This month, the First Doctor story "The Savages" will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray in the UK. One of many lost stories from William Hartnell's era, "The Savages" is the latest serial to have been given the animated treatment. So far, Doctor Who's many lost stories have been animated at a slow but steady pace. Since 2019, at least one new animation has been released on DVD and Blu-Ray each year.
It's been great to watch these lost classics, but it's hard not to want more, especially with Doctor Who: The Collection releasing each complete season of the Classic Series in random order. (It's worth noting that while most of the '70s and '80s seasons have been released, only one season from the '60s has been released so far, namely Season 2.)
So it's perhaps unsurprising that the people working on these animations are also keen to see more of them made. While nothing is official yet, executive producer Paul Hembury stated at a recent screening of "The Savages" that he wants more animations to be released. More than that, he is "hopeful" that they'll be released at a faster pace - perhaps even working on multiple stories simultaneously.
Accelerated pace
"What we want to do – and I believe at this stage we will do – is to get the next one started reasonably soon, but before completing that one, we start the one after that... that's the goal... We don't have a signed agreement, but we're very hopeful of being able to do more."Paul Hembury
This is really promising. While it's clear that nothing's set in stone just yet, the idea of future animations being started before the previous had been completed would certainly suggest a faster release rate.
And, as mentioned, many missing stories have yet to be animated, especially from the First Doctor's era. A faster release rate doesn't just mean more crucial gaps are completed sooner. But with just three serials from Troughton's era left to animate, it would also mean increased chances for one of his seasons to be released sooner rather than later.
In fact, while all previous animations have been released as individual stories first, that may not always be the case. When asked if future animations could be released as part of a season box set, this is Hembury's response:
" That's exactly the approach that we're taking."Paul Hembury
Again, with no contract signed right now, nothing is fully confirmed just yet. But with just nine seasons left to release of Doctor Who: The Collection, an accelerated animated release schedule would help balance out the remaining five black-and-white seasons against the four color ones. In the meantime, I'm excited to watch "The Savages" when it's released on Blu-ray and DVD, as well as "The War Games In Color", a brand new color version of Troughton's final story.