Is anyone rescuing Who off-airs?
Dec 27, 2021 22:24:29 GMT
Stuart Douglas, Ed Brown, and 3 more like this
Post by Stephen Jones on Dec 27, 2021 22:24:29 GMT
Hi all,
I’ve lurked here pretty much since day one, but don’t really like posting.
I find this post particularly difficult to write as I can’t help hear the words of Philip Morris’ original post on this forum, all those years ago, echoing in the back of my head.
And mine isn’t nearly as important.
But anyway....
I know there are people here who scour old VHS for missing material, but is there an organised plan for the recovery of Doctor Who off-air recordings?
Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen three people on forums, and one in DWM, talking about their off-air Doctor Who VHS collections and how they don’t have the means to play them any more.
Every time I read something like this I die a little bit inside.
I’ve been collecting Doctor Who continuity and trails for decades and the thought of of-air tapes languishing all over the country and gradually deteriorating makes me unreasonably anxious.
I find myself wanting to offer a free collection, transfer and return of all those tapes (or discs or whatever), just in case there is something worth keeping.
I don’t have a 9 - 5, so would have more than enough time, but I tend to keep quiet because I’m very aware that I don’t have any official status, and some bloke on a forum, especially one who doesn’t like to post much, might not sound like the safest option.
Over the years, I have borrowed and transferred the collections of a few fans, from all over the country, most of which I 'met' through being a 'dubsite' for Loose Cannon. I always went to meet them in person first, so it’s taken me all over the place and I’ve met some great people.
I’ve also found a few off-air gems this way.
I would love to save more off-air recordings, but I realise I don’t really know if anyone else is already making it their mission to actively search out this stuff.
If they are, surely they’ll be here?
I can’t think of a way I’d rather spend my free time than archiving all that off-air Doctor Who and would welcome discussion on how best to do that.
Missing episodes have fascinated me since that shocking list in DWM in ‘81, but I’m also very aware that Doctor Who isn’t the only programme in the world and that there could be other footage out there on tapes. There’s no danger of me taking just the Who frippery and missing something more valuable.
It’s not just classic series either.
A particular passion of mine are the BBC3 repeats of the new series, which seem very hard to find.
Posting things on Youtube really isn’t for me, but my aim is always to try to share my collection with anyone else who is interested. In fact, I once gave someone a copy of my entire archive in return for borrowing his tapes. At the time my archive was almost nine terabytes.
More now!
I’m not interested in hoarding anything. I will always share as widely and quickly as I can.
Having said that, it isn’t easy. I offered my off-air Who trails to the TV Museum before ‘The Collection’ blu-rays began, but it wasn’t followed up. I assumed they must already have good copies, but annoyingly I’ve since seen incomplete trails on the blu-rays which I have complete versions of.
I’ve got a trail / teaser for Revelation of The Daleks which wasn’t on the DVD. I hope they now have another copy for the eventual season 22 set because I couldn’t get anyone interested in mine.
It’s just a clip with a caption and voice-over; nothing earth-shattering, and trails and continuities are hardly proper missing episodes, I know, but it’s been my particular niche within a niche of Doctor Who fandom for forty years now and I fear just how much good stuff is getting discarded or becoming inaccessible.
To be honest, I’d be a bit more comfortable discussing this off-board, which is just my on-the-spectrum preference.
Happy to receive any polite and respectful responses however.
I’ve lurked here pretty much since day one, but don’t really like posting.
I find this post particularly difficult to write as I can’t help hear the words of Philip Morris’ original post on this forum, all those years ago, echoing in the back of my head.
And mine isn’t nearly as important.
But anyway....
I know there are people here who scour old VHS for missing material, but is there an organised plan for the recovery of Doctor Who off-air recordings?
Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen three people on forums, and one in DWM, talking about their off-air Doctor Who VHS collections and how they don’t have the means to play them any more.
Every time I read something like this I die a little bit inside.
I’ve been collecting Doctor Who continuity and trails for decades and the thought of of-air tapes languishing all over the country and gradually deteriorating makes me unreasonably anxious.
I find myself wanting to offer a free collection, transfer and return of all those tapes (or discs or whatever), just in case there is something worth keeping.
I don’t have a 9 - 5, so would have more than enough time, but I tend to keep quiet because I’m very aware that I don’t have any official status, and some bloke on a forum, especially one who doesn’t like to post much, might not sound like the safest option.
Over the years, I have borrowed and transferred the collections of a few fans, from all over the country, most of which I 'met' through being a 'dubsite' for Loose Cannon. I always went to meet them in person first, so it’s taken me all over the place and I’ve met some great people.
I’ve also found a few off-air gems this way.
I would love to save more off-air recordings, but I realise I don’t really know if anyone else is already making it their mission to actively search out this stuff.
If they are, surely they’ll be here?
If somebody is already doing this in an organised way, I don’t want to tread on any toes or muddy any waters. Maybe I could aid the existing effort?
Missing episodes have fascinated me since that shocking list in DWM in ‘81, but I’m also very aware that Doctor Who isn’t the only programme in the world and that there could be other footage out there on tapes. There’s no danger of me taking just the Who frippery and missing something more valuable.
It’s not just classic series either.
A particular passion of mine are the BBC3 repeats of the new series, which seem very hard to find.
Posting things on Youtube really isn’t for me, but my aim is always to try to share my collection with anyone else who is interested. In fact, I once gave someone a copy of my entire archive in return for borrowing his tapes. At the time my archive was almost nine terabytes.
More now!
I’m not interested in hoarding anything. I will always share as widely and quickly as I can.
Having said that, it isn’t easy. I offered my off-air Who trails to the TV Museum before ‘The Collection’ blu-rays began, but it wasn’t followed up. I assumed they must already have good copies, but annoyingly I’ve since seen incomplete trails on the blu-rays which I have complete versions of.
I’ve got a trail / teaser for Revelation of The Daleks which wasn’t on the DVD. I hope they now have another copy for the eventual season 22 set because I couldn’t get anyone interested in mine.
It’s just a clip with a caption and voice-over; nothing earth-shattering, and trails and continuities are hardly proper missing episodes, I know, but it’s been my particular niche within a niche of Doctor Who fandom for forty years now and I fear just how much good stuff is getting discarded or becoming inaccessible.
To be honest, I’d be a bit more comfortable discussing this off-board, which is just my on-the-spectrum preference.
Happy to receive any polite and respectful responses however.