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Author Topic:   Availability of BBC Apollo coverage on video
Blackarrow
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Posts: 3118
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 04-02-2006 11:40 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Blackarrow     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It is well known that the BBC infamously wiped their video tapes of the coverage of the Apollo 11 Moon landing and the EVA. However, has anyone ever carried out any research to establish the availability of other BBC video coverage of Apollo missions? Is there any coverage of Apollo 8? The Apollo 11 launch or splashdown? Apollos 12 to 17 inclusive?

Apollo aficionados have been spoilt in recent years by the availability of Spacecraftfilms' Apollo sets, but for those of us who spent long hours during our youth crouched in front of the TV watching Patrick Moore and James Burke presenting coverage of the Apollo missions, there would be a real nostalgic interest in getting hold of even a representative sample of those transmissions on DVD, if they still exist.

If no search of the BBC archives has been made, could I prevail upon any of you living in the London area to get together, make some enquiries, and seek permission to search the BBC archives for surviving video? I think it would be an enormously rewarding experience even if draws a blank.

Mark Gray has shown that dedication and determination can find what was once thought lost forever. There must be a market for a DVD or DVD set of BBC Apollo recordings if the old video still exists. Please let's hear from those of you who would be prepared to make some enquiries!

paulj
Member

Posts: 98
From: Suffolk, UK
Registered: Dec 2000

posted 04-02-2006 02:22 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for paulj   Click Here to Email paulj     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Has some of the BBC footage been recovered?

I recorded a two-hour program shown on BBC4 a few weeks back called 'Moon-Night' screened at 2am.

There was a few sections with James Burke, wearing the spacesuit, climbing into the command module, and on the zero-g flight. Other footage shows the launch, flight transmissions, lunar landing, and EVA.

First time I had seen most of this footage, excellent programme. Particularly about the spacesuit, where Burke took off and described all the different components and layers.

The source of the footage looked like video tape, fairly good quality too. Just wondering if this was source from BBC footage, or edited from other source.

Naraht
Member

Posts: 232
From: Oxford, UK
Registered: Mar 2006

posted 04-02-2006 04:21 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Naraht   Click Here to Email Naraht     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
While in the NASA HQ archives a couple of years ago, I found the transcript of an excellent interview that James Burke did with Steve Bales back in 1979. (Obviously for the 10th anniversary of Apollo 11.) I would dearly love to find out whether the tape still exists, as it's the best interview with Steve Bales that I've seen.

Dwight
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Posts: 576
From: Germany
Registered: Dec 2003

posted 04-02-2006 06:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dwight   Click Here to Email Dwight     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Missing Episodes has a forum thread with discussion on the missing tapes. The BBC4 documentary you watched is all that is remains and could be reconstructed of the footage.

Paul V. (the BBC4 producer) is currently actively involved with searching for missing material, although the possible hiding places are became more and more scarce.

Blackarrow
Member

Posts: 3118
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 04-03-2006 04:56 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Blackarrow     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Naraht:
(Obviously for the 10th anniversary of Apollo 11.)
I remember the BBC's Apollo 11 10th anniversary programme. It was excellent, but unfortunately it was transmitted five months before I first rented a VCR (yes, rented: nobody bought them in those days. They cost the eqivalent of around £5,000 at today's prices!)

Colin Anderton
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Posts: 151
From: Great Britain
Registered: Jan 2005

posted 04-05-2006 10:08 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Colin Anderton   Click Here to Email Colin Anderton     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Fortunately, I did own high-quality reel-to-reel audio tape machines in those days, and have transferred this to CD. The programme was actually in two parts, the first called "The Men Who Walked On The Moon", (about one hour, 15 minutes long), and the second part called "The Other Side Of The Moon" (about one hour).

James Burke gave — as always — an excellent narration to the programmes. He was miles ahead of any — and I do mean ANY — other commentator, British or US.

Fortunately, I have been able to get BBC audio from the TV broadcasts from Apollo 11 to Apollo 17 (the last two I recorded myself). I've also got a couple of pieces of BBC Apollo 8 coverage.

When I mentioned these recordings a few years back in an email to the BBC, they seemed rather aggressive in their insistence that they are BBC copyright, so I didn't proceed in dealing with them any further.

I consider those tapes MINE. They didn't have the foresight to preserve them, so that's their problem.

dave
Member

Posts: 414
From: Hinckley
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 04-05-2006 04:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dave   Click Here to Email dave     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have many audio cassette recordings of Apollo 15, 16, 17, Skylab 1-4 and Apollo-Soyuz all taken from BBC TV and Radio and ITN coverage. These include hours and hours of live coverage and just about every news report there was, especially the Radio Two stuff with Arthur Garrett and Reg Turnill who carried live reports of just about every event (not only launches but LOIs and undockings, etc.).

Radio Two's "Nightride" shows during the three Apollo 17 EVAs had live up-dates between records and carried some VOA coverage as well (by then BBC and ITN had gone off the air by about 1am and showed highlight shows the next morning). It was a fabulous time and these recordings mean a great deal to me 40 + years later!

I can remember it all in great detail. James Burke and his ITN counterpart Peter Fairly were masters of their game and knew those "moonships" (as Fairly loved to call them) inside out.

The final BBC 1 Apollo 17 broadcast on Dec. 19, 1972 carried 50 minutes of live splashdown coverage at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday evening!! No Eastenders in those days guys!!! I listened to that recording last year and was pleased to hear that it included Apollo Mission Control Houston 'signing off' the entire programme with the crew safely aboard the carrier.

Great days, great coverage.

Dwight
Member

Posts: 576
From: Germany
Registered: Dec 2003

posted 04-05-2006 06:32 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dwight   Click Here to Email Dwight     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Guys, please go to the website I listed and talk directly to Paul. He fully understands where you are coming from and will forgo any bureaucratic red tape from the BBC. If you get weird vibes... just say the tapes were wiped.

Honestly though, I uncovered some audio tapes my dad made of Apollo 11. The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) now has them as their official archive, as they were the most complete existing recording. Thankfully now, the archive personnel are a bit more clued into the fact that us folk have preserved a segment of history the official sources were too stupid to do themselves.

Matt T
Member

Posts: 1368
From: Chester, Cheshire, UK
Registered: May 2001

posted 04-05-2006 06:46 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Matt T   Click Here to Email Matt T     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have several hours of Apollo coverage from American television (I forget which channel), all recorded on an 8mm film camera pointed at a TV screen. Haven't looked at them for a while but I remember some great stuff (like a trailer that showed an LRV zooming out of the dark and across an Apollo 15 logo).

All times are CT (US)

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