Reports coming out of the always-reliable British tabloid press say African dictator Robert Mugabe is holding several lost episodes of Doctor Who hostage in Zimbabwe.
In sci-fi history's single greatest "D'oh!" moment, engineers wiped or otherwise destroyed several 1960s-era episodes of Doctor Who to make room in the BBC's tape library. Now, the longest running sci-fi series in the history of television is missing 108 of its current count of 752 episodes.
But, Zimbabwe was on pleasant colonial terms with England in the early 1960s, and the Beeb sold tapes of its programs to the region. Experts think Mugabe's government may still hold many of the lost Doctor Who episodes in its vaults.
Considering the dictator's brutal human rights record, the West is not on speaking terms with his government. So, it's safe to say the recovery of a bunch of William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton Who episodes is not high on the list of priorities for 10 Downing Street.
Image courtesy BBC
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