Radio Free Skaro #1061 - Beloved In The Local Film Community

Our deepest of dives into the wilds of missing episodes continues as our feature interview this week is with John Franklin of Film is Fabulous!, who chats all about the organization's mission, the complicated saga of tracking down not just Doctor Who but other film artifacts from collectors across the UK, and of course a deep dive into the technical nitty-gritty of film restoration, as is the remit of this here podcast. Plus a greeting from Chairman of the Board Tom Baker on the 45th anniversary of the Fourth Doctor's swan song in "Logopolis", Gallifrey One's hotelmaggedon looms in May, Matt Brittin takes on the job of BBC director general, and more! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon Preserving Doctor Who Episodes by Film is Fabulous Gallifrey One hotel accommodations open May 8 Doctor Who: The Collection – Peter Davison, Season 3 coming to NA on July 7 45 Years Ago… Ex-Google boss Matt Brittin officially confirmed as new BBC director general New episode of The Whoniverse Show with Camille Coduri Big Finish The Eleventh Doctor Adventures: The First Question released Doctor Who Annual 2027 due Aug 20 Interview: John Franklin, Film Is Fabulous!

It's been a week since missing episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan revealed themselves to the public to great excitement and joy and indeed a Film of Fabulous! screening of said episodes on April 4 sold out near-instantly upon its announcement. We also have news of an ex-Google chief possibly taking the helm at the BBC, The War Between still being MIA from Disney+, the usual Big Finish over-examining, and our feature interview with The Long Game and Pull to Open author Paul Hayes, here to discuss the production of 1956 CBC production Flight Into Danger, starring one James Doohan and produced by future (at the time) Doctor Who producer Sydney Newman! CanCon, baby! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon Film is Fabulous statement about the Doctor Who recovery Film is Fabulous short restoration clips Film is Fabulous Daleks' Master Plan screening Apr 4, sold out Gallifrey One 2027 tickets on sale BBC Close To Hiring Ex-Google Chief Matt Brittin As Next Director General The War Between the Land and the Sea not on the Disney+ April schedule Paul Cornell's Saucer Country comic optioned for TV series Big Finish: David Tennant returns as the Tenth Doctor, new 12-part series coming 2027 Big Finish: The First Doctor Adventures: Beware the City of Illusions out now Big Finish: UNIT – Brave New World: Knightfall out now Blake's 7 Series C available to preorder, release date TBD Interview: Paul Hayes Flight Into Danger Doctor Who: Star Flight by Paul Hayes

It is indeed an amazing week in the world of Doctor Who as two (!) episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan, specifically episodes 1 and 3, have been resurrected into the daylight through the good work of Film Is Fabulous! Revel with the Three Who Rule as they mull over how this came to be, what it means future Who media releases, the relative calm of this announcement as compared to 2013's ominrumour, and more! Plus we have an interview with Tim Burrows of the Missing Episodes Podcast to give you more of those granular details of technical cut film reels that all Archival Sickos crave! Also the usual Big Finish, EagleMoss figurine, and other news tidbits. Listen, or Bret Vyon will arrest you! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon The Daleks' Master Plan Episodes 1 and 3 returned via Film is Fabulous; on iPlayer Apr 4 RE-DISCOVERED EPISODES: The Dalek's Master Plan The Daleks' Master Plan Missing Episode Recovery BBC Breakfast Film is Fabulous! Film is Fabulous Peter Purves Interview Film is Fabulous Sue Malden interview Simon Guerrier: Doctor Who's lost episodes are worth getting excited about Eaglemoss Vogan, Jacondan, and Kronos figures available for pre-order The Whoniverse Show: Murray Gold Takes on the Ultimate Doctor Who Music Quiz Big Finish Doctor Who – The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: The Violet Hour available now Big Finish Doctor Who – The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: Aegis due May 2026 Big Finish Time War – Daleks vs Cybermen due Mar 2027 Interview: Tim Burrows Gav Rymill

BREAKING NEWS! Two previously missing episodes of Doctor Who have been returned to the BBC Archives! Episodes One and Three of The Daleks' Master Plan were found in a film collection obtained by Film is Fabulous, and will be streamed on BBC iPlayer at Easter.  Full coverage of the recovery will be on the next episode of Radio Free Skaro!

Happy Magna Carta Day, everyone! One of them, anyway. Now that that's out of the way, there's heated debate on The Billie Piper Matter in both The Sun and The Telegraph, and the Three Who Rule add their shopworn takes to this interminable discussion that will be an absolute delight until Xmas 2026. Plus we have a set report from 2004, the iPlayer possibly re-re-re-inventing cable and hosting rival broadcasters, the Ianto Shrine nearing its end and the feelings around that, and most importantly, Part the Second of our "The Mysterious Planet" Classic Series Commentary! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon Happy March 4 The Sun: 2026 Doctor Who Christmas Special will not feature Billie Piper as the Doctor Why No One Wants to be the Next Doctor Who Season 3 scripts were being prepared before cancellation The Whoniverse Show: Russell T Davies' Ultimate Guide to Being the Perfect Companion BBC Says iPlayer Could Host Rival Broadcasters As Corporation Sets Out Charter Renewal Funding Vision Set report from 2004 first Doctor Who location shoot Doctor Who Magazine 627 released Ianto shrine in Cardiff to be taken down at the end of April Gareth David-Lloyd talks about the Ianto shrine removal Change.org petition to save the Ianto shrine Big Finish The Fourth Doctor Adventures: The Ministry of Death released Big Finish The Death and Life of River Song: War Widow due Sep 2026 Retro TV drops Doctor Who Commentary: The Mysterious Planet Part Two

As world events trend ever downwards, you can always count on the Three Who Rule to not only give you the latest exciting news from the world of Doctor Who, such as Murray Gold reporting there are numerous versions of the upcoming Xmas Special written, a BBC executive saying quite sensibly that Doctor Who will come back when it's good and ready and more, but also our usual basting in the warm glow of the past as we go back to the halcyon days of 1986 with a Classic Series Commentary on the greatest model shot in the history of television (and some story stuff I guess) with Part One of "The Mysterious Planet"! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon Murray Gold says multiple versions of 2026 Doctor Who Christmas special have been written Murray Gold on The Whoniverse Show BBC Director of Drama Lindsay Salt on Doctor Who Doctor Who – Season 2 coming to Blu-ray on June 2 You Are Not Alone: A Gay History of Doctor Who due May 25 from Ten Acre Books Big Finish Doctor Who – The Companion Chronicles: The Legacy of Time released Big Finish: The Worlds of Doctor Who – UNIT Eras: Hostile Universe due April 2026 Numerous guests announced for Long Island Who Jonathan Helm (Who FX/Making Blake's 7) Substack on Shada Red Dwarf co-creator Rob Grant died Commentary: The Mysterious Planet Part One

It's a banner day for Wilderness Years junior campers as the 35mm prints of the TV Movie have been lovingly scanned and become a 4K release on Blu-Ray, at least in the UK (for now). Plus there's a new documentary on The War Between on Youtube for North Americans pining to see…well, anything about them there Homo Aquas, a new Rachel Talalay video revealing "The Star Beast" directorial trickery, and most excitingly, an interview with journalist Paul Kirkley about the current state of the UK industry. Hint…it ain't great! Set your VCR to channel 3 to find out more! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon Doctor Who: The Movie has been newly restored for 4K and Blu-ray Doctor Who: The Movie 4K trailer The War Between the Land and The Sea – Deep Dive The War Between not airing in March 2026 on Disney+ How I Filmed This – Rachel Talalay: The Star Beast: The Cardboard Box Problem Big Finish: From the Worlds of Doctor Who – Dark Gallifrey: The Meddling Monks due Apr-Jun 2026 Big Finish: Doctor Who – Time War Uncharted: Branches due May 2026 Big Finish: Star Cops – Conflict: Shadow of the Moonlight released World of Telly – Season 2 Trailer Interview: Paul Kirkley We're seeing the future of British TV – and it's American Deadline: British TV Dramatists Lament "Austerity" Era As They Navigate Funding Crisis With No Easy Solutions The New Statesman: Netflix is not going to destroy traditional broadcasting – because not everyone wants to watch US TV

The Three Who Rule are reunited as Steven reports back from his sojourn into the depths of Los Angeles and Gallifrey One and Chris and Warren regale him with tales of The Android Invasion and Warriors of the Deep viewings in Vancouver! Burying the lede here though, it's a banner day for Whovians as that most holy of 1970s brands, Fisher-Price has finally released Little People in the form of Doctors 9-15, excluding 14. Plus we have a surfeit of Big Finish covers to wildly speculate about, BBC executive Zai Bennett adds to the pile of vague confirmations about the future of Doctor Who, and more!  Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon Doctor Who Little People Season 13 Blu-Ray hit #6 on the US sales charts BBC's Zai Bennett's comments on the future of Doctor Who BBC licence fee will increase to deliver "financial stability it needs" Propstore Doctor Who Online Auction 2026 Jodie Whittaker will participate in Red Nose Day March 20 'The Empty Child' and more adventures come to the Doctor Who Shop 'The Rescue' comes to vinyl for Record Store Day 2026 Doctor Who Magazine 626 Doctor Who Magazine Doctor Who: Chronicles Issue 11: 1984 released February 12 Big Finish renews Doctor Who license through 2035 Big Finish: Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Cloud Eight released Big Finish: Doctor Who – The Lost Stories: The Collected Sixth Doctor 1 released Big Finish: Doctor Who – Short Trips: Impeccable and Other Stories released Big Finish: The Sixth Doctor Adventures: Expulsion due Apr 2026 Big Finish: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Pandemonium due Apr 2026 Big Finish: Doctor Who – The Fifth Doctor Adventures: Helter Skelter due April 2026 Big Finish: Rutans vs Sontarans begins April 2026 Big Finish: The War Doctor Rises: Fear of the Light due May 2026

It's Gallifrey One time! While the Canadian contingent in Los Angeles this year was low (including both Warren and Chris, who like many Canadians chose not to frequent the environs of our troubled neighbours), Steven represented both the Embassy of Radio Free Skaro, and the nation of Canada (the latter unofficially). Erika from Verity! and Chip from 2MTL join Steven in recapping this weekend's convention, including talks of panels, and going inside with the many main stage interviews that Steven performed. Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon Gallifrey One

It's that time of year again, the annual Gallifrey One preview show, and even though only one of our august number is braving the geopolitical winds of Canada-U.S. kerfuffles (Steven, if you're keeping track) that won't stop us from overanalyzing the schedule and pointing out all the highlights! Plus a surfeit of Big Finish releases, a destroyed Dalek dolly along with 1980s Tegan, some musical deep dives, and more!  Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon Gallifrey One 2026 Doctor Who Yearbook Character Options Doctor Who Tegan Jovanka and Destroyed Dalek released Big Finish – Torchwood: Everyone's Dead on Floor 3 out now Big Finish – Doctor Who – Short Trips Rarities: An Eighth Doctor Collection out now Big Finish – Doctor Who – The Eleventh Doctor Adventures: The First Question due Mar 2026 Big Finish – The Worlds of Doctor Who – Zygon Century: Transformation due Apr 2026 Tom Baker and John Leeson in upcoming audio drama Sir Sherlock: The Red Letter Day due Mar 2026 Jess Jurkovic's Tristram Cary video Twenty Thousand Hertz episode about the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Blu-Ray Collection fan-made inserts