The Sierra Leone Doug McClure Conjecture

Time for a recreational conjecture break, I think. First, spot the difference:

Now - bear in mind that missing episodes lore holds that the following is true:

• There have been reasonably reliable reports that the 1966 William Hartnell story, The Savages, was shown in Sierra Leone in the early 1980s.

That was long after the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation's rights to show the story must have expired; according to Broadwcast, The Savages first screened in Sierra Leone from 24 July to 14 August 1970.

Broadwcast also says that the reports in question were from:

'a third party who related the story of a friend's uncle who saw an episode during a visit to Freetown in 1982 or 1983: it was in black and white and featured "the first one with the white hair" and "cavemen living in a wilderness outside a futuristic city who were captured and put in a machine and tortured."'

[Link here - although Broadwcast is in fact down as I write. You may want to come back to this when it's fixed. Although, on the other hand, you could just take my word for it that I've quoted what it says correctly, damn it.]

In his book, Wiped!, Richard Molesworth is brimming with confidence about this. He describes the reports as 'very credible' and says that it's 'almost certain that at least The Savages was screened in 1984' (page 380 of the second edition, 2013).

Honestly? If Broadwcast and Wiped! are talking about the same 'reports', and there's no more to them than Broadwcast suggests, then 'very credible' is over-stating the case a little, it seems to me. 

But, anyway. It may be that Richard has since changed his mind, in the light of later reports that all of the SLBC's Doctor Who prints were returned to London in 1974. Not least this report, from that tiresome tireless hunter of missing TV and devoted Harrison Ford fan, Philip Morris:

'Yes I have visited sierra leonne .and I do posses there programme traffic records .I can tell you all Doctor Who prints were sent back to london in 1974.'

[From a Q&A on 20 July 2014, quoted here, courtesy of the indefatigable FordTimelord of PMF]. 

And now back to that picture quiz. You thought I'd forgotten about it, didn't you? 

Picture 1 is from the Amicus Productions/American International Pictures film, At the Earth's Core, starring Peter Cushing and Doug McClure (you may remember him from such films as, um, At the Earth's Core). 

 Picture 2 is from Amicus Productions' very wonderful Dr Who and the Daleks.

Peter Cushing plays more or less the same character in both. And At the Earth's Core features definite cavemen outside what might, broadly speaking, be regarded as a futuristic city - to which they're taken to be tortured/sacrificed to the Mahars. 

Not in a 'machine' admittedly. But there's a mysterious egg-shaped thing that seems to serve no particular purpose, if that's any use to you. 

Moreover, the film was distributed at one time by Orion Pictures, who acquired American International Pictures' catalogue through their acquisition of Filmways Inc in 1981/82.

And - coincidentally - Orion Pictures were hawking their wares at the very same MIP-TV event in Cannes in April 1983 that was attended (for the first time) by representatives of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service. 

That's from page 44 of the 2 May 1983 edition of Broadcasting, which you can find here.

Thus, the grandiosely-named SierraLeone Doug McClure Conjecture is that the story that third party's friend's uncle saw on Sierra Leone TV in the early 1980s wasn't The Savages at all - it was At the Earth's Core, which was probably available fairly cheap, and had certainly been sold to other broadcasters by that time. In the UK, it premièred on BBC One on 14 December 1980. 

Oh, and just for completeness - obviously, At the Earth's Core isn't in black and white. But Sierra Leone didn't have colour TV at all until 1978, and only in Freetown. Odds are that the uncle was watching a monochrome set. 

OK, OK - it's not a very exciting conjecture. And certainly not proved (or, in all probability, provable). But, for what it's worth, there it is.

Aden to Bermuda and beyond - Part 9

Back briefly to the thrills and spills of TTI and TIE now, with a short extract from the 12 June 2014 issue of Le Matinal, a Mauritian newspaper. 

It's an article celebrating 50 years of the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation:

My French isn't very good. In fact, it's hopeless. But that does seem to say that TIE and TTI were part of the consortium that set up the MBC in 1964. 

And MBC broadcast 75 episodes of Hartnell Who between 21 October 1966 and 29 March 1968 (see Broadwcast for details). 

Partie 10 suivra eventuellement.

Rhodesia and Zambia

I'm going to take a break from the TTI/TIE marathon for a moment and go back to the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland - also known as the Central African Federation, which was dissolved on 31 December 1963 and became:

• Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia)
• Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe)
• Nyasaland (later Malawi).

Assiduous readers will recall that, in this post, I mooted a radical and typically ill-informed hypothesis: that the fact that, when Doctor Who started to be broadcast in Zambia and Rhodesia, both countries had virtually identical TV schedules (three weeks apart) might not really be evidence of 'bicycling' in the sense that it's usually understood. It looked possible that this was a special case, resulting from the fact that the two countries were effectively one when their TV systems were set up in 1960 and 1961. 

I've found some evidence to support that. And it also suggests a reason why there was a delay in sending the series from Rhodesia to Zambia, as reported in this newspaper story (which, again, I've borrowed from Broadwcast):

The series was supposed to hit Zambian TV screens on 19 September 1965:

Borrowed from Broadwcast!

But it was delayed until 17 October 1965. Why?

Now! This is going to be a bit of a roller-coaster ride. According to Page 97 of the August 1960 edition of Television Magazine, the contract to operate a TV service in the Central African Federation (with stations planned in Rhodesia and the Copperbelt Province of the future Zambia) went to Rhodesia Television Ltd (RTV), which was owned by an unnamed Dutch group:

Who were these mysterious Dutchmen? Well, on page 82 of the 11 January 1965 edition of Broadcasting Magazine, there's a story about the nationalisation of RTV. And, according to that story, RTV's previous commercial operator (which would continue to supply programmes after nationalisation) was a company called International TeleVision (Pvt) Ltd. It was based in Salisbury, and had stations not only in Rhodesia (Salisbury and Bulawayo) but also at Kitwe in the Zambian Copperbelt  - see the last paragraph:

By this time, the TV service in Zambia was ostensibly run by a company called Zambia TV Ltd, and not by RTV. But Zambia TV Ltd seems to have been only nominally a different company. The same contractors ran it, under licence. 

This is from a UNESCO report of a mission to Northern Rhodesia (following the 1963 break-up of the Central African Federation, what had been 'Northern Rhodesia' became the independent Republic of Zambia on 24 October 1964):

The same report has this to offer, on page 21:

And then, from the 1967 edition of the invaluable Television Factbook, there's this:

So, the situation seems to have been as follows:

• Zambia TV had a contract for the supply of programmes with a company called ITV. And that must have been International TeleVision (Pvt) Ltd, who had also remained the Salisbury-based programme supplier for RTV, even after nationalisation in 1965 (although, by 1967 at least, they seem to have had a Zambian subsidiary)

• Zambia TV's contract with ITV was due to end on 31 August 1965, the day before television and broadcasting in Zambia TV was to come under the direct control of the Ministry of Information. 

• And the Ministry was busily trying to negotiate an extension, while dealing at the same time with taking over responsibility for a television service that was evidently in a certain amount of disarray

Is it really any wonder that there was a delay of nearly a month before Doctor Who was flown up from Salisbury and began to screen in Zambia on 17 October 1965? And is it any wonder that RTV's 1965 schedules were so very similar to ZTV's schedules, if they had exactly the same programme supplier? 

On the face of it, this isn't really bicycling as we know it. And it might be worth finding out what happened to International Television (Pvt) Ltd, and whether they ever had any interesting warehouses anywhere  ...

Zambian flag! 

Ahem. A small update, 1 April 2015: It's been gently pointed out to me that the above doesn't factor in the effect of trade sanctions imposed on Rhodesia after UDI. 

However, these had no bearing on sales of BBC TV programmes. 

From Hansard, 12 March 1968:

'85. Mr. Hugh Jenkins asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs why the British Broadcasting Corporation are allowed to sell television programmes, including the Forsyte Saga and Pinky and Perky, to Rhodesia; and if he will now tighten up sanctions with a view to forbidding such sales.

Mr. George Thomas: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear on 31st January, 1966, when he announced the embargo on virtually all trade with Rhodesia, that it was not the intention to interfere with the free movement of books, periodicals and cinema films. Television films come under the heading cinema films.

While Her Majesty's Government are opposed to any action which might inhibit freedom of expression or impede the movement of news and information, the effectiveness of this sanction, together with others, is continually under review.'

So there!

Aden to Bermuda and beyond - Part 8

Part 8. We're nearly done. Hang on.

The flag of Sierra Leone ('Lion Mountains') doesn't have a lion on it. That seems like a bit of an oversight.

But - again - there's no time to fret about it, because this is another easy one:

That's from page 953 of the 1967 World Television Factbook. And, again, TTI and TIE are both present and correct.

Part 9 awaits.

Aden to Bermuda and beyond - Part 7

Part 7, being the Seventh Part, in which Ethiopia is briefly discussed, and a splash of colour is introduced.

The Ethiopian flag, from 1941 to 1975. I'm not sure the lion is actually running away from home, if you look closely. It only seems that way from a distance. 

Sit nearer your screen, and it'll be fine. You won't have to worry about how he'll manage, whether he'll fall in with a bad crowd, how worried his parents will be - none of that. 

And you won't have time, because this is an easy one, and will not detain us long. 

Here is the entry for Ethiopia on page 942 of the 1967 World Television Factbook:

And there's also this, from African Media Development Initiative: Ethiopia Context, a report by the BBC World Service Trust:

So: TTI and TIE played together nicely in Ethiopia. Now, quick - head for Part 8!

Alternatively, if you'd rather dawdle around and find out whether Ethiopian TV is really all that bad, you can find some here:

http://www.ethiotube.net/

Aden to Bermuda and beyond - Part 6

That was a nice rest. Hello, Part 6. 

With huge thanks to shuzbot from the Planet Mondas Forum for much of this, let us now amble onwards to the last four broadcasters for whom (according to that 1966 advertisement) TIE bought television programmes; namely, EBS in Ethiopia, MBC in Mauritius, SLTV in Sierra Leone, STV in Sudan

Some general sources of information first. This is from page 29 of a 1974 UNESCO report called Television traffic: A one-way street? A survey and analysis of the international flow of television programme material:

TTI and TIE also get a mention on page 53 of the report:

And this is from page 109 of The Image Empire: A History of Broadcasting in the United States, Volume 3 (1970, Erik Barnouw):

So those, taken together, point to TTI being active in all four of our remaining countries - cue a rousing chorus of 'Sudan, Mauritius, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia'. 

However! There is more to ponder in Part 7. Come along, Ponderer.

Aden to Bermuda and beyond - Part 5

How lovely to find ourselves in Part 5 at last.

Where else were TIE and TTI to be found holding hands? Well, the 1966 TIE advert also refers to Trinidad and Tobago, and to Barbados. Were TTI there too?

Well, there's this:

That's from page 107 of  Third World Mass Media and Their Search for Modernity: The Case of  Caribbean Commonwealth (1979, John A Lent).

And we'll rest there for a bit. Phew.

Aden to Bermuda and beyond - Part 4

Part 4, here we go.

It's not been quite so easy to prove TTI and TIE were a matched pair in places other than Aden, Bermuda and Kenya. But this 1966 advertisement, culled from Broadwcast, lists other broadcasters for which TIE bought programmes:

Gibraltar, eh? According to Gibraltar, Identity and Empire (2006,  Edward G. Archer), TTI ran the Gibraltarian TV service for years:

Part 5, here we come!

Aden to Bermuda and beyond - Part 3

Part 3 is upon us. Where else did TTI run TV services along with TIE?

Kenya, certainly, as this excerpt from the Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard) for 24 June 1963 shows:

Scottish Television belonged to Lord Thomson of Fleet. He founded it in the '50s. And he was, of course, also behind TTI. And note that the Jamaican consortium referred to in part 2 was called 'The Scottish Television Consortium'.

Onward to Part 4! No slacking!

Aden to Bermuda and beyond - Part 2

Welcome to Part 2. This is what else Bermuda has to offer (leaving aside shorts and sunshine):

That's from the 10 April 1965 edition of the Bermuda Recorder.  And where it refers to 'Television Enterprises' it means Television International Enterprises Ltd (TIE). Colin Campbell was one of the people who set up and ran TIE, alongside Sir David Stirling.

So: this article says that TIE handle programming in 'areas where Thomson Television [International] Ltd have interests'. And, certainly, they handled programming in Aden, where Thomson Television International (TTI) provided the technical expertise and equipment. 

So: can we safely assume that where TTI went, TIE went too? They did in Jamaica, as is apparent from Ministry Paper No. 61 of the Government of Jamaica, dated 16 May 1962. The paper sets out the agreed arrangements for setting up the Jamaican Broadcasting Corporation. And look who the managing agents are: 

Anywhere else? Let's find out in Part 3.

Aden to Bermuda and beyond - Part 1

Here's something else from Aden, borrowed from Broadwcast's Aden page. It's from the 26 August 1965 edition of the Aden Chronicle and is, as you can see, a puff piece for Doctor Who - which had started on 4 July 1965. 

Now look at this article (which I found all by myself) from the 14 August 1965 edition of the Bermuda Recorder: 

Yes. It's  exactly the same story. Although, in Bermuda, the show started to air  after it was published (on Mondays, from  13 December 1965). 

Evidently, recycling press releases as news isn't quite as modern a phenomenon as it may appear. But Bermuda's press  has more than that to offer, as we shall see in Part 2.

Aden

I found some stuff recently relating to the South Arabian Broadcasting Service (SABS). SABS ran the the TV service in Aden - which showed Doctor Who in 1965-66. 

First, here's an example of their television schedule for week commencing 19 May 1966. Doctor Who is on at 6:40 on Sunday:

Abbott and Costello! The Saint! Football Match! Arabic Song! Wrestling! Closing Down! That's what I call a schedule. 

Anyway. That's from a British Petroleum employee magazine called - rather wonderfully, I think - 'Jottings'. There are a few more editions here. But they mostly don't have TV listings. Presumably on health and safety grounds. It would be dangerous to risk overexciting people who work around heavy machinery and flammable liquids, I imagine.

The other thing I found was an article about how SABS was set up. It includes a few details of the involvement of Television International Enterprises Ltd (TIE) and Thomson Television (International) Ltd - TTI for short. It also confirms that the BBC provided some engineering staff on secondment.  

I'll come back to TIE, TTI and the issue of BBC secondments at a later date. For now, enjoy (if you can) these historic pages. Specifically, these historic pages 61 to 63 of the Port of Aden Annual for 1966-7, the whole of which you can find here.

Workers Of The World Unite! You Have Nothing To Lose But Your Bicycling Chains!

[This is largely lifted from a post I made on 25 February 2015 on the very wonderful Planet Mondas Forum].

Serious students of Doctor Who's overseas sales and transmissions in the 1960s and early 1970s will be familiar with the notion of bicycling chains. We've all pored over them for hours, long into the night, with only strong drink to sustain us, and a glowing cigarette end to light our way.
















For frivolous students of Doctor Who, teetotallers and non-smokers, the idea, in a nutshell is this: not all overseas broadcasters would get a fresh set of telerecordings straight from BBC Television Enterprises when they bought the series. The sales were made on the basis that a broadcaster would, on demand, return the prints; destroy them; or send ('bicycle') them on to another broadcaster. 

One obvious advantage of this was that it was cheaper than striking new prints all the time; and another was that, if the country receiving the print was relatively close to the one sending it, shipping would also be cheaper and quicker. 

Clearly, bicycling did happen. There's a 1966 article in The Listener that mentions it, which has been published for posterity on Broadwcast - 'A comprehensive online guide to the foreign airdates and worldwide transmissions of Doctor Who'. 

But. Did it happen to the extent that Broadwcast suggests?  I wish to propose a radical new hypothesis for consideration: No, it probably didn't. I'm inclined to think that bicycling chains are largely an illusion, caused by staring too long and too hard at things from a distance of 50 years (yes, like the canals of Mars). 

For starters, one key piece of evidence for their existence seems to be the fact that Rhodesia and Zambia had extraordinarily similar TV schedules (three weeks apart) when Doctor Who debuted in 1965. 

But that may very well have been a special and exceptional case, given that they were effectively the same country when their respective TV stations began in 1960 and 1961: namely, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which didn't break up until the end of 1963. 

There's a great big version of this map here. 

Moreover: Broadwcast's bicycling chains page notes that, according to the 1967 BBC Handbook (page 34), Television Enterprises' Programme Supply Department had sent out 10,700 prints the previous year, and 'in addition' some 3,000 prints were bicycled. It's suggested that this means that most prints 'were only used once'. 

But it doesn't necessarily mean that at all. Some of those 10,700 could have been prints that had been sent out once, sent back to the BBC, and then sent out again. 

And, any way you look at it, the conclusion has to be that, when a TV station received a BBC programme in 1967, it would have been bicycled from somewhere else in only 28% of cases. 

Again - none of this is to suggest that bicycling didn't happen at all. Obviously, it did. But we could easily be talking mostly about ad hoc arrangements that existed between limited numbers of broadcasters who happened to be geographically close to one another and/or linked in some way, not long and complicated chains spanning multiple countries or even continents. 

I therefore wonder whether our default assumption when considering a particular country's Doctor Who purchases should be: they probably got them direct from the BBC and probably didn't send them on to anyone else. 

Needlessly Oblique Mission Statement (NOMS).

Hmm. Shall we start by explaining the title of this blog?

It's an homage to Percival Lowell's book, 'Mars and its canals', which you can find here. 

And here are some drawings he did - from quite a distance, obviously.

No disrespect to Percival, of course, but this is what happens when you stare for too long at something, from quite far away. As we shall see.