Though no dates have been confirmed by the BBC as yet, it looks likely that The Celestial Toymaker, an animated version of the mostly-lost Doctor Who serial, will be released in March 2024.
While Amazon lists the release date for the DVD as 31st December 2099, i.e. a placeholder date, a listings error indicates the Blu-ray could be out on 26th March 2024 — the anniversary of Rose, the 2005 episode which relaunched Doctor Who featuring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper as the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler respectively. It’s also the anniversary of the Doctor Who Companion‘s launch!
The release includes:
- All 4 episodes animated in both colour and black & white
- Audio commentaries
- Newly restored original episode 4
- Making the Animation
- Photo Gallery
There is some controversy over the animation style, as it’s simply inferior to other releases like The Evil of the Daleks, The Invasion, and The Tenth Planet, instead more akin to The Web of Fear Episode 3, which was met with a lot of complaints.
Nonetheless, we can see fans being eager to fill this gap in their collections. It’s not a great advert for newer fans, however, perhaps enthusiastic to see more of the Toymaker after his triumphant return in the 60th anniversary special, The Giggle, played then by Neil Patrick Harris.
Obviously, Amazon might have it wrong again and The Celestial Toymaker won’t be out in March. Still, it feels like a good rough date, and will give Who fans something new to watch over the Easter break at the end of that month.
The Celestial Toymaker will be available on DVD, Blu-ray, and limited edition steelbook.
