If I remember rightly, Ian (earlier poster Lord Brett) was/is very involved with a Gerry Anderson 'fanzine' and another forum so I expect he's been too busy to return to us. Happy Birthday for this month anyway.
From the
Hummies' Favourite Extras thread [subject Peter Evans appears in the final story]:
Originally Posted by
Gerald Lovell
I'll be interested to hear what you think of the end of "The Beautiful People": it seems very abrupt and I wonder if a final scene is missing.
I watched this yesterday, Gerald, and was as surprised as you, initially. Then I remembered that I'd seen the very last moments before in the DVD documentary. That was when I bought the box set four years ago. The reason it took so long to get to the final story is because one of the discs is damaged and I didn't get round to buying a replacement set until Network's last Christmas Sale.
It was more like a 'cliffhanger' for the next episode ... which never came
As Michael Mackenzie says in the DVD booklet, as well as the documentary:
"Viewers weren't supposed to know if Tarot had been blown up or not and that's what would have hooked us on to a fourth season."
This has happened with other shows, hasn't it? Further series of Budgie and The Power Game were planned but never made, due to tragedies involving the stars (Adam Faith's car crash, Patrick Wymark's death), but I'm sure there was at least one programme that ended for good in the middle of a storyline.
I wish Thames TV had made another season (preferably more), so that Tarot's new companions would have been on equal terms. Ironically, it's Roy Holder and my beloved Petra Markham who are the more established now, rather than Judy Loe and Tony Selby. It's a great sadness that we can't see the first two series. They're 'all' that's missing I think, Otherwise, there's just as much content for the lost episodes as there is for the surviving: Intriguing stills, storylines and information are contained in the box set and I also have plenty of contemporary newspaper and magazine articles.
While I was researching Isobel Black's TV archive status a few weeks ago, I learned she was in a lost Ace of Wands serial - Nightmare Gas. It turns out that audio recordings of all three parts were discovered not long after the DVD release:
That's not the only one of Isobel's credits to exist in sound only. An episode of The Troubleshooters shares the same, unhappy fate. Personally, I'd find it very difficult to listen to something that was intended fo be watched on TV. Having said that, I recorded some things an audio cassette myself in the Late 1970s, just before home video recorders were cheaper to buy, or rent in our case (about 15 years too late).
My faulty box set is still precious to me. I can use it for screencapping images, not only of Tarot and co. but also the sets, so look out for a hopefully-forthcoming thread. Thanks for your part in creating a wonderful DVD, Simon (Coward) 
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