The story of Monty Python is a particular "close shave". If the series had been in black and white, and not colour, then series one would have DEFINITELY been wiped by the BBC. The Pythons themselves, by late 1969, were planning to keep primitive video recordings of the episodes themselves - so at least they would have had something - when the BBC changed their minds. Series 2, 3 and 4 were never threatened with being wiped - however, one sketch was deleted from the BBC archive - something about dancing politicians; it WAS on Youtube, but I can't find it at the moment. There was also a sketch about Satan (a Gilliam animation) which was wiped from the UK version of an episode in series 2, but can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igU7unT9ESM
Message Received: Feb 19 2007, 08:30 AM From: "klfboy _" <klfboy@hotmail.com> To: klf@mailman.xmission.com Cc: Subject: RE: [KLF] BBC Worldwide joins the JAMs
One day BBC will probably wipe ALL the Peel Sessions, to make "place" for taping the Take That reunion tour... I'd never thought that they wanted to delete those classic Monty Python scenes. I just can't believe it: they have thousands of rare footage (both audio and visual), yet they release NOTHING, and if anybody shares a little bit, they scream copyright infringement... If I only had one day to break into BBC's Peel Session archive...
Yes, Rob, I know they're on your server - but the point I was making was the BBC are notoriously bad at keeping things in their archive. A mpeg taken from a fifteen-year-old bootleg VHS video is one thing: but the BBC should, in theory, still have the original broadcast of IGUN on Top of the Pops somewhere in their archives - in pristine quality.
Famously, the BBC used to reuse lots and lots of tape and film in the 1960s and 1970s, and classic early British TV comedy and drama (such as ly "Doctor Who" or that teleplay Bob Dylan was in before he became famous) were wiped and recycled for more "historically important" footage (local news and sporting events, usually). Even the mighty "Monty Python's Flying Circus" (series one) was due to be wiped, until retrieved at the last minute - so "Dead Parrot", "Nudge Nudge" and many classic sketches that have entered the English language might have been screened once, then - poof! - disappeared forever.
Of course, the BBC have become more aware of this huge pissing away of their (and our) heritage over the years, and I think are now far more careful about what they discard. However, things do slip through the net. Comedian Stewart Lee claims that the programmes he did for BBC2 in the 1990s (roughly 12 episodes of 30 minutes and 24 of 60 minutes) have been wiped. So it worries me that some of the classic old TOTP stuff might have gone too. I've seen the "Doctorin' the Tardis" appearance quite a few times, so I'm pretty sure it's "saved" - but I've never seen any of the later KLF stuff repeated (there's a dedicated TOTP archive show called "TOTP2").
Incidentally, in the last ten years, the BBC have had a "drive" on to get people in their own homes to check their attics and see if there's any cannisters of film that might just have rare BBC programmes on them. Rare episodes of things like "Dad's Army" and "The Likely Lads" have turned up in Australia, for example. Now, some of these were genuine export copies - but a lot were actually filmed direct off the television with a cine-camera (or by using very primitive video recorders) back in the 1960s. And I could be wrong, but keeping collections of privately-taped television programmes or even just owning a motion picture reel, was technically illegal in the UK until well into the 1960s (I seem to remember something about a court case with comedian Bob Monkhouse - of all people - finally deciding the matter in favour of the amateur collector). So a lot of the great BBC archivists were actually breaking the law in the 1960s!
Sorry if this is a ramble, Rob (and everyone else) but it's one of my bug-bears! :-)
Message Received: Feb 17 2007, 08:37 PM From: "RMStringer" <RMStringer1971@comcast.net> To: "'All bound for Mu-Mu Land.'" <klf@mailman.xmission.com> Cc: Subject: RE: [KLF] BBC Worldwide joins the JAMs
On my server I have all the videos.
RMStringer ################# "Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." - Author Unknown
-----Original Message----- From: klf-bounces+rmstringer1971=comcast.net@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:klf-bounces+rmstringer1971=comcast.net@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of klfboy _ Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2007 1:10 PM To: klf@mailman.xmission.com Subject: RE: [KLF] BBC Worldwide joins the JAMs
I wonder if they even have a first generation copy video of the JAMs IGUN performance still?
Probably not, but they are ready tol kick anybody's ass who has... Seems like BBC are trying to immanentize the Eschaton.
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