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Post by Douglas Wulf on Dec 15, 2013 7:31:10 GMT
From an interview given by Lawrence R. Barnett, board chairman of General Artists Corp. (a US talent agency) in March 1963: Lawrence R. Barnett, board chairman of GAC, related in an interview in New York last week that the agency is in the process of assembling various television packages for 1965-66 including The World of Comedy, The Story of Civilization and The Avengers. The latter program is playing currently in Britain and is highly popular, he said, and it is GAC's intention to assign a producer it represents to co-produce an American version of the show.
So the mystery of how 1 and 1/3rd episodes from series 1 ended up in the UCLA Film and Television Archive may now possibly has an explanation, as it seems reasonable that copies of episodes of the programme (including ones from series 1) would have been acquired by the Americans before deciding to make an American version of the show. It does give a glimmer of hope that further episodes from series 1 might still lay undiscovered in the US.I'll start looking around here immediately! Thanks for posting this interesting bit of information!
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Post by Douglas Wulf on Dec 15, 2013 7:26:48 GMT
And then it was synthpopalooza who reposted that info here on 01 Jan 2007: 11:47 AM ... missingepisodes.proboards.com/thread/3593/missing-episodes-zambiaI knew that New Years 2007 had something to do with it! And then LanceM said that he had contacted Chrispin Hamooya of the National Archives of Zambia previously, so perhaps all this was know previous to any of my posts. I remember reading that article of yours at some point in 2009, when I was still a lurker I do seem to remember some threads involving a lot of posts about Zambia, though like you said, I think the consensus that came back in the end was that the uncategorised films had been checked, and there was no missing Doctor Who (or indeed other shows like Dad's Army, Adam Adamant, etc) amongst them. Not sure who checked them, when they did it, or what actually was there though. Does anyone know if this information was ever released? Well, what Paul Vanezis said in late 2009 was that Zambia had disposed of its stock of foreign (e.g., British) film in the 1980s. That said, it wasn't clear if those films disposed of by destroying them or perhaps they were just shipped elsewhere. So, there was some information released, but maybe more will be told about this eventually. When I came across in Dec. 2006 that description of Zambian television having 10,000 boxes of 16 mm prints with vinegar syndrome and no playback equipment to see what was on these films, it really underscored for me the enormous potential that Zambia and all of Africa held for the recovery of missing episodes of Doctor Who. And, of course, the vinegar syndrome underscored for me the possibility that action would need to be taken swiftly in case any existing films might be in poor storage conditions. Plus, as we have read, various civil wars and fires and such can also take a toll over the years.
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Post by Douglas Wulf on Dec 2, 2013 21:46:03 GMT
One of these days, I hope to hear the full story about Zambia simply because I've been wondering about those Zambian film prints for nearly seven years now. Things like this twitter account annoy me because I can't tell if there is any reality behind it, or if it is just someone kidding around ... twitter.com/truthnomoreI'll certainly be so happy when this 'omnirumor' time is finally entirely over. If episodes are back, that's wonderful! If episodes are not back, that's just how it is. The waiting and speculation is tiring though.
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Post by Douglas Wulf on Oct 19, 2013 23:10:17 GMT
Has it anywhere been revealed whether the episodes of Enemy and Web were found in the same place and/or at the same time as the two episodes of The Sky at Night?
Otherwise, has it anywhere been revealed whether the location and/or time of the Doctor Who and Sky at Night finds were distinct?
Thanks!
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Post by Douglas Wulf on Oct 12, 2013 15:07:32 GMT
If you have not already done so ...
if you want to do something tangible to help get more 1960s Doctor Who released ...
even if you intend to buy the DVDs ...
download those episodes from iTunes!
The downloading 'Enemy' and 'Web' will certainly serve as a test case to determine the level of public interest in these episodes.
Downloading these is casting a loud vote for more 1960s Who via download and DVD. It's also a vote for continuing to back the search for the remaining missing episodes and/or getting animated reconstructions or telesnap reconstructions made.
Your words are not what is going to do it. Money talks loudest!
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Post by Douglas Wulf on Oct 11, 2013 3:46:52 GMT
OK, I have purchased my copies of Enemy and Web from iTunes. I'll encourage every other individual in existence to do likewise.
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Post by Douglas Wulf on Oct 10, 2013 16:04:25 GMT
Plus, it's all over the world press now that 100+ episodes were found in Ethiopia. Even if not true, that sort of story will stir things up too. Recall how long it took for the story about Robert Mugabe holding missing episodes to fade away. Did this actually happen or is it a joke?! Did what actually happen? A story about Robert Mugabe? Yes, it was reported in a tabloid that Robert Mugabe had missing episodes. It was repeated and repeated for quite a long time.
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Post by Douglas Wulf on Oct 10, 2013 16:00:22 GMT
Okay so based on random twitter quotes the general feeling is that Enemy of the World is complete and Web of Fear is missing just the one episode. Obvs I can't take that as read. But the rumours that there are more episodes possibly in existence that we know not of. Sounds like Ian Levine is and has been spot on since day one We are obviously all delighted to have these nine episodes back. Of course, if the BBC then returns to the position of "we can neither confirm nor deny any additional recoveries of missing episodes of Doctor Who at this time,” then a new round of the omnirumor chaos is certain to start up at two minutes after midnight. If there were only 9, the BBC would be able to say that these were all that were found. By making no further statement, the implication is that more have been found. Naturally, I really don't want further omnichaos to happen, and I'm going to try my best to wait as patiently as I am able as further news is released in a painful, protracted, emotional-rollercoaster fashion over months and months, but omnirumor chaos part 2 is just certain to start up at any moment now. The fans will simply not sit still until they find out if Power is back, if Evil is back, if Fury is back, and so forth. It's not as if telling about these 9 will satisfy the fans for longer than a couple of minutes. This is like tossing just a little bit of raw meat to a bunch of sharks. This will stir things up in a big way, I'm sorry to say. Plus, it's all over the world press now that 100+ episodes were found in Ethiopia. Even if not true, that sort of story will stir things up too. Recall how long it took for the story about Robert Mugabe holding missing episodes to fade away.
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Post by Douglas Wulf on Oct 10, 2013 15:46:29 GMT
Okay so based on random twitter quotes the general feeling is that Enemy of the World is complete and Web of Fear is missing just the one episode. Obvs I can't take that as read. But the rumours that there are more episodes possibly in existence that we know not of. Sounds like Ian Levine is and has been spot on since day one We are obviously all delighted to have these nine episodes back. Of course, if the BBC then returns to the position of "we can neither confirm nor deny any additional recoveries of missing episodes of Doctor Who at this time,” then a new round of the omnirumor chaos is certain to start up at two minutes after midnight. If there were only 9, the BBC would be able to say that these were all that were found. By making no further statement, the implication is that more have been found. Naturally, I really don't want further omnichaos to happen, and I'm going to try my best to wait as patiently as I am able as further news is released in a painful, protracted, emotional-rollercoaster fashion over months and months, but omnirumor chaos part 2 is just certain to start up at any moment now. The fans will simply not sit still until they find out if Power is back, if Evil is back, if Fury is back, and so forth. It's not as if telling about these 9 will satisfy the fans for longer than a couple of minutes. This is like tossing just a little bit of raw meat to a bunch of sharks. This will stir things up in a big way, I'm sorry to say.
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Post by Douglas Wulf on Oct 9, 2013 20:11:00 GMT
Hello all. After several months of background research by myself and others, there is now progress in establishing whether there are any BBC tv programmes in the archives of certain specific African stations. I'm afraid though that I can't reveal more information than that at this stage, nor which countries are involved, but communication lines are now established and an exchange of information taking place. As soon as any new information appears I'll let you know. Cheers, Paul Jambo Paul: As my Swahili-speaking friend says: 'Pole pole ndio mwendo.' (Slow and steady wins the race.) Good luck! Asante, Doug As the saying goes in Swahili ... 'Pole pole ndio mwendo.' (Slow and steady wins the race.) So perhaps we need a new thread called "Africa Results" (or, perhaps even "Global Results" or "Back from the Omni-Safari"). Huge congratulations to everyone involved in the very, very, very successful missing episode hunt. You went after very elusive quarry indeed, and success was always unlikely, but you returned victorious! Hip, hip, hooray! Doug
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Post by Douglas Wulf on Sept 11, 2013 5:46:09 GMT
Am I the only one who is actually enjoying all of the gossip and chinese whispers. For me it's been the highlight of the 50th Anniversary because I know how underwhelming the actual 50th Special is going to be, celebrating all things Who since 2005?! The very idea of seeing some complete stories from the 60's actually keeps me awake at night, it could all turn to custard in November and nothing is actually found but I don't beleive it. I've been a Who fan for 47 of it's 50 years and have heard all the rumours, the guy with the grudge against the BBC who has every episode on VHS, The Invasion Part 1 at a US Convention but this has been the most believable so far. Back in the day we only had the egos of BBC execs to cope with, now we have a new species 'The Celebrity Uber Fan!' who are getting as much mileage as they can out of this situation. As I say I've been a fan since the 60's and ever since DWM ran their missing episode list in the 1981 Summer Special and shocked us all at the state of the archives, it's been simply a dream that we'll one day see 'Web Of Fear' and 'Fury From The Deep' again, until now. They've found something, I'm sure of it, it isn't 90 episodes but it's possibly a full story. Even if it's one episode, it's one more than I expected to turn up. Exactly. If the last three years are anything to go by, the only chance of seeing some really good Who for the first time on or around the 50th is if lost episodes are returned. Chatting until the wee hours about possible finds, what they may or may not be and where and by whom the finds were made is far more engaging than sitting through the realisation of another contrived and self-indulgent Moffat script will be. It's a shame things have turned a bit sour of late but situations have been handled badly, which always makes things worse. I'd rather avoid mud-slinging and get back to discussing possible finds; fantasies they may possibly be, but if the only reality is what the BBC has lined up for us, then I'm happy to stay in Cloud Cuckoo Land - the 50th anniversary looks great from here. Well, for me, it's just been a pure misery. I never could have imagined the disaster of this omnirumor mess and how it just goes on and on and on and on. But I'm still going to wait around and see what the outcome is. I've waited for years and years to find out, so I'm determined to witness the resolution, which I hope is coming fairly soon.
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Post by Douglas Wulf on Aug 26, 2013 4:03:03 GMT
If the rumours are false... well, we're no worse off. If the rumours are true... well, it'll be great but knowing it now (in advance of any hypothetical announcement) won't bring us and closer to seeing any recovered episodes. Yes, what you say is true. I agree. By the way, nice wombat pic!
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Post by Douglas Wulf on Aug 9, 2013 1:29:13 GMT
For Mind of Evil, it was necessary to have an additional budget to colorize one episode of a story that should have already existed in color anyway. In other words, the colorization was an additional expenditure for that DVD.
By contrast, let us suppose that all the classic black-and-white stories get released on DVD, but the BBC has an interest in selling yet another version of (for example) 'The Aztecs' on DVD. Well, that already exists as a completed DVD (or two, since it exists as a DVD and a Special Edition DVD, plus one disc of bonus materials). A color edition DVD could be identical in content to the previous special edition potentially so the content budget for the colorized edition of 'The Aztecs' could be directed entirely toward the colorization process. Under those circumstances, colorized versions MIGHT be economically feasible, but I don't know that for sure.
I was also always uninterested in colorized versions of old black-and-white shows, but I've warmed up to them some. First of all, colorization is far, far better than it used to be. Secondly, there is a demographic out there, such as children, who can be highly resistant to black-and-white shows. This is why once the original version DVDs have been sold for a time, colorized versions could be contemplated for those who want to by them, if it should prove economically viable to produce them. I think they would certainly sell.
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Post by Douglas Wulf on Jul 21, 2013 1:45:25 GMT
Recently, I was helping my young son learn a new piece on the piano. He's five years old. Suddenly, he asked me, “How many keys are on this piano?” I said, “Well, let's count them!” There were 88 (as usual). Then, instead of a keyboard full of keys, I pictured a row of 88 16mm film prints, each with a missing episode of Doctor Who from the 1960s. The omnirumor is absurd, yes, but I still hope it's true, because the thought of this just about made me weep. That's why everyone keeps checking in every five minutes to see if there might be any news. Maybe some enjoy reading all the rumors. I don't, yet I can't stop looking.
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Post by Douglas Wulf on Jul 21, 2013 1:23:14 GMT
I don't think even saying “pretty please with sugar on it" will help to get clarity today. However, everything will no doubt be cleared up at some point somehow. Until then, there will be some perplexity.
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