Although there’s still been no official announcement, it looks like, sadly, Network are no more. Whilst there’s always a chance that a new company might pick up the baton, that seems unlikely – the golden days of DVD releases are now far behind us ….
It’s not too hard to understand why. Network were always a niche organisation even in their heyday (releasing many titles of such commercial obscurity that it’s hard to imagine they racked up more than a few hundred sales each). Today, streaming is the thing – not only legit suppliers such as BritBox or Prime, but also the likes of YouTube or DailyMotion (where a large chunk of the Network catalogue can be watched for “free”).
No doubt this piracy had an impact on Network’s well-being. Why bother to shell out for a DVD or BD when you can watch it for “free” on YouTube?
But back in Network’s early days (late 1990’s) the landscape was quite different. It was still the dial-up era, so streaming video larger than a postage stamp wasn’t really on. If you wanted to enjoy the rich flow of archive programming supplied by Network then you had to buy the discs.
And for a fair few years they were flinging out releases at a bewildering rate of knots. Sometimes I’d find myself becoming reacquainted with programmes I’d watched in my youth (the ITC catalogue, Strangers, Bulman, Mr Palfrey of Westminster, Nightingales) but mainly I’d be taking a punt on shows that I’d never heard of.
Sergeant Cork, Redcap, Public Eye and The Main Chance are just a few that spring to mind. With only sketchy information available (as well as the odd online recommendation) it was simply a case of handing over your money and hoping for the best. And generally – drama wise – I’ve little to complain about. ITV’s sitcom output is a different matter though – I may not have scraped right at the bottom the barrel (Don’t Drink The Water, Yus My Dear) but some DVDs can be filed under “watched once, never again”. Or even “watched a few minutes of the first episode and decided that was more than enough”.
In recent years (maybe even the last decade or so) Network’s release schedule had slowed right down. They would still pull the occasional rabbit out of the hat – Maigret (surprisingly dull) or Give Us A Clue (surprisingly addictive) – but I didn’t find this too bad a thing as it allowed me to mop up most of my wanted titles from their back catalogue.
And to be honest, even if a Network Mk 2 emerges from the flames with a packed new release schedule I’d probably give most of them a miss. Some years back I came to the conclusion that I’d already bought enough DVDs to last a lifetime (several lifetimes, in fact) and rather than continually fretting about what wasn’t available, I should really begin to enjoy what I have.
That also means that I’m not in the least interested in the Doctor Who BD releases. I’ve got the stories on DVD and they look fine to me, so buying them again with new special features that I’m probably only likely to watch once is a waste of both my time and money.
It’s hard not to have a pang of regret about Network’s passing though. I’ll think I’ll pop on a DVD in their honour. But which one? Hmm, this might take some time ….
Archive Television Musings 
I can kiss goodbye to my Return Of The Saint 50th Anniversary DVD idea then.
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That’s very sad. I am only a few years into retro-TV as a hobby. Much of the TV I watch is vintage. The only modern TV I watch is foreign stuff. Modern UK TV is very, very poor.
That’s upset me.
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Makes you wonder what the future for archive TV is, really. Sure, there’s streaming but only a select few series seem to end up on BritBox or Talking Pictures – they’d never show some of the obscurities that Network put out discs of.
There’s also YouTube, but a lot of unauthorised archive channels get shut down once they’re deemed to have committed too many offences in the eyes of the content-match bots. This happened to two channels I was subscribed to recently – though I suspect that was because they put up old Top Of The Pops shows and the Big Three music companies found out (I have my doubts that the BBC care too much about them uploading old Z-Cars, Angels and Juliet Bravo).
If only the copyright owners of old stuff could make an officail YouTube channel for their “content”, but that seems to be too much faff for too little revenue.
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I think I know which YT channels you’re referring to. One went under the name ‘Retro British Television’ and I suspect the same person was also behind the other, called ‘Heath Green’; both showed the series you mentioned as well as early 70s ‘Coronation Street’, and both made the short-sighted error of uploading copyright-baiting TOTPs. A friend of mine even messaged him, urging him not to keep posting these, but he didn’t listen and now he’s gone again. Mind you, he keeps coming back under different names, so he’ll probably resurface – and make the same mistakes. A shame, because the drama uploads were great.
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Yeah, those were the channels. I’m guessing you saw my comments on all those old Z-Cars. Hope they come back under a new name soon – they got booted after the first episode of a 2-part Z-Cars and I’d like to see the conclusion.
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Yes, that was bloody frustrating! Shame he didn’t upload both episodes of those two-parters simultaneously, as I was always expecting the channel to vanish between each instalment. And I was sadly proved right in the end.
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He’s back. Look up “Harry Clarke.” (yes, the full stop is probably important for the search). He’s skipped the 2nd part of the Z-Cars he was on and gone straight to the next story.
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Ah, so he’s back under the old name of ‘Harry Clarke’ again? Nice one – and thanks for the tip-off. Here’s hoping he steers clear of TOTP this time round.
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It would be a ripping shame if they did go south, I’ve been quite a regular user of Network DVD over the years. Personal favourites? The Best of Legs in The Business starring Reg Varney in a straight role, also The House in Nightmare Park with Frankie Howerd as a terrible actor and Take Me High with Cliff Richard, a film so obscure it barely gets a mention in his (excellent) autobiography. I agree that some titles must be very small sellers.
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Matthew is spot on about Talking Pictures. You could add to that list Great TV, the Drama channel, ITV3 and ITV4. But they do have this tendency to keep repeating the same TV episodes over and over again – curiously ITV have this policy of not showing black and white programmes. LOL. I must admit I am not ashamed to say that I own a ‘Freeview’ television. My philosophy in this regard is very simple. (I agree with Steve.) Why pay out a fortune to watch the new drivel when you can watch new drivel for free?
Which bring us to YouTube. It would appear someone has uploaded countless episodes of the Australian soap Sons And Daughters (not that this is drivel) and they have survived up on YouTube for many years. For example on YouTube we still have that greatest ending to any soap opera episode ever (apparently).
Sons And Daughters (1984) – Closing For Episode 502
“I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”
“You are under arrest. For the murder of Luke Carlyle.”
I think we can all agree it is a classic ending to a show. Talking of classics I must say I do agree with Russell. Nightmare Park House with dear old Frankie is hilarious!
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