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Fake TV series from the 1930s -- following up
One year ago this week, I posted a thread (https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/data-issues-policy-discussions/no-betty-boop-was-not-a-tv-series-in-1930/61417e5e7999fd0798c634a5) about how the Betty Boop cartoons of the 1930s had been converted into a TV series, even though they were made for theatrical release and television broadcasting existed only on a very limited basis at the time. In case anyone is wondering why I haven't just submitted corrections myself for this "series", I couldn't figure out how to submit a correction that the overall series was fake but the "episodes", which are real titles but not actual episodes, needed to be dispersed and converted into theatrical films.
I also noted in that thread nineteen other supposed "TV series" listed in the database that supposedly debuted between 1906 and 1940 -- some of which would have purportedly debuted before the first television station in the world went on the air.
About half of these supposed TV series were series of theatrically released animated short films, while others included newsreels, sports coverage, theatrical features, and even a made-for-YouTube ripoff of "I Love Lucy", purported to have debuted 11 years before "I Love Lucy" went on the air and 65 years before YouTube debuted.
Eleven months ago, staffer Michelle responded to my prior thread, "I have collected all the titles reported and requested an extensive clean-up with our editorial team. I have also opened discussion for improvements regarding flags and approvals surrounding TV Series title submissions with a start date of 1930 or earlier." Yet, somehow, all of these supposed TV series are still listed in the database. (And the problem isn't just reviewing titles with a start date of 1930 or earlier -- the majority of the erroneous titles I cited were purportedly from between 1931 and 1940.)
Keep in mind, this isn't even the first time someone had entered a 1930 "Betty Boop" TV series into the database; it had happened in in 2019 as well, but at least that time the fake series got deleted timely.
I recall that Jon Reeves, IMDb's former head of data acquisition, was quite knowledgeable about animated shorts from the "Golden Age" of Hollywood animation, and has written many of the plot summaries. Perhaps the staff should get in touch with him, and he could explain that characters such as Betty Boop, Andy Panda, Barney Bear, and Hunky and Spunky were made for theatrical cartoons in the 1930s and not television, since television was not yet in common use.



gromit82
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4 years ago
I should note that some of the submissions of these fake TV series may have come from users who did not really understand IMDb policies and were not trying to mislead. ("Allen and Kendal", on the other hand, doesn't have that excuse.) But that just means that the IMDb staff should have blocked the fake TV series from being created.
In the prior thread, I quoted dialogue from This Is Spinal Tap which still seems pertinent, in which a rock band's manager attempts to explain why a "Stonehenge" stage set was only 18 inches tall:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088258/quotes/qt0261740
(edited)
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gromit82
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4 years ago
Here's the complete list of fake, or at least very inaccurate, TV series mentioned in the thread I started last year.
"1937 Coronation" (1937- )
"Allen and Kendal" (1940-2015)
"Andy Panda" (1939-1949)
"Barney Bear" (1939-1954)
"Betty Boop" (1930-1939)
"British Movietone News" (1929-1979)
"British Pathé News" (1910-1970)
"Color Classics" (1934-1941)
"Comicolor cartoons" (1933-1936)
"Grand Prix Motor Racing" (1906-1949)
"Hunky y Spunky" (1938-1941)
"John Wayne Classics" (1935-1963)
"John Wayne Colorized Collection" (1934- )
"Parrotville" (1934-1935)
"Puppetoons" (1932-1942) (I)
"Puppetoons" (1932-1942) (II)
"Rainbow Parade Cartoon" (1934-1936)
"The Three Stooges" (1934-1959)
"Toonerville" (1936)
"US Presidential Elections" (1928- )
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bderoes
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4 years ago
I'm very concerned about the duration of this problem given the possible propagation of this incorrect idea (TV series before TV), and of the specific titles/characters originating on TV. Since IMDb is supposed to be so trustworthy about this topic, how many books, articles, websites, etc. now quote this misconception?
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Bethanny
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4 years ago
Hi gromit82-
We actually are aware of the issue from your last post, there is still a ticket for the concerned team pending to solve this, and it will be cleaned, but we have to wait for now. Will do a callout to prioritize given the time it has been pending.
Thanks!
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