--The Edited Dr. Who Videos--
Chapter One: Omnibus Sucks
When the BBC first began to release Doctor Who videos in the 80's their policy was to edit all of the story's episodes down into one long "movie." This "movie" format is now commonly called the Omnibus format. The BBC finally stopped this practice by the early 90's. In the end there were 13 stories that were released in the Omnibus format both in the U.K. and the U.S. Since then the BBC have gone back and issued "re-releases" of all but 1 of the Omnibus stories in either VHS or DVD format.
Chapter Two: CBS/Fox Sucks . . . but there still is hope!
Unfortunately, the U.S. (i.e. CBS/Fox) wasn't as eager to follow suite. For years CBS/Fox had claimed that they intended to proceed with the re-releases when they had finally caught up to the same point in the release schedule as the U.K. (CBS/Fox could only release Dr. Who titles already cleared for release in the U.K.). They essentially reached that point in 1998. CBS/Fox's only re-release was "The Brain of Morbius" back in 1997. Apparently the video didn't sell as well as CBS/Fox would have liked, and it appeared uncertain as to what their plans were for any future re-releases. Surprisingly, CBS/Fox decided to re-release "Terror of the Zygons" in its original episodic format in May 2000. Sadly, this was the only other re-release on VHS of an edited story. However, all is not lost for those of us who are "episodic puritans." Several of the earliest DVD releases have been of stories that were once only available in an omnibus format on VHS. Those titles include "Spearhead from Space," "The Ark in Space" and "The Robots of Death." Additionally, two more DVD titles will be available in North America soon. These two titles are "The Seeds of Death" and "The Talons of Weng-Chiang." Thanks to DVD, many of those early VHS omnibus versions are gradually being replaced by the original episodic format once more. And the good news is that several of the remaining titles are likely candidates for DVD release soon (the pattern seems to be releasing titles that have been available on VHS since the early 90's).
Chapter Three: The (Not So) Dirty Dozen
Between the 2 VHS re-releases and the introduction of DVD's in 2001 there are now only 4 stories released in the U.S. that are still in Omnibus format. Below is the list of those stories that need to be re-released here in the U.S.
The (Not So) Dirty Dozen
"The Seeds of Death" starring Patrick Troughton (released on DVD in 2004)
"Spearhead from Space" starring Jon Pertwee (released on DVD in 2001)
"The Day of the Daleks" starring Jon Pertwee
"The Time Warrior" starring Jon Pertwee (released on DVD in 2008)
"Death to the Daleks" starring Jon Pertwee
"The Ark in Space" starring Tom Baker (released on DVD in 2002.)
"Revenge of the Cybermen" starring Tom Baker
"Terror of the Zygons" starring Tom Baker (re-released in 2000 on VHS)
"Pyramids of Mars" starring Tom Baker (released on DVD in 2004)
"The Brain of Morbius" starring Tom Baker (re-released in 1997 on VHS)
"The Deadly Assassin" starring Tom Baker
"The Robots of Death" starring Tom Baker (released on DVD in 2001)
"The Talons of Weng-Chiang" starring Tom Baker (released on DVD in 2003)
The chances are good that some titles such as "The Deadly Assassin" and "Day of the Daleks" might come up soon for a release on DVD in the near future. With some good luck we may still get all of the Doctor Who stories in their unedited format. Until then, buyer beware! Watch out for the VHS omnibus versions that still lurk out there.