I thought I'd bump this thread as this petition is still going strong, with now over 8,500 signatures
For all those who would love to see Laurel and Hardy back on TV, please sign this petition. The goal is 10,000 signatures. Apparently if we reach this goal, the BBC will listen and do something about it.
On a side note, Talking Pictures TV have recently got hold of a few L&H related films, including a rare film from the 1930's called 'The Stolen Jools', Laurel and Hardy's first starring film together from 1917 'The Lucky Dog' which isn't a L&H film but both appear in scenes together for the first time and a rare colour short from Pete Smith called 'A Tree in a Test Tube'. These films are due to be shown on Talking Pictures soon
I'd love to see L & H back on BBC, and I've signed the petition, but it's futile I think. These days clueless schedulers would rather put on cooking shows and repeats of property and antique shows in the slots L & H used to occupy.
Whether or not old stuff is shown on TV depends on who currently owns the rights for TV showing, whether or not they're prepared to license them for public showing, if so how much they want for that license and if the TV company s prepared to pay that amount, and how long/how many showing they'll allow under that license.
If the owner of the rights to Laurel and Hardy films has decided he will not allow any more public showings, then your petition is a waste of time.
That's why you get so many repeats of the same films over and over to get the most out of what the company has paid to show it.
I emailed the BBC back in June to query if there were any plans to show Laurel & Hardy and was told that unfortunately they no longer hold the rights to show L&H and don't plan at this time to get the rights back.
This was disappointing as the BBC have always had the rights to show Laurel & Hardy in the past (since the 1960's) so unsure as to why the rights are no longer with the BBC. I hope this petition, providing it reaches the 10,000 required signatures, is enough for the BBC to try harder into getting the licence back, although if the price is too high they probably wouldn't be able to
I emailed the BBC back in June to query if there were any plans to show Laurel & Hardy and was told that unfortunately they no longer hold the rights to show L&H and don't plan at this time to get the rights back.
This was disappointing as the BBC have always had the rights to show Laurel & Hardy in the past (since the 1960's) so unsure as to why the rights are no longer with the BBC. I hope this petition, providing it reaches the 10,000 required signatures, is enough for the BBC to try harder into getting the licence back, although if the price is too high they probably wouldn't be able to
As Janet43 said, it is solely down to the rights owners, and NOTHING to do with the BBC or any other broadcaster.
Some years ago we had the farce of Elvis songs 50th anniversary (IIRC), and Top of the Pops was still going, but the rights holders of the Presley estate wanted vast sums to allow clips of Elvis performing the songs.
Several Elvis songs got to No. 1 so some form of performance was needed for TOTP
This led to the BBC hiring an Elvis impersonator and shooting him in silhouette behind a curtain.
Some of the rights are owned by non showbiz entities who look upon the rights as an asset to be "milked" for every penny they can get.
Comments
There's quite a few on there.
Channel 4 last shown a few of the Harold Lloyd films one Christmas early in the 1990's. None of Lloyd's films have been shown since though sadly.
For all those who would love to see Laurel and Hardy back on TV, please sign this petition. The goal is 10,000 signatures. Apparently if we reach this goal, the BBC will listen and do something about it.
On a side note, Talking Pictures TV have recently got hold of a few L&H related films, including a rare film from the 1930's called 'The Stolen Jools', Laurel and Hardy's first starring film together from 1917 'The Lucky Dog' which isn't a L&H film but both appear in scenes together for the first time and a rare colour short from Pete Smith called 'A Tree in a Test Tube'. These films are due to be shown on Talking Pictures soon
The picture quality is incredibly good thanks to being on film, putting into shame many TV shows from the 80's recorded on video
Eighty six years old and still just as funny as the day it was released!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhXBqK6y9R8
Was it in HD? I'm hopeful they'll eventually release a Blu-ray boxset.
A lot of Hollywood comedy films use slapstick. Anyway, there's far more to L&H than just slapstick.
If the owner of the rights to Laurel and Hardy films has decided he will not allow any more public showings, then your petition is a waste of time.
That's why you get so many repeats of the same films over and over to get the most out of what the company has paid to show it.
The description starts off listing the contents of 21 discs, then continues with a synopsis of an 8-disc set with totally different content.
PS: According to the official web site, it looks like licensing is available.
Worth checking the comments / reviews there, there are a few warnings about different versions.
I am getting very wary of things sold by Amazon especially when they come from third parties.
This was disappointing as the BBC have always had the rights to show Laurel & Hardy in the past (since the 1960's) so unsure as to why the rights are no longer with the BBC. I hope this petition, providing it reaches the 10,000 required signatures, is enough for the BBC to try harder into getting the licence back, although if the price is too high they probably wouldn't be able to
As Janet43 said, it is solely down to the rights owners, and NOTHING to do with the BBC or any other broadcaster.
Some years ago we had the farce of Elvis songs 50th anniversary (IIRC), and Top of the Pops was still going, but the rights holders of the Presley estate wanted vast sums to allow clips of Elvis performing the songs.
Several Elvis songs got to No. 1 so some form of performance was needed for TOTP
This led to the BBC hiring an Elvis impersonator and shooting him in silhouette behind a curtain.
Some of the rights are owned by non showbiz entities who look upon the rights as an asset to be "milked" for every penny they can get.
Hadn't thought about it, but the quality was excellent they may well be streaming the remastered versions
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34607205