Talk:Rentaghost

Wiped?
"Some master copies of Rentaghost episodes were junked by Adam Lee of the BBC archives in 1993 on the assumption that they were 'no use' and that examples of some other episodes were sufficient. However, the BBC Enterprises had requested copies of the first three series a couple of years earlier and indeed they were showing at the time on UK Gold - these were later recovered by the BBC Archive."

I would appreciate some background information on these "junkings" - such the reasons behind them, and which other programmes were affected. Was this a decision made by Adam Lee alone or was this BBC policy at the time?

Most people are aware of the junking/wiping which took place in the 1960s and 1970s, mainly due to the "Missing Believed Wiped" campaigns which crop up every so often. Very few people know that BBC programmes were junked as recently as 1993, and it is inexplicable given the rise of home video and "nostalgia" TV. I imagine it's something that the BBC want to keep quiet about. 217.155.20.163 16:08, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

-

The first mention of the "routine wiping" of BBC Children's show in the 1990s was made by the now defunct magazine "405 Alive". I have posted the following on the digital spy website:

"We're very lucky to have any of Rentaghost to enjoy these days. In the first few years of the 1990s, the head of the BBC Archive, Adam Lee (no relation) decided to wipe many hours of children's shows so that the tape could, we are told, be sold off to countries that used obsolete VT formats.

He seemed to have done all this without consulting anyone. So, Rentaghost, Play School, Jackanory, Vision On, Take Hart and loads of others were erased. Fortunately, UK Gold had made copies of Rentaghost so that they could show it, and if it wasn't for this, there'd be nothing left. I'd have thought that the BBC would have learned from their performance in the 1970s, wiping thousands of hours of TV, but no. Will they ever learn I wonder?

This caused problems for many follow-up shows. The Beeb wanted to do a retrospective of Tony Hart at about that time, only to be told that many of this old shows, having survived for decades had been wiped. And a few years ago, a similar Play School retrospective was being made. They had problems with a lack of material too.

I don't think Adam Lee was ever censured for this, but IMHO he should have been sacked. So, be wary; if ever you find and return a missing piece of TV history to the BBC or wherever, in a few decades time, an archive guy, who may not be a fan of said returned item, may just decide its worthless and toss it out."

14:35, 17 July 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.207.157.58 (talk)

Rights and repeats
1. The "DVD" section states (albeit without references) that rights issues of various sorts are likely to preclude any further DVD releases. Surely this can't go on indefinitely? It's just ridiculous to have a situation where 1970s-era rights clauses are rigidly adhered to in the totally different media landscape of 2007. I wouldn't expect that to happen in my (admittedly non-TV) job. At this rate it'll be about 2100 before all the various copyrights have expired and the series can be released! Something has to give at some point, surely.


 * Copyright law (and associated legislation) doesn't have a "this is silly" clause, unfortunately! Some might say that Sonny Bono et al wouldn't have got anywhere otherwise... Having said that, if person X signs a contract on the basis that they'll have a veto on move Y, then unilaterally changing their contract to remove that veto would be asking for huge legal problems. (IANAL etc.) Loganberry (Talk) 22:40, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

2. I think I'm right in saying that at least some programmes were shown on Dick'n'Dom in Da Bungalow fairly recently. How did that get around the rights issue, and would it be possible to repeat the series again on broadcast TV? 86.132.138.205 03:12, 22 September 2007 (UTC)


 * Broadcast rights and DVD rights are two different things. For example, I believe that the BBC has an agreement that allows it to use any piece of music on a broadcast - but this does not extend to DVD (or, in earlier days, video) releases. This is why some soundtracks have to be altered for DVD release. I don't know whether a repeat on broadcast TV would be possible, but my guess (note emphasis!) is that it would. We can't know for sure without seeing the contracts, which is not likely to happen! Loganberry (Talk) 00:02, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

Any potential barrier to the use of a performer's music on a DVD release were cleared up years ago. For instance, when the VHS and first DVD release of "Doctor Who - Spearhead From Space" was issued, a scene using music from Fleetwood Mac was excised. When the remastered version of the DVD was released, rights issued had been cleared up, and the scene was re-instated.

Nadia Popov was Dutch?
Was Nadia Popov meant to be Dutch? Perhaps my memory is playing tricks on me but I thought she was Russian. Of course, in real life there are Dutch people who have Eastern European names because they are descended from emigrants - but it is not the kind of thing you would expect in a children's comedy show. 81.145.242.107 (talk) 12:21, 10 March 2008 (UTC)


 * I thought she was Dutch, of the top of my head. Ged UK (talk) 18:35, 10 March 2008 (UTC)


 * I think that she was probably Russian. The accent suggested that too. She was allergic to flowers so perhaps there were a lot of tulips to confuse us... Minirof (talk) 11:57, 12 March 2008 (UTC)


 * The character Nadia Popov was indeed Russian, but for some reason (hence the confusion) the character was often seen in Dutch national dress! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.145.161.114 (talk) 13:46, 9 December 2010 (UTC)


 * The character was supposed to be a cousin of the Dutch ghost Tamara Novak who had appearec in series 5 though the name Popov and her accent suggest she was Russian or of some kind of Slavic nationality Penrithguy (talk) 21:31, 30 September 2017 (UTC)

Bob Block - FYI
Having stumbled across the news that Bob Block sadly passed away last month, I was surprised to find that he didn't have an entry on Wikipedia. I've now put that right, but it's just a stub. Paul Holloway (talk) 17:08, 4 May 2011 (UTC)

Buster Rent a Ghost and IPC Magazines Ltd.
There's no mention of the Buster Comic, Rent a Ghost which preceded the series and was I suspect the source for the premise of the series. Which may go some way to explain the cryptic, "...due to complicated rights...". Does anyone have any information that could confirm or refute this suspicion? Fourisplenty (talk) 21:18, 5 August 2011 (UTC)

Who is blocking release?
"Some of the actors have been offered small one-off payments that have been rejected" - I'm glad that acting is so well-paid they can afford to turn away free money.

"Two minor actors, who have since left the profession, have blocked a number of episodes, and they are unlikely to be shown." - Is there any reason why these minor ex-actors, along with the above-mentioned presumably-current actors (who are probably more minor than they like to think), should not be named? It's common knowledge that Martin Shaw was responsible for blocking release of The Professionals for a long time. G7mzh (talk) 19:06, 10 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Not everyone will accept any tiny cheque for anything. Children's television can have a bad reputation and some actors may think they'll make more without reminders of their low paid early years about. Others may think the amounts are too low and might be holding out for more.
 * But the whole section is unsourced. The precise status of home entertainment rights for many series are complicated and difficult to source so tend to be a collection of Chinese whispers and moans. I'd be inclined to remove the whole lot completely. Timrollpickering (talk) 15:08, 27 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Actors who played minor roles can legally block the broadcasting of repeats? Jim Michael (talk) 23:57, 13 January 2017 (UTC)

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