"It feels like a show which has kind of lost its spirit a bit... I could see in a different timeline where Doctor Who did not regenerate into Patrick Troughton, and this was the tired back end of a format." 

This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean dive into the recent recovery (and release on BBC iPlayer/YouTube) of two episodes from the legendary 1965 epic, The Daleks’ Master Plan. While the "discovery" of episodes 1 and 3 has sent shockwaves through the fandom, our hosts find themselves at odds over whether this "lost" footage is a masterpiece or a sign of a format running out of steam...

"The Nightmare Begins" and "Devil’s Planet" were found, restored, and released on Good Friday 2026 thanks to the efforts of Film is Fabulous. 

On the one hand, Christian is enthusiastic, and loved watching the episodes. On the other, James was intrigued from an artistic point of view, but felt that the recovered installments don't really add anything to The Daleks' Master Plan.

So, it's a discussion about the importance of these finds, and a look at the poor characterization -- in the script -- for one of the show's most interesting early characters, Katarina. Even if the episodes are "bland television" to some, how much does the recovery of characters like Katarina and Bret Vyon (Nicholas Courtney's first appearance) matter to Doctor Who's history?

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