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Post by Peter Stirling on Apr 14, 2016 23:36:46 GMT
Sounds a bit fishy to me- why would anyone bother erasing tapes that are no longer used in television, the erasing procedure would be an additional time and cost anyway.
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Kev Hunter
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The only difference between a rut and a groove is the depth
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Post by Kev Hunter on Apr 15, 2016 9:16:42 GMT
Have to say I agree, Peter.
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Post by John Green on Apr 15, 2016 9:28:14 GMT
Actually,I didn't think that the quotes about erasures made any obvious sense.Did recordings exist at a point where digitalisation was an option?
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Kev Hunter
Member
The only difference between a rut and a groove is the depth
Posts: 625
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Post by Kev Hunter on Apr 15, 2016 9:36:16 GMT
That was the part which made me sceptical too, John.. I don't recall ever seeing any repeated Lift Off performances in the years before digitaisation was even possible.
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Post by Bob Savage (robstar) on Apr 15, 2016 9:39:59 GMT
I must agree also tapes being wiped when things were being digitized doesnt add up as by this time old material was being valued. I wonder if they were junked earlier or went walkies both if which means there are chances of survuval Granada were pretty good at holding on to their archive at this point!
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Post by Peter Stirling on Apr 15, 2016 11:06:12 GMT
There was a point in the early 1990s when LWT started to transfer their archive to digital (ironically that D format then is now defunct)they entrusted it to another firm, some of the old tapes they had a problem playing they just chucked out as they thought there was no hope for them, and obviously hindsight is a wonderful thing as modern knowledge & technology probably could have saved them? The space series with Ian Hendry (can't recall it's name right now)was thought to have suffered from that fate..and the thinking might have been that as a serial one or two dodgy episodes meant they could not show the series anyway?..so out it all went.
..but that is still no excuse for loosing a 100+ self contained eps of Lift Off.
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Post by Bob Savage (robstar) on Apr 15, 2016 15:33:40 GMT
Well chucked out gives hope that someone might have picked them up!
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Post by John Green on Apr 15, 2016 16:20:34 GMT
There was a point in the early 1990s when LWT started to transfer their archive to digital (ironically that D format then is now defunct)they entrusted it to another firm, some of the old tapes they had a problem playing they just chucked out as they thought there was no hope for them, and obviously hindsight is a wonderful thing as modern knowledge & technology probably could have saved them? The space series with Ian Hendry (can't recall it's name right now) Don Quick,or something like that? |
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Post by markdixon on Apr 16, 2016 7:06:22 GMT
The "Daily Express" article doesn't seem accurate to me because it seems to suggest that the tape wiping took place relatively recently. I've assumed for quite a while that the majority of "Lift Off" episodes were junked some time in the 1970s. The poor survival rate of the series is similar to that of several other programmes made by Granada's children's department in the early 70s. For example only 1 or 2 editions of the quiz/talent show "Anything You Can Do" still exist and there are very few early episodes of "Clapperboard" and "A Handful of Songs" left in the archives.
There was a Granada regional programme in the early 1990s that ran a series of 5-minute features about classic Granada music programmes. "Lift Off" was featured one week and I got the impression that very little survived of the series. All the footage that was used seemed to come from one episode (it might have all been from the final episode). If all the episodes of "Lift Off" had still existed in the early 1990s then Granada would surely have repeated clips of Bowie, Black Sabbath, Roy Wood etc.
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Post by Scott Douglas on Apr 17, 2016 4:45:10 GMT
There is not an even a remote possibility this article talking about the episodes being destroyed in the digital age could be correct in any shape or form.
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Post by Ray Langstone (was saintsray) on Apr 19, 2016 12:29:22 GMT
There is not an even a remote possibility this article talking about the episodes being destroyed in the digital age could be correct in any shape or form. I believe they may have been wiped in the 80's. But any later than that?  Surely not. As bleslie says, quite rightly, there are things amiss in the article. Bear in mind that The Adventures of Rupert Bear (Polygram wiped the ATV show) and the Adam Lee Wipings of BBC childrens' shows were in the early 90's - and Lift Off was thought of as a childrens' show. It may be worth me asking the very wonderful Keith Badman about his opinion on this - or Chris Perry - as both of them have excellent contact with ITN Source. I will be back online more from next week - I've taken a bit of a ""holiday"" at the moment. |
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Post by Mark Tinkler on Apr 19, 2016 18:55:21 GMT
There was a point in the early 1990s when LWT started to transfer their archive to digital (ironically that D format then is now defunct)they entrusted it to another firm, some of the old tapes they had a problem playing they just chucked out as they thought there was no hope for them, and obviously hindsight is a wonderful thing as modern knowledge & technology probably could have saved them? The space series with Ian Hendry (can't recall it's name right now)was thought to have suffered from that fate..and the thinking might have been that as a serial one or two dodgy episodes meant they could not show the series anyway?..so out it all went. ..but that is still no excuse for loosing a 100+ self contained eps of Lift Off. 'Ang on, hang on, Lift Off was made by Granada - not LWT. And LWT sent any tapes they had transferred/finished with to the BFI. In fact, everyone sent their old tapes to the BFI - they must have hundreds of 'em them there now. Bearing in mind the revent press stories by rare flims being found in their archive, not impossible some might be there when they plough their way through all the tapes... Not saying that LWT are blameless - but at least Supersonic still exists in it's full glory (might be the odd one missing but I don't think so off the top of my head). |
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Post by John Green on Apr 19, 2016 20:07:03 GMT
There was a point in the early 1990s when LWT started to transfer their archive to digital (ironically that D format then is now defunct)they entrusted it to another firm, some of the old tapes they had a problem playing they just chucked out as they thought there was no hope for them, and obviously hindsight is a wonderful thing as modern knowledge & technology probably could have saved them? The space series with Ian Hendry (can't recall it's name right now)was thought to have suffered from that fate..and the thinking might have been that as a serial one or two dodgy episodes meant they could not show the series anyway?..so out it all went. ..but that is still no excuse for loosing a 100+ self contained eps of Lift Off. 'Ang on, hang on, Lift Off was made by Granada - not LWT. And LWT sent any tapes they had transferred/finished with to the BFI. In fact, everyone sent their old tapes to the BFI - they must have hundreds of 'em them there now. Bearing in mind the revent press stories by rare flims being found in their archive, not impossible some might be there when they plough their way through all the tapes... Not saying that LWT are blameless - but at least Supersonic still exists in it's full glory (might be the odd one missing but I don't think so off the top of my head). And about 3 or 4 years ago,it was discovered that the BFI had finally cataloged dozens of 'missing' tapes that had been donated to them more than a quarter of a century before. |
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Post by Richard Marple on Apr 19, 2016 20:37:45 GMT
Funny I didn't twig something was up with the mention of LWT, though it did cross my mind that any transferred tapes might have been donated to the BFI rather than being junked.
Checking the lost shows site, I do note that Granada kept all of Shang-a-Lang.
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Post by Peter Stirling on Apr 20, 2016 8:29:28 GMT
There was a point in the early 1990s when LWT started to transfer their archive to digital (ironically that D format then is now defunct)they entrusted it to another firm, some of the old tapes they had a problem playing they just chucked out as they thought there was no hope for them, and obviously hindsight is a wonderful thing as modern knowledge & technology probably could have saved them? The space series with Ian Hendry (can't recall it's name right now)was thought to have suffered from that fate..and the thinking might have been that as a serial one or two dodgy episodes meant they could not show the series anyway?..so out it all went. ..but that is still no excuse for loosing a 100+ self contained eps of Lift Off. 'Ang on, hang on, Lift Off was made by Granada - not LWT. And LWT sent any tapes they had transferred/finished with to the BFI. In fact, everyone sent their old tapes to the BFI - they must have hundreds of 'em them there now. Bearing in mind the revent press stories by rare flims being found in their archive, not impossible some might be there when they plough their way through all the tapes... Not saying that LWT are blameless - but at least Supersonic still exists in it's full glory (might be the odd one missing but I don't think so off the top of my head). Hi Mark I only mentioned LWT as an example of the thinking way back when, that might have led to a tape being discarded, they obviously had nothing to do with Granada's output. But as you imply all roads lead back to the black hole of the BFI. Companies had no time or incline to stand there erasing old product they simply bunged it all in a van and sent it down to the BFI. |
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Surely not.