Animations for the missing parts are ideal but a mixed bag style-wise. I went with the audio soundtracks fitting in recovered episodes where I could. I think the original audio is probably the purest form because it’s as close to the original as possible.
12 Likes
I looooove the audio soundtracks. The narration interspliced with the original dialogue has the cadence of Critical Role (D&D gameplay show for anyone who doesn’t know) so it was super easy to get into for me. I’ve been listening to them on the way home from work to the train station and it’s a really nice way to unwind as I walk ^.^
13 Likes
My first exposure to The Daleks Masterplan was through the novelisations. I really enjoyed them at the time and I remember they had good reviews as well. So, if you have access to the audiobook versions they’re definitely worth a listen.
My personal preference is to listen to original soundtrack plus narration for the missing episodes of the story, watching the existing episodes at the appropriate points. I’ve always struggled a bit with recons so I prefer to stick with audio if there’s no animation available.
I’d love to have an animated version of Daleks Masterplan as it’s one of my favourite stories. Given the number of episodes they’d have to animate, I think it might be a while.
13 Likes
Yeah, the fact that the animations are now trying to do something new is something I actively dislike. I wouldn’t mind them if they also had animations that tried to capture the original vibe of the story entirely, like the early ones did, but I don’t love making a whole new thing to replace it. It’s a similar reason I’m very frustrated by the cut scene from The Macra Terror animation. Once you’ve done that, it’s no longer the same story, and if (as was said) it was solely for animation budget reasons, then in my opinion they simply shouldn’t have animated that story unless they had the budget to do it in its entirety.
12 Likes
Not trying to be the anti-DispersalPhase this morning but I thoroughly disagree with this.
There is no way the animations can recreate the performances of live action (not without a Disney or Pixar-style budget) so they will never really capture the original vibe. I don’t think it was even something the early ones did. The Reign of Terror animation doesn’t capture the vibe of that story at all what with all the bizarre close ups and the stark black and white contrast.
The Celestial Toymaker is absolutely wonderful and a prime example of what this format can do. For me, the animations are more akin to the novelisations - taking the story and adapting it for a different medium. I’ve enjoyed all that I’ve seen (and I’ve got a lot of the Troughtons still to watch).
If you want something as close to the original as possible - well, that’s what the reconstructions are for. Those are ‘unadulterated’ and better reflect the original production (especially the ones where telesnaps are available).
And as fans we are so lucky - these releases don’t just have the animation but will have a black and white and colour (in a lot of cases) as well as the photo reconstructions - with and without narration, and any existing footage cleaned up and presented in the best possible condition.
It’s simply amazing how much we are indulged.
14 Likes
I completely agree - the plethora of choices we have today is astounding! When I first watched the missing stories/episodes, I had to scour the internet for whatever I could find, which was mostly the early recons, as I only owned a handful of DVDs at that time. When I began my last rewatch (prior to this current one) in early 2017, I was able to finally see some of the early animations from 2006 - 2014 (The Invasion, The Tenth Planet, The Reign of Terror, etc.), and I recall enjoying them about as much as the recons, perhaps a bit more. Fast forward to 2025, and I’m lucky enough to now own all the missing stories audios with the linking narration, as well as nearly all of the newer animations (I don’t have The Celestial Toymaker, and The Savages isn’t out yet in the U.S.), so this time around I plan to experience these stories in entirely different ways. Ultimately, though, I would encourage sampling each format to see what works for you.
8 Likes
I’ve got these stories left to do from Classic Who, then I’ll be done. What would people recommend for these like recons etc? I know there’s some YouTube thing for DMP I believe? I badly need to do this one because its referenced so much in lots of BF audios, including the forthcoming new Benny series.
6 Likes
I’ve been told the audios are a good way to do the missing episodes
5 Likes
I’ve done a few of the audios, they were okay!
4 Likes
I plan to do them with narrated soundtracks with recons
5 Likes
So Marco Polo and massacre loose canon 39 and 40 are highest recommended made in the 2010s there probs the highest quality loose canon I have scene
The crusade depends on what you have access too lost in time box set has both eps and the soundtrack of the lost eps with linking narration by William Russell that was the way i experienced it for the first time and worked well
6 Likes
For myth makers and smugglers I would also say loose canon is the way to go myth makers definitely as I found the recon quite impressive for what they had available
And the smugglers the recon is fine but I struggled personally with what exactly was going on in the sound track
5 Likes
And DMP try n find Josh snares DMP recon as I heard that’s amazing if you can’t find that the loose canon one is just as good but is getting more and more dated by the year as it came out in the 00s
6 Likes
I’m not sure if the Collection Season 2 has a recon or just audio for the missing episodes of the Crusade.
2 Likes
Otherwise, I’d say go audio.
2 Likes
My first time through was with the recons that were out at the time, and those were pretty good. Second time was with newer recons (if those were available), and animation for ‘The Invasion,’ and I think I enjoyed the advances slightly more. By my third watch of the '60s stories in the 2010s, more had been animated, so I watched those along with, again, the newer recons, and one thing I noticed as far as personal taste is concerned is that the animations were about as good as the recons - occasionally slightly better, other times not quite as good. This time through I’m doing just the audio with linking narration - William Russell for ‘Marco Polo’ and Carole Ann Ford for ‘The Reign of Terror’ - keeping my eyes closed and engaging in a theatre of the mind experience; and I have to say that this has been my favourite way to experience the missing episodes yet, often resulting in a score increase of a point or two in my ratings.
So that was a really roundabout way of saying - audio is best, at least for me. 
Or maybe the animation for ‘The Invasion’ was my third watch…so hard to remember!
7 Likes
Marco Polo: Recon or narrated Audio
The Crusade: Honestly if you can find the narrated Link from Russel do that and the surviving Episodes, unless you want to do the whole Story then two Recon Episodes won’t hurt
The Myth Makers: Recon, the Audio of that one is a rough one and the narrated Audio are usually longer than a Recon if I am not mistaken
DMP: Like Rock said, the Josh Snares Version is really good, but it does have the Christmas Episode missing, if I recall correctly. Pretty sure they have a Playlist for all their DMP Episodes made!
The Massacre: Recon or narrated Audio
The Smugglers (my beloved): I recommend the Recon since a few Scenes are fully in tact!
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy your last 60s Adventures!!
7 Likes
It has a pretty much every possible way you could view the story but it all depends on if Jamie owns that one 
4 Likes
I am aware this is an old thread now, but I’ll just say I actually much prefer the Loose Cannon recons to the animations.
For me the animations just didn’t feel real, whereas I could watch the telesnaps from the recons and picture together in my mind what it would have looked like with the original actors - it was a bit like reading a storybook with pictures.
What I usually did when I watched the missing episodes was have the recon full screen but also sync the animation up roughly with it and have it in a small popout window in the corner just in case I missed anything major from the recon 
9 Likes
Likewise! I didn’t even get through an entire animation, so maybe if I stuck it out longer I’d adjust/the style would grow on me, but it just doesn’t feel right to my brain.
5 Likes