Master Tapes of "EARTH 2" at a Pawnshop in WI?? (2 Viewers)

[Ockeghem]

Originally Posted by Douglas Monce




Ah that makes sense. Kinescope for distribution to small markets. So they were able to find Kinescopes for some of the episodes where the original tape was missing. Interesting.

I know the first 6 or 8 months of the show, from 1966 to 67 they shot with RCA b&w cameras, then switched to Philips color cameras sometime in 67.

Doug

Doug,

Yes, that's right. I also recall the very first color episode of Dark Shadows I ever saw -- it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was the episode where Maggie is seated at a table at the Blue Whale, and Barnabas walks in. The ensuing moments show Maggie almost remembering her having been held captive, then looking quite confused as she tries in vain to piece things together in her mind. The direction was wonderful, as Barnabas slowly turns away from her glance toward him. I never guessed that she was wearing a bright red dress!

 

[kemcha]

Doug, I have to disagree that it's a non-issue. It's common that most everyone here doesn't see a problem with it, consideirng that no one here works for a Hollywood studio. But, I'm telling you that these studios take this sort of thing very seriously. We can argue about this till the end of time but I can tell you that these studios will press the issue if someone has property that rightfully belongs to them.

It doesn't matter how anyone came across it, whether it be at a pawnshop or at a garage sale, point is that it is the property of NBC.

 

[Ethan Riley]

Originally Posted by kemcha

Doug, I have to disagree that it's a non-issue. It's common that most everyone here doesn't see a problem with it, consideirng that no one here works for a Hollywood studio. But, I'm telling you that these studios take this sort of thing very seriously. We can argue about this till the end of time but I can tell you that these studios will press the issue if someone has property that rightfully belongs to them.

It doesn't matter how anyone came across it, whether it be at a pawnshop or at a garage sale, point is that it is the property of NBC.

Hmmph. I was working at Paramount Studios just yesterday. And might I add that it was loads of fun trying to drive home from the heart of Hollywood ... during Oscar Night!

I already illustrated how a prominent television producer just handed me a tape similar to Tyler's. Does that mean my "dailies" tape from the Practice is really the property of ABC? So are you going to sue the producer who gave it to me, or should you sue me for owning it? I don't get it. The studios only care about this kind of thing when it's costing them money. They're not going to hunt down private collectors who collect scraps of film. They're not going to barge into pawn shops looking for this stuff. Now if the pawnshop was offering dvds of films that haven't come out yet--that's another story entirely. If the pawnshop was selling bootlegs of anything, the studios may want to know about it.

The piracy laws only come into effect when things are being distributed in bulk, and beyond control of the studios. This does not effect unique film memorabilia. You're going to find stills, publicity materials, props and costumes from tv and movies in Los Angeles pawn and thrift stores. It's been going on since day one. You're also going to find screener tapes: either the kind that were sent out to reviewers, or the kind that were sent out to awards ceremony voters. You will also find pre-dubs and half-edited items like Tyler's tape. I guess you think Hollywood stomps on the letter of the law in every single case, but this has never been true. Just don't pull a "Wolverine" and try to make money off it on a massive scale. Kemcha, you don't seem to understand the gray areas of the law in these cases. All of these cases fly well under the radar of the major studios.

 

[Douglas Monce]

Originally Posted by kemcha

Doug, I have to disagree that it's a non-issue. It's common that most everyone here doesn't see a problem with it, consideirng that no one here works for a Hollywood studio. But, I'm telling you that these studios take this sort of thing very seriously. We can argue about this till the end of time but I can tell you that these studios will press the issue if someone has property that rightfully belongs to them.

It doesn't matter how anyone came across it, whether it be at a pawnshop or at a garage sale, point is that it is the property of NBC.

Actually I have worked for several Hollywood studios (Universal, Sony, Disney among the larger ones) and I can tell you that no one cares. And again this wouldn't be the property of NBC but rather Amblin Entertainment.

Doug

 

[Neil Brock]

Originally Posted by Douglas Monce




Actually I have worked for several Hollywood studios (Universal, Sony, Disney among the larger ones) and I can tell you that no one cares. And again this wouldn't be the property of NBC but rather Amblin Entertainment.

Doug

Stop wasting your time. It's falling on deaf ears. Everyone who knows anything about the industry or has worked in or around it, knows that this is much ado about nothing but one person doesn't want to admit being wrong and so they will just keep trying to make their case, as irrational as it might be. I'm out of this thread.

 

[wizard55]

Thanks everyone for the very detailed and numerous replies. It helped alot. I wanted to give an update that I went back and bought all the rest of the Earth 2 edit tapes they had, and out of 21 episodes that exist I'm missing only about 4. Its been great fun watching these rought cuts and I'll be holding on to them for now, I completely agree NBC most likely does not care after 16+ years.

I also last week was in ANOTHER pawnshop and found a "master tape" (thats what it said on the label) of 2 episodes of Cheers that came from a local TV Station. It didnt pick this up because I couldn't play it anyway seeing as it was a larger type tape that was not vhs shaped. more like a big 8-track.

 

[Regulus]

Originally Posted by wizard55 /forum/thread/298659/master-tapes-of-earth-2-at-a-pawnshop-in-wi/30#post_3668281

 

[TravisR]

Originally Posted by wizard55

I also last week was in ANOTHER pawnshop and found a "master tape" (thats what it said on the label) of 2 episodes of Cheers that came from a local TV Station. It didnt pick this up because I couldn't play it anyway seeing as it was a larger type tape that was not vhs shaped. more like a big 8-track.

That sounds like a 3/4 inch tape.

 

[Douglas Monce]

Travis is right its likely a 3/4 inch video tape and that WOULD be a master or broadcast tape. However again its not unheard of for 3/4 inch tapes to be floating around because the format is rarely used anymore.

Doug

 

[Garysb]

Originally Posted by wizard55

Thanks everyone for the very detailed and numerous replies. It helped alot. I wanted to give an update that I went back and bought all the rest of the Earth 2 edit tapes they had, and out of 21 episodes that exist I'm missing only about 4. Its been great fun watching these rought cuts and I'll be holding on to them for now, I completely agree NBC most likely does not care after 16+ years.

I also last week was in ANOTHER pawnshop and found a "master tape" (thats what it said on the label) of 2 episodes of Cheers that came from a local TV Station. It didnt pick this up because I couldn't play it anyway seeing as it was a larger type tape that was not vhs shaped. more like a big 8-track.

If that "Cheers" tape is from syndicated reruns it is something that likely should have been erased. I have audited local TV stations and seen the contracts between the local TV stations and the syndicator, in this case Paramount. The shows are delivered to the local stations by satellite. The stations tape them for future broadcast, usually the next day. The station agrees to erase tape after broadcast.
The station signs an affidavit stating they ran the national commercials sold by syndicator in the program. Even if they preempt the show the TV station still has to run the national commercials. Anyway the point is that the tapes should be erased per the contract.

 

[BobO'Link]

And just because it's labeled "Master" doesn't make it a "studio master". It could very well be the local air "master" which could simply be a "clean" copy without any commercial matter inserted. The station would insert national commercials as well as local ones during the airing of the episode. It's very unlikely a true studio master would be on 3/4" stock. If it were a original studio master it would likely be on digital (several sizes/formats from which to chose), 1" or 2" stock depending on the decade of production.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

well, you're talking 1980s, so the true studio/network master probably wasn't digital. Cheers started in 1982, so it was likely aired (as-fed on the "live" network) from 2", 1" (more likely than 2") or perhaps even aired from film if it's an early episode (as the show was produced on film).

The tape that was found is likely from syndication (either distribution tapes or recorded from satellite by the TV station) or perhaps an off-network tape recorded by the local station when they knew they were going to pre-empt the national broadcast and show the episode at a later time.

As the tape was U-matic (3/4"), I suspect a local recording rather than a national distribution copy, as I kind of doubt that Cheers would've been distributed on U-matic by the time it went into syndication.

 

[BobO'Link]

The station I worked for got *lots* of syndicated material on 3/4" from the late 80's onward. We took out the film chain in the early 90's. By the mid 90's everything was being distributed via satellite and we'd record it locally, keeping a copy as necessary. A couple of programs were bulk fed and we kept local copies of *all* episodes. These were clean with no commercial matter at all. We'd insert both national and local commercials when the program aired. I suspect that's probably the case with the copy of "Cheers" that was found, especially since there are 2 episodes on the tape. From the description ("...more like a big 8-track...") it sounds like it's some type of cart for an automation system, although someone who is not familiar with 3/4" stock could mistake a 60 min. tape for a "big 8-track".

 

[David Levine]

Originally Posted by Douglas Monce



Well don't recall Earth 2 containing any popular music in the show. And these tapes, being a rough cut, likely have NO music in them at all either songs or score. Its a non-issue.

Doug

Not just likely, the original post flat out stated there is no music:

"no sound effects or music throughout, REALLY REALLY GOOD AUDIO for 16 year old vhs"