10 Doctor Who Episodes That Were Never Made

Following Doctor Who's cancellation in 1989, the BBC instead turned to another form of media to carry on the Doctor's adventures - animation.

Looking to animation studio Nelvana, who had created Star Wars: Droids, Ewoks, and other TV shows based on popular franchises, the BBC hoped to reboot Doctor Who for younger audiences. Featuring the return of the Daleks, Cybermen, K-9, and centred around a brand new Doctor, the show would be a cost-cutting attempt at keeping hold of the Doctor Who brand.

By 1990, plans were underway for the Canadian animation company to reimagine and rejuvenate the show. Undecided who would voice the title character, Nelvana designed various versions of their Doctor. Christopher Lloyd and Jeff Goldblum were the models for several designs, with Sean Connery's face being borrowed for their cyborg version of the Master.

Additional concepts, storyboards, and even scripts were produced, all detailing the animation company's ambitious plans. The creatives at Nelvana were keen to include space battles, massive invasions, and bizarre alien planets - all without the budgetary constraints of the live-action series. Fuelled by imagination, and nearly thirty years of source material, this would be creative gold.

The show, disappointingly, never came to be. Having been offered the same show for a lower price elsewhere, the BBC cancelled the project at Nelvana and took their brand with them. Despite the BBC's decision, no animated show surfaced in the 90s, and it wasn't until 2003's Scream of the Shalka and Shada flash webcasts that Doctor Who actually received the animated treatment.