It’s been 53 years since the first episode of Doctor Who aired on television, and its vast history since then has given both fans and BBC quite a challenge in preserving said history.

One of the biggest challenges has been re-releasing the earlier seasons of the Doctor’s adventures, given that many of these early episodes were not initially preserved due to the temporary nature of television and lack of any home media devices at the time of their airing. Many episodes have been recovered through various means, but others chapters are still missing from the restored catalog. One very important chapter that has been lost until now is finding a way to resurface for fans of the Doctor.

The Power of the Daleks serial aired its six episodes in November and December of 1966. It was the first episodes to star Patrick Troughton as The Second incarnation of the Doctor, and thus were the first to detail the process of regeneration that the Doctor can exhibit.  While no preservation of the video components of these episodes have yet to be found, audio recordings have existed and even been released several times for purchase over the years on casette and CD. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the airing of these original episodes, BBC has created animated visuals to pair with these original audio recordings so that newer fans of Doctor Who can experience these episodes like viewers in 1966 did.

These animated episodes will be released for sale on the BBC Store today (November 5th), which sadly is only available for UK residents, but viewers everywhere will still be able to watch a three minute preview of the episode by tweeting #PowerOfTheDaleks to unlock the sneak peak via the @BBCStore Twitter account. The full special will be coming to BBC America on 11/19.

https://twitter.com/BBCStore/status/794596789236076545

I’ve only been watching Doctor Who since the newest episodes have been available for streaming, and a big reason why I have not watched many of the older episodes is the knowledge that there are these gaps in the history lost. Seeing BBC take efforts to preserve these episodes now, one way or another, is definitely a welcome relief. What do you guys think? Will you watch the 3-minute preview? Will you watch the full special on BBC America later this month? Let us know in the comments below!

In other Doctor Who news, did you know BBC has been celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Cybermen? And he’s not THE Doctor, but Doctor Strange is out in theaters this week. You should watch this video he made for Jimmy Kimmel Live. Read about all these stories and future updates on Doctor Who here on Don’t Feed the Gamers!