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Post by Charles Daniels on Apr 8, 2013 16:15:03 GMT
Unusual idea occurred to me today. In my neck of the woods the demographics for the local parish newsletter are exactly the right age and economic group to have potentially had vtr and early VCR machines. With that in mind I am going to approach them about an article. Dr who 50th good topical excuse. Need to direct readers somewhere though. any suggestions?
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Post by Rob Moss on Apr 8, 2013 16:25:45 GMT
Don't mention the DW words!!
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Post by Charles Daniels on Apr 8, 2013 16:31:35 GMT
Don't mention the DW words!! I know its a curse, but I'll need some kind of topical slant  Best idea is to list programmes across many genres which people will remember and care about - top of the pops, dad's army, etc So what documentary? What culture? What drama do you all think most readers would be most surprised was missing? I need some numbers and facts to give a sense of scale. So the reader knows this is a truly massive problem. Not just an odd episode here or there |
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Post by Alex Taylor on Apr 8, 2013 17:14:56 GMT
How about: of the around 500 editions of ToTP produced during its first decade, just 20 still exist.
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Post by Nicholas Fitzpatrick on Apr 8, 2013 17:17:20 GMT
What drama do you all think most readers would be most surprised was missing? Avengers. Z Cars. I was going to say Coronation Street ... but apparently it's now complete ... I guess that's what happens when you don't pay attention for a decade or so ... |
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Post by Brad Phipps on Apr 8, 2013 19:32:16 GMT
United!
147 episodes made.
None exist.
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Post by Nicholas Fitzpatrick on Apr 8, 2013 19:41:26 GMT
Would the average person even remember United? One thought ... if much of Dr Finlays Casebook is missing, then perhaps there should be some mention of this on the Wikipedia page. Surely if someone comes across films someone left them in their attic, the first place they check is Wikipedia - and after looking here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Finlay's_Casebook_(TV_and_radio)) - if I found the films in an attic (and I didn't know any better), I'd be chucking them after seeing what they were, because there's no mention that many (or any) are missing. I'd think people's time would be better spent updating this kind of information on Wikipedia, rather than the endless debate of whether the Horror of the Vervoids was ever broadcast in Lusitania. |
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Post by Jaspal Cheema on Apr 8, 2013 20:34:42 GMT
Yeah,and out of the 20 ToTPs left,they will never show 19 of them because they were probably all hosted by Jimmy Saville...!
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Post by adamjordan on Apr 8, 2013 21:57:00 GMT
A similar idea was posited here a while ago , shortly after the last episode recoveries. It was suggested that an article be written for SAGA magazine or similar. I think Paul V thought it a good idea at the time. Don't know if anything was submitted for publication though.
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Post by Charles Daniels on Apr 9, 2013 6:56:38 GMT
What drama do you all think most readers would be most surprised was missing? Avengers. Z Cars. Fantastic examples! It gives me a neat little hook actually. Will probably bash out a rough idea and maybe post article here? The idea is to target readers who don't even know anything is missing. So it will all be very high level stuff. Just grab their attention on the idea of it. I'll also want to include things like phone numbers or addresses of places where they could actually ring someone up and say "Oh, I've got a loft filled with square tapes I've been meaning to clean out for ages. Do you reckon anyone might want to have a look over them?" |
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Post by Charles Daniels on Apr 9, 2013 8:17:53 GMT
Here is a very rough draft.
All very boring and obvious stuff I think.
But if anyone can make suggestions on how to improve this article, PLEASE PLEASE do.
Once I have something really robust and good, then I'll approach the parish newsletter.
As you can see, I've really just repeated what you've all said above. Thank you all so much for your help!
MISSING AND DESTROYED TELEVISION HISTORY
Around 500 editions of Top Of The Pops were produced during its first decade, of these just 20 still exist.
Top of the Pops is not a unique example. Virtually every show of the 60s and 70s, from
The Avengers to Z Cars has missing instalments, even entirely missing series.
Some programmes do not have a single surviving episode.
In the 1970s, old television programmes where routinely destroyed – tapes wiped, films placed in rubbish tips. The programmes were seen to be of no further interest or economic value in the days immediately before the start of the VCR and home video revolution.
Extensive searches by dedicated individuals and television enthusiast groups have recovered material which would otherwise remain forever lost. While the programmes no longer sit in any television archive, members of the public may have recordings of great interest.
Early video tape recorders, such as the Philips n1500 or n1700, the Grundig SVR, even Betamax and Video2000 machines may have well recorded programmes which exist nowhere else except forgotten in a dusty box in someone’s loft. Some film collectors may have telerecordings, which are broadcast quality copies of television episodes on 16mm film.
Both Doctor Finlay and Doctor Who currently stand with over 100 episodes missing.
To mark the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, the Radio Times have launched their own search for missing examples of the programme, and can be contacted at lostwho@radiotimes.com
The non-profit group, Kaleidoscope, (okay, what should I say about them and what contact details)?
And should I invite people in my parish to contact me directly, or does that come off as some sort of self-serving toady thing?
Any suggestions?
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Post by Rob Moss on Apr 9, 2013 8:59:53 GMT
Looks good. Maybe mention that even audio recordings of programmes or photos taken off-screen are of value, and even home movies where the television is on in the background may show a visual glimpse of something that doesn't exist anywhere else.
Possibly reassure people that no questions will be asked about where the material came from - most broadcasters will just be happy to get a copy of their lost shows back.
Also, mention that their films and tapes can be transferred and then returned if required - they don't have to just hand material over and never see it again.
Perhaps throw in a link to lostshows.com so that people can check for themselves.
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Post by Richard Tipple on Apr 9, 2013 10:01:41 GMT
And should I invite people in my parish to contact me directly, or does that come off as some sort of self-serving toady thing? An older person may not know how to send an email, and might prefer to see a local landline number they can try. Just a thought, |
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Post by Alistair Gordon on Apr 9, 2013 10:02:47 GMT
I'd stress that we are looking for black and white recordings otherwise you'd get lots of 1980's colour programmes false alarms (or are there many colour shows also missing?).
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Post by adamjordan on Apr 9, 2013 10:18:58 GMT
I'd stress that we are looking for black and white recordings otherwise you'd get lots of 1980's colour programmes false alarms (or are there many colour shows also missing?). I think narrowing the search to B&W would generally be a good idea although there is a fairly comprehensive amount of colour material missing, especially TOTP, but also TISWAS, Z Cars (The 70s episodes are badly affected IIRC), Softly Softly, Doomwatch, Cheggars Plays Pop, Pipkins etc. |
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