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Back in the day, I managed to get a copy of the Red Dwarf USA pilot from someone I was in touch with on a "mailing list" (ask your parents!). This copy was on videotape, and when I played it, I found that the quality was very poor and the programme was barely watchable.

At the time I didn't complain, I put it down to maybe being a bootleg of a bootleg of a bootleg, or the guy who sent having NTSC but me having PAL, and was still grateful that someone had taken the trouble to send me a rare (at the time) bit of Red Dwarf history from the US all the way to Ireland.

However, since then, I've happened upon the episode in various places, e.g. YouTube, and seen that just like the video tape I tried to watch, the quality is very poor and in some instances you can't make out what's being shown.

See here and even a documentary on the subject which looks official enough that they should have access to the original episode - while it starts off OK, before long shows clips with quality just as bad.

So my question is, is there actually a copy of this episode anywhere with a decent quality picture (not including fan remasters), and if not (slaps table!) why not?

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    i can see why this may attract down/close votes… but… the question is asking primarily if this exists, the 'where' could be considered ancillary to that. What's the earliest surviving TV sitcom? Key word is "surviving" got a fair reception, whilst actually asking a very similar question.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Jul 28, 2023 at 18:10
  • youtube.com/watch?v=Hw-cpk2xwBQ
    – Valorum
    Commented Jul 28, 2023 at 20:03
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    reddwarf.fandom.com/wiki/Red_Dwarf_USA - "Neither version of the pilot has ever been broadcast, though both pilots have been heavily bootlegged"
    – Valorum
    Commented Jul 28, 2023 at 20:06
  • Technically it's asking IF, but we all know the next question will be WHERE. The OP isn't going to want a simple "Yes" as an answer after all.
    – Paulie_D
    Commented Jul 28, 2023 at 22:17
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    @Paulie_D - actually no. The question is more borne out of curiosity about why the only version I've seen of this is this poor quality one - despite multiple sources. e.g. if it was "the master copy was destroyed but not before a low-level 3rd technician managed to quickly make a quick but very dodgy bootleg and that's all that's survived" it would be an interesting answer.
    – komodosp
    Commented Jul 29, 2023 at 9:56

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