Wiped Episode Discoveries

[Brendan Moody]

On another forum Steve Roberts of the Restoration Team has suggested that the ongoing deception was about "the knowledge that your mate working in some of the most Godawfully dangerous countries in the world might be just a tiny bit safer." Presumably a reference to TIEA's archive searches in Africa.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Am I the only one who gets a tad embarrassed by Doctor Who Online Fandom? The only place I come to discuss Who is here, because TrekBBS (well, at least this bit of it) is so very civilised. GallifreyBase is completely laughable. I do follow Blogtorwho and DWO on Twitter because they usually know the best gossip first, but the main Doctor Who forums are just horrible.

Nope. I've always tried to avoid organised fandom for that very reason.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Am I the only one who gets a tad embarrassed by Doctor Who Online Fandom? The only place I come to discuss Who is here, because TrekBBS (well, at least this bit of it) is so very civilised. GallifreyBase is completely laughable. I do follow Blogtorwho and DWO on Twitter because they usually know the best gossip first, but the main Doctor Who forums are just horrible.

Nope. I've always tried to avoid organised fandom for that very reason.

I'm a fan but only if someone organises for me.

 

[Shazam!]

I've always tried to avoid organised fandom for that very reason.

By hanging around on a Star Trek message board?

 

[Lonemagpie]

I've always tried to avoid organised fandom for that very reason.

By hanging around on a Star Trek message board?

Trek fandom seems in my experience to be less like that- maybe because it's traditionally had a wider demographic, or maybe because it's not built on a history of mutually-antagonistic "Local Groups"

 

[inflatabledalek]

If the Mash is covering it, I'm convinced.

 

[Brendan Moody]

Ian Levine is back on Twitter, telling fandom that "THE FATE OF THE OTHER MISSING EPISODES IS IN YOUR HANDS." Apparently if we don't all buy the new episodes from iTunes on Friday, if we wait for a DVD or pirate them, we'll never get the rest, which some sinister person or entity is hoarding.

What a bonkers week. I'd say what Levine is claiming is ridiculous, but so much that looked ridiculous and had been dismissed by official sources is turning out to be true that I'll just wait and see. That's the problem with this kind of secrecy-- when rumormongers turn out to be right and "responsible" parties clueless or dishonest, any rumor becomes more plausible.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Ian Levine is back on Twitter, telling fandom that "THE FATE OF THE OTHER MISSING EPISODES IS IN YOUR HANDS." Apparently if we don't all buy the new episodes from iTunes on Friday, if we wait for a DVD or pirate them, we'll never get the rest, which some sinister person or entity is hoarding.

Which might be the stupidest thing I've heard this week. And that says a lot, really.

What a bonkers week. I'd say what Levine is claiming is ridiculous, but so much that looked ridiculous and had been dismissed by official sources is turning out to be true that I'll just wait and see. That's the problem with this kind of secrecy-- when rumormongers turn out to be right and "responsible" parties clueless or dishonest, any rumor becomes more plausible.

The problem is, we've got no idea of anything. I think they mean to "surprise" the fans with "sudden" announcement of some episodes found, yet in this day and age, is taht really feasible? No.

I don't know, really. Its all plausible, at this point.

 

[StCoop]

So basically it's the nightmare scenario. There is a big stash of episodes out there. The person who has them wants the BBC to pay a fortune to hand them over, so the corporation are going to flog the episodes they have got on itunes (or rather through their new BBC Store*) to demonstrate that they can cover the costs of buying more. At which point the person with them will no doubt jack the price up.

Ain't blackmail wonderful.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24442265

 

[Starkers]

So basically it's the nightmare scenario. There is a big stash of episodes out there. The person who has them wants the BBC to pay a fortune to hand them over, so the corporation are going to flog the episodes they have got on itunes to demonstrate that they can cover the costs of buying more. At which point the person with them will no doubt jack the price up.

Ain't blackmail wonderful.

If there was someone out there with a huge stash, what would stop them cutting out the middle man, as it were, and just making a deal with a DVD production company? Or are the episodes still effectively BBC copyright material (even though the BBC effectively destroyed all copies back in the day).

 

[diankra]

Pretty sure there's some people left from Web of Fear: if nobody from among the soldiers, then I think I'd have heard about Rod Beacham (Corporal Lane) dying via Blake's 7 fandom (he wrote Assassin, and the Ice Maiden episodes of Bergerac). Also, wikipedia has a page from Ralph Watson (Captain Knight) which says he's still around.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

If there was someone out there with a huge stash, what would stop them cutting out the middle man, as it were, and just making a deal with a DVD production company? Or are the episodes still effectively BBC copyright material (even though the BBC effectively destroyed all copies back in the day).

The BBC owns the copyright on the material on the films. There's no way to commercially exploit it without the BBC's participation.

And even if the person who had the hoard waited for the copyrights to expire in a few decades, the BBC could attempt to stifle exploitation through trademark.

 

[StCoop]

If there was someone out there with a huge stash, what would stop them cutting out the middle man, as it were, and just making a deal with a DVD production company? Or are the episodes still effectively BBC copyright material (even though the BBC effectively destroyed all copies back in the day).

The episodes themselves are BBC copyright until 70 years after the end of the year in which the death occurs of the last to survive of the principal director, the authors of the screenplay and dialogue, and the composer of any music specially created for the film.*

The physical cans of film they're stored on are another matter.


http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-duration/c-duration-faq/c-duration-faq-lasts.htm

 

[Starkers]

If there was someone out there with a huge stash, what would stop them cutting out the middle man, as it were, and just making a deal with a DVD production company? Or are the episodes still effectively BBC copyright material (even though the BBC effectively destroyed all copies back in the day).

The BBC owns the copyright on the material on the films. There's no way to commercially exploit it without the BBC's participation.

And even if the person who had the hoard waited for the copyrights to expire in a few decades, the BBC could attempt to stifle exploitation through trademark.

I figured that would be the case, I just wondered if there was some kind of legal loophole given the BBC didn't care enough about the material to keep it in the first place

 

[StCoop]

I figured that would be the case, I just wondered if there was some kind of legal loophole given the BBC didn't care enough about the material to keep it in the first place

It was nothing to do with not caring. It was the massive cost of storing something (not just Doctor Who) that there was no way of forseeing would ever have any future value. An episode of British TV in the 1960's was designed to be seen at most twice and then never again.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Pretty sure there's some people left from Web of Fear: if nobody from among the soldiers, then I think I'd have heard about Rod Beacham (Corporal Lane) dying via Blake's 7 fandom (he wrote Assassin .

He died on February 12th this year.

http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/2013/04/rod-beacham/

 

[Brendan Moody]

BBC News finally reporting it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24448063.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

BBC News finally reporting it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24448063.

If Lizo Mzimba is reporting it, then it must be true.

 

[Turbo]

Pretty sure there's some people left from Web of Fear: if nobody from among the soldiers, then I think I'd have heard about Rod Beacham (Corporal Lane) dying via Blake's 7 fandom (he wrote Assassin .

He died on February 12th this year.

http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/2013/04/rod-beacham/

Yikes, I missed that. =/

So it looks like the only major actors left are Frazer, Deborah, Tina Packer (Anne Travers) and Jon Rollason (Chorley)? And John Levene played a Yeti.

 

[Starkers]

I figured that would be the case, I just wondered if there was some kind of legal loophole given the BBC didn't care enough about the material to keep it in the first place

It was nothing to do with not caring. It was the massive cost of storing something (not just Doctor Who) that there was no way of forseeing would ever have any future value. An episode of British TV in the 1960's was designed to be seen at most twice and then never again.

Yeah, I ws just wondring if some smart arse lawyer could make a case