Just searching through some newly unearthed film reels

[Candlelight]

In the same week I post the sixth anniversary of DMP2's discovery, I find out a consignment of 30 boxes of film reels has turned up where I work for sorting out. Naturally I get excited.

Most of it are rushes and stuff that we shot ourselves back in the eighties, but there are some unmarked cans, and we even found some 2" tape reels that are labelled "Trailers" and dated 1966-1971! That dates back to when my company was actually part of NZBC, and broadcast certain programmes that we all know and love...

Will let you know what I find.

...and if I can source a 2" player that actually works...

 

[23skidoo]

I'm sure our fingers are all crossed -- this is the type of scenario in which treasures can be found!

Alex

 

[Winterwind]

Just be careful if you come across any footage of old vaudeville performers.

 

[Starkers]

Ha ha, nice one

 

[The Grinch Doctor]

I'm not giving my hopes up but I would love to be wrong.

 

[23skidoo]

I'm not giving my hopes up but I would love to be wrong.

Same here. Even if all that's found is a trailer for the show, that could still be significant. Imagine if the Web of Fear trailer with the Doctor talking to the audience about the Yeti was located, for example. And there are other shows where finds like trailers could be quite extraordinary, like the Avengers.

Alex

 

[Phillip Culley]

I'm not giving my hopes up but I would love to be wrong.

Same here. Even if all that's found is a trailer for the show, that could still be significant. Imagine if the Web of Fear trailer with the Doctor talking to the audience about the Yeti was located, for example. And there are other shows where finds like trailers could be quite extraordinary, like the Avengers.

Alex

I doubt we'd find that - if anything any trailers found would more likely be New Zealand specific.

Which would be wonderful in their own right, as any clips found from missing episodes would be a valuable find...

 

[Candlelight]

Update: Nothing yet.



As you'd probably expect.

 

[Candlelight]

Looks like another vain hope dashed I'm afraid. I did grab a Two-Inch reel as a souvenir but otherwise it's another dead end.

We did find some stuff that we were looking for, so not all lost. Will keep looking...

 

[Phillip Culley]

Out of interest, was there anything found which would suggest there might have been some Doctor Who (like trailers for other contemporary imported shows), or was there nothing of that sort among them?

 

[Candlelight]

Out of interest, was there anything found which would suggest there might have been some Doctor Who (like trailers for other contemporary imported shows), or was there nothing of that sort among them?

A couple of trailers for cookings and gardening shows, but the VO was a kiwi accent; I couldn't work out if the show was local or from overseas. Most of the reel was taken up with an interview for some local person talking about the roads. Nothing Who related, but it was dated 1967, so it was possible another reel at the same time may have used it. Of the 12 reels of 2" tape, only 3 actually had anything on them.

There is one reel that I haven't been able to check, which is simply labelled 'tech checks'. It was used to thread the machine and check colour levels, sound levels, etc. It's highly unlikely any Who footage will be present on the reel. Probably 15 minutes of bars and tone!

 

[diankra]

So no complete shows? Nice as it would be to find Who, there are plenty of other shows which have missing episodes, and any of them would also be welcomed warmly.

PS: Oh, do check that tech check. A B&W recording of one Pertwee episode was found on the end of a test reel a few years back (they'd simply picked it at random to use as a check). Though it was B&W, it was 625 line, so it could be combined with the colour info from the 525 line copy to produce an improved copy.

 

[Candlelight]

Next time I get over to the museum and get a hold of the 2" player (which ironically we gave them 20 years ago) I'll do just that.

 

[Turbo]

Stupid question: What do you do?

 

[Candlelight]

Former editor turned IT for a post production company.

And part time episode hunter.

 

[Mr. Sin]

Hopefully one day the Troughton Dalek stories will be found. We have nothing of Power of the Daleks save a few clips, and only one episode of Evil of the Daleks (Saved mainly because it was a repeat after The Wheel In Space).

 

[Candlelight]

Hopefully one day the Troughton Dalek stories will be found. We have nothing of Power of the Daleks save a few clips, and only one episode of Evil of the Daleks (Saved mainly because it was a repeat after The Wheel In Space).

It was found in a car boot sale with The Wheel in Space 3. It isn't known if it was part of the repeat screening but then again only episode 1 was tampered with to add the voice over of the Doctor explaining to Zoe who the Daleks were.

 

[diankra]

Hopefully one day the Troughton Dalek stories will be found. We have nothing of Power of the Daleks save a few clips, and only one episode of Evil of the Daleks (Saved mainly because it was a repeat after The Wheel In Space).

It was found in a car boot sale with The Wheel in Space 3. It isn't known if it was part of the repeat screening but then again only episode 1 was tampered with to add the voice over of the Doctor explaining to Zoe who the Daleks were.

No, Wheel in Space 3 came back a few years earlier (it's the only 'missing' episode I've ever seen: the guy who'd recovered it let a few people have copies in between returning it to the BBC and the announcement that it had been returned, so one day a friend who knew him said he had something surprising to show us all at the next local group meeting). It was Faceless Ones 3 which turned up with Evil 2.
I believe that the Evil repeat was run from the original video tapes (with that added voiceover on part one "You see it all began when Jamie and I caught someone stealing the TARDIS...": apart from Feast of Steven most missing episodes seem to have survived on their original; tapes until 1967-ish, and some weren't wiped until 1972/3), so the film prints are unconnected to it.

 

[Candlelight]

Hopefully one day the Troughton Dalek stories will be found. We have nothing of Power of the Daleks save a few clips, and only one episode of Evil of the Daleks (Saved mainly because it was a repeat after The Wheel In Space).

It was found in a car boot sale with The Wheel in Space 3. It isn't known if it was part of the repeat screening but then again only episode 1 was tampered with to add the voice over of the Doctor explaining to Zoe who the Daleks were.

No, Wheel in Space 3 came back a few years earlier (it's the only 'missing' episode I've ever seen: the guy who'd recovered it let a few people have copies in between returning it to the BBC and the announcement that it had been returned, so one day a friend who knew him said he had something surprising to show us all at the next local group meeting). It was Faceless Ones 3 which turned up with Evil 2.
I believe that the Evil repeat was run from the original video tapes (with that added voiceover on part one "You see it all began when Jamie and I caught someone stealing the TARDIS...": apart from Feast of Steven most missing episodes seem to have survived on their original; tapes until 1967-ish, and some weren't wiped until 1972/3), so the film prints are unconnected to it.

I meant Faceless Ones 3. Honestly...

As I recall, the last 2" reels junked were Mission to the Unknown and Fury from the Deep, in July and August of 1974 respectively.

 

[diankra]

As I recall, the last 2" reels junked were Mission to the Unknown and Fury from the Deep, in July and August of 1974 respectively.

That sounds right. Ironically (as Enterprises started destroying their film prints once the seven year period in they had the rights to sell them expired), it might just possibly be that Mission survived longer on its tape than on the Enterprises film prints.