The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond
The Doctors (sometimes known by its subtitle, 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond) was a 1995 documentary produced by BBV Productions. It was a 65-minute retrospective on the entire history of Doctor Who from 1963 to 1995. In its concluding chapter, it made reference to a then-almost-greenlit project that would become the 1996 Paul McGann telemovie. Although completely unofficial, it nevertheless included interviews with many famous Doctor Who personalities still alive in 1995. It was partially compiled from previous interviews that had been conducted by Bill Baggs and his associates.
It was notable for featuring home movies of the filming of several Doctor Who serials, and included the debut of some color footage of a few missing episodes from the 1960s. It also included large portions of what was likely John Nathan-Turner's longest filmed interview about Doctor Who before his death. Furthermore, it offered rare interviews with two members of the production team of The Dark Dimension — a 1993 project that would have revived Doctor Who instead of the 1996 tele-film, had it not been abandoned.
Visual style
Because the producers had no relationship to the British Broadcasting Corporation, they were unable to use any footage from Doctor Who, and were limited to use of only production and advertising stills. Thus, the original interviews which form the basis of the documentary are interspliced with home movies made of the filming of certain episodes of Doctor Who. As a result, the documentary was, at the time of its release, famous for being the first home of some never-before-seen footage, particularly involving the filming of The Smugglers and The Abominable Snowmen, two serials with missing episodes.
