Here’s a fun look into our future:
On February 19th, 2014, a man strides through a crowd of people, elbowing his way to the front. Once there, he climbs some steps and stands before a podium. A hush comes over the assembled group and he grabs the microphone. “Greetings. I come from the future!” He stands there glaring sternly down at them in a very Capaldi-ish way.
In most places a declaration like that would have earned him a one way trip to an asylum, but the folks in front of him are Doctor Who fans and they erupt into applause and cheers. They start to ask questions. “Have we eradicated all disease?” “Ended world hunger?” “Stopped global conflict?” They were all noble thoughts and sentiments, but unfortunately he can’t answer on those particular topics.
His stern look turns sheepish. “Well, actually I not from that far into the future.”
“When?” Someone yells out.
“I come from February 23, 2014.” The crowd bursts into angry muttering.
“You’re a lunatic!” Someone yells. Another cries “that’s a few days away!” The Frankenstein monster has seen crowds like these. Any second they will turn on him and he’ll have to run for his life.
“I came here today to warn you not to get your hopes up.” He pleads.
“What do you mean?”
“Yeah man, hurry up and spit it out!”
The guy at the podium breaks down and starts sobbing. “They didn’t release Marco Polo for its 50th anniversary.” He wails. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.” Without a further word he runs off, never to be seen again.
And now back to reality. I’ve talked about Marco Polo a lot over the past six weeks and for much of that time I have had high hopes that maybe, just maybe it would be released in time for me to watch it on its 50th anniversary. But as that day draws nearer and nearer I have become more convinced that this just isn’t going to be the case. Don’t worry, my faith in the omnirumour is still as strong as ever. I do still believe that Marco has been found and is ready for release to itunes whenever it is deemed appropriate, but I am 100% positive that we will not see it within the next couple of weeks.
I have to admit that I became a little more excited when I read about a theatrical screening of Enemy Of The World and Web Of Fear at something called the Missing Episode Marathon. It’s going to feature a panel of guests afterward and the kicker is that it all takes place on Feb 22nd. There could be no better time or place to have a surprise screening of Marco. Surely a sold out theatre crammed full of classic Doctor Who fans would make an extraordinary place for a clandestine viewing followed by a worldwide announcement. But there is no way that Joe Public will see it anytime soon.
Why? Money, that’s why.
If they released Marco digitally for the 50th anniversary later this week it would seriously undercut the sales for Web, which comes out February 24th. As we got closer and closer to that release date, I realized nothing was going to happen right now, but the more I thought about it, the more confused I got.
It’s been months since Web and Enemy were publicly revealed. The digital sales were monumental, reaching number one on the itunes charts in several countries. We got a dvd release for Enemy just a month afterward, but Web was delayed for almost three months. There has been no official reason given for our lengthy wait, though the internet is full of speculation regarding missing episode number three and attempts to recover it and get it on the dvd release.
Is this delay going to hurt sales? Has the passion aroused by the announcement of these discoveries cooled off in the past three months? Will Web flounder when finally released on DVD? The fact that episode three is still missing and instead we are treated to what many are calling ‘a quickly cobbled together reconstruction’ certainly isn’t helping. And then there are those who are holding out, not wanting to buy it now in case it’s later revealed that episode three has indeed been found.
There seems to be a lot of baggage surrounding the release of Web on DVD, so why would they do it on February 24th, just two days after Marco’s Golden Jubilee? After all, there are 51 other Monday’s in the year and they’ve already waited this long. They can’t use scheduling as an excuse. There is nothing else on the schedule. The only other dvd awaiting release is The Underwater Menace, though it appears to be in limbo right now, despite the trailer on the Moonbase DVD.
I can’t help but keep coming back to that Missing Episode Marathon. Is something going to happen there that will rekindle our excitement and bring Doctor Who back to the forefront of Joe Public’s mind? Or is that too obvious and just a red herring being thrown our way, a case of misdirection to let the magician pull off an amazing trick? Well, February 22nd is just around the corner and if there is to be movement on the Marco front before then, we won’t be in suspense for much longer.
Someone should have asked that time traveler if they at least announce Marco on the 50th. That would have made everything so much simpler.
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