The lost Doctor Who story The Savages, first aired in 1966 and starring William Hartnell, will be animated for release in 2025.
We’re edging ever closer to a time where we’ll be able to watch every missing Doctor Who story in animated form. The most recent release was 1966 story The Celestial Toymaker, which broke the mould by using a surrealist, 3D animated style befitting the Toymaker’s aesthetic.
The BBC’s sticking with the William Hartnell era for its next animated reconstruction, as the corporation has confirmed that the 1966 story The Savages will be the next episode to be animated.
The official description reads as follows:
In The Savages, the Doctor (William Hartnell) and his travelling companions, Steven (Peter Purves) and Dodo (Jackie Lane), arrive on an unnamed planet where they encounter two distinct people – the Elders and the Savages. They soon discover the Elders are the evil, draining the primitive Savages for their life source to remain young and powerful forever.
All four episodes are lost, and the story marks the final appearance of Peter Purves as companion Steven Taylor.
The three-disc set will include all four 25-minute animated episodes in both colour and black and white, as well as exclusive bonus features, which have not yet been confirmed.
It’s a good time to be a Doctor Who fan. A 90-minute edit of The War Games, in colour for the first time and including a new scene depicting the regeneration of Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor into Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor, will be broadcast on BBC4 on the 22nd December. This year’s Christmas special, Joy To The World, written by Steven Moffat, will be broadcast on Christmas Day at 17:10 on BBC One. The second series of Ncuti Gatwa’s era will be broadcast early next year.
The release date has not been confirmed, but you can pre-order The Savages on Blu-ray and DVD here.
Watch the trailer below:
