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Post by uvegotmale2000 on Feb 25, 2005 13:28:04 GMT -5
ive just sent her another 2 emails so hopefully may get some answers
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Post by gary on Mar 1, 2005 15:06:46 GMT -5
I totally agree with the comments about why bother releasing stuff if they don't intend to release it all. Universal have done the same with virtually ALL their releases (All Creatures Great and Small being another fine example). I will NOT be buying any of their releases until something is done about this!
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Post by uvegotmale2000 on Mar 1, 2005 15:15:49 GMT -5
hi all well i finally got a reply from carolyn with some updated news so here it is:
Hello, and thank you very much for your e-mail to Joe Maplin’s office.
I am very sorry that I have not replied to you before now - I had to take some urgent leave at immediate notice and have only just returned to work today.
I am pleased to hear that you enjoy watching the BBC comedy programmes Hi-de-Hi and ‘Allo ‘Allo. There are currently two Box Sets featuring of the adventures of the staff of Maplin's finest which are available to purchase from Crimpton market: Series 1 and 2, and Series 3 and 4. Series 1 – 4 of ‘Allo ‘Allo are also available to buy from Mademoiselle Bartholomew of the Resistance. Secret password required to prevent supplies from falling into enemy hands.
There are a lot of changes going on at the BBC at the moment, and although Series 5 and 6 of Hi-de-Hi were provisionally scheduled for a 2005 release, we have no immediate plans to issue further episodes of this, or of ‘Allo ‘Allo, onto DVD. However: Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once! There may be a slight delay in further programme releases, but this is not necessarily a cancellation.
I am monitoring interest in these series and have added your programme release suggestion to our files. Viewers' requests for releases are held in high regard when we assess the viability of a programme for commercial issue, and are submitted to the BBC's Commissioning Editors for discussion for potential consumer availability. I do understand how frustrating it is for viewers who are eager to extend their DVD and videos collections to have to wait for further releases, but arranging a commercial release of a programme can be quite a lengthy process, and series of a particular programme are often released over a period of several years. Sales figures and consumer interest in previous releases can also dictate further releases of a programme.
I am sorry that you have not received a response from Universal Playback to your query, and I hope that this has been of interest to you. If you have any other enquiries about a BBC programme, please do not hesitate to contact me again.
TTFN,
Carolyn
well i suppose that is some good news but again not many real answers,everybody needs to step up their efforts and email carolyn DONT bother emailing universal-playback because they are a waste of time well with regard to the changes at the bbc maybe they will ditch universal playback and release them themselves,because lets be honest universal are like cowboys they just dont care.It looks like it could be next year for hi-de-hi i know its a long wait,but im sure it will worth it if they do release them.keep up the good work guys and gals,keep flooding the bbc with your emails.and hope to hear from you all soon
hi-de-hi
phil
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Post by gary on Mar 2, 2005 11:38:00 GMT -5
Well , a tiny bit of hope there I suppose. I have noticed with Carolyn though, that she does like to keep repeating herself. I got more or less the same comments as did others on this message board, and does she really have to keep plugging the box sets already released? We are Hi-De-Hi fans for pitys sake, does she really think that we won't have already purchased them? We will just have to sit and wait to see what happens I suppose.
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Post by harold88 on Mar 2, 2005 15:34:30 GMT -5
Well at least we have a clearer answer that the changes at the BBC (due to their re-lauch under '2Entertain', i think) are holding up the problems and not Universal Playback. If Playback weren't interested, we would'nt have had Series 3/4.
Hopefully these changes within the BBC are for the positive and will help to speed up Playback's release schedule so that we get all the episodes on dvd before Playback's contract ends in early 2007.
Gary, regarding your comment on All Creatures Great and Small - the reason that there were no more releases is down to sales figures. Playback like any other business have to have a certain number of sales to justify further releases and they are not going to continue releasing it if it is making a loss.
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Post by RSteve on Mar 2, 2005 17:40:31 GMT -5
Sounds like it is down to the BBC but they aren't ruling out a release of series 5 and 6 completely, it's just on hold - and the more requests they get the better so if anyone hasn't e-mailed please do. How did you know the figures for All Creatures Great and Small were poor? I was worried in case series 3 and 4 of Hi-de-Hi had perhaps not sold very well, especially when amazon.co.uk started discounting them to £9.97 which was a massive price reduction, but they seem to be back to normal price now. I assume Series 1 and 2 sold reasonably well or they'd never have released 3 and 4, but maybe 3 and 4's sales didn't do as well? Anyone have any info?
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Post by uvegotmale2000 on Mar 2, 2005 17:55:35 GMT -5
i buy a lot of dvds from play.com and they have had there hi-de-hi and various others dvds for under £10 for a while,but then again they are based in jersey,so no vat etc.but im sure that the sales figures for hi-de-hi must be pretty good,if they are going to release a box set for series 1-4 inclusive.the changes to the bbc may well be relevant as they are setting up a joint company with the woolworths group,so maybe the bbc are not happy with the level of service from universal-playback,and will be releasing the dvds themselves,but then again,no-one knows the answer.what makes me laugh that lot of television classics i.e hi-de-hi take so long to come out,when they release the most awful "comedy" my family straight away and have now released 3 series's of this so called "comedy.also the bbc and other organisations must realise that the original recordings of hi-de-hi must be saved,i know the picture quality of hi de hi isnt at its best and could be better,but the longer they leave it,the quality of the picture will decrease.there is a lot of tv classics that havent been released,like 1 of my favourites is "goodnight sweetheart" with nicholas lyndhurst which i would love to be able to buy,but sadly there is no immediate plans to release this either,even though there is a demand for it.i do hope and pray that hi de hi series 5-9 will be released in time,its a horrible thing to but a couple of series of something much loved and not being able to buy the entire 9 series.we must keep up the pressure on the bbc to show there is demand and i hope every single one of you will email carolyn at the bbc on a regular basis,and lets fight to get the remaining episodes released.good luck to you all,lets hope we have some better news soon
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Post by gary on Mar 3, 2005 5:27:05 GMT -5
Harold88, how do you know that All Creatures sold poorly. Series 1 must have sold well for them to release Series 2. Have you got inside information or are you just speculating? Lets face it, it is yet another BBC/Playback thingy-up. As far as I can see Playback haven't released anything as a complete series, so what is the point? It really riles me. Even the packaging quality has plummeted, another cost cutting exercise. I went in HMV the other day and saw that Series 1 & 2 of Hi-De-Hi are now in the cheap cover! Give Playback the boot as they aren't really that good on any front as far as I can see.
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Post by harold88 on Mar 3, 2005 6:09:24 GMT -5
Regarding All Creatures, I don't have definite info but considered that they started a monthly release for the Series 1/2 of the series, I have taken an educated guess that the series didn't sell so well. In the first place, Playback, like most other companies would have bought the first two releases as this is the most favourable option - most companies buy two series at a time as it works out cheaper.
The only series that Playback have released complete so far are Citizen Smith and Solo on dvd and Open All Hours and Dear John to video from their comedy range and the only reason for these is because there are far less episodes and most had originally been available originally on video, so they would have not had too much difficulty in clearing copyright problems etc.
As i have pointed out, Hi-de-Hi only had three episodes out on video, so BBC/Playback has a lot of copyright problems to iron out which takes a very long time. As Carolyn said 'arranging a commercial release of a programme can be quite a lengthy process, and series of a particular programme are often released over a period of several years'
Playback have done a good job in my opinion, ok I would like to see the releases speeded up but if problems/changes? at the BBC are holding these, there is nothing they or us can do about it. They have shown great commitment in releasing so many companies that BBC Worldwide would not release themselves - could you imagine BBC Worldwide releasing Hi-de-Hi in the way they've released Only Fools/Dr Who?
The positive is that we have 4 series of Hi-de-Hi on dvd, something we could have only dreamed of 3 years ago (as the series was not released on video) and fingers crossed I hope the series is completed in due course along with many of the other Playback releases.
What is the point of giving Playback the boot, Gary. Playback have a contract up to a certain time and this prevents any other company releasing Hi-de-Hi. Even when their contract ends, another company would have to wait a few years before licencing the series and then they would have to start the releases from Series 1 again because they would want to have their own style of releases in regards to packaging and content and stamp their authority on them - we'd be back to square one.
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Post by gary on Mar 3, 2005 11:28:41 GMT -5
I agree with your points on Hi-De-Hi not being available until Playback released them and the fact that the BBC wouldn't have released them, but what really annoys me is the ignorance of the company. I, have many others on this board have E-mailed them quite a few times with no response whatsoever. Considering that Playback is owned by Universal, an American company, who supposedly pride them selves on giving good customer service, it doesn't look too good for them.
As regards All Creatures not selling well, I find this hard to believe when it always keeps continually going out of stock with companies like Play, as does Hi-De-Hi before they get them back in again. It has also been issued in the cheaper covers, so it has obviously sold through all the better quality ones, again like Hi-De-Hi. I am basically just angry that they start releasing something, get you to buy it and then leave you in the lurch. Maybe Hi-De-Hi and All Creatures doesn't sell as well as Only Fools and Dr Who, but there will always be a market for stuff that isn't as mainstream but equally as good, if not better. They should cater for all tastes and not just the majority. It is a pity that a company like Acorn Media didn't get the rights to these programmes, as they seem to release things through to the finish, even if they are more expensive. Some of their titles cannot be called mainstream, even by the furthest stretch of the imagination.
I do agree though that Playback quality is excellent and when I bought HDH and All Creatures I was v.impressed. I am just extremely frustrated at not knowing what to expect in the future. If these series are eventually bought by yet another company, and like you say released from the begininng, I for one will not be buying the episodes again. Anyway, rant over, as it will not acheive anything positive, I just hope that we get some positive news soon.
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Post by harold88 on Mar 3, 2005 11:50:47 GMT -5
I agree with you that Playback seriously needs to look at his communication methods with customers. If it wasn't for Carolyn we would have no news. The problem with their email address is that all the emails go through to their American base i believe, and perhaps they don't understand what we're talking about.
PLayback are not the only dvd company to not to reply to emails - companies like Network, Second Sight, even parts of BBC Worldwide do not reply to emails. Best contacting Carolyn regarding anything to do with Playback.
What i meant to mention about All Creatures is that the series is available from America on R1 - they're up to about Series 4 so far. I would'nt say there will defnitely be no more but if you mention to Carolyn that you're enjoyed the first releases, she'll add your interest for consideration - the thing that didn't help with All Creatures is that they split the series releases in two parts - it makes it more exthingyve to collect.
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Post by gary on Mar 3, 2005 13:42:21 GMT -5
I did know about the Region 1 releases of ACGAS and nearly weakened but it would be too much hassle and I have heard that NTSC format isn't as good as PAL, so I shall wait. I did E-mail Carolyn about All Creatures, and basically got the same reply as with HDH, i.e. no plans at present. Basically it is a total blank wall with all titles at the moment. I know Playback are rubbish for customer service, but I also lay the blame at the BBCs feet too. It takes them forever to release titles on their own label. Just look at the immensley popular Dads Army, still no news regarding Series 3, and yes, I did ask Carolyn about it, she said probably later in the year. I think it will probably be around September, judging by their past releases. Basically things really seem to be at a standstill on all fronts at the moment. Do the BBC actually realise how much money they could make if they speeded things up? We shall just have to wait....and wait....and wait. Excuse the sarcasm.
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Post by uvegotmale2000 on Apr 25, 2005 13:36:15 GMT -5
hi guys i recieved this email from carolyn today:
Hello lovely comedy people!
Do you spend many a happy hour titling over the ineptness of Captain Mainwaring's platoon, chortling at the antics of BSM Williams and the lovely boys of the Royal Artillery Concert Party, and grinning inanely at Spike being thrown into the Olympic-sized swimming pool?
If you answered in the affirmative, then this should put another smile on your face! No, it's not an 'all the chocolate you can eat for 12p' voucher, or even those missing nudey snaps from last year's BBC Christmas do, but it's the brand new spanking Perry and Croft Mailing List!
The delights that await you are pretty special. You have been added to the P&C Mailing List where you will receive such goodies as advance new release announcements about programmes including Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Hi-de-Hi, You Rang M'Lord?, Are You Being Served?, 'Allo 'Allo, Grace and Favour and Oh Doctor Beeching, fan discounts, programme promotions, product status updates, and be able to place pre-release orders directly from GHQ with the chance to own a signed copy, oooh you lucky lot!
Spread the word!
Toodle-pip,
Carolyn
the way i see it,they are going to release more dvds for all the above and i expect it will be soon.they wouldnt send an email like that if they wasnt going to release them.this is great news and hopefully it wont be long till we can enjoy the next instalments
;D
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Post by RSteve on Apr 25, 2005 13:46:34 GMT -5
I got the same e-mail and I really, really hope you're right but I'm not holding my breath. I was amused to see a mention of Are You Being Served? - same old story in the UK of a few episodes released here and there at ridiculous prices... when if you have a multi-region DVD player you can order in the entire series, every single episode including Xmas specials and interviews with casts etc. at a much lower price than they'd probably charge in the UK - but of course exclusive to the North American market. I got mine through a Canadian website but the irony of having to order a British show from the BBC, which my licence fee helped to pay for in the first place, from a foreign website because it wasn't available here did not escape me. The BBC isn't treating us as licence fee payers very well!
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Post by uvegotmale2000 on Apr 25, 2005 14:45:28 GMT -5
yes this is the email to send to carolyn of the bbc carolyn.bartholomew@bbc.co.uk
dont bother emailing playback,they never ever reply to anyone's mail.hope their contract gets ripped up
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