BBC Strike Killed a Douglas Adams Doctor Who Story—Then It Took 36 Years to Finish
Douglas Adams and the exterminated Doctor Who adventure
In 1979, Doctor Who filmed 'Shada' in Cambridge, written by Douglas Adams. A BBC strike halted studio work, leaving the story unfinished for decades. Tom Baker struggled with punting and fell into the Cam. In 2017, Baker and Lalla Ward returned to record missing lines, and the lost adventure was finally released with new animation.
We did the recording in the morning and then come lunch time we all went off. We came back and all the studio doors were locked and chained because of the strike.
- sien
The wikipedia entry is well worth a read for anyone interested in this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shada_(Doctor_Who)
The tie in between Shada and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective agency is worth noting.
- mapontosevenths
The unfinished original is one of my favorites, and the 2017 animated version is also wonderful.
I feel like the animated version filled in gaps I hadn't even realized were there in the old one that just had the voice overs.
If you like classic who, Adams, or both, and haven't seen it buy the blu-ray!
- spiralpolitik
There have also been a couple of audio versions over the years (one with Paul McGann).
There was also a partial BBC attempt in late 80s/90s that was released on VHS with Tom Baker narrating the missing scenes.
- hedora
I recently discovered his text adventure bureaucracy.
- philipallstar
Who exterminated the 2026 Christmas special[0]?