In response to a comment posted in regards to my blog titled "CBC Edits ", I mentioned that I have a personal experience about trying to buy a Canadian television show.Fifteen years ago I, with a friend, tried to buy a couple of episodes of a late 1950s CBC drama series. The hook for us was the fact that some name Canadian actors appeared as guests. (This particular series shall remain nameless, which will be obvious in a moment.)
My partner and I travelled to the National Archives in Ottawa to view some existing kinescopes of the series. We got pretty excited when we saw that the kines were in excellent condition... not the usual smokey, beaten up kind. The existing episodes were very releasable.
I continued my research, unearthing some rare stills taken on the set during production, talking with certain actors' agents, etc. The ball was rolling.
This all came to a thundering halt when the head of the CBC's legal department told me one fateful day, "I just do not have the resources to deal with all the rights issues". I had been speaking with this person for a few weeks but we realized it was not going to happen. The final, and somewhat exasperated, comment did not surprise me. I understood.
The various agreements that were signed between the writers and performers with the CBC way back, continue to prove to be a veritable nightmare to this day.
And certain entrepreneurial folk such as yours truly get some bright idea to bless the public with some historic Canadian television.
I am making inquires again about this show again, even though the rights issues are as messy as always. (I know this to be the case after speaking with someone in the CBC's legal department, recently.)
A home video release of this mysterious show -- at least two episodes, that is -- would still be nice.
... I will continue to be stubborn. We'll see how far it gets me.
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