List of BBC DVD releases

The following is a list of DVD releases by the BBC, broken down by year of release. It includes the catalogue number for each release, as used on the Region 2 version of each DVD. Doctor Who has been released on this medium from 1999 until the present. Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures have also been released on this medium since their inception. The dual Blu-ray release of every episode of Doctor Who since The Next Doctor seems to indicate that this format, like VHS before it, is near the end of its life cycle as of 2010. The classic (1963-1996) Doctor Who DVD range is generally expected to conclude in 2013, which is the 50th Anniversary year for the program.

Though it is uncertain how many future episodes of Doctor Who universe shows will appear on DVD, it is believed that BBC Video, through 2 entertain, intend to master all possible episodes of the 1963 version of Doctor Who for DVD. Precedent can be found in the fact that they made all Doctor Who serials available on VHS, long after VHS had ceased to be the dominant home video medium.

Missing episodes, however, will never see a DVD release in their original form, or indeed a release in any visual format. However, it is conceivable that some missing episodes might be reconstructed in some way (eg animation) for a DVD release, as happened with the two missing episodes of The Invasion.

All the covers for the BBC DVD releases can be found here. This page has links to covers for each region.

1999


Doctor Who was chosen as one of six DVDs released to represent the BBC as a 'test' of the DVD market by BBC Worldwide. (The other titles were The Black Adder, Noddy in Toyland, The Planets, Persuasion, and Volume I of The Best of Monty Python's Flying Circus.) The chosen title for this 'test' was The Five Doctors, which was picked due to it already existing in a Special Edition format from the BBC Video release of 1995, which allowed it it to take 'better advantage' of the DVD format with the use of 5.1 surround sound. The Region 1 release of this title would feature a commentary not available on the Region 2 and 4 versions, but which would later be included on the "Special Edition" re-release of 2008.

2000


After The Five Doctors, which was something of a false start, the range eventually kicked off properly (with a different cover art template) a year later with The Robots of Death. Although the menu intro sequence was the same as that used on The Five Doctors, in all other respects the menu system was completely redesigned; the plan originally being that each disc would feature the relevant theme music of the story over the menu intro sequence. This was dropped early into 2001 as it was felt that the Howell version of the theme fitted the sequence best and has been used on every release ever since.

2001


Spearhead from Space was a last minute addition to the schedule and was primarily based on the restoration done for the 1999 repeat broadcast. After the release of Spearhead from Space, four other DVDs were released, including the only televised Eighth Doctor's adventure, the TV Movie. The TV Movie and the Fifth Doctor's final adventure, The Caves of Androzani were later released again on DVD in 2010 as part of the Revisitations box set, alongside The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

2002


Pyramids of Mars was originally to have been the Tom Baker title released in the second slot, but issues to do with contract negotiations led to it being postponed and The Ark in Space was put in its place. After the release of The Five Doctors, the original plan was to release one title from each Doctor of the then eight Doctors, but as the range progressed this was not quite achieved as The Ark in Space and Carnival of Monsters were then slipped into the schedule to prevent two black and white stories being released back to back. This year saw the first major discontinuity between UK and North American DVD releases as a box set containing the six stories from the Key to Time season was released in Region 1 years before a similar release occurred in the UK/Region 2.

2003


For the 40th Anniversary of Doctor Who, BBC DVD wanted to release one title from each Doctor. The Three Doctors was originally planned for the first release slot of the year, but was then held back for release in the anniversary month. To mark the anniversary most of the 2003 releases included a special music video tribute to the series using clips from the show accompanied by the popular cover version of the Doctor Who theme music by Orbital. In Region 4, these releases, except for The Curse of Fenric, included a special edition slip cover for the cases, which were silver TARDIS roundels, and had the Doctor Who logo replaced with the 40th Anniversary variation.

2004


Pyramids of Mars was released after being voted most wanted DVD release in a 2003 Doctor Who Magazine poll and the Lost in Time set came about due to the recovery of the previously missing episode Day of Armageddon from The Daleks' Master Plan, which occurred in the January of 2004. The release of Lost in Time marked the first time BBC DVD released a Doctor Who boxset, instead of releasing single episodes. It also marks the first time two different Doctors where released together, without it being a multi-Doctor story.

2005


From Revelation of the Daleks and onwards the DVDs featured the logo of 2 entertain, a DVD release company formed by the BBC and Woolworths. 2005 was the year that Doctor Who returned to TV, with a brand new series and therefore saw the first release of the new series on DVD, starting with part one, 2 entertain released the first series in four part, before releasing its first box set of a complete series. The release of the Dalek collection saw the first time that 2 entertain released a DVD collection exclusively to a shop - W H Smith. This was available only in the UK, and not worldwide.

2006


The Sontaran Experiment in October 2006 marked the start of an increase in the number of releases, with titles being assigned as either a "Super Value Edition" (like The Sontaran Experiment), which meant a reduced extras package, or "Special Editions" like the two disc releases of the past. Super Value Editions were abandoned around 2008. The two missing episodes of The Invasion were animated for the story's DVD release. The Mark of the Rani was a release brought forward to plug a gap created by the delay of Arc of Infinity. The second series of Doctor was released this year, released in five parts, it would later be released in a boxset by the end of the year. At the end of the year, the first part of the first series of Torchwood was released on DVD. This marked the first time Torchwood was released on DVD.

2007


The Series Three DVD box set was, in an exclusive release at Amazon.co.uk, made available with the choice of two additional covers beyond that of the standard cover. The Remembrance of the Daleks disc, as part of The Complete Davros Collection DVD box set, marked the first example of the range re-visiting a previous release (the new disc correcting mistakes with effects and the multi-angle feature, and upgrading the Photo Gallery feature, as well as adding new documentaries).

2008


The release of The Five Doctors is the second re-release of the series, the first being Remembrance of the Daleks, which was released in 2007. This made the original 1983 version of the story available on DVD for the first time. This year also saw Series 4 of Doctor released on DVD, firstly being sold in four parts before being sold as a boxset at the end of the year. Also, 2008 saw the first release of The Sarah Jane Adventures on DVD, which was broadcast the previous year, although it would not be released in region four till 2010. The second series of Torchwood was also released this year.

2009


The Special Edition release of Remembrance of the Daleks that was part of the 2007 Davros box set was released separately this year as an extra title above the number of regular releases. The Dalek War box set was originally planned as a late December release, but was brought forward to fill a hole created by the Torchwood: Children of Earth DVD release being brought closer to the broadcast date. Due to new recolourisation methods, Dalek War also saw the first release of episode 3 of Planet of the Daleks in colour. This year also saw Doctor Who Series 1-4 released on DVD, making it the first time more than one full series of Doctor Who has been released as part of a boxset.

2010


The Kamelion Tales DVD box set was originally scheduled for the January release slot, but was pushed back due to an administrative error. Its replacement, the Peladon Tales box set, had originally been planned for 2008, but was likewise held back until this year. Re-releases started on a larger scale with the Revisitations 1 boxset. The rights issues with the 1996 TV Movie were cleared and it was released on DVD for the first time in Regions 1 & 4. This year also saw the last of the Tenth Doctor's adventure being relased on DVD, as well as the first series of the Eleventh Doctor's. A limited edition version of the Season Five box set, a metal tin (BBCDVD3344), was released alongside the standard version.

2011


For 2011 2 entertain switched to unified release dates, meaning that the same Region 1, 2 & 4 titles are released ideally within two weeks of each other. Some releases of 2011 in R1 come in pairs: the new UK title is released simultaneously with a DVD in the backlog.

Future releases

 * The Sensorites - Commentary was recorded in January 2011.
 * The Ambassadors of Death - Originally announced for release in 2011 with The Sun Makers, The Ambassadors of Death has now been delayed to 2012 at the least due to ongoing restoration issues.
 * The Mind of Evil - Colour Recovery has been attempted on episodes two-six of this story (the first episode lacks the necessary 'chromadots', so would require some other means of colourisation), but a great deal of post-processing is needed before these episodes can be considered for release on DVD. Commentary and interviews have been recorded as of June 2010.
 * Colony in Space - Commentary was recorded in January 2011.
 * The Dæmons - In pre-production by October 2010, expected to be released on DVD in 2012.
 * The Ace Box - Expected to group two or all three of the remaining Sylvester McCoy stories together. Although not comfirmed, more than likely to contain Dragonfire, Ace's first story.
 * Planet of Giants - Currently being reviewed for release.

Re-releases
New versions of some of the stories originally released in 1999-2003 have been released or will be released in the near future. Barring a few exceptions (The Five Doctors, Remembrance of the Daleks and Spearhead from Space), such re-releases have been compiled to the Revisitations boxsets. According to Dan Hall, the commissioning editor of 2 Entertain's Classic Doctor Who range, all story re-releases have now been announced and no further are being planned. However, Hall has promised to reconsider revisiting Vengeance on Varos if he receives enough feedback encouraging to do so.

William Hartnell

 * The Reign of Terror - incomplete; nature of DVD release unknown
 * The Tenth Planet - incomplete; nature of DVD release unknown

Patrick Troughton

 * The Ice Warriors - incomplete; nature of DVD release unknown
 * The Krotons

Jon Pertwee

 * Invasion of the Dinosaurs - episode 1 exists in Black and White only
 * Death to the Daleks

Tom Baker

 * Terror of the Zygons
 * The Android Invasion
 * The Face of Evil
 * Nightmare of Eden
 * Shada - Unfinished, eventual form of presentation unknown. Will be released in a boxset with another story.

Sylvester McCoy

 * Dragonfire
 * The Happiness Patrol
 * The Greatest Show in the Galaxy