‘Doctor Who’s Greatest 4-Part Adventure Just Got a Revival on Streaming

Published Oct 8, 2026, 4:23 PM EDT

Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with extensive experience. Collier, or "CJ" to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy, and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. With his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he's tackled a wide variety of articles.

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Doctor Who might be in a state of creative limbo, but that doesn't mean that fans can't revisit the series. Thanks to a deal with AMC+, the 2005 revival of Doctor Who is available to stream, while the classic series is easily accessible via free streaming sites like Tubi and the Roku Channel. However, fans will want to turn their attention to the BBC's iPlayer, as it's set to debut an animated version of a classic Doctor Who story. Not only will this series feature archival audio from William Hartnell, the First Doctor, but it's bringing back a story that fans thought was lost forever.

That story is "The Savages," a four-part serial that was originally part of Doctor Who's third season. The First Doctor and his companions, Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) and Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane) travel to the far future, where they encounter the titular "Savages" and a group of beings known as the "Elders." Though the Elders claim they've created the perfect society, the Doctor grows suspicious about how they managed to bring such a society to life. All four parts of "The Savages" are currently available to stream on iPlayer, meaning that Whovians can check out one of the first iconic Doctor Who stories.

‘The Savages’ and Other ‘Doctor Who’ Episodes Were Missing for Years

Image via BBC

What makes the animated version of "The Savages" so special is that it's one of a handful of episodes from Doctor Who's classic era that have been recovered over time. Black and white videotapes often had footage erased, meaning that most iconic Doctor Who stories have been lost to time for years. Only recently has the tide shifted, with episodes like "The Savages" and parts of the 12-episode serial "The Daleks' Master Plan" being recovered. Sue Malden, who worked as an archivist for the BBC, recently told Radio Times that she hopes that more episodes will be found.

"It fills me with optimism that there is the possibility now of finding more, maybe not just Doctor Who, but other great television programmes that are missing."

While Malden's optimism is infectious, recovering those programs might be easier said than done. Thanks to the erasing of critical footage, there are parts of Doctor Who that are forever lost to history. Yet "The Savages" presents the best way forward: if the footage is missing, why not utilize animation to recreate those episodes? Doctor Who is looking to continue exploring animation thanks to its preschool-themed series TARDIS Crew, but "The Savages" proves that this format could extend to all types of stories in the Whoniverse. In fact, who's to say that the next incarnation of Doctor Who couldn't be an animated series?

Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Iconic Fandom Should You Join? Harry Potter · Lord of the Rings · Star Wars · Star Trek

Eight honest questions about how you actually are: what you put on when you need cheering up, how deep you go into the things you love, what you argue about, what you keep on your shelf. Answer them and we will tell you where you belong. Four of the biggest fandoms on earth are taking new members, and they could not be more different from one another.

⚡Harry Potter(Wizarding World)

💍Lord of the Rings(Middle-earth)

⚔️Star Wars(A Galaxy Far Away)

🖖Star Trek(The Final Frontier)

FIND YOUR PEOPLE →

01

What do you put on when you need cheering up? Nobody is brave about this one.

AThe same thing I have watched a hundred times. BSomething long, slow and beautiful. CSomething big and loud with a great score. DOne clever episode of something hopeful.

NEXT QUESTION →

02

How deep do you go into something you love? There is no shallow end here, only different deep ends.

AI know every character and all the gossip. BI have read the appendices and studied the maps. CI have a ranked opinion on every instalment. DI want to know how the world actually works.

NEXT QUESTION →

03

What do you and your friends actually argue about? Every fandom has one argument it has been having for years.

AWhich one of us is which type. BWhether the adaptation got it right. CWhether the new stuff ruined the old stuff. DWhether the right thing was actually done.

NEXT QUESTION →

04

How do you feel about a room full of strangers? Every one of these comes with a very big room.

AGreat, and I will know everybody by the end. BFine, as long as they take it seriously. CBrilliant, especially if there is something to dress up for. DHappy, provided the conversation is interesting.

NEXT QUESTION →

05

Where would you rather spend a week? Pick on instinct rather than on budget.

AAn old castle somewhere rainy. BMountains, long walks, no phone signal. CA desert with an unbelievable night sky. DA city built around a university.

NEXT QUESTION →

06

What do you believe about people, mostly? All four of these stories have an answer, and they disagree.

AMost of them turn out better than expected. BThe smallest ones decide the biggest things. CAnybody can change, even very late on. DWe work it out if we keep talking.

NEXT QUESTION →

07

What is actually on your shelf? Look over at it before you answer.

AEverything I owned when I was twelve. BHardbacks, in order, read more than once. CFigures, posters, and a few things still boxed. DBooks about how things work, plus a model or two.

NEXT QUESTION →

08

What do you actually want from a story? Eight questions in, this is the one that picks your fandom.

AA place I can go back to whenever I need it. BA world complete enough to get lost in. CSomething huge I can share with everybody. DAn idea that changes how I think.

REVEAL MY FANDOM →

Membership Confirmed Your Fandom Is…

Four of the largest communities on the planet, and four completely different reasons to belong to one. Here is yours, what it would give you, and the argument you would be having within a week.

Harry Potter

You belong to the fandom that is really about comfort. Hogwarts works on people because it is a place rather than a plot, and the pull is not the wizard war so much as the corridors, the food, the weather and the sense that somebody is expecting you.

• You are drawn to belonging, which is why this fandom sorted itself into houses within about five minutes and has never stopped.
• This is the most social of the four, and the one most likely to know which type every single person in your life would be.
• The books are built to be reread rather than analysed, and rereading is exactly what you do with things you love.
• The new HBO series is bringing the whole thing back one book at a time, which means the arguments are about to start all over again.

Lord of the Rings

You belong to the deepest fandom on this list, the one where somebody has always read further than you and is quietly delighted to say so. Middle-earth rewards patience more than any other world in popular culture.

• You like the sense that the story you are reading is only the visible part of something enormous, which is precisely how Tolkien built it.
• This fandom takes adaptation seriously to a degree that other fandoms find slightly alarming, and it has good reasons for that.
• Your favourite thing about the books is probably the bit that is not action at all, which is the walking, the songs and the long goodbyes.
• Nobody here thinks heroism belongs to the powerful, and the whole story exists to make that argument.

Star Wars

You belong to the loudest and largest tent of the four, the one where three generations are all watching the same thing and none of them agree about any of it. That disagreement is not a flaw in this fandom, it is the main activity.

• You want something you can share with absolutely everybody, from a six year old to a grandparent, and this is the only one on the list that really does that.
• Nobody argues like Star Wars fans argue, and the argument has been running since roughly 1980 with no sign of resolution.
• The pull here is sensory before it is narrative, since it is the sound design, the score and the look of a used and dented galaxy.
• You would be first in the queue, in costume, with strong opinions and a genuinely good time.

Star Trek

You belong to the thinking fandom, the one that turns up for the argument rather than the explosion. Trek has always been a series of ethical problems in space, and the people who love it love being asked what they would have done.

• You are an optimist in a way that is currently unfashionable, and this is the only major franchise still willing to say the future might be better.
• The best episodes are the ones where nobody fires anything, which is a sentence that makes perfect sense to this fandom and to nobody else.
• Starfleet Academy brought the franchise back to a classroom in 2026, which is appropriate, because Trek has always been a bit of a seminar.
• You would want the conversation afterwards more than the episode itself, and here you will always find somebody willing to have it.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

‘The Savages’ Is ‘Doctor Who’ at Its Best

Bringing "The Savages" back to life in animated form is the perfect way to highlight how Doctor Who had its major themes baked into the series from the beginning. As the Doctor explores the future he's landed in, he learns a terrifying truth about how the Elders created their perfect society: they drain the life force from the so-called "savages," who were once a peaceful and artistic race. This reveal raised the question of how far someone should go to create a perfect world, and it also continued the trend of rotating companions when Steven decides to stay behind. It wouldn't be the first time the series delivered a heartbreaking ending or hit its viewers with social commentary, but it definitely stands out.

The restoration of "The Savages" also shows how Doctor Who continues to thrive, even with literal parts of its history missing and an unknown future. Over 60 years have passed, but the core elements of the series remain unchanged. And if people are willing to watch an animated version of a classic episode, then they'll definitely show up for the next incarnation of the series.