Returning the Colour to 1970's Doctor Who (Remastered)

Summary

The script recounts the history of colorizing Doctor Who episodes from the Pertwee era, which were initially broadcast in black and white due to tape wiping practices. It details the efforts of the BBC and the Doctor Who Restoration Team from 1978 onwards, using various techniques like re-colorizing, reverse standards conversion, and chroma dot recovery to restore episodes to their original color glory. The process involved sourcing Betamax tapes, using vision mixers, and digital technology, culminating in the release of restored episodes on DVD and Blu-ray.

Takeaways

• 📺 The BBC began searching for lost Doctor Who episodes in 1978, with the aim of restoring them to their original color format.
• 🎥 Initial discoveries included black and white 16mm film recordings, but the original two-inch quad master tapes were more difficult to locate.
• 🌐 In 1992, the Doctor Who Restoration Team started re-colorizing episodes using a technique that combined black and white film with color from Betamax copies.
• 🇺🇸 Betamax color copies primarily came from America and Canada, where Pertwee episodes were sold in color, unlike most countries broadcasting in black and white at the time.
• 🔍 The restoration process involved synchronizing black and white film with U-MATIC tape transfers to create a broadcast-quality color version.
• 🌈 The technique used involved separating the luminance (black and white) and chroma (color) components of the image to create a detailed color version.
• 🚫 Broadcast interference sometimes made colorization challenging, limiting the use of certain techniques to specific episodes.
• 🔄 Reverse Standards Conversion (RSC) was developed to restore color to episodes converted from PAL to NTSC, avoiding artifacts from direct conversion.
• 🎨 Manual colorization was used for specific episodes where other techniques were not feasible, involving a labor-intensive process of applying color to each frame.
• 💻 With the advent of digital technology, restoration projects started afresh using high-quality film scans and digital restoration techniques for better results.
• 📀 The release of Doctor Who on Blu-ray continues the restoration journey, indicating that the quest for preserving and enhancing these classic episodes is ongoing.

Q & A

What period of Doctor Who episodes were wiped between 1972 and 1976?

Many color episodes of Doctor Who were wiped between December 1972 and November 1976.

When did the BBC start searching for the exterminated Doctor Who material?

The BBC began the hunt for exterminated material in 1978.

What was the initial discovery that helped in the restoration of Doctor Who episodes?

The initial discovery was a black and white, 16mm film haul of all episode four seasons 7 to 10 original two-inch quad master tapes.

What was the main challenge in restoring the original color of the episodes?

The main challenge was finding the original two-inch quad master tapes, which were much harder to locate.

Which Doctor Who episodes were initially restored using the Betamax color copies from America or Canada?

The episodes that were initially restored using the Betamax color copies include the finale of season eight, Jon’s second season, 'The Daemons' and 'Terror of the Autons'.

What technique was used for the first time to re-colorize Doctor Who episodes?

The first technique used for re-colorizing was overlaying the chroma from the Betamax recording onto the black and white film print.

What is Reverse Standards Conversion (RSC) and which episodes were restored using this process?

Reverse Standards Conversion (RSC) is a process that reverses the original standards conversion process to avoid artifacts. It was used for episodes such as 'Inferno Parts 1-7', 'The Claws of Axos Parts 2-3', and others mentioned in the script.

What was the issue with episode five of 'The Ambassadors of Death' during the colorization process?

Due to broadcast interference which created rainbow banding on the image, episode five was the only episode able to be colorized using the initial technique.

How were the color tapes improved for the special edition releases of certain episodes?

The color tapes were improved by taking the chroma from the reverse standards convert tapes and pairing it with the black and white 16mm film recordings, making the tapes much sharper.

What was unique about the colorization process for 'The Mind of Evil' episode one?

Episode one of 'The Mind of Evil' was unique because a filter was applied to stop a cross-hatching pattern, known as Chroma Dots, from appearing, making it the only episode filmed with this filter.

What manual process was used for the colorization of 'The Mind of Evil' episode one?

Manual colorization was used for 'The Mind of Evil' episode one, which involved Stuart Humphreys colorizing the main keyframes and Peter Crocker colorizing the in-betweens, taking nearly two years to complete.

How was the color restored to 'The Time Monster' episode six, which was initially thought to undergo Reverse Standard Conversion?

The color was restored to 'The Time Monster' episode six by applying the chroma from the Canadian Betamax tapes and using the black and white two-inch PAL quad tape instead of a 16mm film recording, resulting in a cleaner luminance channel.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Doctor Who Restoration: The Quest for Colour Episodes

This paragraph outlines the BBC's efforts to restore colour to Doctor Who episodes from 1972 to 1976 that were initially broadcast in black and white or lost. The process began in 1978 and involved various techniques such as re-colourisation using Betamax tapes from America and Canada, where Pertwee episodes were sold in colour. The Doctor Who Restoration Team started in 1992, utilizing a vision mixer to overlay chroma from U-MATIC tapes onto black and white film prints. This method was applied to episodes like 'The Daemons' and 'Terror of the Autons'. The advent of digital technology allowed for high-quality film scans and restoration techniques, resulting in complete colour restoration for some episodes, while others like 'The Ambassadors of Death' required further discussion.

05:02

🔍 Advanced Restoration Techniques for Doctor Who

The second paragraph delves into more sophisticated restoration techniques used for Doctor Who episodes. It discusses the use of Reverse Standards Conversion (RSC) for episodes received from Canadian television stations, which involved a meticulous process to reverse the original standards conversion process and avoid artefacts. The paragraph also mentions the combination of chroma from reverse standards convert tapes with black and white 16mm film recordings to enhance image sharpness. The development of a new technique to extract colour from black and white film recordings by recognizing different chroma dot patterns is highlighted, along with manual colourisation efforts for specific episodes. The paragraph concludes with the mention of the ongoing restoration work with the release of Doctor Who on Blu-ray.

Keywords

💡Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series that follows the adventures of the Doctor, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, who travels through time and space in a ship known as the TARDIS. The series is known for its long run and its regeneration concept, allowing multiple actors to play the lead role. In the script, Doctor Who refers to the episodes and the restoration efforts for the series during the 1970s.

💡Wiped

In the context of the script, 'wiped' refers to the intentional erasure or accidental loss of television episodes, typically due to the reuse of videotapes or film reels. The BBC's practice of wiping episodes was common in the 1970s due to storage costs and the belief that older material had little reuse value.

💡Home media

Home media refers to the distribution of television shows and films on physical formats such as DVDs, Blu-rays, and videotapes. The script discusses the release of Doctor Who episodes on home media, which required the restoration of lost color information for a better viewing experience.

💡Exterminated material

This term is used metaphorically in the script to describe the lost or wiped episodes of Doctor Who that the BBC was searching for in their archives. It plays on the Doctor Who theme of exterminating threats, in this case, the threat of lost episodes.

💡PAL Colour

PAL Colour refers to the color encoding system used in the Phase Alternating Line (PAL) television standard, which is one of the main color TV standards in the world. The script mentions the effort to restore the original color of the Doctor Who episodes, which were originally broadcast in PAL color.

💡Re-Colourising

Re-Colourising is the process of adding color to black and white footage. In the script, it describes the work of the Doctor Who Restoration Team to restore color to the series' episodes using various techniques, including digital restoration and manual colorization.

💡Betamax

Betamax was a magnetic tape format for recording and playing back video, which was a popular home video format in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The script mentions Betamax as a source of color copies of Doctor Who episodes from America and Canada.

💡Luminance and Chroma

Luminance refers to the brightness or lightness of an image, while chroma refers to the color information. In the script, these terms are used to describe the components of a video signal that, when combined, create a full-color image. The restoration process involved separating and re-combining these elements to restore color to the episodes.

💡Reverse Standards Conversion (RSC)

Reverse Standards Conversion is a technique used to convert NTSC tapes back to PAL, reversing the process that was done when the tapes were initially converted for broadcast in North America. The script describes how RSC was used to restore color to several Doctor Who episodes.

💡Manual Colourisation

Manual Colourisation is the process of adding color to black and white footage by hand, frame by frame. The script mentions this technique as being used for certain episodes of Doctor Who, where no other restoration method was viable.

💡Chroma Dots

Chroma Dots refer to the cross-hatching pattern that appears on black and white film recordings made from a color screen. The script explains that recognizing and utilizing these patterns allowed for the restoration of color in certain Doctor Who episodes.

Highlights

Between 1972 and 1976, many color episodes of Doctor Who were wiped.

BBC began searching for exterminated Doctor Who material in 1978.

Hartnell and Troughton material was in poor condition, and much of Jon Pertwee's was also hit.

Initial discovery included black and white 16mm film of all episode 4 seasons 7 to 10.

Original 2-inch quad master tapes were harder to find.

Last Pertwee episode found in 1983, attention turned to restoring footage to PAL color.

Doctor Who Restoration Team began re-colorizing in 1992 using surviving black and white film and Betamax color copies.

Betamax color copies came from America or Canada, where Pertwee episodes were sold in color.

Chroma from Betamax was overlaid onto black and white film to create broadcast quality color version of The Daemons.

Same process used for Terror of the Autons, The Silurians and Episode 5 of The Ambassadors of Death.

Due to broadcast interference, only Episode 5 could be colorized using this technique.

With DVD and digital tech, projects were restarted using high quality film scans and restoration techniques.

The Daemons and Terror of the Autons were fully restored in color.

In 1979, Sue Malden received NTSC tapes from Canada, enabling reverse standards conversion.

Reverse Standards Conversion (RSC) used for several Pertwee episodes.

For special editions, chroma from RSC tapes combined with black and white film for sharper image.

Manual colorization commissioned for Planet of the Daleks Episode 3, alongside new technique to restore color from black and white film.

Chroma Dots technique used to bring back color by recognizing patterns in black and white film.

Manual colorization by Stuart Humphreys and Peter Crocker took 2 years for The Mind of Evil Episode 1.

Black and white PAL quad tape of Time Monster Episode 6 found in 1987, enabling cleaner restoration.

With Mind of Evil DVD release, last Pertwee episode requiring re-colorization was released.

Restoration continues with Doctor Who on Blu-ray.

Transcripts

Between December 1972 and November

1976, many colour episodes of Doctor Who were being wiped.

When it came time to release these fabled stories on home

media, the film and videotape library at the BBC began the hunt

for exterminated material in 1978.

They determined that although Hartnell and Troughton material was in

poor condition, much of Jon Pertwee zero had been hit as well.

An initial discovery heralded a black and white,

16mm film haul of all episode four seasons 7 to 10 original

two inch quad master tapes, however, were much harder to find.

In 1983, when the last Pertwee episode was found.

Attention then turned to the possibility of returning the footage

to the original condition, namely PAL Colour.

In 1992, the Doctor Who Restoration Team began work on Re-Colourising,

the finale of season eight, Jon’s Second season

the demons is the basics of this first technique was using the surviving

black and white film recording on the Betamax low quality

colour copy and placing the colour on top of the black and white film.

The Betamax colour copies came from America or Canada,

as that was the main place where Pertwee episodes

were sold in colour, as most countries during the early seventies

still only broadcast in black and white.

With careful, perfectly timed communication to various American fans,

the episodes could be recorded in no quality but

full colour and easily transferable to U-MATIC tape.

In a component video signal, there are two parts of the image:

the luminance,

which shows the light

and dark of the image, which is in black and white,

and the chroma, which is the low quality colour of the image.

These two parts combined make a full colour and detailed image.

Using this fact, the black and white film recording was played back simultaneously

with the U-MATIC tape transfer of the American Betamax recording.

Using a vision mixer, the Chroma of the Betamax

recording was over right onto the black and white film print creating

and at the time broadcast quality colour version of The Daemons

broadcast for the first time in the UK since Christmas 1971.

This same process was done for Terror of the Autons,

The Silurians and Episode five of The Ambassadors of Death.

Due to broadcast interference, which created

rainbow banding on the broadcast image, Episode five

was the only episode able to be colourised using this technique.

By the time the DVD range came around and digital technology replaced analogue,

these three projects were essentially started from scratch using high quality

film scans and digital restoration techniques to restore

the film and video tapes to the best they could look.

The Daemons and Terror of the Autons were complete in colour.

But what about The Ambassadors Of Death?

Well, we'll talk about that later.

In 1979, Sue Malden received a shipment from Canadian television stations

containing standard converted NTSC,

two inch quad tapes of various Pertwee episodes.

In a bit to avoid artefacts creeping in by simply standards

converting these back to PAL, The Restoration Team managed to perfect

a conversion process that reversed the original standards conversion process.

This is known as Reverse Standards Conversion or RSC.

This process was used for Inferno Parts 1-7, The Claws of Axos Parts 2-3,

Colony In Space Parts 1-6, The Curse Of Peladon Parts 1-4, The Sea

Devils Parts 1-3, The Mutants Parts 1 and 2 and The Time Monster Parts 1-5.

For the special edition release of Inferno and The Claws of Axos,

and also the release of Colony In Space on the Season 8 collection boxset,

a technique that used elements from the prior techniques wass used:

taking the chroma from the reverse standards convert tapes

and using the black and white 16mm film recordings.

The colour tapes could be paired with a black white film

making the slightly fuzzy tapes much sharper.

When it came time to release Planet of the Daleks on DVD.

A manual Colourisation was commissioned for episode three.

But at the time, a new, quite frankly, magical technique to bring back

colour from the black and white film recordings was being developed.

When these film recordings were taken,

it was done using a black and white film camera, filming a colour screen.

For the recording of The Mind of Evil.

Episode One, a filter was applied to stop a

cross-hatching pattern, appearing from the chroma signal.

This pattern became known as the Chroma Dots.

This was the only episode of Doctor Who to be filmed with this filter.

Each colour would have a different pattern,

so programming a computer programme to recognise the different patterns

and apply the colour to the image would be a logical option.

Through a lot of trial and error

and manual intervention, the colour could be brought back.

Combining this with the manual colourisation specifically

the skin tones, the resultant episode is a brilliant result.

The other episodes, using this technique were the Ambassadors of Death Episode two,

three, four, six and seven, The Mind of Evil Episodes

2 to 6 and Episode One of The Invasion of the Dinosaurs.

Episode One of Invasion of the Dinosaurs lacked the blue chroma dots,

so the episode’s colourisation was not as good as others.

So that's why it's listed as a special feature.

So back to part one of The Mind of Evil now.

The only option for this episode was Manual Colourisation.

This was done by Stuart Humphreys and Peter Crocker.

This took nearly two years from Colourising the first frame to the last.

Stuart Colourised the main keyframes and Peter Colourised the in-betweens.

Initially, all six episodes of The Time Monster were going to be Reverse

Standard Converted like most episodes of Season 9.

But in 1987, a black and white, two inch PAL quad

tape of episode six was found at the BBC.

This allowed the restoration team a new avenue of restoring colour

to an episode by applying the chroma from the Canadian Betamax tapes

and using the black and white two inch quad tape instead of a 16mm film

recording, a much cleaner luminance channel was obtained.

This episode is almost indistinguishable from the original 2-inch mastertape.

With the

release of The

Mind of Evil on DVD, the last episode of Jon Pertwee’s Doctor

Who tenure to require Re-Colourisation was released.

But now, with the release of Doctor Who on Blu-ray, the restoration

adventure still continues.