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Post by martinjwills on Feb 7, 2019 20:23:33 GMT
These were not language dubbed episodes so were probably never seen on air, and if there were only 2 cans seen the odds shorten greatly. if the 53 were returned to the BBC in the 1970s, Iran was still under the Shah and more UK friendly at that time.
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John Wall
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Post by John Wall on Feb 7, 2019 20:55:22 GMT
These were not language dubbed episodes so were probably never seen on air, and if there were only 2 cans seen the odds shorten greatly. if the 53 were returned to the BBC in the 1970s, Iran was still under the Shah and more UK friendly at that time. It seems that they were sent two episodes of Marco Polo from New Zealand but never purchased/broadcast MP. Presumably they viewed those episodes - in English - and liked what they saw. Stories that came in to be broadcast would, I expect, have been viewed, possibly edited, and then broadcast. It all depends upon whether a couple of episodes of a story sent as a “taster” would have been stored with prints that had been acquired to be broadcast and would be expected to be bicycled on to another country or returned to Auntie. Without knowing how the system operated it’s guesswork but two episodes of MP aren’t a lot of use to anybody, I’m not sure Auntie would want them, so they may have just collected dust on a shelf if they weren’t binned. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2023 15:24:06 GMT
Iranian TV was contacted in the early 2000s by Ian Levine who confirmed that they no longer have any BBC material. Any chance of the two episodes surviving in Iran is very unlikely.
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John Wall
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Post by John Wall on Sept 27, 2023 15:54:39 GMT
Iranian TV was contacted in the early 2000s by Ian Levine who confirmed that they no longer have any BBC material. Any chance of the two episodes surviving in Iran is very unlikely. Nigeria was considered to be a dry hole until PM went and checked. Disorganised countries are more likely to have things sitting on shelves for a long time. I’m not holding up a lot of hope for anything to be recovered from Iran - but I’m certainly not volunteering to go and check! |
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Post by michaelnorris on Sept 27, 2023 16:28:21 GMT
Iranian TV was contacted in the early 2000s by Ian Levine who confirmed that they no longer have any BBC material. Any chance of the two episodes surviving in Iran is very unlikely. Nigeria was considered to be a dry hole until PM went and checked. Disorganised countries are more likely to have things sitting on shelves for a long time. I’m not holding up a lot of hope for anything to be recovered from Iran - but I’m certainly not volunteering to go and check! Yeah the only way the Iranian situation could ever get properly resolved is if there was a significant shift in the political regime there that allowed more friendly relations with the UK. I wouldn't count it out until it's been physically and thurough checked. Also I'm long past trusting Ian's phone calls and his views on what may or may not exist. He was so sure Nigeria had nothign else and wasn't afraid to voice that onilne when Enemy and Web were in the process of being returned. Of course anything PM says should probably be taken with a grain of salt as well. |
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Post by John Wall on Sept 27, 2023 19:46:33 GMT
Nigeria was considered to be a dry hole until PM went and checked. Disorganised countries are more likely to have things sitting on shelves for a long time. I’m not holding up a lot of hope for anything to be recovered from Iran - but I’m certainly not volunteering to go and check! Yeah the only way the Iranian situation could ever get properly resolved is if there was a significant shift in the political regime there that allowed more friendly relations with the UK. I wouldn't count it out until it's been physically and thurough checked. Also I'm long past trusting Ian's phone calls and his views on what may or may not exist. He was so sure Nigeria had nothign else and wasn't afraid to voice that onilne when Enemy and Web were in the process of being returned. Of course anything PM says should probably be taken with a grain of salt as well. Trust but verify. Can you imagine turning up at Tehran Airport and the guy at the immigration desk asks why you’re visiting….. “Well”, you say, “I’m looking to see if a couple of reels of b&w 16mm film of a BBC children’s TV programme that were sent from New Zealand about sixty years ago are still around”………. Anybody wanna try that? Asking for a friend…… |
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Post by John Wall on Sept 27, 2023 23:24:50 GMT
Hi all To be clear, at the talk I explained that we have a first hand account from an engineer who had done some work at the state broaďcaster in Tehran. Whilst there he spotted cans of Doctor Who on a shelf. The first two eps of Marco Polo were sent there from New Zealand, and I explained that there was a slim possibility that they could still be in Tehran. I have actually mentioned this before, including to Waris Hussain directly. There are obvious problems with Iran and until there is more of an accord with the west I don't think there is much chance of repatriation. Paul Want to expand on this, Paul? What more is there to say? There’s a very slim possibility of a couple of DW MEs in Tehran but the queue of those willing to go and check has no one in it. |
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Post by michaelnorris on Sept 27, 2023 23:28:58 GMT
Yeah the only way the Iranian situation could ever get properly resolved is if there was a significant shift in the political regime there that allowed more friendly relations with the UK. I wouldn't count it out until it's been physically and thurough checked. Also I'm long past trusting Ian's phone calls and his views on what may or may not exist. He was so sure Nigeria had nothign else and wasn't afraid to voice that onilne when Enemy and Web were in the process of being returned. Of course anything PM says should probably be taken with a grain of salt as well. Trust but verify. Can you imagine turning up at Tehran Airport and the guy at the immigration desk asks why you’re visiting….. “Well”, you say, “I’m looking to see if a couple of reels of b&w 16mm film of a BBC children’s TV programme that were sent from New Zealand about sixty years ago are still around”………. Anybody wanna try that? Asking for a friend…… As Indiana Jones as that sounds, being an American probably puts me even lower in the eyes of Iran than than someone from the British Government 😅 |
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Post by John Wall on Sept 27, 2023 23:52:58 GMT
Trust but verify. Can you imagine turning up at Tehran Airport and the guy at the immigration desk asks why you’re visiting….. “Well”, you say, “I’m looking to see if a couple of reels of b&w 16mm film of a BBC children’s TV programme that were sent from New Zealand about sixty years ago are still around”………. Anybody wanna try that? Asking for a friend…… As Indiana Jones as that sounds, being an American probably puts me even lower in the eyes of Iran than than someone from the British Government 😅 You might very well think that, I couldn’t possibly comment 🤣 However, rest assured that you’re amongst friends and kindred spirits here 👍 |
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Post by stevegerald on Sept 28, 2023 14:01:34 GMT
Trust but verify. Can you imagine turning up at Tehran Airport and the guy at the immigration desk asks why you’re visiting….. “Well”, you say, “I’m looking to see if a couple of reels of b&w 16mm film of a BBC children’s TV programme that were sent from New Zealand about sixty years ago are still around”………. Anybody wanna try that? Asking for a friend…… As Indiana Jones as that sounds, being an American probably puts me even lower in the eyes of Iran than than someone from the British Government 😅 Couldn't we get a fan from an Iran allied country to check it? |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2023 14:45:25 GMT
Noone is bothering to talk about thr 17 hostage episode rumor here.
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Post by John Wall on Sept 28, 2023 15:53:35 GMT
As Indiana Jones as that sounds, being an American probably puts me even lower in the eyes of Iran than than someone from the British Government 😅 Couldn't we get a fan from an Iran allied country to check it? If there’s anyone wiling, why not? |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2023 19:34:33 GMT
Couldn't we get a fan from an Iran allied country to check it? If there’s anyone wiling, why not? Considering that Iran hates the West and supports Russia in the War in Ukraine, the political condition is too dangerous for any episode recovery. Plus, maybe the 17 episodes that are rumored to be in the Middle East might be somewhere else other than Iran. |
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Post by Jaspal Cheema on Sept 28, 2023 22:12:00 GMT
Terrible how a genteel Saturday teatime show for children was wiped and in our bid to recover it's missing episodes has now moved into the realms of dangerous political arenas around the world.A damning indictment of the BBC's junking policy of the 60s and 70s.
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Post by michaelnorris on Sept 28, 2023 22:15:46 GMT
Couldn't we get a fan from an Iran allied country to check it? If there’s anyone wiling, why not? It would be worth a shot. I'd be curious about how much of a fandom there is in the middle east. Now the other question is does Iran want to let anyone into their archives period? Getting into the country is just the first of many steps |
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