Marco Polo Telesnaps

[Si Hunt]

This is something I should know but have forgotton.

Why are there telesnaps for "Marco Polo", then nothing until "The Savages". Did John Cura take telesnaps for the stories in between (e.g "Daleks Masterplan"?). I know the Marco Polo ones were purchased by that stories director (was it Waris or someone?) but were any others ordered from around the same time, or the following year?

Has anyone yet done a Marco Polo Telesnap Recon? I don't think LC can face one, after having just completed one when they discovered them. If anyone fancies putting them together, I'd be prepared to do a bit of scanning.

Si.

[Dirk Gently]

Telesnaps were ordered by individual directors & came out of the budget. If the budget went on the show or the director didn't want any snaps then there were none taken AFAIK.

[SiHart]

Apparently the Telesnaps were taken on the whim of the producer. John Wiles wasn't fussed about them (ironically really) and so didn't pay to have any taken from his stories. I believe some directors also paid to have them taken for their stories- Waris Hussein for example, so that's why there's one episode missing (the one he didn't direct).

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

But what was actually done with them? The only use I can see they'd have is for the CV's of production staff, in which case why were they paid for out the budget for the show? I guess there's a case for saying they could have been used for show continuity etc. in which case were the telesnaps kept in the production office?

If John Wiles wasn't bothered, why are there only telesnaps for those six Verity Lambert episodes? Did she not, for example, order up telesnaps for "The Reign of Terror" or "Galaxy 4"?

Si.

[SiHart]

I'm sure I read somewhere that there is a book, or some books worth of telesnaps missing, but it is certain that the Wiles stories were not telesnapped.

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

I thought that two - that the albums recovered by Hearn and co in the nineties were Books 2 and 3.... and that Book 1 was missing.

Si.

[Rob McCow]

Weren't the Marco Polo telesnaps in Warris Hussein's loft or something? He found them after 35 odd years.

[Si Hunt]

Yes.

Si.

[Stuart Wallis]

IIRC, he'd forgotten he'd had them until he found them while he was looking for something else.

[Dirk Gently]

I know how he feels.

[Phillip Culley]

Apparently 'Book 1' is an urban myth - I don't believe there's any evidence there actually was a first book.

However, the following Season 1 and 2 stories were known to be snapped:

The Daleks (except for ep 4) - snaps available for episodes 1,2 and 5, with snaps for episodes 3, 6 and 7 missing
The Edge of Destruction - snaps taken but missing
Marco Polo - snaps available for episodes 1-3; 5-7, with snaps for 4 missing
The Keys of Marinus - Episodes 1 and 2
The Sensorites - Episodes 1 and 2
Planet of Giants - snaps taken but missing
The Rescue - snaps taken and are available
The Romans - snaps taken and are available
The Web Planet - snaps taken but missing
The Crusade - Snaps taken and are available
The Chase - snaps taken but missing
The Time Meddler - Snaps taken and are available

For the other stories, there's nothing to show whether they were taken or not.

Then there's the infamous gap between Galaxy 4 and The Celestial Toymaker - it's presumed John Wiles didn't see the snaps as worth the money and didn't order them. Since he effectively took over from Verity Lambert from Galaxy 4 onwards (although she remained credited as producer), this could explain the missing snaps; with Innes Lloyd using Cura's services again beginning with his second story.

[Si Hunt]

That's really interesting Phillip, thanks.

snaps for 4 missing

How come? Someone else reckoned they'd never been taken because it was a different director. Are they, in fact, lost?

Si.

[Dirk Gently]

No, they were never taken.

[Phillip Culley]

Actually, I think the tele-snaps for Marco Polo: 4 were taken - certainly whenever the subject has come up on OG or the like Richard Bignell's said it's the only missing episode with snaps taken that aren't known to exist. More than likely Hussein just took copies of them for himself, not bothering with Episode 4 since he didn't work on them.

To be honest, given how lavish the sets were, it wouldn't surprise me if they did order the snaps to keep a record of them!

What does intrigue me, however, is that from what I gather the snaps were available for the cast and crew could get copies for portfolios and the like, so how come we've not had odd snaps appear from the likes of William Russell, Peter Purves or Maureen O'Brien?