February 11, 2025
The First Doctor adventure and farewell outing for companion Steven Taylor gets a home release in 2025.
The Savages, a four-part adventure from the Whoniverse, will be released as an animation on DVD and Blu-ray in spring, 2025. This First Doctor story, originally broadcast between May and June 1966, will also be available as a limited edition Blu-ray steelbook.
The Savages is due for release 24th March 2025, pre-order from Amazon (on steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray [US]), HMV (on steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray), Rarewaves (on steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray) and Zavvi (on steelbook and Blu-ray).
In The Savages, the Doctor (William Hartnell) and his travelling companions, Steven (Peter Purves) and Dodo (Jackie Lane), arrive on an unnamed planet where they encounter two distinct people - the Elders and the Savages. They soon discover the Elders are the evil, draining the primitive Savages for their life source to remain young and powerful forever.
This story marks the final regular appearance of Purves as Steven.
As the original master recordings are lost, due to the BBC’s historic policy of wiping content after transmission*, BBC Studios has used the original audio of all four episodes and worked with a team of animators to bring back this long lost story for fans.
*To find out why some Doctor Who episodes are missing, click here.
This three-disc release will include all four 25-minutes animated episodes in both colour and in black and white, as well as a host of exclusive bonus features:
- Alternative black and white presentation of all four episodes
- Episode reconstructions of all four episodes, featuring material from the original 1966 production. Available with optional audio description from Peter Purves
- Cast/crew audio commentaries presented by Toby Hadoke. With actors Kay Patrick (Flower) and the late Robert Sidaway (Avon) on episodes 1 and 2 and with Peter Purves (Steven) and studio floor assistant, Julian Aston on episodes 3 and 4
- Remembering/Forgetting The Savages - A new 100-minute documentary on the making of the original 1966 production of The Savages. Directed by Stuart Denman and presented by Toby Hadoke.
- Innes Lloyd - The Producer - New 90-minute documentary on the life of Doctor Who producer, Innes Lloyd. Directed by Charles Norton and narrated by Jane Asher.
- Surviving Footage Compilation - Short film extracts from the otherwise lost episodes 1, 3 and 4.
- 1968 BBC training film, featuring The Savages director, Christopher Barry.
- Photo Gallery
- Animation Gallery
- ROM Content
Paul Hembury, Executive Producer, commented: “We have a wonderful team of creators who work together to bring these lost Doctor Who stories back to life through animation.”
The Savages is due for release 24th March 2025, pre-order from Amazon (on steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray [US]), HMV (on steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray), Rarewaves (on steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray) and Zavvi (on steelbook and Blu-ray).
