Probably crazy missing episode thought

[Greg Glenn]

As some of you may know, I live in Korea. Had a thought last week. As the UK participated in the Korean War and stationed a few troops in Korea afterward, would they have been sent television/radio programs on film/disc like the American forces had sent to them? As the subject line says, probably a crazy idea, but I'm trying to think outside the box. I've seen some mighty weird stuff at various flea markets in Seoul including two (!) 35mm Technicolor prints of reel 10 of the Ten Commandments (1956). Yes, just reel 10. Also found a dozen or so beautiful European tube table-model radios from the 1950s for sale at a junk shop. So things you wouldn't expect do show up here. I know the bulk of troops after the war were - and still are - American. There may not have been enough troops from the UK to warrant sending video/audio material. And I was just a stone's throw away from the British Embassy in Seoul today - wouldn't mind asking the ambassador for help with the search if I had to (lol).

And yes, that is me with Steve Hackett. Any rockers out there will know him well. Really nice guy.

[Peter Stirling]

Well this turned up in Hong Kong (not far from you LOL)

ATV show Cliff Richard


Plus all forces usually had access to 16mm projectors.

You also have to think about the humidity problems in the Far East where a film copy might have been preferable to a tape copy for playing reliability in those days?
So a good idea I reckon.

[RWels]

A few US TV shows are missing too, so it might not be such a bad idea to keep checking if you see any. Seems "My living doll" for example was lost in 1994 in an earthquake.

Odd reels from movies: That always sounds mysterious, doesn't it? Where's the rest? Perhaps several incomplete prints were combined and this was where they overlapped each other. Twice.

[Simon Collis]

Oct 27, 2013 0:16:54 GMT RWels said:

A few US TV shows are missing too, so it might not be such a bad idea to keep checking if you see any.

Oh enormous amounts are missing. Lots of 40s & 50s stuff is missing. Almost everything made by the Dumont network. The 1966 version of Brigadoon with Peter Falk - only an off air movie-camera-pointed-at-the-TV version survives (or it did last time I knew). The problem is there's so much to check for and there don't seem to be so many people looking as there are for British TV as far as I can tell.

[Greg Glenn]

Well it sounds like a few people don't think it's such a crazy idea. I'll keep poking around. Interesting about the Cliff Richard show in Hong Kong.

[RWels]

Oct 27, 2013 0:24:32 GMT Simon Collis said:

Oct 27, 2013 0:16:54 GMT RWels said:

A few US TV shows are missing too, so it might not be such a bad idea to keep checking if you see any.

Oh enormous amounts are missing. Lots of 40s & 50s stuff is missing. Almost everything made by the Dumont network. The 1966 version of Brigadoon with Peter Falk - only an off air movie-camera-pointed-at-the-TV version survives (or it did last time I knew). The problem is there's so much to check for and there don't seem to be so many people looking as there are for British TV as far as I can tell.

Well, '40s and '50s stuff missing, luxury! Compared to the UK (where most shows were not even recorded in the '50s) they did just fine. Otherwise today we would have just a dozen or two episodes of The Addams Family (out of 64), and only half the Twilight Zone, and so on.

I agree that there doesn't seem to be much drive for finding lost US shows. Perhaps '40s and '50s shows were too early to really become a collective thing in US TV culture? So they may not be the shows that are missed.

[Simon Collis]

True, the situation for US TV isn't as bad as it is here in a lot of respects. But even so, that's no reason to dismiss it. Much as I'd like to see the 1969 BBC moon landing footage recovered (with Pink Floyd jamming live in the studio), the 1955 version of Pride & Prejudice with Peter Cushing as Mr Bennet or the 1950s series with Troughton playing Robin Hood (with an avatar like this, that will surprise nobody), that's not to say that other things aren't just as valuable, if not culturally important, that aren't out there to be found. Just because nobody has an impetus to find them doesn't mean nobody should bother looking.

But it all boils down to your original point anyway - keep checking if you see any.

[Richard Marple]

A lot of the first 20 years of The Tonight Show has been lost.

IIRC it was only when Johnny Carson found a lot of his 1st decade had been wiped that he made sure they were all kept.

[Ken Griffin]

Oct 27, 2013 0:24:32 GMT Simon Collis said:

The 1966 version of Brigadoon with Peter Falk - only an off air movie-camera-pointed-at-the-TV version survives (or it did last time I knew).

That seems to be an urban myth. There are clips on YouTube which appear to be taken from a VHS of the original master. I'd say its unavailability is probably to do with the fact that it's a musical.

[Simon Collis]

Oct 28, 2013 10:48:07 GMT Ken Griffin said:

Oct 27, 2013 0:24:32 GMT Simon Collis said:

The 1966 version of Brigadoon with Peter Falk - only an off air movie-camera-pointed-at-the-TV version survives (or it did last time I knew).

That seems to be an urban myth. There are clips on YouTube which appear to be taken from a VHS of the original master. I'd say its unavailability is probably to do with the fact that it's a musical.

Ah, fine. Glad to know that still exists. It will make my ex happy.

[RWels]

Oct 27, 2013 19:46:47 GMT Simon Collis said:

...the 1955 version of Pride & Prejudice with Peter Cushing as Mr Bennet...

Didn't he play Darcy? It was never recorded, anyway, just like a stage play isn't recorded.

[briancook]

Oct 27, 2013 19:46:47 GMT Simon Collis said:

Much as I'd like to see the 1969 BBC moon landing footage recovered (with Pink Floyd jamming live in the studio), 

thats an urban myth too, sorry!

[Simon Collis]

Oct 28, 2013 11:29:37 GMT RWels said:

Oct 27, 2013 19:46:47 GMT Simon Collis said:

...the 1955 version of Pride & Prejudice with Peter Cushing as Mr Bennet...

Didn't he play Darcy? It was never recorded, anyway, just like a stage play isn't recorded.

Not only did he play Darcy, it was 1952 and a series of 6 episodes. And yes, it wasn't t/r'd, which is a shame. Given my flawed memory I was hoping that it might just have been (after all they did t/r an episode of Robin Hood with Troughton in 1953 - extract on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_lcc-LNUUY) /edit: I checked that on IMDB, should have mentioned that

Oct 28, 2013 13:49:56 GMT briancook said:

Oct 27, 2013 19:46:47 GMT Simon Collis said:

Much as I'd like to see the 1969 BBC moon landing footage recovered (with Pink Floyd jamming live in the studio), 

thats an urban myth too, sorry!

Dang... even Dave Gilmour believed that one! (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/pink-floyds-gilmour-recalls-jamming-to-the-moon-landing-20090721)

[briancook]

Oct 28, 2013 15:14:56 GMT Simon Collis said:

Oct 28, 2013 11:29:37 GMT RWels said:

Didn't he play Darcy? It was never recorded, anyway, just like a stage play isn't recorded.

Not only did he play Darcy, it was 1952 and a series of 6 episodes. And yes, it wasn't t/r'd, which is a shame. Given my flawed memory I was hoping that it might just have been (after all they did t/r an episode of Robin Hood with Troughton in 1953 - extract on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_lcc-LNUUY) /edit: I checked that on IMDB, should have mentioned that

Oct 28, 2013 13:49:56 GMT briancook said:

thats an urban myth too, sorry!

Dang... even Dave Gilmour believed that one! (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/pink-floyds-gilmour-recalls-jamming-to-the-moon-landing-20090721)

don't want to drag this all off topic, pm me if you are interested. it was a different thing they played on.