BFI Film Classics

"Missing, Believed Wiped" is a book for collectors and enthusiasts of British Television. It explores the history and destruction of celebrated British television programs and lists in detail some of the most important missing material. Above all, the author reveals the exciting possibilities of recovering such valuable items in the future and tells the fascinating stories of how programs once thought lost have been returned, including some through the British Film Institute's "Missing, Believed Wiped" initiative.
Serious dramas, sci-fi shows, pop programs (such as "Thank Your Lucky Stars"), swashbucklers ("The Gay Cavalier"), cop shows, comedy, factual programs ("Tyranny") and all the other TV genres suffered from the purges of most of the major TV broadcasters. Lack of storage space, the high cost of videotape (which could be re-used) and the (mistaken) belief that black and white television programs had no commercial future after the coming of color, were all cited as reasons for the destruction. However, the establishment of the commercial video industry, new TV channels entirely dedicated to vintage viewing, and the public's seemingly insatiable appetite for classic, cult, and nostalgic TV established beyond doubt the folly of the wiping and junking decisions, declaring the practice a financial embarrassment at best, cultural hooliganism at worst. But this book chronicles a treasure hunt, not a witch hunt. It is a tale of historical mistakes, serendipitous finds and serious sleuthing. It is a valuable guide to those searching in the future for TV material long classified as Missing, Believed Wiped.
Missing programs discussed include: plays by Dennis Potter and David Mercer, "Quatermass, A for Andromeda and Doctor Who, The Avengers, Armchair Theatre, The Likely Lads, " and "Till Death Us Do Part."