March 13, 2026
Exterminate the dupes!
Two long-lost episodes of 'Doctor Who' have been found
Fans cheer, dupe police pounce as BBC digs up 2 lost classics
TLDR: Two lost 1965 Doctor Who episodes were found and restored for streaming, thrilling fans while reigniting anger over the BBC’s old tape-wiping. The loudest early comment called the news a duplicate, kicking off meta-drama alongside debates about paywalls, missing parts, and who’s hoarding the rest.
Two long-lost 1965 “Doctor Who” episodes — “The Nightmare Begins” and “Devil’s Planet,” starring the very first Doctor, William Hartnell, and featuring the Daleks — have been unearthed in a late collector’s stash and restored for streaming next month. That’s the wholesome part. The community reaction? Pure chaos. The top early vibe on Hacker News was meta: the first loud reply was literally “Dupe from ten hours ago”, setting the stage for the dupe police vs let-people-be-happy showdown.
Fans across forums are buzzing between joy and rage. Joy, because only nine episodes have surfaced since 2013, and this is like sci‑fi archaeology. Rage, because the BBC trashed so many tapes back in the day — a recurring grievance resurfacing with gusto. The meme-lords went to work fast: Daleks yelling “Exterminate!” at film reels, jokes about the BBC “regenerating” its mistakes, and quips about collectors hoarding the rest like Time Lord treasure. There’s also side-eye at a streaming-only release: some are thrilled to finally watch; others grumble about paywalls and the fact that this 12-part story is still full of holes. In short: two episodes back, 95 still missing, and the comments are time-traveling between celebration and snark — very Doctor, very internet.
Key Points
- •Two previously lost Doctor Who episodes from 1965—“The Nightmare Begins” and “Devil’s Planet”—have been found by the charity Film is Fabulous!.
- •The episodes were discovered in film cans among a deceased collector’s possessions, restored by BBC archivists, and will stream next month.
- •The find reduces the number of missing Doctor Who episodes to 95 and is the first recovery since nine were found in Nigeria in 2013.
- •The recovered installments feature William Hartnell and are part of a 12-part storyline, much of which remains missing; actor Peter Purves welcomed the find.
- •Historic archival practices by U.K. broadcasters led to many early episodes being lost; preservationists hope more missing installments will surface.