Missing, Believed Lost

As has been noted elsewhere, episodes of 'Doctor Who' are missing from the BBC archives and it is unknown whether copies of these missing episodes exist elsewhere. It seems that, as soon as all hope is lost, another episode turns up. However, the currently 109 episodes of 'Doctor Who' missing from the archives are not the only episodes missing from the BBC, they were not the only episodes deleted from the BBC and, for that matter, the BBC archives are not the only incomplete archives in the world. While the BBC ended up actively destroying episodes, other archive holders were merely careless or negligent. Some programmes had episodes broadcast live that were not known to be recorded in any way. Some gaps come from these issues.

It seems to me that the most widely announced missing episodes belong to 'Doctor Who'. Multiple web sites, books, and magazines discuss and/or list the missing 109 regularly. Still, there are 'Doctor Who' fans who are unaware of the details regarding the episodes, such as how they came to be missing or which episodes exactly are missing. This concept came to a head for me in January 1999 when the episode of 'Doctor Who' identified as 'The Lion' (the first episode from the serial generally referred to as 'The Crusade') was returned to the BBC. It was noted that the episode might have been returned earlier except the owner was unaware that the episode was missing from the archives. The information might be everywhere as far as I was concerned, but he had never come across it.

Not for the first time it started me wondering about other programmes and their status in the archives. I'd seen information now and then in magazines so I knew a little. Surely somewhere online I could find a good list, if nothing else the BBC should have a list up, right? If such a site exists, at the time I couldn't find it. I have since found a nice site with good information at:

The British TV Missing Episodes Index

That has a great missing episodes forum. If you like my site, visit his as well.

I've been collecting information from wherever I could find it to build a list of my own. Here are the fruits of my labour. It's not particularly extensive at this point, but I'm hoping it'll grow more complete as time goes on. Of course, I also hope it decreases as well. I'm hoping this'll prove to be a useful research tool for others. I would also appreciate any help others can grant me to fill this list out. I'm interested in lists mainly (even just web sites that excel in episode guides for older programmes would help), but information on episode recovery or corrections to my list would be just as appreciated. Thank you in advance.

-Stephen M. Wolterstorff

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