BFI to digitize more TV shows...

[Clive]

I read this today but I am a little confused, hasn't all we have of Tiswas already been digitized ? Also Shang-a-Lang which on saw on Gplus in the late 90's..

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-38131911

Although some other sites have cocked an eyebrow about wanting to see Derek Batey's "Mr and Mrs" in '200 years time !' but actually I would love to see an archive of this as my great aunt and Uncle appeared on this in the 70's and is likely the only multimedia records of their lives. Surely an important resource for future family historians (who have a specific need to know their ancestors preferences over eggs fried or scrambled!)

[Simon36]

I'd buy Mr and Mrs on DVD. (The Batey Years).

[Thwaity]

Id buy anything from Border!

Not that anything will ever come out.

I've always wanted to see Land of the Lakes again. Such a fantastic programme from the 1980s.

I know they were a small outfit, but they produced some really great local programming and the odd network piece.

[spflog1]

As soon as Derek Batey's Mr & Mrs is mentioned, I can't help but be reminded of the wonderfully observed parody by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore; the Derek & Clive sketch Mona (available on a well-known tubular video website).

[Focus II]

There was also a one off Tyne Tees made series of "Mr & Mrs" featuring Derek Batey with popular TTT continuity announcer Lynn Spencer taking on the role as the hostess. The format including the theme was otherwise identical. I seem to be the only one who remembers it. Doubt any will have survived in the archives.

Getting back to the thread topic this is very welcome news.

[Mark]

"Basil Brush" SHOULD be saved...top show, no brainer for me, ( and "Nationwide", for that matter ).

"Mr & Mrs" is also important, no doubt about that, nice and gentle show from a different, less brash era.

I don't know if any of the shorter lived HTV version of the show survives, but I would hope so, and they would be preserved too.

[Simon Coward]

I've always wanted to see Land of the Lakes again. Such a fantastic programme from the 1980s.

Well it came out on VHS, so you never know.

[brigham]

Basil Brush was great. I'd love to see some of the David Nixon ones again, to see how the character developed.
In fact, I'd like to see David Nixon again!

[Mark]

It would certainly be annoying to lose any "Basil Brush" shows, especially after a series 1 edition was recently recovered.

I'd love to see some proper releases of it on DVD.

[IndigoTucker]

I can't quite understand what the article refers to.

Surely the Granada (shangalang) and Basil Brush (BBC) have been copied to D3 / Digibeta already? The BBC 2 inches have been copied, but what about the 1 inch? Are there still loads of uncopied 80s tapes?

Are they transferring the old digital transfers over to LTO data tape? D3 machines are obsolete now so transfer is needed for longevity.
Or Are they transferring private analogue collections (tv-am and kaleidoscope?)
...

[Clive]

and what is the "exceptionally rare" video format that Nationwide is on ?

[fatcat]

and what is the "exceptionally rare" video format that Nationwide is on ?

It might be...?

In the 1980s there were two competing 1 inch formats- the Sony C wrap was the one that won, but some institutions had already invested in the other 'Bosch' 1 inch format.

Likewise some institutions invested highly in the Panasonic M2 newsgathering cassette, but this became overshadowed by the Sony Betacam cassette .

The result is although all this stuff was technically as good as Sony's most of it has probably been junked by now.

[ian b]

and what is the "exceptionally rare" video format that Nationwide is on ?

It was mentioned in Steve Bryant's book, which is quoted on this Wiki page...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationw ... programme)


The tapes are the source of the low-quality b/w clips that have appeared in various programmes, usually the heavily gowned woman fainting under the studio lights and Bob Wellings stepping over her.

[Clive]

Interesting that they are held on Shibaden tapes... I wonder why they did that...

I remember a news item back in the 80's about an old woman who had videoed and archived the 9 o'clock news everyday since 1980. I wonder what happened to her collection, I am sure there were others who did the same.

[Nick Cooper 625]

Interesting that they are held on Shibaden tapes... I wonder why they did that...

The Wikipedia page says editions were recorded for legal reasons, with the "broadcast standard" tapes being wiped after a certain amount of time. Presumably the low-band copies were just a fall-back for that, and for reference purposes.