All the stories from The Smugglers through to The Moonbase – plus the recent mini-documentary Dance of the Daleks…

With the majority of these episodes missing from the BBC Archives, the soundtracks are all that remain of this critical period in Doctor Who history, as William Hartnell departed and Patrick Troughton took over as the Time Lord. With narrations either by Anneke Wills or Frazer Hines, these may not be what total purists want, but they bring the stories to life in a way the soundtracks on their own simply can’t.

All the stories in this collection have been released before – in the case of The Tenth Planet and The Power of the Daleks in other box sets – so what’s there for longstanding fans? A bonus disc, added to The Underwater Menace, contains the fascinating documentary Dance of the Daleks which was originally broadcast as part of the 20 Minutes strand during the broadcast of the Doctor Who Prom, with Mark Ayres the primary guide to the music from the classic show. The clips from the scores are familiar but still fun to hear, and there’s quite a bit of insight into the process (and the costs) involved.

The camera scripts for each episode are also on the extras disc, while there’s also a new interview with Anneke Wills covering all the stories in the set. .

Verdict: If you’ve not got these stories already then this collection is invaluable. 8/10

Paul Simpson

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