“Strange Paradise” was recorded on the then industry standard 2” quad color videotapes. As each episode was taped, the recordings were edited and compiled onto a master reel, complete with spots for commercial breaks. This work was done on site in Ottawa, where “Strange Paradise” was recorded. Completed masters were then sent to the headquarters of Kaiser Broadcasting in New York, to be subsequently dubbed and distributed to all of Kaiser’s affiliates.
From these master tapes, Krantz Films (and later Vikoa, its parent company) also produced various dubs use in later syndication, as well as black and white kinescope copies for distribution in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries. Simultaneously, as part of the co-production agreement between the CBC and Krantz Films, a copy was dubbed onto another a blank 2” tape provided by the CBC and shipped via courier to the CBC offices in Toronto. Over time, the “Strange Paradise” property was sold and resold, eventually winding up in the hands of India-based Nahali Entertainment. The fate of the original 2” masters is currently unknown.
Starting in the mid 1970’s, “Strange Paradise” was rebroadcast in syndication in both the United States and Canada, and has subsequently been re-run in Canada during the 80’s, 90’s and, most recently from 2005-2007 on Canada’s Drive-In Classics channel. As collections of earlier broadcasts are incomplete, due to episodes being missed or skipped, it was hoped that these most recent airings would include the entire run of the series. Disappointingly, though, none of the Drive-In Classics airings included a copy of episode 171 in the run, leading fans to speculate that the episode was truly missing, and not just somehow missed by those recording the show. Examination of off-air copies of the show made in both the 80’s and early 90’s reveals that these collections are also missing this episode.
Thus, it appears that episode 171 has been missing from syndication since at least the mid-1980’s. How this episode came to be missing from syndication was a mystery, but since ownership of “Strange Paradise” had changed hands several times since the 70’s, it was not entirely surprising that one of the episodes got lost in the various transitions.
As the property did not have the widespread following that might warrant a search to locate the missing episode, fans of the series were resigned to the fact that the show would remain incomplete. However, a chance find at a film storage helped shed some light on the mystery, but also created a new mystery, one that has yet to be solved.
