My father, Mamoun Hassan, was an uncredited editor on Marco Polo - the filmed (celluloid) sections that you mention (2.36 - 3.21) were edited in the current affairs department where my father was an assistant. His boss had had a 'heavy' lunch at the BBC club and told my Dad that he could edit the material as it was 'only for a kids show' and it really didn't need his attention. Dad only told me about it in the late 90's as he really didn't think it was that interesting or important. When I asked him what the material was like - as it's a lost serial - he said that it wasn't anything special in terms of craft film, but it really tried hard to set up the studio action pieces. In spite of his varied career in cinema, I've been quite proud that my family has a small connection to Doctor Who.

Perhaps the saddest aspect of the loss of Marco Polo is the fact of all the serials in Season One it was by far the most ambitious and arguably most beautiful to look at. Meanwhile lesser stories which are not as visually impressive are fully extant.

Josh is really getting bold with these hints that he stole Marco Polo, huh.

Wow Josh, that was amazing, you making of documents should be put on the blu rays

I love that they had that little thing where the doctor would mispronounce Ian's last name, even in the massacre when he's recalling old companions. God I miss that. just that little insider.

A great effort Josh, and worthy of a spot on a DVD/Blu-Ray. Also have learnt that the 2020 calendar lines up with 1964's :)

Thinking of how the vast majority of viewers at the time were watching on comparatively small black and white televisions, it's amazing how beautiful and full of color and detail the sets and costumes on this story were. Documentaries like this are a great way to honor that great work, so thanks mush for this! Parenthetically, I just watched Meglos yesterday - they did Jacqueline Hill dirty!

"As a viewer, and an adult you can enjoy something, and even say that 'Marco Polo' is your favourite serial. Whilst simultaneously recognising and condemning actions taken within it." Thank you Josh Snares, Very Cool.

Magnificent documentary. I missed Marco Polo entirely. I only picked up Dr Who in 1965. Thank you so much for this. I feel so much closer to the Hartnell era now.

What a great video. This needs to be put on the blu ray release when it happens. Marco Polo is one of my favourite stories. Amazing work josh

As a little girl, I loved this story! So much so, that I remember trying to find out, as much as I could, from our school encyclopedias. As the original idea for the series was to teach children about Science and History, I'd say it did its job! I can only echo other's comments that there were few Chinese actors in Britain in those days. Just to say, we were more ignorant than malicious with these awful stereotypes. Great video Josh!

Great video, I love this story. I see lots of REMINI-ing😎 I have to just say that the use of yellow face make-up was one of practicality not automatic racism. The amount of Chinese actors in the UK with good english in 1964 could be counted on one hand. And ironically due to being English speakers, they were often heavily in demand in China (in 1970, director Tim Combe sacked a Chinese actor from The Mind of Evil who just wasn't good enough - He went to the Chinese Actors Agency and the owner of the agency put himself forward as all his actors were unavailable).

I love how the first tardis team Acts like a family because the two main leads were like a grandfather and a granddaughter behind the scenes 😊

So sad that we lost Mark Eden - he was brilliant as Marco Polo

Great video ,as one person who watched it live I can say as a young boy I just wanted it to end and the monsters to return. No one batted an eye at the dialogue then as that's how things were and yes in today's way of thinking it can feel wrong but that's how life is and sixty years from now today's dialogue will be seen as sometimes shameful. It's all relative

I wish they'd find Marco Polo. I mean, it's the serial with highest chance of being found, making it all the more shocking it's not yet been recovered.

I always loved the relationship between The Doctor and Ian. That was where a lot of the humour would come from, with The Doctor forgetting his name or taking credit for his ideas (or anyone else's ideas). That's the sort of thing I think about with the 1st Doctor, more so than the grumpiness.

Last year I reread the novelisation for Marco Polo after watching your 'Missing Episodes' series. It's a great read. I've also watched the Loose Canon recon as well and this is very good. It may be 7 episodes, but I felt it had good pacing and overall was quite enjoyable. Would love to see a Animated Recon at some stage, or even better, the original prints found and returned to the BBC.

It’s really saying something for the quality of Marco Polo that it is so popular despite no frames of footage existing! Loose Cannon’s reconstruction is highly recommended! I hope it’s either fully animated or receives a top-notch, full reconstruction for the Collection set 🤞🏻

Excellent documentary. If this amazing serials is ever recovered, this should a mandatory bonus feature. I revisit the CD set about once or twice a year and have always been impressed with the sweeping narrative of the story. Your research into the production and use of the surviving telesnaps and colour images is a nice touch as well as is the clever setting of some of the images into an old-school TV set, very similar to our first one. Terrific work on this one Josh.

Josh, your videos are amazing. Thank you so much for what you do and keep them coming. ❤️

Thank you Josh. I always enjoy your documentaries and the work you put into them

Excellent Josh! - many thanks for producing these superb videos of the classic era.

Excellent work, Josh! Very well put together.

Thanks, Josh, for a fascinating 'Making of'. Concise and informative as always. I really enjoyed both the BBC audio release, and the telesnaps version of this iconic historical. Would love to see this story animated and in colour. Again many thanks for this.

excellent video Josh, please make more documentaries on the missing episodes, keep up the good work fella

What a superb documentary. Excellent work, Josh!

This stuff is honestly the best on KZfaq keep up the Great work mate!

I hope that the supposed animation of the smugglers and the underwater menace are a cover up for animating Marco Polo. Greatest historical storry and it definitely needs to be seen.

Another quality video dude, I really enjoy your delve's into classic who. On the DWME forum and 60s Who Facebook group this comes up the most I'd say for episode most people want to see recovered (or to be animated). Keep up the good work dude :)

Another great video Josh. Thanks for all your hard work. I wish Marco Polo still existed. It's such a great serial.

I didn't know I needed this video until it was already here. Thank you.

Another fantastic job! Thank you!

Fantastic video! Lots of information here that was new to me about one of my favourite Hartnell era stories.

Thank you for this and these videos are edited beautifully! You should be really proud of yourself!

Excellent research, kept my attention the whole way through, but that might be in part because of those GORGEOUS high quality pictures! Remini is truly a miracle!

My favorite Hartnell story! I was planning to make a video like this at some point but nothing could live up to this! Great video!

These are getting better and better!

Great video as always, Josh. I am 100% convinced that this story is out there somewhere and will be returned some day. There were just too many prints out there.

Excellent work, worthy of a DVD / bluray extra. I like the soundtrack recording, it works really well as an audiobook for long distance travel.

Another great vid btw, I love your documentary style

I just listened to the BBC audio release of this story as I begin my Classic Who viewing. I really enjoyed it. While researching, I came across this video. Thank you for such an amazing documentary.

Beautifully done josh!

Rd Excellent video. Just as good as them missing episode videos you did. I love listening to Marco polo

Such a well done video!! Wish this story was watchable 😢

I love the solemn music you’ve chosen for this video

Excellent video as always Josh! I've not yet experienced Marco Polo in any form as of yet but it's definitely the missing Doctor Who story I'm most interested in! Excellent point at the end of the video about enjoying the story regardless of it's racial problems and I completely agree with what you say. It's just a shame that people don't look at stories like this and "Talons" with this outlook.

Great work Josh.

I've never seen a lot of these photos, they look amazing 💞

Marco Polo is my favourite Dr Who story. I've enjoyed the audio many times and it's good to look through the telesnaps as it plays. The novel is also fantastic.

Quality as usual 👌 you should do a 3 part documentary on the daleks master plan as there's probably loads of stories to be told about that. 🙂

Nice early morning surprise. Thanks!

Marco Polo really needs to get found/animated soon. Purely because I want them to make DVD extras while Mark Eden and William Russell are still alive.

Lovely stuff Josh :D

14:57 well said, Josh. I wish more people would take this attitude.

Oh perfect, I was trying to explain the tragedy of the lost Marco Polo to my friend last night but couldn't remember which video it was, how fortunate the hottest youtuber is also the most helpful

Ah Josh I think you may have outdone yourself. Lovely tribute to a wonderful missing story and as usual I've learnt lots. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again but I really hope they have the sense and humility to come to you when those 1-6 season collections come out. Amazing stuff. Any chance this is the first of another in depth series on the missing episodes or is that hoping for too much? Haha.

Hey, it's completed, restored, and sitting on the iTunes store waiting to be released! Come on, didn't you learn anything from the #omnirumor? hahaha. ;)

Fantastic video Josh as always, not long until we get The Faceless Ones

Wow, that’s some good engagement and after only 30 minutes! I am only 2 minutes in and this looks amazingly well produced. Well done.

Woah. Now I really want to watch Marco Polo. Thanks, Josh, for inspiring me.

Upset we didn’t get that beautiful recreation done by you in this 😉

that was another great documentary

Wait a minute, so this is why you were asking about whether the images of Lucarotti were actually him on Twitter! Great video as always man.

Fantsstic darling, I love your work!

It's a crime how this is lost 😔 even if you are not a fan.

If they made it into an animated serial it would be great to redo the episode and put the doctor back in it with his dialogue so we can see how much different the episode was - extra treat for fans

I saw this and instantly thought that it was getting animated (as you have done a Making Of for Fury From the Deep and The Faceless Ones) A quick search told me that no, I wasn’t going to be that lucky:( Great video as always btw

Be great to see this returned!

A marvellous production Josh!

Congrats on the DWM shoutout!

The audio soundtrack is wonderfully evocative.

Great documentary

Very logical and i really intrigued about the video so I going to give it 10/10

Gasp! You didn't mention the wealth of set/costume/etc colour photos that were taken during the production!

RIP Mark Eden who played Marco Polo

This was great! Very interesting. Are you gunna do more of these? One for ‘the massacre’ perhaps? 😁

I remember putting this story on for the first time when I was working on a term paper. I remember seeing the loose cannon version on video dalymotion. But something strange happened when I put on the episode 1. The first ten to fifteen seconds of the episode were there but what was shocking was it was in color. At the time I was shocked. A second there I thought I found episode one completed in color. Then it turned back to loose cannon in black and white. I couldn’t make that up if I tried

I think if Marco Polo were to be found, it would be far less popular. Because no way would it look as epic and amazing in reality as it does in our heads.

this is intense! the whole desert studio part!

Still a true shame that this episode is lost it is still a firm hope that it is out there somewhere even if it's just an episode or two episodes of it and if it is it's probably in someone's private collection or the sad reality is that it was destroyed and in which case it will never be seen ever again. It is nice that we at least have the novelization, thanks to the surviving audio track it would be nice if they recreated this with an animated Doctor Who movie

I did get the "The Beginning" DVD boxset for Christmas not long ago (not last Christmas though) and I was pleased to see that The Edge of Destruction had a lead-in to Marco Polo, as it mean there was still a some bit of the story that survived.

Great video :)

You should be working on the official blu ray releases! Your work is of such a high quality.

Excellent.

Wow great video! Personally I think that the Loose Canon Reconstructions are the best way to experience any missing episode of Doctor Who, the animations are great but I do believe that they veer too much into having a lot of creative liberty, as in, the animations aren't as accurate to the original broadcast. The animations like The Tenth Planet, The Moonbase and The Invasion I enjoy because they seem the most accurate to the original broadcast.

Me: Watches a video about the making of Marco Polo Josh: Includes an upload from my dailymotion account in his video. Me: *dies* This is a wonderful overview to the behind the scenes journey of this missing serial. Thank you for putting in the time and effort. Keep up the great work!

There is also an abridged photo reconstruction on THE BEGINNING Box Set.

Again, Bravo. Bravo! (those are Canadian bravos so they are not worth as much, but you have earned them all the same!)

I've listened to the audio with linking narration and it was interesting. I am going to listen to the audio version of the Target novel at some point.

My wife's cousin is Derren Nesbitt, and he has told us many tales about the making of this.

I really enjoyed this, do you have plans of continuing this series?

Josh you juicy boi give us more of these please ❤

Marco Polo is one of my favorite Hartnell stories, tho I never saw the episodes. I did read the novel ,and the DWM archives and listened to the CD ! It inspired me to find a biography of Marco Polo. ( Not an easy task! Most were children's books! I DID find one tho!)

Am looking forward to adding Marco Polo to my audio collection.

Interesting to think that Part 2 of Marco Polo is technically the first “Doctor-Lite” episode purely by accident. I think The Doctor’s absence in part 2 is what gives the episode it’s power, the characters are at a low point, trapped in a foreign land in a barren desert with no way to get home and no water, and the person that’s been their leader and getting them out of these situations is completely absent, probably himself without a clue as to what to do. Maybe if not for this episode we wouldn’t have Blink 😝

Looks like you’ve been making good use of the Remani app 😀👍

12:18 - "POLO:...For instance, when I was a boy in Venice, they told me that in Cathay there was a stone which burned. I did not believe them, but there is such a stone. I have seen it. IAN: It's black, isn't it. POLO: Yes. IAN: Coal. POLO: In Cathay, we call it the burning stone. And if a stone burns, why not a caravan that flies? Birds fly. I have even seen fish that fly. You are asking me to believe that your caravan can defy the passage of the sun? Move not merely from one place to another, but from today into tomorrow, today into yesterday? No, Ian. That I cannot accept."

I'm surprised you didn't mention the abundance of color photos from this serial. It's probably the only Doctor Who story I can think of that Loose Canon used color pictures in their original reconstruction of this fantastic story. As for this serial being animated, I don't think there is a better time than now to do it. Season One of Classic Who is pretty much complete with the two episodes of Reign of Terror being animated. I'm sure when Hartnell stories are being considered for animation, this is one of the stories that comes up.