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There's a little-known pilot of a British Comedy called The Laughing Policeman. It was made in '71 but never hit the series stage. The plot revolved around a jovial PC and his misadventures around the quaint village of Little Muddle. Got a spicy tidbit from a former production assistant that there's a copy in the vaults of the BBC, but official requests have hit a dead end. Does anyone have an insider tip on how to get a copy or any contacts at the archives?
Submitted 8 months, 3 weeks ago by BritComCollector
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Keep an eye on old tape listings on eBay and other auction sites. You'd be amazed at what turns up. Sometimes BBC engineers recorded stuff off the master monitors, especially if a project was canned and they thought it'd never see the light of day. Wouldn’t put it past 'em to have made a copy for personal archives.
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Your best shot might be looking for documentaries or retrospectives about British TV that were made a few years back. Sometimes they dig stuff out of the archives for those shows. If this comedy was featured anywhere, someone's seen it. Time to hit the interviews, behind-the-scenes specials, and maybe even autobiographies of actors who might've appeared in it.
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I work in archiving, so I might be able to help a bit. The BBC is notoriously difficult when it comes to accessing unaired pilots like this. They might not even know exactly where it is or its condition. Best long shot is to network with BBC staffers past and present. Someone who was in a position of authority in the archives at the time could have squirreled away a viewing copy.
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Collector here. Can confirm that BBC vault stuff is tough to get. Your best bet is finding private collectors, but they'll want something good in trade. Got any rare recordings yourself? Could be worth an exchange.
Turn up at collectible fairs and conventions too. Those places can be goldmines for leads. If a copy exists outside the BBC, it'll be with someone who goes to those.
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Ah man, The Laughing Policeman! I'd love to see that pilot. My dad used to mention it sometimes, said it was one of those forgotten gems. Dunno how to get it from the BBC tho. Maybe try some of the older TV forums? They sometimes have collectors who trade this sort of stuff.