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Stephen La Riviere
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Possibility with bravo! I NEED YOUR HELP!

Post by Stephen La Riviere »

>>What was the transmittable material that has been cut? Is there a difference between "useable masters" and the episodes retained by LWT?<<The master negatives for the series seem have been lost. The current masters in circulation are film to video transfers done in the 80s and in some cases would not pass the technical checks needed for broadcast. Unseen Menace for instance is in a shocking state on the DVDs.LWT retain their transmission masters, which are in the form of 16mm prints. These are cut though, for instance the crowbar scene from Two for the Price of One is missing.It's a sad situation that a series bearly 20 years old is missing at least four episodes in any tranmisttable form.
Filmed in Supermarionation: A History of the Future. Buy it at www.filmedinsupermarionation.co.uk
Jon Talpur
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Post by Jon Talpur »

Hi all, first post for me (although I've been a lurker for an exceedingly long time!), and I've been looking at this thread with a little interest.Not to sound pessimistic (and I'm apologizing in advance!), but I really don't think anyone will be seeing either Terrahawks or Star Fleet on TV in the near future. Let's face it, the last time either of these two shows were shown on any channel, satellite, cable or otherwise was in the late 1980s. The last time Terrahawks was seen on video in large quantities (barring a low budget re-release in 1993) was also in the late 1980s.Now with Star Fleet, the fact that nothing much has become of the show since the 80s is more than likely due to the fact that the show is fairly obscure (since it was something of a one-off). Terrahawks has had a far more difficult time due to Gerry Anderson's supposed dislike of the series. Certainly, hardened fans of his 60s shows seem to dislike poor old Terrahawks in mass quantities - leaving it to be the "black sheep" of the Anderson catalogue. Carlton, who seem to have the rights to all ITC shows, look as if they have made no attempt to get the rights to Terrahawks, so it was certainly a low priority for them.It seems to me that since the show was received with a less-than enthusiastic response from the Anderson faithful back in the day, that the show has quite literally been left to rot, which is indeed a shame. The fact that the complete prints of the episodes no longer exist speaks volumes in itself. On that note Stephen, were any of LWT's prints uncut, and if so could they have been used?If the show were to suddenly reappear on terrestrial TV, then surely we would have seen more evidence than just the (very, very welcome & long overdue!) DVDs. Just look at what the channels are willing to show with regards to repeats these days - it's just the same old stuff that's been shown over and over again and is easily available in a variety of other formats. They only seem to stick with what they know already has a large (preferably mainstream) fanbase. Certainly, there are other very popular kids' shows apart from Star Fleet and Terrahawks that have also been unseen on TV or Video/DVD for over a decade now such as the old He-Man cartoon, which hasn't been on TV since 1990, and is only this year getting a DVD release. Now, how popular was that show back in the day, and it's still been treated as bad as Terrahawks!Jon
Stephen La Riviere
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Possibility with bravo! I NEED YOUR HELP!

Post by Stephen La Riviere »

>>Terrahawks has had a far more difficult time due to Gerry Anderson's supposed dislike of the series.<<Gerry has a supposed dislike of all his series. It really depends on what he's doing at the moment. The only series he likes at the moment and wants to talk about is Captain Scarlet CGI. Give it a couple of years and he'll move on and forget that too...>>Certainly, hardened fans of his 60s shows seem to dislike poor old Terrahawks in mass quantities - leaving it to be the "black sheep" of the Anderson catalogue.<<No more of a Black Sheep than say Space Precinct of The Protectors. Or Four Feather Falls...>>Carlton, who seem to have the rights to all ITC shows, look as if they have made no attempt to get the rights to Terrahawks, so it was certainly a low priority for them.<<Why would they? The rights situation is completely different for Terrahawks. The series is owned by Christopher Burr and the current rights agreements have been in place sometime - as they haven't exhausted their existing Anderson catalogue there would be no reason to acquire Terrahawks. If Terrahawks had been part of the ITC it would be out on DVD already...>>The fact that the complete prints of the episodes no longer exist speaks volumes in itself.<<All it says is that the current distributors know nothing about quality and are happy to use poor transfers. Look at the sad state of Doctor Who - its archive status hardly reflects upon the popularity of the show.>>On that note Stephen, were any of LWT's prints uncut, and if so could they have been used?<<LWT's prints are all as broadcast, bar the four episodes they don't hold. So in the main, yes they are uncut.Terrahawks has had a bit of a bizarre history. I think it deserves better than its got... You never know... the next revival could be just around the corner...Then again, it might not...But you don't get if you don't try.
Filmed in Supermarionation: A History of the Future. Buy it at www.filmedinsupermarionation.co.uk
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Crash
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Possibility with bravo! I NEED YOUR HELP!

Post by Crash »

You know I'm gonna make it my mission in life to prove you wrong there Jon.I don't know much about this and I'm not sure if all Terrahawks episodes were released on DVD but maybe if worst comes to worst they can retransmit the DVD stuff since its probably better quality than a terrestrial broadcast anyway.Hey Rach, I saw Terrahawks when I was about 6 and that toothy Sram thing scared the %$&^ out of me. Still mint though.
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Shane
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Post by Shane »

I think you would have a hard time selling Terrahawks as a kids show in this day and age. Without the all important merchandising you could definitley rule out ITV and the BEEB. Channel 4 might have shown it several years ago in it's legendary 6 in the morning cult kids slot, but probably not now. Channel 5 is definitely your best bet for a terrestrial release. I would have thought a satellite station would be the more realistic option. Boomerang springs to mind as it showed Thunderbirds recently and it shows Dangermouse, which is from the same era as Terrahawks. It does seem to base a majority of it's programming on hanna Barbara shows though. So it's difficult to tell if Terrahawks would fit there. I'd suggest Granada Plus too, as that too transmits shows from Terrahawks time that would never make it on to Terrestrial TV now. Terrahawks could fit on to a channel like that, as I would view Terrahawks as more of a cult freakshow than a kids show these days. I certainly don't mean that in a bad way, but I could definitely see the show being sold and advertised on it's more freakish and comedic elements.Good luck with any pettions. Shane.
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Stephen La Riviere
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Possibility with bravo! I NEED YOUR HELP!

Post by Stephen La Riviere »

>>I don't know much about this and I'm not sure if all Terrahawks episodes were released on DVD but maybe if worst comes to worst they can retransmit the DVD stuff since its probably better quality than a terrestrial broadcast anyway.<<The DVDs are mastered from the only master tapes being used - the ones done in the 80s. They would not be cleared for broadcast because the colour definition is poor and ia host of other problems. A proper broadcast by a terrestrial channel should be head and shoulders above the DVDs, especially if they do proper transfers from the negs.
Filmed in Supermarionation: A History of the Future. Buy it at www.filmedinsupermarionation.co.uk
Jon Talpur
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Post by Jon Talpur »

Quote Gerry has a supposed dislike of all his series. It really depends on what he's doing at the moment.He does seem rather fickle at times, doesn't he? First he really hates the look of the new Thunderbirds movie, then he becomes friends with its director, now he really hates it again...Quote No more of a Black Sheep than say Space Precinct or The Protectors. Or Four Feather Falls...The former two of which were actually released on video and shown on TV during the last decade, something that Terrahawks didn't really manage. Although, yes, that was really due to Terrahawks' rights being completely separate. The fact that Space Precinct was actually made in the 1990s helped that show as well.:)Quote Why would they? The rights situation is completely different for Terrahawks.I know, I know...! My point is they could have pursued the rights to the show at some point in the past (way before the DVD releases were on the horizon) if they wished to get a hold of the last "puppet" Gerry Anderson series. Or would the cost of rights to this one show have been too prohibitive for them to bother during the 90s? (Thus answering my own question)Quote All it says is that the current distributors know nothing about quality and are happy to use poor transfers. Look at the sad state of Doctor Who - its archive status hardly reflects upon the popularity of the show.Yes it certainly does indicate that the distributors know little about real quality, but to lose all the original negatives is crazy! At least a lot of Doctor Who's post-60s stuff survives in its original transmission videotape (and sometimes original film insert) format. The 60s stuff just fell victim to standard BBC policy. Doesn't make the situation any better though!Quote But you don't get if you don't try.OK, you got me on that! I guess it was the pessimist in me talking. I guess it's just another manifestation of my complete dissatisfaction in modern day TV. But really, can any kids show today hold a candle to Terrahawks, with its classic sci-fi trappings and wonderful dark humour? Looking at it that way, I wouldn't personally take the time with any of the terrestrial channels and concentrate purely on one of the satellite channels instead.Quote You know I'm gonna make it my mission in life to prove you wrong there Jon.A little debate never harmed anyone! I would really like to see Terrahawks get more exposure through TV as much as anyone else here - it certainly would've helped during the long Terrahawks-free years of the 1990s, when copies of the five tapes would sell for overpriced amounts on ebay. I actually bought some at those prices too, and yes I know there was a sixth volume as well, but I'm not even going to attempt to go there! On a more satisfying note, the prices crashed down once the DVDs were released, so the tape-hoarders had to look elsewhere!It's just me being selfish I guess - since all the episodes will officially be available soon, there's no need for me to hope that the show would turn up on some channel somewhere. Certainly, it looks as if more thought and effort has gone into the presentation of the series on DVD than would ever be possible with a TV channel.Jon
Rachel
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Post by Rachel »

Whoever managed to mislay the original negatives, they must be so embarrassed, their cheeks are probably red enough to match the fire in my eyes!I wonder, do any of the "mass quantities" of hardened Gerry Anderson fans happen to wear a crown? If so, I can understand all the TV stations revering them and pandering to their taste. If not....words fail me, but I'm going to give my poor pillow a good pounding pretty soon! I own the first 6 DVDs, but haven't explored them as thoroughly as I should, yet, due to my limited access to a DVD player. (My holiday is just commencing, so I should be able to have a DVD marathon soon.) What on Earth is wrong with the Unseen Menace episode? Is it like the effect of a dodgy aerial on a TV screen? (I'm used to that!) Something positive: on the DVD copy of Midnight Blue, the scene I thought was grainiest (a shot of Kate's face, in Hawkwing, which looked very hazy) is actually the same on the original Channel 5 video. Fortunately, I still have a lovely copy of Unseen Menace on VCD, courtesy of Simon. I don't think we can afford to grieve too much for little cuts in the episodes, such as the childbirth scene in 2 For Price of 1; I have never seen that anyway, and the episode is still brilliant without it.There are actually many children's programmes that don't get repeated now: eg, whatever happened to Jana of the Jungle? Or the Drak Pack? Or Spiderman & his Amazing Friends? I have probably grown out of many of these, but the younger generation should be exposed to them. Re the merchandising, they could always start making toys of any character(s) that were reintroduced.By the way, Jon and Zero, I'm glad to "meet" 2 more wonderful new people, it's like a breath of fresh air! May your lives be blessed with whatever you want, not just DVD-wise.
Happosai
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Post by Happosai »

I wouldn't completely rule out the possibility of a repeat of Terrahawks on TV, if station execs thought that it had enough nostalgia appeal (as has already been said, it probably wouldn't have much appeal for a younger audience these days) -- a year ago I would have said the opposite, but seeing as they're showing Monkey! on C5, a series that is similar to Terrahawks (and Star Fleet) in terms of when it was originally shown, its nostalgia factor, and the fact that it has recently been re-released on DVD, it may be that Terrahawks could be picked up for rebroadcast (technical problems aside).If only Star Fleet would get a English DVD release...(any word on what's happening with that?)[Happosai]
Rachel
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Post by Rachel »

I'm "not friends" with Paramount Comedy Channel at the moment; I was so looking forward to seeing more repeats of the Cosby Show, in the mornings, on my parents' Sky TV, only to find they seem to have stopped showing them. I seem doomed to be an unhappy bunny, regarding TV schedules.
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