Originally posted by: pufnstuf
Since it's been aired in Australia at least two times (perhaps even three times), it's not outside the realm of possibility. I would be surprised if Lucas allows it given his distain for the program, but he may have no say in the matter. I'm a bit curious how it was allowed to have been aired as many times as it has. Perhaps a loophole in the ownership / broadcast rights. The program was produced by Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion for 20th Century Fox Television and CBS. He may own the program (as it was transferred to him back in the 80s from Smith-Hemion Productions) and the rights to the characters, but he may not own the broadcast rights (domestic or international). Then you have Home Video / DVD distribution rights... It's a legal nightmare... it's a wonder anything gets aired or released to dvd. If you want to see how complicated it can get, read about the legal issues encountered with the Dean Martin show, Greg Garrison and NBC: http://thegolddiggers.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/whose-show-is-it-anyway/ Another example is the Batman TV series from the 60s... you've got 3 or 4 owners, who can't agree, so it's hung up in legal limbo.
Anyway, the last I heard (a couple of years ago) was that Lucasfilm doesn't have the master tapes... they are apparently still in the posession of Smith-Hemion. The only copy Lucasfilm has is a poor quality VHS dub... no better than the rest of us. You'd think they would at least preserve the masters if they cared, but they may not "technically" own the tapes.
Since it's been aired in Australia at least two times (perhaps even three times), it's not outside the realm of possibility. I would be surprised if Lucas allows it given his distain for the program, but he may have no say in the matter. I'm a bit curious how it was allowed to have been aired as many times as it has. Perhaps a loophole in the ownership / broadcast rights. The program was produced by Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion for 20th Century Fox Television and CBS. He may own the program (as it was transferred to him back in the 80s from Smith-Hemion Productions) and the rights to the characters, but he may not own the broadcast rights (domestic or international). Then you have Home Video / DVD distribution rights... It's a legal nightmare... it's a wonder anything gets aired or released to dvd. If you want to see how complicated it can get, read about the legal issues encountered with the Dean Martin show, Greg Garrison and NBC: http://thegolddiggers.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/whose-show-is-it-anyway/ Another example is the Batman TV series from the 60s... you've got 3 or 4 owners, who can't agree, so it's hung up in legal limbo.
Anyway, the last I heard (a couple of years ago) was that Lucasfilm doesn't have the master tapes... they are apparently still in the posession of Smith-Hemion. The only copy Lucasfilm has is a poor quality VHS dub... no better than the rest of us. You'd think they would at least preserve the masters if they cared, but they may not "technically" own the tapes.
That's crazy stuff, man... Well hopefully there's some truth to the matter I heard and by this time next year we'll all have pristine HD copies captured off Australia FoxTel :-D