The Crusade

It's the 12th Century Palestine and King Richard the Lionheart is embroiled in a Holy War against the Saracen ruler, Saladin.  When Barbara is abducted in a Saracen ambush, the Doctor, Ian and Vicki go to the King.  Richard lets Ian attempt rescue, equipping him with a knighthood.  Meanwhile, the King's secret plans to make peace with Saladin are discovered, putting the Doctor in jeopardy.

Also Inside, Exclusive Collectible Postcards and CD.
Four high quality collectible images from "The Crusade."  Plus, a special CD featuring the complete audio soundtrack of the two lost episodes of "The Crusade."

• "The Crusade" is packaged along with the story that followed it, "The Space Museum."

• Episode 3 has existed in the BBC vaults for many years.  Episode 1 was discovered in January 1999 by a film collector in New Zealand.  These two existing episodes, along with the audio recordings of episodes 2 and 4 were compiled together for a complete release.  William Russell (who played Ian Chesterton) provided linking narration in character.  A CD containing episodes 2 and 4 is included with the release. 

• Also included in the release are 4 postcards showing various scenes from both stories.

• Episode 3 of "The Crusade" was previously released with The Hartnell Years tape in the early 90's.
   
• Recently, the two existing episodes (1 and 3) as well as the two missing ones (two and four) were included on the DVD boxset, Lost in Time.  The two missing episodes are audio only and contain no narration.

• Actress Jean Marsh (Joanna) made her first of three appearances on Doctor Who in this story.  She would return a year later to play short lived companion Sara Kingdom in "The Daleks' Masterplan."  It would be another 23 years before she would make her final appearance as the evil Morgaine in the McCoy story "Battlefield."

• Watch for Bernard Kay, who plays Saladin, and his wonderfully understated performance.  Great stuff.

• Another noteworthy performance is that of Julian Glover (Richard the Lionheart).  He would appear only one more time in the Tom Baker classic "City of Death."

• Actor Walter Randall makes his second appearance in Doctor Who here as the sadistic El Akir.  His first role in Doctor Who was Tonila in "The Aztecs."  The third season saw him as Hyksos in "The Daleks' Masterplan" as Hyksos.  He would return for one final appearance in the 7th season story "Inferno" as the doomed repairman Slocum.  You can see more of him than you ever imagined in an interview session on "The Aztecs" DVD. 

• The Doctor Who Restoration Team did extensive work on this video release by cleaning up both picture and sound quality.