User:Bongolium500/The Faceless Ones (TV story)/Missing status

, episodes 2, 4, 5 and 6 of The Faceless Ones are among the 97 missing episodes of Doctor Who.

Episode junking
The master tapes for episodes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 were errased on 21 July 1969 with episode 5 following on 22 September. However, episode 1 continued to exist in the BBC Archives in a different format, presumably after having been returned from overseas.

Certainly, the NZBC in New Zealand returned their (unaired and hence uncensored) 16mm copies of each episode back to the BBC in July 1970. 1974 then saw BBC Enterprises at Villiers House junk The Faceless Ones film prints as part of their routine junking of episodes returned from overseas. 4 June 1975 saw the return of each episode from the ABC in Australia which were later scheduled for destruction as was routine. It is possible that episode 3 escaped being junked here, hence its eventual discovery.

Soundtrack recording and recovery
Soundtracks for all 6 episodes survive, the best quality copies being recorded off-air by Graham Strong. These were recorded directly off the TV and so are of very high quality.

more to be added

Episode recovery
Episode 1 was found by Sue Malden (then BBC Archive Selector) when on a visit to BBC Enterprises. The episode was included in a list of surviving episodes created in November 1976 in order to assertain which episodes could be used to source clips for a docummentary in the Lively Arts series. It was later included in the list produced by an audit in 1977.

Telesnaps
to be added

Other surviving material
to be added

Alternate ways to experience the story
A number alternate ways to experience this story in fullen released over the years. These range in completeness/comprehensiveness and accuracy to the original broadcast.