ImperialFighter said:
Given the amount of 'repeats' the BBC has been so fond of giving us over the years (some welcome, some not), I still find it incredible that there was a time where they routinely and short-sightedly erased some of their output in the past.
And it's especially a tragedy that a lot of the earliest classic 'Doctor Who' episodes were lost due to this mis-management.
So while I'm keeping my expectations in check, I'm extremely pleased that *some* of these lost episodes seem to have been finally located somehow. What a great boost for the upcoming 50th Anniversary hoopla. Looks like it's now going to be another couple of days or so for the full reveal of exactly what...but fingers crossed for some complete story arcs, whatever the number found -
Latest BBC confirmation - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24448063
Press conference delayed a little - http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/doctor-who-lost-episodes-update-2347529
Sadly, nobody foresaw any value in old B&W tv shows when color came in. And even then, a popular "children's show" was probably thought of even less when it came to preserving the video master.
There was actually a bias towards syndication of B&W shows where later seasons went to color, in the U.S. anyway. I never saw a single black and white episode of Lost in Space until the late 80's. (And I had to stay up late on weekends when a local channel actually began showing them in order.) Never saw a single first season episode of I Dream of Jeannie or Bewitched until the 90's, when Nickelodeon started the all retro tv format in the evenings.
I'm old enough to recall some black and white cartoons vanishing from the airwaves in the mid '70's. I only recently figured out what one of them was, as I had no memory of the show's title. Turned out to be a early 60's anime where very little of the English versions survive. Thank goodness Speed Racer was in color!
Studios and networks here have made similar short sighted blunders. A lot of early television history is gone. A good chunk of Johnny Carson's early years on The Tonight Show were erased to save a few bucks on videotape. Soap Operas and game shows haven't fared well, either.
Wasn't there some sort of issue with actor's compensation for repeats on the BBC back in the day? I remember one of the BBC compilation VHS tapes of orphaned episodes mentioning it...