|
MrGreenShirt posted:Sadly it looks to just be random storylines chosen here and there from the original 26 seasons. Still though, definitely gonna jump in on some retro british sci-fi! Well, at least through the early 70s, random storylines is the best that you are going to get. A good number of Doctor Who episodes from the 1960s simply don't exist anymore. And many of the ones we do have come from a variety of sources, including home tapers, foreign markets, and stray tapes that escaped the wrath of the BBC. How did this happen? Basically, if I remember correctly: British actors unions hated the idea of videotapes. They were afraid it was going to drive their actors out of business, since the BBC could theoretically infinitely rerun programs instead of producing new work. So, for instance, they had a Saturday night play which had a rerun later in the week. The 2nd rerun was a 2nd performance, meaning each actor got paid twice. So, the unions put a limit on how many reruns of a program the BBC could air in a given period, after which, they would have to pay a prohibitively large amount to rerun it. That's one part. Another reason was that video tape was expensive, and it could be reused. Since the BBC didn't see much reason to keep videos sitting around the vault (since who would ever want to watch old programming, right guys?), they would wipe the tapes and reuse them. Not all Doctor Who episodes were wiped. And even then, many of those that were wiped survived. How? First off, kinescopes. Basically, you pointed a film camera at a TV screen and recorded the program that way. The quality is good enough, and either way, it's a lot better than nothing. Foreign affiliates are another boon. The BBC would reach out to stations that they sold Dr. Who episodes to around the world and find out if they have any sitting around. That's how they would fill in some of the blanks or even get episodes. A good chunk of serials are missing episodes. Some are missing 1 or 2, and others are so bad that only minutes of footage still survive. So as you sit down to watch Classic Dr. Who, know that you will never see many of the episodes from the 1960s, especially those featuring the 2nd doctor. It will drive you mad! edit: Behold that which you will never see! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_missing_episodes Cemetry Gator fucked around with this message at 05:26 on Dec 18, 2012 |
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 05:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 28, 2024 13:36 |
|
|
I know, but I just really want to see Tom Baker's Nightmare of Eden again without having to go through the DVD service. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 05:38
|
|
|
Who cares about other doctors, the only one that matters is Baker. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 05:43
|
|
mod sassinator posted:Who cares about other doctors, the only one that matters is Baker. Basically this, before Eccleston/Tennant/Smith came along the only one worth a drat was Baker.
|
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 05:45
|
|
|
I've got a big soft spot for Jon Pertwee but yeah, Tom Baker is definitely the best classic Doctor.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 05:48
|
|
|
Numberwang is pretty much the greatest running sketch in the history of sketch comedy and I pity anyone that would speak ill of it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 07:35
|
|
|
axleblaze posted:Numberwang is pretty much the greatest running sketch in the history of sketch comedy and I pity anyone that would speak ill of it. That's a funny way to spell The Surprising Adventures of Sir Digby Chicken Caesar.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 08:16
|
|
|
Cemetry Gator posted:Well, at least through the early 70s, random storylines is the best that you are going to get. A good number of Doctor Who episodes from the 1960s simply don't exist anymore. And many of the ones we do have come from a variety of sources, including home tapers, foreign markets, and stray tapes that escaped the wrath of the BBC. Yes the BBC was pretty drat short sighted when it came to preserving old shows. The Monty Python: Almost the Truth: The Lawyer's Cut DVD includes the story where Terry Jones found out that the BBC was going to bulk erase the Python tapes so they could record The Horse of the Year show (or something equally uninteresting) over them and he stepped up and rescued the tapes. He also revealed that in the interview that the BBC erased many early British comedies like the "Goon Show" and "Not Only... But Also" (if I remember correctly). Though not even the BBCs lack of foresight can stop the Doctor. Some of the lost episodes were recovered from a signal in space; how cool is that? http://www.themarysue.com/lost-doctor-who-episodes-found-in-space/
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 16:00
|
|
|
axleblaze posted:Numberwang is pretty much the greatest running sketch in the history of sketch comedy and I pity anyone that would speak ill of it. I actually liked the first couple of times they did it, then when they realized that the sketch was played out and started riffing on it it kind of got old. The Quiz Broadcast was much better, anyways.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 16:21
|
|
|
Ghost Adventurers should be renamed Spooked Aspburgers. If you ever wanted a "documentary" with little to no processes shown as to how they reach conclusions, you are in for a treat. Its like watching American Pickers without a script.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 18:53
|
|
|
Indolent Bastard posted:Yes the BBC was pretty drat short sighted when it came to preserving old shows. Sadly, it isn't just the BBC. A lot of American companies engaged in the practice of junking their old shows too. For instance, the entire Dumont network is missing (except for like 350 episodes of their shows, in total). A lot of gameshows are missing, and a lot of shows that were broadcast live are missing too. And moving into other forms of entertainment, it just gets sadder. There's a ton of digital recordings from the 1980s that are only playable on one or two surviving tape machines. Once those machines stop working, that's it. Of course, some suffered a different fate. The master for side 2 of some Steely Dan album that was recorded digitally was destroyed when someone ran it through an analog tape deck. There's a lot of DAT masters from the 90s that are unplayable, and I hate to think how many albums from the early 2000s that lack usable masters. How many video games are missing their source code? Moving back to TV, I wonder why a show like MASH hasn't been done in HD yet? It was shot and edited on 35 mm film, so hopefully the masters exist. Well, we know at least one episode is missing, since on the DVD releases, they had to use the syndicated cut. Edit: Apparently, all 3 major networks of the time stopped wiping when they were ran by Fred Silverman.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 19:48
|
|
|
Mike Birbiglia's film Sleepwalk With Me is finally available on Netflix. Watch the hell out of it. Birbigs is my favorite standup/storyteller working in the last decade and I've wanted to see this movie based on his one man show so bad.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 19:53
|
|
|
Unmature posted:Mike Birbiglia's film Sleepwalk With Me is finally available on Netflix. Watch the hell out of it. Birbigs is my favorite standup/storyteller working in the last decade and I've wanted to see this movie based on his one man show so bad. Awesome. Thanks for the heads up.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 20:09
|
|
|
Junkie Disease posted:Ghost Adventurers should be renamed Spooked Aspburgers. If you ever wanted a "documentary" with little to no processes shown as to how they reach conclusions, you are in for a treat. Its like watching American Pickers without a script. So, what you're saying is, it's a....uh... Actually, what are you saying? Is it good or bad?
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 20:37
|
|
|
al-azad posted:That's a funny way to spell The Surprising Adventures of Sir Digby Chicken Caesar.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 20:49
|
|
|
Collects Welfare posted:So, what you're saying is, it's a....uh... If you think that American Pickers is quality reality TV and that ghosts are real and seek out fat losers with neckbeards that hang out in the dark, this is quality. If you think that History channels investigations into bigfoot and ufos are lacking and hilarious this is more of that.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 21:22
|
|
|
X-Files and Star Trek TNG make for excellent procrastination. This is how I feel watching a Netflix series when I have studying to do.  Past Tense Ragu posted:LOL!! You should post that poo poo to Reddit, classic!  Sorry...
Michael Scott fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Dec 18, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 22:46
|
|
|
Michael Scott posted:X-Files and Star Trek TNG make for excellent procrastination. LOL!! You should post that poo poo to Reddit, classic!
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 23:04
|
|
|
Thought I'd let y'all know, the first 7 seasons of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia are now available on Netflix instant streaming (in the United States, not sure about other countries)
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 23:07
|
|
|
Jesus, that poo poo's up to 7 seasons already?
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 23:08
|
|
|
Michael Scott posted:X-Files and Star Trek TNG make for excellent procrastination. Speaking of which, I just finished The IT Crowd (which is on Netflix!) recently, and although there were some slow episodes, I absolutely loved it. I'm disabled...
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 23:13
|
|
|
HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:Jesus, that poo poo's up to 7 seasons already? The 8th season finale is on FX this week. I've been sick for the past week so I've been on the couch watching it. I'm in pain as it is but the laughter this show causes isn't helping at all.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 23:17
|
|
|
It's actually a really funny show. It's got it's own humor which is actually quite hilarious. Give it a shot if your bored and need something to be addicted to.
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2012 23:51
|
|
|
GonSmithe posted:Speaking of which, I just finished The IT Crowd (which is on Netflix!) recently, and although there were some slow episodes, I absolutely loved it. Someone showed me the "I'm disabled" episode first, and I laughed so hard I wrecked my voice for the rest of the night. We then watched the first three episodes of season one in utter, chilly silence. So yeah, everyone needs to watch that one episode (Season 2 Episode 1, "The Work Outing"), but don't knock yourself out trying to watch the full run.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 00:56
|
|
|
My fiancé and I saw that  Half Baked popped up on New Releases last night. Check it out if you're in the mood to watch the best stoner film ever made.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 01:19
|
|
|
Sarchasm posted:Someone showed me the "I'm disabled" episode first, and I laughed so hard I wrecked my voice for the rest of the night. We then watched the first three episodes of season one in utter, chilly silence.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 04:07
|
|
|
Ohvee posted:I was unimpressed by the show until someone had me watch "The Work Outing." That is the best episode to start with. After that one I felt much better about the first season. Yeah, The Work Outing is definitely the best jumping on point, that's what my friend showed me. I really don't like season 1 too much, but I think some of the episodes of season 3-4 are seriously absolutely hilarious.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 04:14
|
|
|
Just watched Craigslist Joe, definitely worth watching I think. It follows a guy who uses Craigslist as his sole means of transportation, food, shelter, and entertainment and ends up travelling across the country with complete internet strangers. It's both touching and hopeful and restores my faith in humanity a little bit.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 05:07
|
|
|
Queen of Versailles is on instant. I haven't seen it yet but I've heard really good things.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 05:34
|
|
|
Stake Land was a much more atmospheric and well paced story then it's cheesy title would let on. It's a well acted story about a pair of survivors moving north in a world overrun by mindless vampires. Thanks to a solid musical score and decent character development, I was sucked in. I would rate this one of the best surprises Netflix gave me this year. However thanks to a measly 5 minute section of film (people who have seen know which part) I hesitate to recommend it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 06:50
|
|
|
Cemetry Gator posted:Sadly, it isn't just the BBC. A lot of American companies engaged in the practice of junking their old shows too. For instance, the entire Dumont network is missing (except for like 350 episodes of their shows, in total). A lot of gameshows are missing, and a lot of shows that were broadcast live are missing too. "Missing" is a relative term with the Dumont kinescopes and tapes, because we know exactly where they are: at the bottom of the Hudson River, where some jerks dumped the entire network archive during a 1970 legal dispute. There are a few too many depressingly petty reasons like that for gaps in the US TV fossil record.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 06:55
|
|
|
Junkie Disease posted:However thanks to a measly 5 minute section of film (people who have seen know which part) I hesitate to recommend it. Ugh. I don't know which is worse: the dad 28 Weeks Later or this one. Still, the rest of it was pretty okay.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 09:18
|
|
|
I've been gunning through all of the gay documentaries on Netflix, of which there are a shitload, and I've yet to find one that wasn't at the very least interesting, and most of them are really well done and affecting. I find them interesting because they're almost all about the gay civil rights movement and it's something that we basically ignore the existence of to this day. We act like gay people have just been a social force for the last couple of decades but the reality is this fight has been going on for over a century. We all at least acknowledge the atrocities against natives and blacks, but we pretty much act like all of adversity gays have had to deal with is a couple of assholes murdering one or two gay people and not letting them get married or talk about their gayness in the military. There is so, so much more to the history of the struggle than that, and none of it gets taught in history classes except maybe a passing mention of Stonewall. Also the way the AIDS epidemic was initially handled was a loving disgrace on every level and there is a really, really good documentary about that called We Were Here that interviews "survivors" of what was basically a gay plague that nobody cared enough to try to figure out the cause of or find treatments for. If you can make it all the way through without at least tearing up I will mail you a dollar. And condemn you for not having a soul. scary ghost dog posted:It's also actually really well written, but it's not SciFi, it's Horror, so I don't understand why that dude was expecting lengthy monologues about the nature of ghosts and their limitations. Going to have to stop you there. It's super trashy, edgy, throw every loving horror trope imaginable at the wall and someone somewhere will be freaked out by it that is certainly fun to watch but it's not well-written. The family finds a suspended gimp suit in their attic in the first episode and instead of being super creeped out like real people would be, they have a good family laugh before throwing it in the trash. The dialogue in general is atrocious, but the actors do an admirable job of making it not sound as laughable as I'm sure it would be reading the script. Breaking Bad is well-written. The Wire was well-written. American Horror Story is schlocky trash that has solid production values and good acting that salvage the retarded writing into an entertaining show. axleblaze posted:Queen of Versailles is on instant. I haven't seen it yet but I've heard really good things. Saw it in theaters and it's pretty fascinating, but I felt like the editing was pretty poo poo. It goes on about 20 minutes past where it feels like it finished making its point, and it uses way, way too many awkward pauses following interview questions. It's an effective device once or twice to really push some of the points, but it just relies on these wealthy people looking awkward and uncomfortable way too much and almost made me feel bad for them despite how awful they were through the entire movie. Definitely worth a watch, though. Junkie Disease posted:Stake Land was a much more atmospheric and well paced story then it's cheesy title would let on. It's basically Zombieland with vampires and played completely straight. I preferred the tone of Zombieland, but I've watched far, far shittier horror films on Netflix and the worst thing I can really say about Stake Land is that it is forgettable and it has the pattest pat ending that ever patted. It is also rapey as hell. If rape makes you uncomfortable don't watch Stake Land. (I may be exaggerating but it still felt pretty rapey)
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 11:04
|
|
|
There are apparently an absolute ton of new Asian Horror flicks that have been put up.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 12:25
|
|
|
Collects Welfare posted:So, what you're saying is, it's a....uh... It is the worst show on television and this includes Honey Boo Boo and any other bad thing you can think of. Basically the most gigantic douche walking planet Earth and his band of fat idiots go to abandoned buildings and stand still with a night vision camera and yell "did you hear that?" when there's no sound or "did you feel that?" when nothing happens. Then they play back a sound clip that is literally just static and react as though a ghost is speaking full sentences or a video clip where nothing moves and treat it like found footage from Paranormal Activity. The entire thing plays out like they were trying to make a show that even the most mentally challenged person living today could see right through. Despite all of this, it's still not even so bad you want to watch it. You just end up wishing you had a way to push the host off a cliff.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 14:48
|
|
|
Unmature posted:Mike Birbiglia's film Sleepwalk With Me is finally available on Netflix. Watch the hell out of it. Birbigs is my favorite standup/storyteller working in the last decade and I've wanted to see this movie based on his one man show so bad. I was really excited to see this. Even though I've listened to his stand up a million times and pretty much knew everything that was going to happen in the movie, it still held up as a pretty genuine, yet somewhat sad, movie.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 14:54
|
|
|
Honey Boo Boo has owned ever since she pretended to be asleep so she didn't have to listen to Dr. Drew.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 15:02
|
|
|
Are there any critical comparisons out there of American Horror Story and Glee, both created by Ryan Murphy? I feel like they are different sides of the same coin. I sometimes watch Glee with my wife and criticize it for how over the top and ridiculous it is but at the same time that is the entire point of the show. Condemning AHS for being schlocky is on target but it that is exactly how the show operates. Also I have found some of the writing on the show to be completely devastating. The show deals with marriage, infidelity, pregnancy, murder, death, homosexuality, disabilities, etc etc and does so with a surprising amount of care.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 15:20
|
|
|
foodfight posted:Are there any critical comparisons out there of American Horror Story and Glee, both created by Ryan Murphy? I feel like they are different sides of the same coin. I sometimes watch Glee with my wife and criticize it for how over the top and ridiculous it is but at the same time that is the entire point of the show. Condemning AHS for being schlocky is on target but it that is exactly how the show operates. I don't know that there are any actual critical comparisons out there, but as someone who has seen several Ryan Murphy shows, he's basically a guy with really good ideas who can execute a good initial season before he lets the praise get to his head and inevitably tries to live vicariously through one or more of his characters. He has a really loving bad understanding of the fact that many of the things people like about the first 1-2 seasons of his shows are loved because they're not over-the-top stereotypes, they're not the complete foundation of the show and they're inserted infrequently, which maintains their impact. He still has moments where his work is just exceptional because it's so different, but generally the layers that make the first few seasons appealing dissolve and you're left with a big ball of cliche that makes his work horrific to sit through. Nip/Tuck was a really good show that just got absolutely ruined by Murphy's narcissism.
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 15:44
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 28, 2024 13:36 |
|
|
foodfight posted:Are there any critical comparisons out there of American Horror Story and Glee, both created by Ryan Murphy? I feel like they are different sides of the same coin. I sometimes watch Glee with my wife and criticize it for how over the top and ridiculous it is but at the same time that is the entire point of the show. Condemning AHS for being schlocky is on target but it that is exactly how the show operates. http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/television/2012/11/26/121126crte_television_nussbaum
|
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2012 15:49
|
|
