'Doctor Who' Goes Savage For Next Reconstructed Story
Feast upon Steven Taylor’s final story once again after decades of being lost this spring
It certainly is a time for classic Doctor Who. Full serials are being uploaded to a dedicated YouTube channel for greater accessibility, major stories are being colorized and also more digestible for those who prefer it that way, and the animated reconstructions of lost stories are powering on. This time, it’s another First Doctor story, the four-part The Savages, which will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in spring 2025, and is already available for pre-order.
A season 3 serial originally broadcast between May and June 1966, The Savages is just two after The Celestial Toymaker, the previous most recent animated reconstruction. While that story took some thematic liberties with the art style, The Savages is back to basics, with the familiar refined art style, but not too basic since it’s colorized. This three-disc release will include all four 25-minute episodes animated in both color and in black and white, and contains exclusive bonus features. The story sees the Doctor (played by William Hartnell) and companions, Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) and Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane), arrive on an unnamed planet where they encounter two distinct people - the Elders and the Savages. They soon discover the Elders drain the primitive Savages for their life source to remain young and powerful forever. It is in fact the final story as a regular for Purves as Steven.
Paul Hembury, who serves as Executive Producer, remarked: “We have a wonderful team of creators who work together to bring these lost Doctor Who stories back to life through animation.”
For a brief catch-up of classic Doctor Who on YouTube, both channels have the Third Doctor’s season 11 story Invasion of the Dinosaurs, while Classic has also added the Fourth Doctor’s season 18 story Warriors’ Gate, and the Sixth Doctor season 22 story Vengeance on Varos.
Source: Doctor Who