Lost Media Wiki

AquaGGR

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Does the wiki have pages for things that were lost and then found (say, they were lost when the pages were started, then were found and the info was added to the pages)?
Yes, it's in the "Found Media" category. There's lots of found stuff, like the Dexter's Laboratory missing episode, Mickey Mouse Goes To Vietnam, etc.

I really wish the SM64 2 and Dragon King demos were found, I'm dying to see them.
 

minor muppetz

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I wonder about the term "lost", as in how much truly is lost. I often think that many "lost" things are just in vaults and they use the "lost" term as a marketing tool. I read that Jackie Gleason intentionally stored many Honeymooner's sketches in a vault for a few decades with the intention of someday making them available, and then upon releasing them said he'd "found" several "lost" episodes.

And sometimes there are specials and stuff that feature "lost" stuff, but obviously they had been found if they are included. I know there was an "I Love Lucy: Lost Episodes" VHS release that was really just guest appearances by Lucille Ball (I wonder if the rarely-seen Christmas episode was included). And I recall reading once that Lucille Ball kept kinescopes of everything she appeared in, so nothing with her was really lost.

And there's the "Toonheads: The Lost Warner Bros. Cartoons" special, which was obviously able to locate many lost shorts. I guess some of them could have been lost at some point. After all, I read that all of the Hook shorts were found in somebody's garage. And I know of one Warner short that was lost, I can't remember if it's "The Door" or "90 Days Wondering", but I read that Jerry Beck wanted to include it on one of the Looney Tunes: Golden Collection releases but couldn't find a copy in the Warner vaults, but that short did end up released as a bonus feature on the first Looney Tunes: Platinum Collection Blu-Ray.

And then there's the Disney-produced Oswald shorts that are lost (if they still exist). I know that a few were located after the Walt Disney Treasures release of Oswald shorts. And i wouldn't be surprised if there are some post-Disney Oswald shorts still lost.

But it seems like the majority of things noted on this wiki are stuff that's not truly lost, just stuff that we can't easily see online or by doing tape trades. A lot of the stuff covered likely exists in vaults/archives and the companies just haven't released them (whether they choose not to or not).
 

AquaGGR

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I can't think of many instances where something is "lost", as in the company or distributor seriously cannot find the media that's missing, instead of just holding it in a vault. I know that the Tokyo Toy Show demo of Sonic the Hedgehog is apparently lost internally at SEGA, but I don't remember any other instances.

Also, I think it's weird whenever a missing piece of work just magically appears on YouTube or someplace else by some random guy who just so happened to own a copy.
 

minor muppetz

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I know that the Tokyo Toy Show demo of Sonic the Hedgehog is apparently lost internally at SEGA, but I don't remember any other instances.

I think I read somewhere on TV Tropes that the original coding for Sonic CD is lost. Hard to believe that they'd lose something like that for a 1990s video game (even if it was for a system not many people bought). That's why Sonic CD wasn't included on the PlayStation 2 compilation Sonic Mega Collection +. In fact Sega used a hacked copy of the PC release of Sonic CD for Sonic Gems Collection, and the iPhone app release is completely re-coded.
 

AquaGGR

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It's pretty odd that something of that caliber would just get lost like that. I would expect there to be multiple copies of the code or somethin'.
 

Drtooth

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While this wiki obviously just started up and they have a smallish staff, I can't help think that there's a LOT of things that could either be considered or not considered based on the rarity of the projects.

A LOT of stuff hasn't been released on DVD or Youtube. The 1990's Casper cartoon, for instance. Like 2 "kiddy" DVD's and a few old VHS tapes. Other than that, it hasn't been seen since it was on, not even on Youtube. Toonsylvania in that same vein. A couple videos ripped from the VHS of 4 full episodes, maybe. Are those considered lost?

How about projects that never made it that far? The original Speed Racer movie from the 90's? The Austin Powers cartoon series? Do those even count if they don't exist?
 

dycaite

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The other thing that bothers me is that a lot of these missing projects give off a really Creepypasta-ish vibe.
This was somewhat intentional on my part (at least in terms of the articles written by myself); I'd always liked the fact that there is a lot of creepy lost media out there - REAL "lost episode creepypastas" so to speak (which is why a lot of the first things I added articles for were disturbing/creepy recordings). They're all 100% legit though, I swear.

I wonder about the term "lost", as in how much truly is lost. I often think that many "lost" things are just in vaults and they use the "lost" term as a marketing tool.
Yeah, we use a pretty loose definition of the term. "The Either Totally Missing or Just Really Difficult to Find Media Wiki" didn't sound as good :big_grin:

While this wiki obviously just started up and they have a smallish staff, I can't help think that there's a LOT of things that could either be considered or not considered based on the rarity of the projects.
Yeah, admittedly we still have a long way to go, and I personally have a backlog list of about 20 things that I still need to write articles for. Having said that, new articles/article ideas are always welcome; in fact, I think I'll add the examples listed above to my list.

How about projects that never made it that far? The original Speed Racer movie from the 90's? The Austin Powers cartoon series? Do those even count if they don't exist?
As long as there was some physical, tangible material made for these kinda things (eg. concept art, scripts, etc.), then yes, it is counted.
 

Drtooth

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There was an Austin Powers cartoon series (or plans for one)?
They announced it sometime, right after Goldmember. Then nothing happened. I can't find any announcement of it online, unfortunately.
 

Harleena

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While some of the stuff on that website is real (Toonmakers Sailor Moon, "Cracks", etc.) a lot of it feels like bad Creepypastas ("Uncle Walt", Nightmare Gonzo, etc. They feel like bad ripoffs of Candle Cove.
 
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