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Post by Pete Morris on Sept 26, 2013 1:28:48 GMT
(OT: Which DW, other than Feast of Steven, was not transferred to film?) I'm pretty sure that's the only one. AS I said, all bar one were transferred to film.
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Post by James Amaz on Jan 4, 2014 22:46:53 GMT
So I'm working on an article on missing TV episodes for humor megasite Cracked.com and an editor has told me to roll my items on Quatermass and Dr. Who into one big "The BBC sure was terrible at archiving" item. I've been able to find sources on most of what I need so far, but I want to be able to capture the magnitude of how much material was lost. Do we have a ballpark estimate on how many episodes or hours of footage were junked? Also, I'll need a good source on it.
As stated before, Cracked can be pretty picky about sources. It has to be:
-Online (meaning no print version of books, though Google Books, etc. is fine) and viewable to the general public for free, and preferably without registration. -Trustworthy (the less obscure, the better). -Not a forum post, blog, or on Wiki/Wikia.
You all have been amazing so far. Thanks!
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Post by Mark P on Jan 5, 2014 8:18:19 GMT
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Post by Mark P on Jan 5, 2014 8:23:14 GMT
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Post by Mark P on Jan 5, 2014 8:43:04 GMT
Q. Do we have a ballpark estimate on how many episodes or hours of footage were junked? Also, I'll need a good source on it.
Not all episodes were junked. Some series were transmitted live and simply not recorded due to the technology available at the time. There was no other way to record it other than pointing a 16mm film camera at a TV screen/output monitor, Telerecording. When the TV service started in 1936 nothing was recorded. Video taping didn't start until 1958 and even then not everything was recorded
An example being The Quatermass Experiment (1953). Only the first two live episodes were Telerecorded onto 16mm film. The other episodes from 3 onwards were not recorded so its not possible that they were junked.
So not everything missing in the archives was junked as it simply wasnt recorded in the first place. Other recordings were not junked they were wiped at the request of actors, agents and studios requests often written into contracts. Agents didnt want actors previous work being repeated at a lower cost to the broadcaster stopping the actor being hired for new work.
So missing from the archives includes 1. live broadcasts never recorded to begin with e.g. Outsides Broadcasts of sports, Quartermass Experiment episode 3 onwards. 2. video/telerecordings wiped due to contracts saying they had to be destroyed 3. video/telerecordings junked due to broadcaster policy or lack of it on archiving or to reuse expensive video tapes. 4. video/telerecordings junked or lost due to poor storage and tape/film damage, the vinegar syndrome or fires wars etc..?
Not everything missing was junked. It was sometimes wiped on purpose.
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RWels
Member
Posts: 2,864
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Post by RWels on Jan 5, 2014 12:28:12 GMT
As stated before, Cracked can be pretty picky about sources. It has to be: -Online (meaning no print version of books, though Google Books, etc. is fine) and viewable to the general public for free, and preferably without registration. -Trustworthy (the less obscure, the better). -Not a forum post, blog, or on Wiki/Wikia. Also, if they only accept online material, well that's their decision. I can understand why that is, but it sort of cuts off a lot of potential knowledge.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2014 14:21:35 GMT
(Threads merged).
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Post by James Amaz on Jan 5, 2014 19:05:16 GMT
Q. Do we have a ballpark estimate on how many episodes or hours of footage were junked? Also, I'll need a good source on it. Not all episodes were junked. Some series were transmitted live and simply not recorded due to the technology available at the time. There was no other way to record it other than pointing a 16mm film camera at a TV screen/output monitor, Telerecording. When the TV service started in 1936 nothing was recorded. Video taping didn't start until 1958 and even then not everything was recorded An example being The Quatermass Experiment (1953). Only the first two live episodes were Telerecorded onto 16mm film. The other episodes from 3 onwards were not recorded so its not possible that they were junked. So not everything missing in the archives was junked as it simply wasnt recorded in the first place. Other recordings were not junked they were wiped at the request of actors, agents and studios requests often written into contracts. Agents didnt want actors previous work being repeated at a lower cost to the broadcaster stopping the actor being hired for new work. So missing from the archives includes 1. live broadcasts never recorded to begin with e.g. Outsides Broadcasts of sports, Quartermass Experiment episode 3 onwards. 2. video/telerecordings wiped due to contracts saying they had to be destroyed 3. video/telerecordings junked due to broadcaster policy or lack of it on archiving or to reuse expensive video tapes. 4. video/telerecordings junked or lost due to poor storage and tape/film damage, the vinegar syndrome or fires wars etc..? Not everything missing was junked. It was sometimes wiped on purpose. OK, but has anyone made a ballpark estimate on what, essentially, they "should have" kept or recorded in some way? Even if we only know the quantity of footage that they're currently actively looking for, that would give me something to put to give the readers an idea of how much is gone. For example, my entry on the DuMont network says "Of the roughly 20,000 episodes that aired on the network, only about 350 survive."
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RWels
Member
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Post by RWels on Jan 5, 2014 21:25:38 GMT
The lynchpin is probably what "should have" means. That, and what source one can expect to find about '50s TV shows to back this up (short of doing intensive archive work).
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