The range more officially started in July 1992. The first two releases came from The Macra Terror and The Evil Of The Daleks. For many years, audio copies of stories as they were released circulated among fans, but it was not until the 1990s when the BBC released copies they were able to acquire for public consumption. The early 1990s audios were successful enough to generate various releases, but the quality was variable. The stories were made available in 2 cassettes and labelled "The Missing Stories". The release of The Macra Terror featured narration by Colin Baker. The cover featured a grey background with a still of the Second Doctor from The War Games, the TARDIS, and a Macra menacing over the image.
The blurb read as; 'The Macra Terror' no longer exists at the BBC Film and Videotape Library in Brentford. As far as we know there are no copies anywhere in the world, despite exhaustive searches through the vaults of foreign TV stations, who purchased this and other Patrick Troughton adventures during the 1960's and 1970's. BBC Audio Collection has been able to obtain a copy of the soundtrack however, and thanks to modern sound technology and a commentary by Doctor Number 6 — Colin Baker, you can enjoy again one of the popular stories of the Troughton era of Doctor Who. Colin Baker was delighted to contribute to these cassettes, having appeared with Patrick at numerous Doctor Who gatherings in the UK and USA and of course in the popular 1980's adventure 'The Two Doctors'. So why not join the Doctor and his companions: Ben, Polly and Jamie as they witness 'The Macra Terror'.
The audio was also released in America in August 1993 underBantam Doubleday Dell. The blurb for this release read, "Due to space restrictions within the BBC Archives, many early episodes of Dr. Who taped during the 1960's and 1970's were lost. But an exhaustive search by the BBC Audio Collection led to the discovery of a rare copy of the original soundtrack, including three Dr. Who episodes. And now, the Macra Terror is available once again, presented in a stunning dramatization with all the excitement of a theater performance and all the charm of a vintage radio show. Originally conceived for BBC broadcast and produced by the world's foremost creators of radio entertainment, this lavish production combines a full cast with stirring music and sound effects to bring this classic to life". The original 1992 audio copy, which is in considerably better quality compared to the other albums, was featured as part of The Macra Terror DVD and Blu Ray release in March 2019.
The release of The Evil Of The Daleks featured a blue background with the TARDIS, a Dalek from The Dalek Invasion Of Earth, and the Second Doctor from The Invasion. This release cut two scenes set in a coffee bar, in which music by The Seekers and The Beatles could be heard playing in the background. The linking narration was provided by Tom Baker, and the blurb for the release read, "Due to space restrictions at the BBC Film and Videotape Library, many early episodes of Doctor Who were junked in the 1960's and 1970's, in order to make room for new recordings. At the time it was felt the programme had been exhaustively exploited in the commercial arena: yet some odd episodes were retained alongside several complete stories of the Hartnell and Troughton eras. 'The Evil of the Daleks' is represented in the BBC Archives by one solitary episode — episode two. However, BBC Audio Collection has tracked down sound recordings of the entire seven-part story, and with a specially recorded commentary by Tom Baker you can relive one of Patrick Troughton's classic adventures, featuring Terry Nation's famous creations — the Daleks".
The story was also released in America in April 1993 under Bantam Doubleday Dell with a similar cover to that of the UK's release. The blurb of the cover read, "Long lost to dedicated fans of Dr. Who, this thrilling early episode "The Evil of the Daleks" is presented in a stunning dramatization with all the excitement of a theater performance and all the charm of a vintage radio show. Originally conceived for BBC broadcast and produced by the world's foremost creators of radio entertainment this lavish production combines a full cast with stirring music and sound effects to bring this classic to life. Due to space restrictions many early episodes of Dr. Who were lost to the BBC Film and Videotape Library. After an exhaustive search, BBC Audio Collection was able to obtain rare copies of the original soundtracks. Now, thanks to modern sound technology and a commentary by Doctor Number 6, Colin Baker, the Evil of the Daleks is once more available in a stunning audio performance certain to delight fans and new listeners alike". Note that the blurb mentioned the wrong Baker.
The next release came in June 1993 - The Tomb Of The Cybermen. The release had been prepared in 1991 for a Spring 1992 date - a time when the serial did not exist in the BBC archives. Following the recovery of the story and the VHS release of the serial in May 1992, the narrated soundtrack was postponed. Due to contractual obligations, meaning the set had to be released regardless of the fact the story was no longer missing, the cassette version of the serial with Jon Pertwee's link narration was finally released in June 1993. The blurb read as, "The Doctor lands the TARDIS on Telos, the last resting place of the infamous Cybermen. There he discovers a band of archaeologists on a secret expedition and, in the planet's underground depths, the icy tomb of a whole Cyber army in hibernation. A threat to no one if the temperature remains low. But is there a traitor in their midst? Originally broadcast in 1967, this Doctor Who adventure is more compelling than ever on audio with a commentary by Jon Pertwee, the Doctor's third incarnation". This release, along with the remaining audios released in 1993, featured the 30th Anniversary Doctor Who logo on them. The cover for The Tomb Of The Cybermen featured a publicity still of the Second Doctor, and a Cyberman looming over a sleeping Jim Callum in a purple background. This release was not labelled as part of the "Missing stories" range following the serial's recovery from Hong Kong.
The other two releases from the 1993 narrated soundtrack range featured Tom Baker's narration as if the Fourth Doctor was in character remembering past adventures in his Second incarnation. In August 1993, BBC Audio released The Power Of The Daleks. The quality was variable for this release in particular, and the 1993 audio was released as part of The Power Of The Daleks Special Edition DVD/Blu Ray release in July 2020. The blurb read, "Patrick Troughton regenerates into the guise of the Doctor for his first adventure and an encounter with his deadliest enemy... When a mysterious capsule is found lying in a mercury swamp on the planet Vulcan, the inquisitive scientist who breaks it open, is completely unaware of the danger of its contents — three strange inert metal objects. He begins his experiments at once — much to the horror of the newly arrived Doctor and his companions Polly and Ben. Posing as the Examiner from Earth on an inspection, the Doctor must stop the scientist's meddling attempts to reactivate mankind's greatest threat. For only he knows the awesome terror of the Daleks..." The cover featured a still of a deactivated Dalek and the Second Doctor sat cross-legged playing on his recorder in a purple background.
The final release was Fury From The Deep, released in October 1993. The image presented a green background with a still of the Second Doctor, and the Doctor and Victoria investigating the pipes in the first episode. "When the TARDIS lands on Earth, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria are catapulted into the mysterious events taking place at a North Sea gas refinery. With noises emanating from its pipeline, crews disappearing and its commander refusing to turn off the gas, the Doctor finds himself accused of sabotage. And as the plot thickens only he guesses a more sinister reason for the disturbances: the deadly, parasitic Weed creatures..."
The range was publicised not by the eras of Doctors the stories came from, but by which Doctor narrated the story. Thus, Tom Baker, recognised in the 1990s (and even today) as the most popular Doctor received the most stories to publicise to fans. As this range was successful enough to warrant a number of stories, if the range had of acquired better quality audio sources, the range would have continued for longer. If more stories had of been released, perhaps other popular Second Doctor stories that were missing such as The Web Of Fear or Cyberman stories such as The Moonbase or The Wheel In Space may have been released. On the other hand, popular missing stories of the First Doctor's tenure such as Marco Polo, The Daleks' Master Plan or The Celestial Toymaker may have been released under this format had the range continued beyond 1993. The reality of seeing more releases under this format would not come about until 1999 when a major discovery was made in uncovering high quality audio recordings of 1960s missing episodes of Doctor Who.
