TELESNAPS


In the 1950’s and 60’s, the BBC’s production of its own programming was in full swing. Archiving and keeping old footage was not, and many records of that era sadly do not exist. Domestic VCR’s and personal camcorders were a good two decades away at least and many actors, directors and producers now and then wanted a record of what they had worked on. Enter John Cura.

John Cura, born Alberto Giovanni Curà, was born on the 9th of April, 1902. A gifted, self-taught individual, his passion was electronics, so much so that he specified such a profession on his wedding certificate. After the second world war, during which he changed his name to Albert John Cura, he because interested in television, and on the 11th of September, 1947, he wrote to the BBC to offer his services of "Tele-Snaps". Cura's execution was simple: a 35mm camera (of his own design) bolted to a tripod a short distance from his television screen. By taking still photographs at various intervals, John Cura photographed entire episodes of various shows, from the opening titles to the closing credits, creating as much as 80 images which he could sell to prospective clients.

John Cura performed his services in a back room above a grocer's shop, in Clapham in the south of London. He offered to use his expertise and experience to professionally photograph video images off a television screen and sell them to the BBC for a small fee. Later, he would find not only the BBC, but newspapers, magazines and overseas journalists would be interested in his images. The BBC were concerned over copyright issues Cura's work might generate, but by the mid-1950's the BBC's attitude towards Cura had mellowed, and their own publications of Radio Times and The Listener began publishing Tele-Snaps.

The arrival of ITV, and later BBC2, created an even greater workload for Cura, and it is reported that he eventually had various television receivers set up all over his flat to capture these images. However technology was expanding, colour was on the horizon and the BBC were "telerecording" programmes onto 16mm film for later use if so required. With the ability to archive material, Cura's services would start to dry up.

As the fee for John’s work came from a specific serial’s production budget, some production teams opted to pass on this service and instead focus the money on more important matters (for example, virtually the entire budget of the William Hartnell story The Web Planet went on set and costume design). However a majority of Doctor Who stories from the sixties did get Tele-Snapped, and after the mass destruction that saw much of that era erased in the 1970’s, these Tele-Snaps are often the only surviving evidence of that episode.

I should mention at this point that the term 'Tele-Snap' should only be used in reference to John Cura's work, as several others offered the same service around the same time. John offered either contact strips of stills or else people could ask for high-definition enlargements of certain images they felt were of considerable importance. Usually for a Doctor Who episode (25 minutes in duration), approximately 60-70 Tele-Snaps would be captured, each being 24mm x 18mm is size. Alternately, enlargements could be ordered if so required.

It should also be pointed out that contrary to rumour, The Dalek Master Plan 7 was never Tele-Snapped. However, 20 off-screen images WERE taken, but by actor Robert Jewell, as he appears in the episode as a clown called Bing Crosby. Jewell, who is more well known for being a Dalek operator, probably knew this serial wasn’t being Tele-Snapped and decided to take some himself. These images are all that remain of that episode, and, much to the delight of fans, the last image of the small collection features the infamous final scene where the Doctor turns to the audience and wishes the viewers a happy Christmas.

For more information on Tele-Snaps and John Cura, I highly recommend getting a hold of the fan-produced magazine Nothing at the End of the Lane (Issue 2), produced by Richard Bignell & Robert Franks, or the DWM Special #34: The Missing Episodes - The First Doctor released on March 21, 2013. The First Doctor contains Tele-Snaps for Marco Polo, The Crusade, The Savages, The Smugglers and The Tenth Planet, as well as an in-depth article about John Cura by Richard Bignell. This issue was followed with Specials #35 and #36 which were devoted to Patrick Troughton's Tele-Snapped adventures.

To view the existing Tele-Snaps from the missing stories, they can be viewed online at the BBC website, from the links below:

The Daleks’ Master Plan (screengrabs from the existing episode 2 only)


 THE COMPLETE TELE-SNAP COLLECTION
 
Below is a chart that explains which episodes were Tele-Snapped and which images still survive. Information has been gathered from various sources and contributions by various people in the know (special thanks to Derek, Ash & Richard). Any episode not on the list can be assumed not to have any Tele-Snaps existing. However, it should be pointed out that this chart has been created using information and Tele-Snaps that we know to exist. Should any future documentation or Tele-Snaps currently listed as missing come to light, this chart will be revised and updated accordingly.
                                    
Tele-Snaps exist and the exact number is known. The episode in question already exists in the BBC’s Film and Videotape Library
Tele-Snaps exist and the exact number is known. The episode in question is currently missing from the BBC’s Film and Videotape Library
Documentation exists to prove these episodes were Tele-Snapped but the snaps themselves are currently missing
These episodes were directed by Richard Martin and it is believed he has these in a private collection, though it isn’t known which episodes or how many Tele-Snaps per episode exist. In March 2013, DWM released DWM Special #34: The Missing Episodes - The First Doctor, and Richard Martin provided a selection of Tele-Snaps to Richard Bignell for his article, from the following episodes: The Daleks 6 & 7, The Dalek Invasion of Earth 3, and The Web Planet 2 & 6
No Tele-Snaps are known to exist for these episodes and no information currently exists as to if they were snapped or not
TITLE
EPISODE TELE-SNAP STATUS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
100,000 BC
MISSING
The Daleks
76
76
RM
75
RM
RM
Inside The Spaceship
RM
MISSING
Marco Polo
72
78
75
MISSING
70
69
80
The Keys of Marinus
MISSING
MISSING
The Sensorites
MISSING
MISSING
Planet of Giants
MISSING
MISSING
MISSING
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
RM
RM
RM
RM
RM
RM
The Rescue
78
72
The Romans
76
76
76
77
The Web Planet
RM
RM
RM
RM
RM
RM
The Crusade
73
72
72
67
The Chase
RM
RM
RM
RM
RM
RM
The Time Meddler
66
69
72
56
The Gunfighters
68
71
72
73
The Savages
70
65
70
73
The War Machines
69
67
67
75
The Smugglers
71
67
71
71
The Tenth Planet
72
66
67
76
The Power of the Daleks
70
69
67
68
66
75
The Highlanders
64
71
71
69
The Underwater Menace
66
73
72
68
The Moonbase
71
71
78
71
The Macra Terror
62
64
64
57
The Faceless Ones
64
68
62
64
63
61
The Evil of the Daleks
63
64
61
63
67
65
64
The Tomb of the Cybermen
62
63
67
64
The Abominable Snowmen
62
66
60
63
63
59
The Ice Warriors
62
64
66
71
63
60
The Enemy of the World
64
64
64
61
63
The Web of Fear
64
63
59
62
60
62
Fury from the Deep
59
63
60
63
60
62
The Wheel in Space
60
63
62
62
62
66
The Dominators
60
60
60
63
The Mind Robber
62
63
63

Notes

- The only missing episode known to have Tele-Snaps taken but are not currently known to exist is Marco Polo 4.
- The number of Tele-Snaps for The Time Meddler 4 is incomplete; several Tele-Snaps are missing from the collection, including the missing footage of the Vikings getting stabbed.
- John Wiles was the producer of Doctor Who from The Myth Makers to The Ark, and no Tele-Snaps are known to exist from this period. It is generally believed he opted not to use John Cura’s services during his tenure as producer, and thus it is unlikely any will ever be found from these stories.

 THE TIME MEDDLER

Click on the links below to see the collections of the season two classic.



 THE DISCOVERIES

1984 - Jeremy Bentham's research leading up to his publication about the early years of the series lead him to esteemed BBC director Christopher Barry, who directed such classics as The Daleks and The Power of the Daleks. Whilst interviewing him, Jeremy was presented with a file containing Tele-Snaps from several of his episodes. Jeremy was subsequently granted permission to publish Tele-Snaps for The Power of the Daleks 1. Christopher Barry would later offer his collection to the BFI sometime in the nineties. His collection consisted of The Daleks 1 2 5, The Rescue 1 2, The Romans 1 2 3 4, The Savages 1 2 3 4 & The Power of the Daleks 1 2 3 4 5 6.

1986 - Patrick Mulkern interviewed director Hugh David for an article for the upcoming Doctor Who Magazine Summer Special. Mr David revealed he still retained the Tele-Snaps for The Highlanders, and so 40 images were published in the special in June of that year.

1987 - Richard Landen created the first ever Tele-Snap reconstruction for a Doctor Who episode; using Christopher Barry's collection and Richard's own audio recording of The Power of the Daleks 2. The result was shown at Birmingham's Telly-Con in April. 

1989 - Researcher Andrew Pixley was examining the cabinets at Marvel attempting to catalogue their photograph collection when he stumbled upon over a dozen Tele-Snaps from The Macra Terror.

1990 - Gerry Davis, writer and script editor for Doctor Who in 1966-67, casually mentioned to his agent, Anthony Clark, that he had received a letter from actor Michael Wolf, who played the character of Nils Jensen in The Moonbase. Along with the letter was a series of photocopies of Tele-Snaps from that story. Gerry didn't think much of it but Anthony realised the important of the Tele-Snaps, as he was a frequent contributor to fan magazine DWB. Contact was made and the Tele-Snaps were eventually published in January 1991.

1991 - Director John Davies had been interviewed by DWB when he revealed he had a few Tele-Snaps from The Macra Terror. He held 36 images, mostly from Episode 2. Many of these images were previously discovered by Andrew Pixley in 1989.  
 
1993 - Marcus Hearn was an employee of Marvel Comics & a Doctor Who fan, and in 1993 began researching the production history of show. He visited the Written Archives Centre in Reading, near London, and started sorting through the paperwork. He was granted access to documents and files but progress was slow and in the end he asked if he could see the list of every single file the WAC contained. Upon checking the register, Marcus spotted the final listing at the bottom of the page read Tele-Snaps : Series Z-UU. Marcus was surprised and a little excited; at the time Tele-Snaps weren't supposed to exist. He asked the assistant to see if he could see these files, and they soon returned with folders resembling scrapbooks, that contained the valuable images. Marcus checked and would later find that with four exceptions (The Enemy of the World 4, The Dominators 5 & The Mind Robber 4 5), all episodes from Story Z to Story UU were present. Marcus immediately contacted Doctor Who Monthly magazine editor Gary Russell, who both agreed the images should be published as soon as possible for all of Dr Who fandom to see. At the same time, Stephen James Walker, a notable Doctor Who author, was researching at the Written Archive Centre. He had also found the Tele-Snap Scrapbooks, yet didn't have the resources and contacts that Marcus Hearn did. Despite Marcus' belief that "Scrapbook One" existed, which supposedly contained all the episodes pre-The Gunfighters, all documentation found to date says otherwise. It is accepted that John Cura only Tele-Snapped stories that he was requested (and paid) to snap, and not just every single story that was produced in the 1960's. Tele-Snaps founds were The Gunfighters 1 2 3 4, The Savages 1 2 3 4, The War Machines 1 2 3 4, The Smugglers 1 2 3 4, The Tenth Planet 1 2 3 4, The Power of the Daleks 1 2 3 4 5 6, The Highlanders 1 2 3 4, The Underwater Menace 1 2 3 4, The Moonbase 1 2 3 4, The Macra Terror 1 2 3 4, The Faceless Ones 1 2 3 4 5 6, The Evil of the Daleks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, The Tomb of the Cybermen 1 2 3 4, The Abominable Snowmen 1 2 3 4 5 6, The Ice Warriors 1 2 3 4 5 6, The Enemy of the World 1 2 3 5 6, The Web of Fear 1 2 3 4 5 6, Fury from the Deep 1 2 3 4 5 6, The Wheel in Space 1 2 3 4 5 6, The Dominators 1 2 3 4 & The Mind Robber 1 2 3

1999 - DWM reporter Peter Griffiths spoke to George Gallaccio, one of the production managers during the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker eras. George was part of a team that was cleaning out the production office when a handful of Tele-Snaps were taken from a cupboard. Just seconds away from being tossed in the bin, George grabbed them. The collection also included various Tele-Snap enlargements from The Smugglers, The Tenth Planet, The Highlanders & The Underwater Menace. While the Tele-Snaps for the latter four stories were either already existing or the episodes themselves had already been recovered, the Tele-Snaps for The Crusade were a prize find, as the story was missing two of its episodes. The collection consisted of The Crusade 1 2 3 4, The Time Meddler 1 2 3 4, The Tenth Planet 1 2 3 4, The Moonbase 1 2 3 & The Evil of the Daleks 3 4 5 7.
 
2003 - In June, Derek Handley of Loose Cannon Productions, the group that make Tele-Snap (and non-Tele-Snap) reconstructions of missing stories, had the chance to meet the original director of Marco Polo, Waris Hussein. During the conversation Derek enquired about the Tele-Snaps for the lost story, to which he got the surprise reply of "I might have them". Along with from Mission to the Unknown and The Massacre, Marco Polo has the least surviving evidence of off-screen visuals known to exist, save for seven photographs from the final two episodes grabbed by an Australian fan during the screening in Australia (later published in DWB 57). In October Hussein confirmed he had the Tele-Snaps, although his collection didn't include any for Episode Four as that episode was directed by John Crockett. Unfortunately for Derek, Waris Hussein was a very busy man and it wouldn't be until February 2004 that Derek would be able to finally obtain the snaps. Doctor Who Magazine agreed to pay the rights for use, thus allowing the snaps to be seen by the public for the first time in almost 40 years. Waris held Marco Polo 1 2 3 5 6 7.
    
 EPITAPH
 
The final episode Tele-Snapped for Doctor Who was Episode 3 of the Patrick Troughton adventure The Mind Robber, which aired on the 28th of September, 1968. Cura ended his Tele-Snapping career the same year, after an impressive 21 years. John Cura passed away on the 21st of April, 1969 (a few days before the broadcast of The War Games 2), at the age of 67, after being diagnosed with cancer of the colon. After his death, his wife Emily attempted to see if the BBC wanted his collection, which stood at approximately several hundred thousand images. They didn't, and as a result the entire collection, like the Doctor Who episodes themselves, were destroyed (a handful of his collection did survive, mainly from the Royal family and the Beverley Sisters). Doctor Who fans owe a debt of gratitude to him and the service that he provided for this and other series. Without John Cura, many Doctor Who memories would be lost forever.