While the episode's original footage may have been lost, the 1960s Doctor Who The story “The Savages” will be brought back to life as the next classic animated recreation of the sci-fi series. The long-running BBC science fiction series was fronted by William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966, who portrayed the first incarnation of the Time Lord in the first series. Several of his early Doctor Who episodes were lost due to past practicesleading to a concerted effort by organization staff and fans to recover any surviving footage for preservation.
After the partially animated recreation of “The Celestial Toymaker” was released on home media, the official Doctor Who website confirmed that another story from Hartnell's tenure will be brought back to life with a four-part animated reconstruction of “The Savages.” THE official Doctor Who YouTube channel also uploaded a trailer. Check it out below:
Airing in May and June 1966, the story saw the Doctor, Dodo (Jackie Lane) and Steven (Peter Purves) visit a world in a distant future divided between a seemingly idyllic advanced civilization and a more primitive wandering group. It is soon revealed that the conflict is not as clear as initially presented. “The Savages” marks Purves' last regular appearance, with Steven staying behind in the world to help find peace between the two civilizations.
All four parts of the original series will be recreated in animation, with surviving original audio from the episodes being used to provide dialogue for the cast. The story will be released on Blu-ray and DVD in spring 2025with the home release including behind-the-scenes features and an alternate black-and-white edition to match the original format.
What Reconstruction of the Wildlings Means for Future Doctor Who Reconstructions
The era of the first doctor has the potential for several complete recreations
Although not the first classic Doctor Who series to receive a complete animated reconstruction, “The Savages” is the first story from Hartnell's tenure as the First Doctor to be fully revived in animation. At the moment, seven stories from the Hartnell era have yet to receive animated recreationsmissing six of these adventures with their respective episodes. As such, with “The Savages” following the recreation of “The Celestial Toymaker”, it's clear that there is a concerted effort to complete the First Doctor's efforts.
However, it is difficult to determine when or what the next recreation will be, or when it will be released. Although complete audio recordings of several lost episodes exist, stories such as “The Crusade” and “The Daleks Master Plan” still lack audio from several parts, while animation takes time to produce. As such, while efforts to recover any lost stories are still ongoing, it's likely that “Marco Polo”, “The Myth Makers”, “The Massacre” or “The Smugglers” could be next to receive the animated treatment.
Our thoughts on the animated reconstruction of “The Savage”
Purves returned to Doctor Who In 2023
With Purves having recently been reintroduced to the public through the Tales from the TARDIS spin-off in 2023, it's clear why “The Savages” was selected as the next Doctor Who animated reconstruction. Along with the surviving audio, many may wish to see how the universe left the former astronaut when he departed the TARDIS.
Additionally, the animated recreation of “The Savages” will also be appreciated by longtime fans as a vital step in preserving the program's history. Although some stories may never be fully recreated, as retrieving long-lost episodes becomes more difficult as time passes, all stories preserved Doctor Who episode is a welcome addition to every collection.
Source: Doctorwho.tv