted to put together nicer reconstructions, but were told by the BBC Worldwide to just provide cheap, bare-bones versions. When the restoration team volunteered to provide nicer reconstructions at no additional cost (basically volunteering their time for free), they were still not allowed to do so. (My theory is that someone at BBC Worldwide is not a fan of Doctor Who and deliberately hobbled this release.) If you buy the DVD, I highly recommend supplementing it with the Loose Cannon reconstructions for Episodes 1 and 4. They will be a lot easier to follow (and more enjoyable) than the official BBC reconstructions.
Thank you for the clarification on what the physical DVD release is like. So why didn't BBC Worldwide just allow a STREAMING debut online...sure I could wait for a "Deluxe" edition later if that would ever happen should more episodes turn up to complete the entire UWM story. Is it possible BBC are upset the "Missing Episodes" w/ particular parties was a dead-end and only a few items actually turned up, possibly BBC exhausted all avenues and felt led down a wild chase of very little? Maybe they are burnt of "Dr. Who - classics" for good! Thanks again for the news!
From what I've read elsewhere, the people at BBC Worldwide who were the most supportive of the Doctor Who DVD releases are now mostly gone. Apparently, the show has a fairly low priority among the current people in charge...despite being a significant source of revenue in the past. Fortunately, all of the officially-existing episodes from the classic series are now on DVD...though, of course, overseas releases for Underwater Menace are still to be made available. It seems likely that if any more missing episodes are recovered and returned, they will likely only be made available online.
that one I'm convinced WAS found by Mr Morris, but who knows what's holding things up. Anneke Wills was even telling fans that she'd seen it, before she got the tap on the shoulder to keep things under her hat.
Yesterday! The restored Episodes 2 and 3 are nice, along with the two extra documentaries, but the Episode 1 and 4 reconstructions are not very good. One is recommended to hunt down the Loose Cannon reconstructions, which are of a much higher level of quality (and also include the censor clips).
For what it's worth, someone from the Gallifrey Base forum wrote to BBC Worldwide, asking about releasing the Underwater Menace DVD in Region 1. They were told that they plan to release the DVD early next year, "hopefully within the first quarter."
oh! I did hear the BBC did not support better work for the two missing episodes, despite offers. still, "new" Who!
Just an update for anyone in U.S. Region 1 Pre-order for Underwater Menace DVD May 24, 2016 http://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Who-Un...=1459385904&sr=8-1&keywords=underwater+menace
Finished watching the US edition of UWM. I saw plenty of DVDs at Barnes and Noble, with a pretty large display created by BBC video marketing. Nice to have it available in the States! Fingers crossed for some future releases after 2017 of Classic Dr Who.
Have you seen the Restoration Team's write-up of this story on their website? Rather than animate the missing episodes, the instruction that came to us via our commissioning editor was that they were to be presented as an inexplicably basic telesnap and off-air soundtrack reconstruction. Although we offered to prepare reconstructions to the standard of that featured on The Web of Fear for no extra cost, we were firmly told that the reconstruction must be exceptionally basic - no recreated opening titles or credits, no composite shots, no moves to add life to the storytelling, and all the telesnaps had to be presented one after another in the order they were shot and without repetition. A very odd commercial decision which were are at a loss to understand. The Doctor Who Restoration Team Website »
Yes, it is still hard to explain why they took that stance, but one can be forgiven for thinking the BBC actually tried to sabotage the release. The Loose Cannon reconstruction of the two missing episodes is so much better, of course, since they used what was available (including the censor clips). All of the Loose Cannon reconstructions are currently available on Dailymotion: Video Playlists by ElDoctorio (DavidAgnew) on Dailymotion »
AN-I-MATE! November 5, 2016 @ BBC Store U.K. DVD release 11/21/16 ++AN-I-MATE!++ The Power of the Daleks celebrates 50th Anniversary with animated reconstruction »
I haven't had time to view BBC America, but the start should be tonight, with the episodes spread through early December. You can watch it in "Special screening" via Fanthom events or Cineplex Cinemas Link here, scroll down for details: The Power of the Daleks - Where To Watch » I came across a link below at Amazon.UK for a February 2017 "SteelBook" Blu-ray/DVD (4 disc set) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who...#mediaMatrix_secondary_view_div_1478988971898 Barnes & Nobles will have a U.S. DVD(only?) release by January 24, 2017
