It's been a confusing couple of days for Doctor Who fans. Yesterday, The Mirror reported that all 106 missing episodes were uncovered in Ethiopia. I've already explained why that is a bit of a nonsense here, but that was only the beginning of the madness.
In the wake of The Mirror's non-story, which was basically a rehash of a rumour that has been doing the rounds all year, only to be debunked at every turn, the Radio Times reported last night that, yes, episodes had been found, and two of them - both starring Pat Troughton - would be for sale on Wednesday for digital devices. Then The Mirror mentioned a BBC Press Conference on Tuesday that would unveil the whole story.
Following this, various Who alumni took to Twitter with cryptic comments, including Mark Gatiss tweeting "Oh my giddy aunt" and Torchwood scribe James Moran saying "Best 50th Anniversary gift ever!"
It's all starting to look rather exciting, isn't it...?
Then the Radio Times made some careful edits to their wording,and The Mirror's talk of a press conference on Tuesday was scrapped in favour of a BBC statement that would "probably" happen later this week [putting any announcement after the missing episodes were supposed to be on sale], and it all descended back into the same sort of "we know something will happen eventually" non-information that has plagued missing episode speculation for decades.
Then this happened on the Facebook page of uber-fan-slash-professional-tantrum Ian Levine, in a conversation with DWAS-founder Jan Vincent-Rudzki and Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spillsbury about the delay of the alleged press conference:
Jan Vincent-Rudzki: Yes, a delay because certain people and sites have no idea what discretion means...
Ian Levine: I am sorry, jan, but I don't think that excuses it. The BBC are just screwing with us for a joke.
Jan Vincent-Rudzki: Actually Ian, I think it's you screwing up their plans, so they've had to have a rethink. If I was arranging an event and then the details were being splashed and discussed on the Internet I would say, "OK, let's start again and keep control".
Your current Twitter blasts are just offensive and childish and aren't in the slightest bit constructive or useful
Ian Levine: ME ??????? ME ?????????? I have kept quiet for THREE BLOODY YEARS and you accuse ME of screwing up their plans. In what Bizarro World alternate reality did I just find myself ??
Tom Spilsbury: Three years? Ian couldn't keep anything under wraps for three minutes. He's lost a lot of friends over his behaviour, I'm sorry to say.
Ian Levine: When you take stock of what's happened, Tom, I hope you will be man enough to apologise to me for the untruth in what you have said here.
Tom Spilsbury: I won't apologise to you Ian, because you promise to keep quiet, and then immediately break those promises. You say you have 'kept quiet', but you simply haven't. That's the untruth, right there. You've lost my respect, and that makes me feel sad.
Ian Levine: I kept quiet until it's plastered all over the press. You're so scared of upsetting anybody that you're letting them make fools of us. HOW MANY TIMES HAS THIS ANNOUNCEMENT NOW BEEN POSTPONED, TOM ???????
Tom Spilsbury: Probably a fair few more times if you keep shouting, Ian.
Ian Levine: I have ceased to care. I have gotten my hopes up one too many times to be let down by whims and tantrums.
Ian Levine: It's because we've been given a dangling carrot for THREE LONG YEARS and told not to tell anyone. THREE YEARS OF THIS. Sick of it. Sick to the back teeth of it.
Tom Spilsbury: I'm not at Ian's throat, I just want him to calm down for all our sakes.
Jan Vincent-Rudzki: This is not totally Ian's fault, at all,but I do think he is s major contributor. Speaking as a non-professional fan. ..
Tom Spilsbury: All I'll say is you don't put out a fire by pouring more petrol on it.
Everyone's reaction to that conversation, in one Patface
This definitely indicates that Spilsbury and Levine know that there is something to be announced.
Taking all these little things into account, we're starting to see a picture being painted of a lot of people in the know who were sworn to silence, and have now started to comment about it thinking that the false story in The Mirror meant that the embargo had been broken (and their sudden outbursts in turn pushing the truth even further away).
It's well worth bearing in mind that this could all be a bunch of people just as excited as we are, going off of the same information that we have, and drawing similar conclusions to us with no basis in fact.
Because you know who hasn't said a single thing about this yet?
The BBC.
And it's well-worth noting that there's still not a single scrap of evidence that this so-called BBC press conference even ever existed.
But, really, it is starting to sound like something might be out there...
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