The missing episodes of Doctor Who remain a huge loss to fandom. While many have been found over the years, 97 episodes are still sadly missing. The BBC's complete lack of foresight in junking so many will always be disappointing to think about.
But if there's one thing that cheers me up, it's the fandom. While the BBC wasn't keen on retaining the episodes, the fandom was, even during its earliest days. And it's because of the fandom that a key part of all of these episodes survived - their soundtracks.
Back in the '60s, fans couldn't video record every episode. But that didn't stop them from recording at all. Fans were able to record the sound of every episode, using methods as simple as attaching a microphone to a tape recorder and placing it right next to the television. It perhaps wasn't the most sophisticated method, and the fan recordings tend to vary greatly as a result. But because of these efforts, a vital piece of Doctor Who history survived.
Surviving audio
Gradually, these soundtracks were released. Several missing Patrick Troughton stories were released on cassette in the '90s. These stories were narrated by Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, and Colin Baker.
It's easy to see why actors playing the Doctor were chosen, although it did feel like a slight clash of eras when listening to them. Interestingly, two of the audios - "The Power of the Daleks" and "Fury from the Deep" - were narrated by Tom Baker in character as the Fourth Doctor. They were essentially told in the style of Four remembering some of the adventures of his Second self.
A few years later, a better approach was taken with the soundtracks. From 1999 to 2006, all stories with missing episodes were released on CD. All of these - even those previously released on cassette in the '90s - were narrated by a surviving cast member from the original story. This was a better approach overall, with the narration of a former companion sounding less distracting than that of a later Doctor - even when that Doctor was Tom Baker. (Maybe even especially when that Doctor was Tom Baker.)
Animations and reconstructions
Of course, releasing the soundtracks was just the beginning. We also began to see reconstructions of the missing episodes. Some of these were official, such as a combined recap of the second and third episodes of "The Ice Warriors" and a complete reconstruction of "The Tenth Planet". There were also many unofficial reconstructions thanks to fan groups such as Loose Cannon Productions.
In both cases, they helped to give a clear of idea of how the episode might've looked. Photo reconstructions are still being created even today, with Season 2's Blu-ray box set including excellent recreations of the second and fourth episodes of "The Crusade".
But it was in 2006 that another possibility was finally introduced: animation. When "The Invasion" was released on DVD, the missing first and fourth episodes were brought to life via animation. Almost two decades later, these episodes still hold up brilliantly, especially since the animation studio was the legendary Cosgrove Hall.
Surprisingly, this didn't lead to more animations, at least not immediately. But over time, we did start to see gaps gradually being completed via animation. This has been particularly noticeable since "The Macra Terror" was released. Since 2019, at least one missing story has been animated every year.
Preserving history
None of this would've been possible without the fans recording what they could and helping to preserve the only element of these episodes that still exists. The soundtracks might not sound like much on their own, but not every classic British series has been so lucky.
For example, most of the first season of '60s spy series The Avengers is completely missing, with not even the audio surviving. The best way fans have of experiencing these stories is the fittingly titled The Avengers: The Lost Episodes from Big Finish Productions. This series features brand-new audio recreations with a new cast, and while they're certainly a great listen, it's sad to know that nothing survives of the original TV episodes.
It highlights exactly how lucky Doctor Who fans are that anything survives of the show's lost history. And even better, it's a reminder of just how important, even special the fandom has always been. Because it's thanks to fans of the past that these stories still get to be enjoyed by fans of the future.