Dalek's Master Plan Episodes

[Chris Gilbert]

Apologies if these questions have been answered (many times probably!) before, however I am fairly new to the site.

Two questions on the DMP that I have not been able to find answers to in missing episode sites and magazine articles.

Firstly, I read a long time ago that Damian, the Australian guy who found the Australian censored clips was going to research into what happened to the viewing copies of the 11 DMP episodes sent to Australia. Do we know what he found out?

Secondly, I know DMP was never sold abroad, and only viewing copies were sent to Australia, so where do people believe Eps 5 and 10 were from that were found in the church basement in 1983? Are they the viewing copies from Australia or different ones?

Its my favourite "missing" story and I need to know ;D

[Bobby Clark (synthpopalooza)]

Best as I can tell, that was either a disused film archive, or perhaps someone had filched the films from the BBC before they could be binned. In any event, I'm fairly certain the two episodes were domestic in origin.

[stevewilliams]

It's logical to assume, and it certainly seems to be the standard practice of BBC Enterprises, that every program that is telerecorded has the negative, of course, plus an in-house viewing print. For "Masterplan," Enterprises would have had those plus the 16mm prints struck for ABC. The three found episodes are the enterprise prints therefore. I suspect all the programs found in that church basement were stored by someone who had filched them from the skip, nothing else makes perfect sense.

[Greg H]

Yeah, it is an odd one that. Of course there is the possibility that the church thing was a cover story for someone who wished to remain anonymous about returning the episodes for one reason or another. Im not claiming insider info, but it is a possibility. I know someone will object to that idea, but it probably has happened somewhere along the line. Just like employees walking off with stuff has been called a myth before now :lol: and even people hoarding private collections called a myth :lol:

I reckon the 3 episodes that turned up were probably the UK prints; its difficult to see how they would have been sent to Aus and found their way back here unless the viewing prints were returned and those really are the only remnants, but I dont believe theres any proof that those prints were ever sent back, am I wrong on that point anyone??
So as for where the prints 180 degrees around the globe are? Well who knows where those are or even who has them its difficult to say.

[Richard Bignell]

stevewilliams said:

I suspect all the programs found in that church basement were stored by someone who had filched them from the skip, nothing else makes perfect sense.

Except that the Mormon church was a former BBC building!

Richard

[Richard Bignell]

gh said:

Yeah, it is an odd one that. Of course there is the possibility that the church thing was a cover story for someone who wished to remain anonymous about returning the episodes for one reason or another. Im not claiming insider info, but it is a possibility.

No, it's perfectly true. I discussed this matter a couple of years ago with Steve Bryant (who was heading up the archive at that time) who confirms the accuracy of the story.

Richard

[Greg H]

Really?!?! I always thought the way those episodes came back was a bit sus!!!! Fair play if you know better mate!
Was it really a former BBC building and in that case what other footage was left there? And more importantly where did it go!
Dont get me wrong mate, im definitely not having a pop at anyone, but its always struck me as an odd story!
I'd love to hear more details about what was happening there!

Wouldnt it be fun to go forward 20 years in time and see what we had to look forward to being returned! Or even just to have a map of what does and doesnt exist that was totally accurate, so we knew what we could put to bed for ever more!

[Richard Bignell]

gh said:

in that case what other footage was left there?

From memory, an episode of Warship and a couple of Schools programmes.

Richard

[Chris Gilbert]

Thanks guys for your thoughts and insights. I never knew that the "church" was a former BBC building! That was interesting to find out.

Yes I think you are all correct in that eps 5 and 10 were NOT the Australian copies, it didnt seem likely they had travelled back there from Australia.

I guess Damians research didnt shed any light on the viewing prints as we would have heard more by now.

A shame as after seeing ep 2 and the cleaned up copies of 5 and 10, I would love to see more.

[Greg H]

I definitely agree that the surviving episodes from masterplan are pretty good stuff. Episode 2 is really prime Hartnell and its nice to see the monk doing his thing in the later episode as well
Who knows, in the words of one fan I read an article by 'expect the unexpected'! I doubt if many of us thought episode 2 was going to surface, but it did!! So you never know whats around the corner

[Chris Gilbert]

Indeed yes!

I recently re-read a 1986 interview with Adrienne Hill where she said she and the actor playing Kirksen were filmed bouncing on a trampoline to show they "floating" through space! That I would love to see!

Yes the gent who said "Expect the Unexpected" coined a clever and correct phrase, as the turning up of Ep 2 showed.

[Bobby Clark (synthpopalooza)]

Here's some interesting stuff for you:

The people making the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" were inspired for the weightless scenes by episode 4 of the Dalek MP showing Katrina's death.

In return, Bernard Lodge was inspired by the time tunnel sequence used at the end of the above movie for the opening titles for Pertwee season 11 / Tom baker season 12-18

I strongly suggest you pick up Loose Cannon's version of DMP ... they've done a really neat computer animated shot of Katrina's and Kirksen's death from episode 4, where you see their lifeless bodies drifting through space. It almost captures the mood of the original production, for me. It must have been a real shocker when it was broadcast back in 1965.

[Chris Gilbert]

Wow, another couple of facts I never knew.

Ep 4 has more of the alien delegates doesnt it? It would be great to see more of them. I went to see a screening of DMP 2 at Riverside when it returned and it was impossible to explain to my friends what it felt like to be able to see these imfamous aliens for the first time after so many years!

My best mate is a Buffy fan for example and of course has never had to experience what its like to have a large chuck of your favourite show missing. Although he could understand my excitement at the find.

[LanceM]

Before 2004, we all had hoped to get a glimpse of the delagates. Then Day of Armageddon was returned. The most unlikely of stories to be recovered. It is a miracle to say the least. But of course as we all know there was a copy of DMP 4 that went missing from the Blue Peter office, so there could be a very very very slim chance of it being returned, I hope so. But there is also the concept that the episode was junked, and no record was kept of a junking. But that seems rather unlikely, I mean look at the last issue of Nothing At The End of the Lane, which listed the episode junking dates. The BBC has the records for those junkings, and no record to date has been foind that Blue Peter did indeed junk thier print. So anything is possible, heres hoping for The Traitors turning up.

Lance.

[Richard Bignell]

lancem said:

But there is also the concept that the episode was junked, and no record was kept of a junking. But that seems rather unlikely, I mean look at the last issue of Nothing At The End of the Lane, which listed the episode junking dates. The BBC has the records for those junkings, and no record to date has been foind that Blue Peter did indeed junk thier print.

That's rather down to the fact that the dates cited in Nothing at the End of the Lane are the master VT wiping dates - nothing to do with dates for the destruction of the 16mm telerecordings as they were handled by two entirely different departments.

Richard