In a recent development, two beloved Doctor Who serials from the Tom Baker era have been taken off BBC iPlayer. The affected stories, "Terror of the Zygons" and "The Seeds of Doom," were part of the show's 13th season and originally aired in 1975 and 1976.
Both serials featured Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor alongside Elisabeth Sladen as his companion, Sarah Jane Smith. Robert Banks Stewart penned the scripts, while Douglas Camfield directed these classic episodes.
The removal came to light when fans noticed an expiration date of November 1st on the iPlayer listings for these serials. When approached for comment, the BBC emphasized the vast collection of Doctor Who content still available on the platform, stating that the Whoniverse on iPlayer contains over 800 hours of programming.
This development comes after the BBC's ambitious initiative last year to make a comprehensive collection of Doctor Who episodes available on iPlayer as part of the show's 60th anniversary celebrations. This move was strongly supported by current showrunner Russell T Davies.
While the iPlayer collection includes a wide range of content from both classic and modern eras of Doctor Who, along with spin-off series like Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, some notable absences remain. The most prominent omission is "An Unearthly Child," the very first Doctor Who serial that introduced William Hartnell as the First Doctor.
As Doctor Who fans process this news, they can look forward to the upcoming Christmas special, "Joy to the World." Written by former showrunner Steven Moffat, it will star Ncuti Gatwa and Nicola Coughlan, promising new adventures in the ever-expanding Whoniverse.