this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2023
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As sci-fi show’s 60th anniversary nears, a collector pleads for BBC to offer amnesty to those with recordings discarded by corporation

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago (1 children)

While collectors are in no real danger, the infamous arrest of comedian Bob Monkhouse in 1978 has not been forgotten, Franklin suspects: “Monkhouse was a private collector and was accused of pirating videos. He even had some of his archive seized. Sadly people still believe they could have their films confiscated.”

Even if I wasn't arrested, I wouldn't want any of my collection seized.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I mean that was 1978 when the policy of junking was still active and the BBC were more actively dickish in their bureaucracy. These days because that policy has been so roundly condemned as being short sighted and destructive to their own legacy I doubt they'd be so bullish.

Now I'd expect them to be more actively dickish in their attempt to get 'marketable product' or whatever the jargon is however. And if I was a collector I'd know that I was in a very grey area legally so I'd still be extremely cautious.

I can't say I'm completely sympathetic to the collectors either though, in that they know they're sitting on something literally millions of people would love to see and they don't want to share it just because it's theirs.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The article also says these tend to be people who lived it. You see that 1978 thing as an historical anomaly, but they lived it. These were people who were repeatedly threatened to lose their jobs and be arrested for salvaging such things

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

That's a very fair point