BBc stepping up search for missing episodes?

[Guest]

Seen this article on Digital spy. Not sure of the significance of this but if it is true then I guess we should be encouraged.

www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds22691.html

[Stuart Douglas]

Seems like bit of a non-story - an unnamed BBC source and an unconnected quote from Ian Levine.

Still, fingers crossed...

Stuart

[Wright Blan]

Well, you would think someone at the BBC would've figured out by now that recovering Doctor Who episodes = money. Especially with the new series.

[Gareth R]

I have to ask - how, exactly, are they "stepping up the search"?

And let's face it, most of the missing episodes will be of absolutely no interest whatsoever to most of the people who watched the new series.

[Richard Bignell]

Gareth said:

I have to ask - how, exactly, are they "stepping up the search"?

I don't think the *BBC* are. Ian Levine has some renewed interest in searching again (hence his contacting The People and the article in yesterday's newspaper) but I think that the media outlets have just assumed that this is the BBC conducting the search.

Richard

[Wright Blan]

Gareth said:

I have to ask - how, exactly, are they "stepping up the search"?

And let's face it, most of the missing episodes will be of absolutely no interest whatsoever to most of the people who watched the new series.

Just what percentage of new series viewers, in your opinion, would go out and look for old series episoeds on dvd (or video, for that matter)? I would hope the Beeb would want new viewers to go check out the old series on dvd. They do get money back from the sales throught royalties, correct ?Or am I being to American in
having the idea that the Beeb wants to make money off of Doctor Who?

[LanceM]

I can see where film collectors who have had missing episodes are coming froim, they know that the BBC will be making copies of thier film and releasing them commercially, and making a tidy profit in the process. Why can't the BBC offer to give a small percentage of the profits from thier episode sales to the people who returned them to the BBC in the first place ? Then if the BBC stated this new proposal, then collectors who have episodes would be much more willing to relinquish thier material to the BBC for copying. It is just a THOUGHT, an idea, so please take it as such. Any ideas or info would be appreciated.

Thanks, Lance.

[Steven Sigel]

Lance --

It's all well and good to speculate on this -- but the important thing to remember here is that there is no evidence at all to suggest that any collectors have any missing episodes.

Furthermore, if someone did have an episode and wanted to make money from it, don't you think they would have tried one way or another (either by offering it at auction, or offering to sell it to the BBC)?

I think we need to face facts here -- if there are missing episodes out there in private collections -- it's highly likelt that the owners have no idea that anyone is looking for them... Either that, or they don't care either a) about being a good citizen and providing the episode to the world or b) about making money off of the episode....

[LanceM]

Probably right Steven. Just thought I would throw that idea out there and see what happened.

Lance.

[Simon Winchester]

or they've got 3, but are holding them out of spite