Final Classic Doctor Who DVD "Removed from Schedule"

[DisapprovingOwl]

Thought this news might be of interest to the Doctor Who fans on this forum - after a good year or so of delays, BBC Worldwide have removed the final classic Doctor Who DVD release, The Underwater Menace, from their DVD schedule, and are reassessing the viability of the release.

This DVD would have seen the first official release of Episode 2 of this story, rediscovered in 2011 and currently unavailable through official means. The two existing episodes have already had their visuals fully restored and require only a little extra audio cleanup, and a full suite of DVD extras was produced in 2013 including a making-of titled "Fishy Tales". The original plan was to animate the two missing episodes similar to other releases such as The Moonbase, The Ice Warriors and The Invasion, though it's unknown if any progress was ever made on this.

For anyone who's been looking forward to this release, there's a petition running to show BBC Worldwide that there is support for this story's release on DVD. It's currently got over 1,750 supporters, including Anneke Wills (who plays the Doctor's companion Polly in the story), Mark Gatiss (who writes for the current series) and Tom Spilsbury (editor of Doctor Who Magazine). If you want to add your support, the petition can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/savethefishpeople/

You can also contact BBC Worldwide to show your support for the DVD's release in any of the following ways:

• Send a polite letter stating your support to:
  BBC Worldwide Ltd
  33 Foley Street
  London
  W1W 7TL
  UK
• Send BBC Worldwide an enquiry about the release using their online contact form: www.bbcworldwide.com/contact-us.aspx
• Tweet BBC Worldwide (@bbcwpress) to let them know you support the release - please include the hashtag #SaveTheFishPeople if you do this!

Thanks to anyone who decides to add their support - hopefully we can show BBC Worldwide that Doctor Who fans still want to see this released on DVD!

 

[Narkalui]

I find it quite perplexing that they would find releasing it unviable. Surely there would be enough fans and collectors out there wanting to complete their collection to make it viable...

 

[DisapprovingOwl]

Apparently there have been behind-the-scenes management changes during the time it's been delayed - certainly Dan Hall, who was previously heading up the classic Doctor Who DVD range, hasn't been on the scene since late 2013. I'm pretty sure the 2013/14 releases of the newly-recovered The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear were commissioned without his involvement. The Underwater Menace was commissioned while he was still running the show, but the delays have meant he's no longer in the picture to push for it to be completed and released.

 

[DisapprovingOwl]

Thank you to anyone from here who's signed the petition or contacted BBC Worldwide about this DVD. The petition now has over 2,500 supporters and has been promoted by several figures associated with Doctor Who, including former companions Anneke Wills (Polly), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Nicola Bryant (Peri), Sophie Aldred (Ace) and Yee Jee Tso (Chang Lee), along with new-series writers Paul Cornell and Mark Gatiss, and Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury.

Barring any hold-ups, we're planning on submitting the petition within the next week - if you've not yet signed and want to add your support, please add your signature while you still can at: http://tinyurl.com/savethefishpeople

Thanks again to anyone who's added their support. Don't let BBC Worldwide sink The Underwater Menace!

 

[DisapprovingOwl]

Last chance to add your support to the petition - we're aiming to submit it tomorrow, so roughly 24 hours remain. If you've not signed yet and want to support the DVD's release, please take a moment to add your support! http://t.co/VPDTTqVLzH

Thanks again to anyone here who's taken the time to sign. If you've already signed and want to know if there's anything else you can do to help, or if you're reading this after our submission deadline and want to know if there's another way to support the release, I'd encourage you to write directly to BBC Worldwide about the issue and express your support for the release of this DVD. The correct postal address to write to is:

BBC Worldwide,
Television Centre,
101 Wood Lane,
London
W12 7RJ

Alternatively, you can also submit a message to BBC Worldwide's DVD Enquiry line using the following online form: http://www.bbcworldwide.com/contact-us.aspx

Thank you again for all your support - will be sure to update if the petition generates a response from BBC Worldwide.