Many early Doctor Who episodes have sadly been wiped from existence, but today brings an iota of good news for Whovians. Two episodes — the third episode of the William Hartnell serial "Galaxy 4" and the second episode of Patrick Troughton's "The Underwater Menace" — have been recovered by Terry Burnett, a film aficionado who purchased the episodes in the 1980s.

The episodes originally belonged to Australia's ABC channel, and here are the plot synopses from Radio Times:

Galaxy 4, a four-part season opener from 1965, is fondly remembered by those fans old enough to have watched it. Various factions vie to leave a barren world before it explodes – a race of bad girls called Drahvins, cute domed Chumbley robots and the benign warthog-like Rills [...1967's] The Underwater Menace part two is arguably the more intriguing find. Not only is it the first Troughton film print since the recovery of The Tomb of the Cybermen 20 years ago, it's actually now the earliest surviving episode to feature the second Doctor.

You can watch clips from these episodes here and here. Do any readers have firm memories of watching these two episodes? Be sure to share your experience in the comments! Hat tip to Ursus-Veritas, Addison, and RadioSilence!