Wiped Episode Discoveries

[Allyn Gibson]

There's something very VERY weird about Who fandom. I'm only on the far periphery of it, but people I know describe a long history of factional bickering, one upmanship, poor behaviour, betrayal, backstabbing and outright unreasoning, unremitting hatred.

I relise Who has been going for so long things have had plenty of time to fragment and become acrimonious, but for crying out loud, it's a bloody T.V. show...

I think a lot of the problems in Who fandom stem from the unavailability of the series for such a long time. Star Trek fandom had daily reruns in the 1970s. Doctor Who fandom had memories of how things used to be. There were dividing lines based on how far back one had seen. There were people who had access to the past and people who wanted access to the past. One's fandom could be measured -- and judged -- by what one had seen, by what one remembered, by what one had kept along the way. Doctor Who fandom wasn't a casual fandom by any means.

Maybe Doctor Who fandom would have been in a better place psychologically if the BBC had done daily reruns in the afternoons after school. Of course, that would have meant different contracts with the various unions, and that would have meant money, and why would the BBC ever want to spend money?

 

[Lonemagpie]

There's something very VERY weird about Who fandom. I'm only on the far periphery of it, but people I know describe a long history of factional bickering, one upmanship, poor behaviour, betrayal, backstabbing and outright unreasoning, unremitting hatred.

Yep, that's Dr Who fandom. I suspect a lot of fandoms are like that on some level; organised fandoms especially. But Dr Who fandom is in a class of its own.

 

[Candlelight]

Phil Morris has again made a statement on the missing episodes facebook group, saying how he came into social media as a Dr Who fan first and foremost, and accepts his position elevates him to the standard of the current production team, etc. He said he's gonna make sure he keeps his fan and director of TIEA views separate from now on. Finally, he finished with this statemnt (which no doubt will be echoed around news sites):

Finally a message to all Dr Who fans interested in my work. I work in an unbelievably dangerous environment. As far as I know nobody else has gone into the volatile regions that I have. It is a wonderful job to search for lost World national heritage TV but a very precarious one. If I choose to give vague answers to repeated questions about my findings then there is a very good reason for this.
In time all shall be revealed. And when that moment comes all interested parties shall find full explanations for the myriad of topics and questions associated with me and my job both past and present, nothing shall be left out. Until then...

Patience is a virtue.

Keep believing and watch this space.

 

[Mr Awe]

I suspect it just means he's got more leads he's following, he doesn't want to mess the leads up, but nothing concrete. That seems to be what those emails indicated as well.

I'm sure when all is revealed, it won't be that exciting. The guy is a lunatic so it's hard to take anything at face value now.

Mr Awe

 

[Candlelight]

The guy is a lunatic so it's hard to take anything at face value now.

I don't know why fans are turning on him. He had a drunken rant. Big deal. Get over it. It's only been news sites that have used his aforementioned elevated status to makes news of this. Who fans bitch about shit like this all the time but we don't make a front papers.

Speaking of news sites, Doctor Who Worldwide have apologised for the past year of spreading rumours:

http://doctorwhoworldwide.com/2014/09/17/omnirumour-steven-moffat-retraction/

 

[Mr Awe]

^ It was for an extended and many of the things he wrote were just plain whacky!

 

[StCoop]

^ It was for an extended and many of the things he wrote were just plain whacky!

Plus he had at least one false Twitter account that he used for months to (a) praise himself, (b) attack Ian Levine and eventually (c) attack everybody.

 

[Lonemagpie]

I'd take the "all will be revealed" thing to mean he'll be writing a Memoir when he stops travelling in search of stuff. Let's hope he lays off the booze...

 

[Candlelight]

Ian Levine has just fired a salvo:

Well it's December 2014, Morris has delivered fuck all, so sadly I am still the man who, to date, has found the most missing Dr Who episodes

Lets sit back and see what happens...

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

It's... not quite December 2014, though, is it?

 

[Relayer1]

It is if you're Ian Levine !

 

[Lakenheath 72]

I am settling to the fact that the missing episodes will probably never be found. There were only so many copies sent to overseas buyers, and many of those were returned to the BBC, where they were subsequently wiped. I wished that the BBC had released the earliest surviving episode of Troughton onto DVD, but since they aren't, I am resigned to not having a copy at home.

 

[Nightowl1701]

Philip Morris, at this point, is the Boy Who Cried Bad Wolf. Yes, he delivered Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear, and we should all be forever grateful to him for that. But, that said, nobody's gonna take him or any more missing episode rumors seriously unless/until more actually do pop up. Which is probably for the best and certainly the way the BBC would prefer it.

 

[Christopher]

But, that said, nobody's gonna take him or any more missing episode rumors seriously unless/until more actually do pop up. Which is probably for the best and certainly the way the BBC would prefer it.

Nobody should ever take rumors seriously, as a general rule of life.

 

[Sindatur]

Ian Levine has just fired a salvo:

Well it's December 2014, Morris has delivered fuck all, so sadly I am still the man who, to date, has found the most missing Dr Who episodes

Lets sit back and see what happens...

Is that what this whole war has always been about? Levine afraid of losing his status if Morris bypasses him in episodes recovered?

Philip Morris, at this point, is the Boy Who Cried Bad Wolf. Yes, he delivered Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear, and we should all be forever grateful to him for that. But, that said, nobody's gonna take him or any more missing episode rumors seriously unless/until more actually do pop up. Which is probably for the best and certainly the way the BBC would prefer it.

I'm not sure Morris wants anyone to believe the rumors, even if there is any truth to them. Sure he goes off the deep end sometimes, and handles things very poorly, but, for the most part, he seems to want to avoid the rumors

 

[Mr Awe]

But, that said, nobody's gonna take him or any more missing episode rumors seriously unless/until more actually do pop up. Which is probably for the best and certainly the way the BBC would prefer it.

Nobody should ever take rumors seriously, as a general rule of life.

Thank goodness you have returned just to drop this pearl of wisdom.

Although, I do agree. The rumors got out of hand, and we saw people who should know better (not on this board) acting badly and now their reputations are tarnished.

Mr Awe

 

[Candlelight]

Ian Levine has just fired a salvo:

Well it's December 2014, Morris has delivered fuck all, so sadly I am still the man who, to date, has found the most missing Dr Who episodes

Lets sit back and see what happens...

Is that what this whole war has always been about? Levine afraid of losing his status if Morris bypasses him in episodes recovered?

Philip Morris, at this point, is the Boy Who Cried Bad Wolf. Yes, he delivered Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear, and we should all be forever grateful to him for that. But, that said, nobody's gonna take him or any more missing episode rumors seriously unless/until more actually do pop up. Which is probably for the best and certainly the way the BBC would prefer it.

I'm not sure Morris wants anyone to believe the rumors, even if there is any truth to them. Sure he goes off the deep end sometimes, and handles things very poorly, but, for the most part, he seems to want to avoid the rumors

He said himself he badly handled how he appeared on social media, and horribly blurred the line of him vs his professional TIEA side. He has since distanced himself from all social media for the foreseeable future (though I've seen him on Facebook recently).

 

[Candlelight]

Other things today:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/11...ppened/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

^ Seems to be a very pro-Levine letter.

Other tweets from the newly regenerated Levine:

Frank Xerri you are a lying shit and you won't get away with spewing libel. I shall sue the fucking arse off you, you disrespectful cunt

And Damien May,after wishing me dead after I had a major stroke,you are too much of a disease ridden scumbag turd to even be worth answering

Um... yeah.

 

[StCoop]

Other things today:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/11...ppened/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

A massive pile of crap. It's been explained more than once that agreements are in place with Actors unions and so on now that would allow the release on any missing episode not just of DW but any old show that was recovered. And given that the soundtracks for all DW episodes exist, finding film without sound would be no impediment to them being released.

While I'd never discount the possibility of more stray episodes turning up some day the Omnirumour itself is the product of hoaxers and one outright criminal, keep alive by people desperate to believe that it's true.

 

[OmahaStar]

While I'd never discount the possibility of more stray episodes turning up some day the Omnirumour itself is the product of hoaxers and one outright criminal, keep alive by people desperate to believe that it's true.

Well, I read about it on the Internet. And, you know, they can't put anything on the Internet that isn't true. I read that on the Internet, too!