From Newsgroup: rec.arts.drwho.moderated   
   From Address: jphalt@aol.com   
   Subject: Re: The Moonbase: my review   
      
   MISSING EPISODE NOTES   
      
   The Moonbase is really only a semi-missing story. Episodes 1 and 3 are   
   lost, but 2 and 4 exist in their entirety. The existing episodes are   
   presented in generally excellent quality on the Lost in Time dvd set,   
   which also includes the soundtracks to the two missing episodes.   
      
   With so much of the story existing, it's a rare and welcome   
   opportunity to truly enjoy an early Troughton story - a key story in   
   his Doctor's development, at that. For those who only want to view   
   what exists, it's not hard to watch just the existing episodes and   
   fill in the blanks. For completists, the two missing episodes can be   
   enjoyed in the following ways:   
      
      
   1. Lost in Time audio tracks: As noted above, the Lost in Time dvd set   
   filled in the gaps of this 50% complete story by including the audio   
   tracks of the missing episodes. Presented without narration over a   
   single still frame, this isn't the ideal way to experience the   
   episodes. Episode 1 has quite a bit of visual elements, particularly   
   early on, which would likely make it very confusing to follow with   
   neither visuals nor narration. Still, those who perservere will find   
   all the exposition they need delivered by Hobson after the first ten   
   minutes, while the more dialogue-driven Episode 3 should present no   
   challenge at all. I would still consider this the least of the three   
   main ways to enjoy the missing episodes.   
      
   2. The BBC Audio: The benefit of the restored soundtrack, with the   
   more visual moments very effectively brought to life by Frazer Hines'   
   narration. Though the narration doesn't fully convey certain visual   
   moments (notably the glimpses of the Cybermen's shadows in Episode 1),   
   it is very easy to follow at all times, creating a clear visual   
   picture in the listener's mind that (at least for me) does not jar   
   when shifting to the existing episodes. This was the first way I   
   experienced the missing episodes, back before the Lost in Time set had   
   been released and before Loose Cannon had reconstructed the story, and   
   I still think it's a pretty good way to enjoy those episodes.   
      
   3. The Loose Cannon Reconstruction: Given that this is a more visual   
   story than the previous Troughton serials, I would lean toward using   
   the Loose Cannon reconstruction for the two missing episodes. It's a   
   particularly strong effort, with some clever editing and brief bits of   
   basic CGI bringing the "space plague" to life in Episode 1, while the   
   choice to take time to edit the Cybermen's mouthplates into opening   
   and closing when they speak in Episode 3 makes the reconstruction of   
   that episode vastly more dynamic than the average recon. There's the   
   usual tradeoff with regard to audio quality, which while clear simply   
   isn't as clean as the official BBC audio. But given that this is   
   actually a visual story, the way the reconstruction effectively   
   conveys the visual element more than compensates.   
      
      
   Whichever of these three you choose, the well-paced nature of the   
   story should, together with the fact that half the story exists, keep   
   the narrative alive.   
      
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