John Stewart Miller
Guest
|
Post by John Stewart Miller on Sept 21, 2006 11:08:38 GMT
When the orders came to junk or dispose of the unwanted was their a set group of engineers or workers assigned to oversee their destruction?
Were these workers always the same people, or were they just random people from all over the BBC?
If not then does anyone have a list of these engineers, because they were possibly in the best position to take missing material or at least know others who might have taken material.
Has this avenure been fully explored?
inetnum: 137.158.0.0 - 137.158.255.255
netname: UCTNET-B
descr: University of Cape Town
descr: Lovers' Walk
descr: Lower Campus
descr: Rondebosch
descr: Cape Town
descr: 7701
country: ZA
org: ORG-ZZ213-AFRINIC
admin-c: FG51-AFRINIC
tech-c: FG51-AFRINIC
status: ASSIGNED PI
mnt-by: TF-137-158-MNT
mnt-lower: TF-137-158-MNT
source: AFRINIC # Filtered
parent: 0.0.0.0 - 255.255.255.255
|
|
|
|
Post by B Thomas on Sept 21, 2006 11:40:15 GMT
Yes it has been fully explored - some years ago and more than a few times. It's one of those questions that seems to be asked by each generation of episode hunters.
As far as I know there were no specially tasked "episode junkers". The job of disposing of film copies or wiping tapes fell to already-employed BBC staff on a "whoever was free at the time" basis...
In other words - no one was specifically contracted to junk episodes. It was merely one of many, many jobs to be done around the workplace.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lance M on Sept 21, 2006 13:29:48 GMT
I have read on the net that is what the people who worked on the junking process were refered to as the junking team. Can anyone shed some light on this subject?
Lance.
inetnum: 137.158.0.0 - 137.158.255.255
netname: UCTNET-B
descr: University of Cape Town
descr: Lovers' Walk
descr: Lower Campus
descr: Rondebosch
descr: Cape Town
descr: 7701
country: ZA
org: ORG-ZZ213-AFRINIC
admin-c: FG51-AFRINIC
tech-c: FG51-AFRINIC
status: ASSIGNED PI
mnt-by: TF-137-158-MNT
mnt-lower: TF-137-158-MNT
source: AFRINIC # Filtered
parent: 0.0.0.0 - 255.255.255.255
|
|
|
|
Post by Clive Shaw on Sept 21, 2006 13:57:21 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by StevePhillips on Sept 22, 2006 11:02:02 GMT
I have read on the net that is what the people who worked on the junking process were refered to as the junking team. Can anyone shed some light on this subject? Lance. I believe the idea of a "junking team" is one of the many bits of complete hogwash to come out of *that* article by Paul Lee. Steve |
|
|
|
Post by Gary Critcher on Sept 22, 2006 11:29:18 GMT
Exactly. See my post in the original thread.
|
|
|
|
Post by Scott J on Sept 22, 2006 11:34:26 GMT
So just random BBC workers were told to junk/destroy/wipe material.
Have these workers been contacted or anything?
inetnum: 137.158.0.0 - 137.158.255.255
netname: UCTNET-B
descr: University of Cape Town
descr: Lovers' Walk
descr: Lower Campus
descr: Rondebosch
descr: Cape Town
descr: 7701
country: ZA
org: ORG-ZZ213-AFRINIC
admin-c: FG51-AFRINIC
tech-c: FG51-AFRINIC
status: ASSIGNED PI
mnt-by: TF-137-158-MNT
mnt-lower: TF-137-158-MNT
source: AFRINIC # Filtered
parent: 0.0.0.0 - 255.255.255.255
|
|
|
|
Post by Andrew Martin on Sept 22, 2006 13:10:44 GMT
No... not random BBC workers. Junking and wiping is not something that only happened once or twice, it is a constant on-going process - it would be impossible for the BBC to keep every single piece of film or tape generated. In the 60s/70s, it was just that complete programmes were wiped or junked rather than just rushes, spare copies etc as happens now. The BBC's VT holdings were the responsibility of the engineering department until the late 70s, and were wiped by that department as required. The separate Film Library junked film components as required; by the time the VT stores were amalgamated with it the main mass junkings had ended. Thirdly, there was the BBC Enterprises film library, which had things like most of the surviving 1960s "Dr Who" episodes - these were donated en masse to the main Film and VT library. Those episodes which had been junked prior to that would have been junked by BBC Enterprises staff, again this would be an on-going process.
Contacting all these people is a virtually impossible task - most of the people doing these tasks 30 years ago will be retired, many could be dead! Their private addresses are not something that can be bandied about, in any case it's quite possible that these would not be up to date. Attempts have been made to contact anyone like this, however, by putting letters in the BBC in-house magazines Ariel and Prospero (the latter is for retired staff) asking if anyone had any material they saved from destruction - as far as I am aware nothing has resulted from this. There is also the fact that at least 99% of the people in question wouldn't have any interest in keeping any of the material they were junking in the first place...
|
|
|
|
Post by Gary Critcher on Sept 22, 2006 15:13:59 GMT
''So just random BBC workers were told to junk/destory/wipe material.'
Hardly random workers !!! They were all employees of the BBC Film & VT Library!!'
From my post on the original thread. I know, I used to do it!!
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave Andrews on Oct 9, 2006 16:46:42 GMT
Q. When something is 'junked' is the fact recorded, or does it just 'vanish' ?
inetnum: 88.104.0.0 - 88.107.255.255
netname: DSL-TISCALI-UK
descr: Tiscali UK Ltd
descr: Milton Keynes
descr: Dynamic DSL
descr: ==========================================================
descr: Concerning abuse and spam ... mailto: abuse@uk.tiscali.com
descr: e-mail to other addresses will not be dealt with.
descr: ==========================================================
country: GB
admin-c: TU935-RIPE
tech-c: TU935-RIPE
status: ASSIGNED PA
mnt-by: TU935-RIPE-MNT
source: RIPE # Filtered
|
|
|
|
Post by Andrew Martin on Oct 9, 2006 19:12:04 GMT
For anything junked or wiped by the BBC Film and VT Library since there was an on-line catalogue, that information is on Infax (though not always easy to access). There are is a shelf in the library's Intake department containing files of wiping slips for pre-1978 videotapes, though these files are not complete (they were inherited from the Engineering department), and with old junking slips for film material - both of these are for material lost pre-computerisation.
|
|
|
|
Post by Gary C on Oct 10, 2006 22:54:00 GMT
...when I worked in VT Catalgouing (next door to Current Ops), we had a massive card system for all the 2" video tapes. If the tape was wiped, the engineering report from inside the tape box was kept and folded and stapled to the card with the wiping date on it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Andrew Martin on Oct 11, 2006 16:59:51 GMT
We still have the card file at Windmill Road, but only the cards for existing tapes are in it now.
|
|
|
|
Post by John S Miller on Oct 12, 2006 20:13:53 GMT
When the orders came to junk or dispose of the unwanted was their a set group of engineers or workers assigned to oversee their destruction? Were these workers always the same people, or were they just random people from all over the BBC? If not then does anyone have a list of these engineers, because they were possibly in the best position to take missing material or at least know others who might have taken material. Has this avenure been fully explored? By the way - Administrators; I don't recall posting this thread - it's not the type of heading I would use. Can you look into this? Cheers - posted by Johnsmiller on 12th October 2006 and yes this IS me, of Zokko, Top of the pops, Adfventure weekly etc. |
|
|
|
Post by Peter Bradford on Oct 18, 2006 20:22:46 GMT
FAO Andrew Martin,
Do you work with Edwin Parsons? I gave him (free) a headblock for an Ampex AVR2 and he has never replied to my emails asking how the BBC got on with it. I'm more than a bit miffed.
|
|
