rather odd ideas

[Greg H]

spinynorman said:

Offering money for lost episodes. Or issuing search warrants.

Search warrants, good idea!
Got anyone specific in mind?
I certainly cant think of anyone.......... lol!!

[William Martin]

but it is a rather odd/crazy idea

[JeffL]

Someone made a comment earlier about why the US holds a lot of its old shows while the BBC does not. SOmeone felt the BBC cared nothing of British culture. I don't know abot that.

In the US, there are some TV shows from the early 1950's that no longer exist. But by the time the late 1950's came along, the US understood the value of syndicated reruns on local television stations.

Up until the late 1970's, the US had four networks, ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS. There were dozens of local TV stations that simply could not afford to produce their own TV shows, seven days per week. So the networks made their popular shows available in syndication and they would all be broadcast just before the evening news and again between the news and the evening prime time lineup. They would also air them during the late morning before all the network game shows and soap operas came on the air.

That's one of the benefits of a competitive marketplace. In the old days, it is my understanding that the BBC was all that was available in the UK and as such they could make their own rules. They didn't run advertising as far as I could tell and had no need to cater to the advertiser like they do here. If advertisers demanded "Doctor Who" or "Cliff on Saturday Night" repeats in the 1960's and 1970's, you can bet anything that they would have kept them around.

I think by the time the 1980's got here, the BBC finally realized they had many marketable TV shows that could generate revenue from around the world in syndication or in reruns.

[JeffL]

Oh and my idea is to go to attend more garage sales, yard sales, flea markets, and estate sales to see what you could find. Being in the US, unfortunately our success at finding old UK shows copuld be near zero. But I also have a huge Canadian population in my area and who knows...maybe some of them brought along BBC-to-CBC recordiings that they got their hands on.

[hartley967]

bendragenus5 said:

That's one of the benefits of a competitive marketplace. In the old days, it is my understanding that the BBC was all that was available in the UK and as such they could make their own rules. They didn't run advertising as far as I could tell and had no need to cater to the advertiser like they do here. If advertisers demanded "Doctor Who" or "Cliff on Saturday Night" repeats in the 1960's and 1970's, you can bet anything that they would have kept them around.

I think by the time the 1980's got here, the BBC finally realized they had many marketable TV shows that could generate revenue from around the world in syndication or in reruns.

There is misconception from outside the UK that UK TV is just the BBC a creaky old anachronism who calls the shots.
Not true, the BBC has had competition from the ITV network from the 1950s commercially run stations around the UK, all producing their own programmes.Some (as you say in the US) not being wealthy enough to produce a continuing stream of new programmes but buying in from other stations on the network or if outside, mainly the USA, Canada and Australia.

[rmf]

bendragenus5 said:

In the US, there are some TV shows from the early 1950's that no longer exist. But by the time the late 1950's came along, the US understood the value of syndicated reruns on local television stations.

Up until the late 1970's, the US had four networks, ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS. There were dozens of local TV stations that simply could not afford to produce their own TV shows, seven days per week. So the networks made their popular shows available in syndication and they would all be broadcast just before the evening news and again between the news and the evening prime time lineup. They would also air them during the late morning before all the network game shows and soap operas came on the air.

1) While most American prime-time programming does survive, firstly, many programs are not in optimal shape (for instance, many programs originally in color survive only in b/w copies), and, secondly, programming outside of prime-time and in certain genres (news and sports coverage in particular) have survival rates that are very poor as late as the late 1970s.

2) This description of syndication has some flaws. First, syndicated repeats during much of the era in question were distributed by companies independent of the networks (especially after networks were barred from owning syndication companies in the early 1970s) on behalf of the independent production companies that, in this era, tended to own the rights to most programs. In addition, the time-slot description is most applicable to network affiliates. Syndicated programs could (and did) air on all hours of the day on independent stations, and there are other times often used for airing these programs on network affiliates (such as the early morning hours).

[Greg H]

rmf said:

bendragenus5 said:

In the US, there are some TV shows from the early 1950's that no longer exist. But by the time the late 1950's came along, the US understood the value of syndicated reruns on local television stations.

Up until the late 1970's, the US had four networks, ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS. There were dozens of local TV stations that simply could not afford to produce their own TV shows, seven days per week. So the networks made their popular shows available in syndication and they would all be broadcast just before the evening news and again between the news and the evening prime time lineup. They would also air them during the late morning before all the network game shows and soap operas came on the air.

1) While most American prime-time programming does survive, firstly, many programs are not in optimal shape (for instance, many programs originally in color survive only in b/w copies), and, secondly, programming outside of prime-time and in certain genres (news and sports coverage in particular) have survival rates that are very poor as late as the late 1970s.

2) This description of syndication has some flaws. First, syndicated repeats during much of the era in question were distributed by companies independent of the networks (especially after networks were barred from owning syndication companies in the early 1970s) on behalf of the independent production companies that, in this era, tended to own the rights to most programs. In addition, the time-slot description is most applicable to network affiliates. Syndicated programs could (and did) air on all hours of the day on independent stations, and there are other times often used for airing these programs on network affiliates (such as the early morning hours).

Yes, but its much better to have a reference copy of something than none. Black and white or colour, its the same show.

[Greg H]

bendragenus5 said:

Oh and my idea is to go to attend more garage sales, yard sales, flea markets, and estate sales to see what you could find. Being in the US, unfortunately our success at finding old UK shows copuld be near zero. But I also have a huge Canadian population in my area and who knows...maybe some of them brought along BBC-to-CBC recordiings that they got their hands on.

I agree. Its certainly far from impossible that something might end up at a car bootsale. Ive found film cans before and my heart always skips a beat, nothing missing as yet though. For sure its a needle in a haystack approach, but far from clutching at straws

[William Martin]

car boot sales are one of the best starting points, also charity shops and second hand shops, it can be worth visiting all the charity shops in the area and asking them to save any film or tape for you