Found episodes - available ?

[parkes]

Sorry the subject line of this question was so cryptic but I couldn't think of a more concise way to say it !
This forum is great. I have discovered that many old favourites still exist when I assumed they were long extinct.

My question is : Is it possible to acquire copies of these rare programmes ? Do the private people who own the very rare stuff guard it jealously or do they share with others?

I am genuinely clueless about this - I am not asking this question with any hidden agenda or irony. I just want to know if I will ever see my old favourites again , or do I have to take scant consolation in the knowledge that they are still out there somewhere ?
Thanks

[hartley967]

Hi Parkes.
You can check here
lostshows.com
to see if something exists or not, its not 100% accurate but its a great effort by some people and the best we have got so far.

The other thing to do is post your request list here, somebody might be able to put you on to something?

[parkes]

Thanks Hartley

I had considered posting a list of my 'wants and needs' but I thought that may be against forum protocol. I hate upsetting people !!
I will think long and hard about shows I REALLY need to see again rather than bore people with a long , long list.

Thanks for that link you posted - much appreciated.
Cheers,
Parkes

[Nick Gilbert]

Parkes

There are 5 ways to get hold of old programmes:

1/ Go direct to the TV company/archive holder. Many will sell you a copy (not the BBC or Canal+) for lots of dosh (£100 for 30mins sort of area).

2/ Wait for a DVD release.

3/ Torrents. If you haven't discovered torrents then do your homework now. There is one excellent site which has a plethora of archive TV. It's mentioned at the top of this forum - UKNova. IT IS FREE!!! You may need to be patient to register as they only open registrations when there are places. Most people have to keep visiting for around a week until they catch an open session. The files are computer ones (DivX/Xvid avi mainly) but you can buy a DivX DVD player very easily.

4/ Trading. You try and get hold of stuff that people like and then offer to trade. There is a trading website (British Television Video Swap Shop). It can be difficult to start but, for example, many people can't get the Crown Court channel (Legal TV) so I reckon anyone recording that has a good chance of finding trades. I've been trading 25 years but I started by having a friend with the BBC engineer outtake tapes which I was able to trade for Dr Who. I also provided a go-between service for Betamax/VHS users which worked quite well. Be patient, polite and reliable. Remember they want something from you. Personally I hate posts which simply list 'wants' without listing 'offers'.

5/ Buy from pirates. Please don't go there. Trading has been tolerated for many years by the authorities and I believe it's because it's not big business. Also why pay for something which is available for free by trading or on torrent? OK you may start your collection this way but it's not something I'd do myself.

I wouldn't post a list on this forum if I were you. It probably wont do anything except cheese off the mods.

There you go. I hope it helps. It's a lot easier than it was 25 years ago. Then you'd advertise in a fanzine (usually a Dr Who one) and communicate by letter. You'd spend hours transferring tape-to-tape (usually by moving your recorder into your parent's lounge so you could use theirs for duping) and post off bulky parcels and cross you fingers something would come back. I've only been ripped off once in 25 years but it was a biggy - the first 4 years of Look-in magazine for a dozen tapes which never came. These days communication is by email and blanks DVDs are cheap and easy to copy and post. Young people today don't know they're born.....

[B Thomas]

True - they don't. I remember half my lifetime ago getting excited expecting the next fuzzy, Nth-generation VHS copy of something last seen when we still had a black and white, one channel TV service. Now we have internet, YouTube and good copies of the same available on easily duped disc. How convenient everything is now...

[parkes]

Nick

Thanks for that brilliant and thorough reply !

The Torrents idea is good. I've heard of it but never indulged. I attempted to register with UKNova but found a blank screen. As you say , I'll need to keep trying.

Trading. To be honest I really only have stuff that is already out there freely available. I can't imagine any serious collectors getting excited over my measly haul ! As for the qualities needed , I am proud to say that I am honest , reliable , discreet and friendly. Hope that may help at some stage.
Thanks also for putting me off listing my desired programmes. I can imagine it must get pretty tedious for regular users of this forum to see new blokes like me turning up and demanding help !

Sorry to hear about the Look-In scam. I was an avid reader of that mag back in my youth. I used to get a strange and wonderful feeling reading the TV listings for all the local areas. Being in the LWT area , it almost felt like Tyne Tees , Border and the other parts of Britain were far off , exotic lands !! Especially if they were getting to see a favourite programme that LWT wasn't currently showing. Oh the innocence and wonder of youth !

Thanks again, Nick - greatly appreciated.
Parkes

[Nick Gilbert]

parkes said:

Nick

Sorry to hear about the Look-In scam. I was an avid reader of that mag back in my youth. I used to get a strange and wonderful feeling reading the TV listings for all the local areas. Being in the LWT area , it almost felt like Tyne Tees , Border and the other parts of Britain were far off , exotic lands !! Especially if they were getting to see a favourite programme that LWT wasn't currently showing. Oh the innocence and wonder of youth !

Thanks again, Nick - greatly appreciated.
Parkes

It was 20 years ago so I've sort-of got over it although the prices on eBay make me sit up. Ironically the deal was a bit stupid anyway - I would have got tapes with Quatermass, Adam Adamant Lives, Dr Who etc - very exciting at the time but all out on DVD these days so I would have wasted the mags. I learnt a big lesson.

Keep trying with UKNova as it's really worth it. Recent uploads include Out of the Unknown, How, Just William, Corridor People, series 1 of Freewheelers, Goodies, Grange Hill, Armchair Theatre, Manhunt.