8. The Celestial Toymaker (1966, 3 Out Of 4 Missing)
This is by no means a great narrative episode. When trapped in the world of the mysterious Toymaker. Steven and Dodo have to play all sorts of possibly deadly games in order to save their skins while William Hartnell is on holiday, thus rendering the Doctor invisible and mute. And thats pretty much it. The fascination with this story comes from the main villain. The Toymaker is an all-powerful godlike being, a creator of his own realm and chief-executive master of puppets. Aptly played by the great Michael Gough, the Toymaker isnt really evil. Hes just bored out of his mind, because what single deity wouldnt be? Even though the Doctor is said to have met him before, fans dont find out anything about his origins or purpose. Its this very type of mystery that makes the First Doctors era so great. Had this story been done later, the Toymaker would have instantly been revealed as some kind of alien and given a CV filled with planet of origin, special powers and weaknesses (indeed, he was later revealed to be of the Guardian race in a BBC book). However, while this is food for thought provided by the concept, the episode itself seems to be a visual romp that one cant really enjoy because of its missing status. The Toymakers realm is designed like a funhouse and the games Steven and Dodo have to play are quite physical, thus the surviving stills and audio don't really do the episode its complete justice. The Celestial Toymaker marks the shows first delve into the realm of science-fantasy, a feat that was much better managed by the far superior The Mind Robber. So, while this might have been a visual milestone for Doctor Who, fans cant really judge it properly until they've actually see it. That is, if they ever do.