HUGE Doctor Who news coming tonight! [Spoilers]

[Morrus]

Okay, so, because I like to pick nits...

What he says is they, "...do not hold any missing episodes...".

So, it could be that known copies of episodes could exist, but are not yet in their holdings! So, for example, if there were negotiations going on as to the price to be paid for those copies?



(Because letting it go is no fun.)

He's clearly a bit emotional (probably being right at the sharp end of the hoax) and imprecisely his language, but I think "They are not missing but destroyed. The end." is pretty clear.

 

[Umbran]

Oh, I know, Morrus. I just wanted to reserve the right to do the I Told You So Dance, just on the odd chance.

 

[Janx]

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/06...s-they-are-not-missing-but-destroyed-the-end/

What I find more disappointiing is the destruction of data by an organization as large and presumably savvy as the BBC.

This would be like the Library of Congress deciding to wipe out all the stuff from before 1950, because it was old and not in print anymore.


the general rule of thumb for any entity that generates data/content is that you NEVER delete it. The phone company should NEVER delete its records for phone calls. The TV studio should never delete any episode it ever filmed. The reason is because you NEVER know when it might be handy later, and the cost to retain it is not as much as you think when compared to the lost opportunity to use it later.

Obviously, this truism is trivially true for computerized data. I may be obligated to hold onto medical records for 7 years, but hard disks are cheap and I can easily afford to hold everything for ever.

The BBC's decision to destroy all their old footage is monumentally stupid. Sure, the stuff took up space. And it wasn't feasible back then to convert it to a digital media. But now that the tech has caught up, the opportunity is lost, all because of a lack of foresight and fortitude to protect a nation's cultural output.

 

[Morrus]

What I find more disappointiing is the destruction of data by an organization as large and presumably savvy as the BBC.

Everybody in the world - including the BBC - agrees with you.

 

[Janx]

Everybody in the world - including the BBC - agrees with you.

Well, I'm sorry that those entrusted with the entire televised legacy of Brittain have let your people down.

We like the stuff the BBC makes. it'd be nice if they kept BBC America in better lockstep with whatever they do over there.

It seems here in America, that most studios seem to protect their filmed assets better. I'm sure Danny can cite some examples where they failed (fire, somebody DID throw stuff out, etc), but in more cases I hear about studios restoring old classics and stuff. Which means they retained them in the first place.

 

[Umbran]

The BBC's decision to destroy all their old footage is monumentally stupid.

*Was* stupid. The decisions in question were made back in the 1960s and 1970s. At the time, the material wasn't considered as part of "heritage". They were just TV shows. Entertainments. Not something that really needed to be saved and archived. The BBC didn't have central storage. They only kept stuff they felt was useful for further economic gain. Quite simply, it made sense at the time.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

And the BBC wasn't alone- a lot of early TV and film was lost to the same processes, all over the world.

 

[sabrinathecat]

Waiting until the public's attention is on the matter without any action on your part is not a stunt. It is making the best use of your resources.

The public's attention is Already on the topic!

Yes, the old BBC execs were a bit snooty in their attitude toward TV, seeming to think it was just a fad. Even this statement seems to repeat that attitude. "No Further Commercial Value"??? Sure, VCRs were not common household items, but that lack of foresight then coupled with poor choice of phrasing now...
Anyway.

Yes, items in the US are also lost. I heard that Warner Bros destroyed their "Bugs Bunny Roadrunner Show" intro footage, and MC skits, just keeping the actual cartoons.

 

[Herschel]

Well, I'm sorry that those entrusted with the entire televised legacy of Brittain have let your people down.

The same thing happened here, although from the opposite angle. Someone saved and then released the entire Dukes of Hazzard run on video.

 

[Morrus]

Well, I'm sorry that those entrusted with the entire televised legacy of Brittain have let your people down.

It's hardly the entire televised legacy of Britain.