The climax is finally upon us. Released for the show's 10th anniversary, and unfortunately the last - two more tapes which include episodes from Series 6 were planned for the shelves, however, Carlton one way or another either had other plans that had a higher priority, the licensing for home video releases simply ran out, or that and the plug was pulled before a potential renewal process. In fact, it took me until 2011 (YUCKY YEAR) to learn of this tape's existence somehow, and that very copy has sat in my collection since. Only other possible way Farm Adventure and Dancing Daze copies exist is if they were pre-ordered via the Carlton website, and Carlton decided to send the stock to those who paid in the same vein as Sooty's Magic Birthday Party.
That being said, last year was the acquisition of my DVHS deck and the TBC to go along with the machine, as well as learning how to render the MPEG-2 files to MKV properly, it was time for this channel to reignite. One of the plans was to digitise every tape of this show released in England for the 30th anniversary of the franchise, in order for the full release line in the country to acquire some exposure to those in Australia and other countries who's curiosity might've potentially sparked. With the journey being complete, it's crazy how February was only a few months ago, especially since it feels this year is taking us through Lightspeed.
Point being made is how I hope the 20+ week long marathon of premieres either bought back memories for some, allowed others to learn some little history, or finally see specific tapes which might've been on the mindset for years. Sure digitising doesn't take near as much effort with my equipment, although its still MANY hours' worth of content for a singular series, that it still surprises me how much Carlton and Pickwick managed to release in the span of EIGHT years on the same format.
©ABC Australia
