what has the beeb done to recover material

[john white]

hi does anyone know out there,what exactly good old auntie has done to find lost stuff.sure i heard about faxes and that, being sent out ,but is that it ,and that was years ago has the beeb ever sent anyone to go and look.

[Gary C]

answer to your question : not much

[andrew martin]

Well actually... the BBC contacted all the countries where DW had been sold to some years ago - and some episodes were recovered. Unfortunately it is not possible to send BBC staff on a round-the-world trip on the off-chance that any material might be found - which in all probability it would not be. Even if say, a whole story was found somewhere, it would never cover the costs of such an operation. You have to understand that sad though the loss of so much old television (not just "Dr Who" - compared to some programmes it is in fact very well represented in the archive) the BBC's function is basically to make new programmes, and while it can make reasonable efforts to find missing episodes, there has to be a limit to the resources that can be put into it.

[LanceM]

The BBC is going to be actively searching for episodes now. All those letters to the BBC and Television stations have finally started to pay off. Well I hope that we will be seeing some new episodes resurfacing this year. Keep your fingers crossed.

Lance.

[john white]

this is utter nonsense why should they bother about old films,they were either destroyed as instructed,or sent back to enterprises and then binned accept it,this all happened nearly forty years ago,its long gone the search is over..

[Anthony Harvison]

If this is what you believe then may I ask why you are on a missing episodes forum in the first place?

[ron]

At least the BBC has the Treasure Hunt page.

BBC's Treasure Hunt list of missing Doctor Who episodes is up to date (108 "DOES NOT EXIST" or "Clip exists" entries).

For other programmes this is not the case. 'Out Of The Unknown', have not been updated. The episode 'Tunnel Under The World' was returned over a year ago. So www.missing-episodes.com is more accurate!

Doctor Who would seem to be one of the more important programmes for the BBC, so fans should be glad of that.

[Wright Blan]

john said:

this is utter nonsense why should they bother about old films,they were either destroyed as instructed,or sent back to enterprises and then binned accept it,this all happened nearly forty years ago,its long gone the search is over..

Why should they bother? A few good reasons:
1)Money
2)Moolah
3)Greenbacks
4)Loot
5)Cash
6)Dinero
7)$$$$$$
8)Dough
9)Benjamins
10)Change

Trust me, the Beeb would make more money off of a complete "Tenth Planet" dvd, for example, than it would two or three lesser known series. It would definetly do better in the US than, say a series of "Z Cars" or "Miss Marple"

[William M]

ah you mean Spondulics?

[LanceM]

This is possibly why collectors who could possess missing material do not return it to the BBC. They know that the BBC will make a bundle on the return of missing material. So shouldn't people who returned episodes to the BBC archives at least get some sort of reward, or cash incentive? A free copy of the remastered episode at least ? Just an idea, any further information or ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks, Lance.

[Steven Sigel]

lancem said:

This is possibly why collectors who could possess missing material do not return it to the BBC. They know that the BBC will make a bundle on the return of missing material. So shouldn't people who returned episodes to the BBC archives at least get some sort of reward, or cash incentive? A free copy of the remastered episode at least ? Just an idea, any further information or ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks, Lance.

Lance -

I've said this before and I'll say it again:

There is no evidence that anyone has anything. And even less evidence that people are holding onto things because they want to make money off of them.

The vast majority of collectors would be happy to loan their prints back to the BBC. (and in fact in every known case of someone finding a missing Dr. Who episode, they have allowed the BBC to make a copy at no charge).

As a film collector, I am really starting to resent the implication that as a group we are hoarders and money grubbers. Please stop this.

[A Guest]

Maybe not all Film collectors,but there are some.

But those tend to be the ones who collect 1920's-1940s features,shorts and serials.

[paul joyce]

i think there are people out there who do have missing episodes,maybe not of dr who ,but other shows,these people hold the only copies,if they are lost become damaged then it really is the end,better to let the beeb remaster it for you,let them have a safety copy,then it really is safe. the bbc is paid for by us the licence payer the archives are our heritage,our history the junkings stopped a long time ago, lets all work to together to restore our heritage,before in some cases its too late.

[Steven Sigel]

paul said:

i think there are people out there who do have missing episodes,maybe not of dr who ,but other shows,these people hold the only copies,if they are lost become damaged then it really is the end,better to let the beeb remaster it for you,let them have a safety copy,then it really is safe. the bbc is paid for by us the licence payer the archives are our heritage,our history the junkings stopped a long time ago, lets all work to together to restore our heritage,before in some cases its too late.

Hi Paul --

I've found about 10 missing BBC shows, and loaned them to the BBC. Just an FYI though, they don't remaster anything, they just make themselves a copy and send back the original.

[paul joyce]

thats great,you really have played a vital part in restoring telivisuel history please lets hope more people,with your positive attitude to this come forward,and share into this heritage so we can all enjoy it ,the day is approaching when the archive material will be available to all were it should be,....to anyone out there who can help. if your not part of the solution your part of the problem, please help.