In the first week of September 1999, CBS/Fox released  a story that has never been broadcast in North America.
The classic 1967 Second Doctor serial The Ice Warriors has at last made it's way to a video shelf near you.

When the BBC took stock of their archive holdings in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it seemed that this
classic 6-part serial had been completely lost forever.  No recordings of it had survived the tragic archive purges of
the early 1970s.  Then suddenly in 1988, during renovations at a BBC building, film copies of four of the serial's
episodes were miraculously found - stuck behind a filing cabinet!   Late in 1998, BBC Video in the UK made these four episodes available, and now finally in September of 1999, CBS/Fox Video followed their lead in North America...

The CBS/Fox Video release of The Ice Warriors Collector's Edition includes all of the following:

    One videotape containing:
        The four recovered episodes of The Ice Warriors starring Patrick Troughton.  These are episode numbers
        1, 4, 5, and 6.  The film recordings have been cleaned, remastered, and restored.

        The gap at the missing episodes 2 and 3 is bridged by a 15-minute "reconstruction".  This is a sort of slide-show
        that combines numerous still photographs that were taken of the missing episodes when they aired in 1967 with
        sections of an off-air soundtrack recording of the episodes.  It also uses narration and some video effects.

    One CD containing:
        Unabridged, digitally remastered soundtrack recordings of the two missing episodes.  These were originally recorded
        from off-air in 1967 by fan Graham Strong using a reel-to-reel tape recorder connected directly to his TV set.
        The CD comes in a clear plastic envelope and is to be found inserted between the package's cardboard cover art
        and the plastic casing.

    A 48-page booklet containing:
        The complete history of the Ice Warriors as seen in the Doctor Who television series as well as in the novels,
        comic books, and other media.  This is also found between the cardboard cover art and the plastic casing.

    This all comes in special "clamshell" packaging (a plastic case) as opposed to the usual cardboard box.
    The suggested retail price is $34.99.

This release differs from the release in the UK in one important respect.  The UK video release also included a second videotape that contained a 30-minute documentary called The Missing Years as well as episode 3 of another incomplete Patrick Troughton story, The Underwater Menace.   CBS/Fox Video have decided to hold this second tape back and
instead release it on its own early next year.  Also, a short introduction by Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling at the start
of The Ice Warriors tape has not been included on the US video (presumably because this somewhat links up with the
segments they introduce in The Missing Years.)

"Why is this?"  you may ask.  For their low-to-medium circulation video collections, CBS/Fox has only a few different packaging options.  CBS/Fox reportedly originally thought to simply release both videotapes as a normal double pack and
omit the CD and the booklet.  Then they started hearing from Doctor Who fans urging them to be sure to include the CD.
They listened, and looked their options over again and decided that they could include the CD and the booklet if they were to
use a "clamshell" plastic case rather than a standard cardboard one.  Unfortunately, they do not have any such cases that can
hold two videotapes, thus they decided to hold back The Missing Years for a separate release at a later date.   Clamshell
cases are also more expensive than cardboard ones, and thus you see part of the reason why this release is slightly more
expensive than a normal one.  The Missing Years was reportedly to be released sometime early in the year 2000 but is
now suspiciously absent from the upcoming schedules... if you're hoping to see this released, it may be a good idea to
give CBS/Fox a write of encouragement.

STORY DETAILS

Serial: OO  Episode Nos. 180, 181 (audio only), 182 (audio only), 183, 184, and 185  Title: The Ice Warriors

The Doctor and his companions arrive in Earth's future at a time when the glaciers of a new Ice Age threaten to wipe out civilization, and not just because of the crush of the ice, but also because of the alien monsters found frozen inside it.  Can the Doctor stop a force of nature and at the same time fend off the attack of the Ice Warriors?

This is the first story to feature the Ice Warriors.

starring Patrick Troughton as Dr. Who, Frazer Hines as Jamie, and Deborah Watling as Victoria. Written by Brian Hayles, Produced by Innes Lloyd, Directed by Derek Martinus.

Originally transmitted from 11 November 1967 to 16 December 1967 on BBC1.