Doctor’s helping hand from city animator
A Doctor Who episode lost for decades has been rescued from the sands of time by a fan from Sunderland.
As fans of the series prepare for the lead character’s historic regeneration into the show’s first female Doctor, an earlier version of the Time Lord will appear on screens next week – thanks to a man from Sunderland.
Freelance animator Rob Ritchie, from Doxford Park, has given Doctor Who fans an early Christmas present as next week sees the release of lost 1979 episode Shada, a piece of television it was thought would never be seen in complete form.
The Sunderland University graduate used his creative skills to complete the episode – working with Doctor Tom Baker, who returned to the role to finally finish the project he started all those years ago.
“Tom recorded new lines for this and I had the chance to meet him on one of his recording days,” said Rob. “It was an absolute delight.”
Baker, who played the fourth Doctor, even dressed in his iconic scarf and stepped inside his Tardis for the final scenes of Shada.
The actor said: “Shada was one of my favourite Doctor Who stories. I have many fond memories of shooting the location scenes in Cambridge, and it was disappointing not to finish the story in studio.”
Shada was meant to be broadcast on the BBC from 1979-80, and more than half of the serial was recorded.
However, a strike by technical staff at the BBC meant that the majority of the studio shoot didn’ t go ahead, and the serial was abandoned.
“Whereas there are a lot of episodes that are still missing, Shada is significant as it is the only Doctor Who story that was never completed,” said Rob.
“This story was never finished, due to industrial action at the BBC. The cast and crew were not allowed back into the studio one day and this carried on until the production had to be abandoned.”
The serial was written by Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy creator Douglas Adams, and was considered by many fans to be a lost classic.
Many attempts were made over the intervening decades to rescue the show, – including an audio play, a book and reconstructions with narrated linking material– but it wasn’t until earlier this year that Shada was finally brought back to life.
Up until recently it was considered too expensive to recreate an entire serial in animated form, but Rob’s pioneering work changed that.
Last year saw his hard work and dedication bring back lost 1966 classic The Power of the Daleks.
Rob’s involvement in the project was originally sparked by his studies at the University of Sunderland.
As part of his Media Production degree, he studied The Science Fiction & Fantasy TV module. The module has been running for nine years, and covers science fiction, horror and fantasy from the 1930s up to the present day.
Doctor Who: Shada is available on Blu-Ray, DVD, and as a digital download via the BBC Store. from Monday December 4,