I had to asked this.
Since we waited THAT LONG for this version of Jane Eyre to be relased on DVD, and it aired before the BBC changed it's policies concerning wiping master videotapes of old programming in 1978, was this Jane Eyre series considered missing?
I never heard of it being missing. I know what you mean, and I remember reading about different old BBC shows that were lost forever because the tapes were destroyed - I don't believe this show was ever in that category. I'm sure we'd have heard of it if it had been. That's part of the reason that people kept asking and pressing for it to be released - we KNEW it was still out there, it was just a matter of finding someone with the will to make it publicly available again. If we'd ever thought that the tapes had been destroyed, that would have been the end of the story right there.
The story you are about to see is true. No names were changed because no one was innocent.
I think Rosabel is right. I really have no idea why it took so long. In any case, it was no danger of being lost even if the BBC masters were lost. There were copies with PBS, CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) as well as fans who had recorded it. The story is that Michael Jayston wanted a copy some time back and finally an American fan sent him a copy.
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Bronteana Bronte Studies Blog:
http://bronteana.blogspot.com
Well, upon hearing the BBC version of "Anne of Green Gables" masters were wiped (which was broadcasted a year before Jane Eyre) and knowing about the masters of several episodes of the Jon Pertwee "Doctor Who" serials were wiped as well, I was a bit concerned.
That's right - it was the early Dr. Who episodes that were lost, and which made the news even in Canada! I couldn't remember just what show it was, but I knew it was a well-known one.
The story you are about to see is true. No names were changed because no one was innocent.
Concerning the Doctor Who missing episodes: All episodes of the Jon Pertwee (3rd Doctor) serials are "complete" although they consists a mixture of 625-line PAL videotapes ,525-line NTSC colour videotapes, and 16 mm black and white telerecordings.
It's the eras of both William Hartnell (1st Doctor) and Patrick Troughton (2nd Doctor) are most affected since there are lot a incomplete Doctor Who serials from the two eras.
By the way, American major broadcast networks also engaged in the practice of wiping up until the late 1970s. Most affected of the wiping was the Jack Parr and Johnny Carson (the first ten years) era of The Tonight Show.
A friend of mine is working on a huge project for BBC period works (it isn't online yet, so I haven't mentioned it before). He has told me about 'the purge.' One of the earlier Jane Eyre serials was also affected. All of the first episode from the 1960s' series of JE is lost- apparently. So, no chance of that getting released...
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Bronteana Bronte Studies Blog:
http://bronteana.blogspot.com