The latest “lost” story arc from perennial British sci-fi classic Doctor Who to be rescued with animation, 1960s tale The Savages, is coming to home video next spring. The BBC will release the four-part reproduction on Blu-ray and DVD in the U.K. on March 24.
First broadcast in four weekly parts from 28 May to 18 June 1966. In this early story, the Doctor (William Hartnell) and his travelling companions Steven (Peter Purves) and Dodo (Jackie Lane), arrive on an unnamed planet where they encounter two distinct people — the Elders and the Savages.
They soon discover the Elders are the evil ones, draining the primitive Savages for their life source to remain young and powerful forever. This story marks the final appearance of Purves as Steven.
The physical home release of this animated resurrection of the First Doctor will include three discs containing all four 25-minute animated episodes (in both color and black and white) as well as brand-new bonus features.
As in previous projects, Doctor Who archivists were faced with the obliteration of original master recordings, and the BBC Studios Home Entertainment producers and the team of animators worked from original audio recordings and soundtracks to bring the arc back to life.
“We have a wonderful team of creators who work together to bring these lost Doctor Who stories back to life through animation,” said executive producer Paul Hembury. “It’s always an exciting time when a story nears completion, and we prepare to share it with the fans, for whom it has been made.
Hembury previously exec produced the animated recreations of Doctor Who stories The Evil of the Daleks, The Faceless Ones, The Macra Terror and The Wheel in Space.
[H/T DoctorWhoNews.net]
