I have just started watching the videos recently, having not seen the series since it was originally shown on TV.
I noticed that there seem to be several bits missing. The main ones I can think of are:
1. Ross washing Demelza outside at the pump when they come back from their initial meeting at the market.
2. Lots of scenes with Judd & Prudie, these always seemed superflous to the story, but they are noticeable by their absence. I always remember them as being a large part of each episode and having now watched 6 hours, they hardly appear at all!
I've recently re-watched my 'Playback' DVDs of Poldark and noticed loads of bits missing - I notice on the back in very small print it states ' edits have been made for contractual reasons' - very annoying! I feel somewhat cheated since I passed my video collection on to someone else when I bought the DVDs. I have heard that apparently the videos were also edited, though to a lesser degree. I feel a bit cheated by the BBC - if they released the videos why did they source out the DVD release to "Playback" and allow them to hack it about and reduce the quality of the story!? I intend to contact the BBC and try and get some answers - will keep you posted!
When series I was shown on TV in the late 1980s I videoed it. In the 90s having bought the VHS video cassettes I noticed that various scenes had been edited.
Unfortunatley I didn't retain my off air recordings for comparison.
When the DVD's were issued I bought these hoping that the missing scenes would be restored given the greater space offered on DVD format.
Why were parts edited out?
Any chance of the original cut being made available on DVD?