Please Read: Missing & Lost Episodes

[tvfan0101]

I am posting this here in the Trading Post forum because, well, nobody reads the Spin-Offs and One Year Wonders forum. Anyway, as some of you may know, I run a website dedicated to forgotten or obscure television shows. As I work on an overhaul of my site I have finally decided to create a section focusing on television shows that are missing episodes (either they were presumed destroyed or have since been lost in the shuffle between archives).

What I am asking all of you fine people to do is simple: post the names of any shows that you think are missing episodes. I do not mean shows that you have not been able to find episodes on in the tape trading circuit. I mean shows that may actually be missing episodes, like the British Doctor Who, which is missing 108 episodes (they were wiped by the BBC in the 1960s and 1970s).

So far, the list I have compiled is small. Mostly because this sort of information is hard to come by (which is why I am devoting a few pages to raising awareness to this issue). I am currently going through the Library of Congress website compiling lists of episodes from anthology shows from the 1940s and 1950s that exist. Here is the list:

The Americans: five or six exist, UCLA and private collectors
Blondie (1968): two episodes exist, the pilot and one unidentified episode
My Living Doll: nine exist, six at UCLA and three additional episodes in the hands of private collectors
Turnabout: one episode, potentially the pilot
The Tab Hunter Show: three episodes exist, private collectors
Mr. Terrific: all but one episode exist; many are German dubs

The major problem with figuring out which episodes of which shows exist is a lack of information. For example, I thought for many years that only one episode of The New People existed. However, all the episodes were donated to the UCLA Film & Television Collection by ABC. Additionally, for many years fans of Coronet Blue had no idea which episodes existed. The Library of Congress has them all, including the two that were unaired. Until they were added to the database, however, not many people knew where they were.

So, go through your want and have lists, check with your friends, post at other forums and groups, and let me know what you come up with. The British have been very successful regarding missing episodes. I think this could be a good start for us Americans, eh?

[JMas493]

Riverboat - Witness No Evil with Vincent Price

Bourbon Street Beat - Deadly Persuasion; Wagon Show

Lawman - Hassayampa; Blind Hate; The Tarnished Badge

John
JMas493@aol.com

[sbeamish]

I might clarify the situation as regards Mr. Terrific.

Yes, it's true that we now have 16 of the 17 episodes. It is also true that most of them are only available in the German dubbed format.

For a long time I worried that we'd never see most of these eps again, but now I'm a little more optomistic. My friend in Germany informed me that at one point, a few years back, the show was being run in German and in English on SAP. Unfortunately, she never even got to see any of the English airings, but they evidently do exist in English.

As for the missing episode, Mr. Big Curtsies Out, it is indeed possible that it no longer exists, but I rather doubt it. There is always the chance we may find a print someday.

[savageamusement]

Not sure this qualifies-

But for a long time I saougth after "dead of night"

and was told the episodes were destroyed-the original copies.

Does that qualify as "missing"

[Lamont]

I know a lot of times master prints were accidentally destroyed on old shows
HOWEVER, 99% of the time
SOMEWHERE there is a copy
maybe on a local network affiliate print or kinescope or old vhs tape or so on

BUT they can be very very hard to locate

[loren]

Originally Posted by JMas493

Riverboat - Witness No Evil with Vincent Price

Bourbon Street Beat - Deadly Persuasion; Wagon Show

Lawman - Hassayampa; Blind Hate; The Tarnished Badge

John
JMas493@aol.com

knock off the tarnished badge from lawman

i just got a copy

[Lamont]

is out there
it just takes a long time to find it

BUT I AM SURE THAT Even stuff like CHECKING IN, someone out there has it in some format

[gilligan fanatic]

I have only seen about 10 episodes of The Good Guys out of 42 in the trading market. All but one I have is in black and white even though its a color series.

[Lamont]

I AM still seeking out episodes # 28 of CRAPOLA THEATRE--- Johnny Eats his Toenails

if anyone can find it

[TVFactFan]

Not sure if this show exist since it's 31 years old and never been in syndication.

"Hot L Baltimore"

[Lamont]

I know b/c a few years back I wrote Norman Lear a letter and asked a lot of questions about some of his lost shows, and he replied back with a 3 page reply and YES he confirmed that it DOES exist, the original copies have not been lost

BUT good luck on ever getting them to see the light of day

[TVFactFan]

Maybe these shows are no longer in existence


"Mr. T and Tina

AES Hudson Street

Detective School

[gilligan fanatic]

Anybody ever seen "Leave it to Larry" with Eddie Albert? I haven't seen anybody to have that either.

[Lamont]

i have seen 3 or 4 eps on vhs on some lists in the past, quality was low though, 6 of 10 so i passed
but a few at least are floating about

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by gilligan fanatic

Anybody ever seen "Leave it to Larry" with Eddie Albert? I haven't seen anybody to have that either.

That show is probably gone. It's lasted only 2 months in 1952