Looks like they got lost in transit on the way back to the US and were sold through an auction of unclaimed goods.

According to Cryptozoic, they're not authorized of an official part of the set.

http://www.beckett.com/news/un...-autographs-surface/

So this is something that pertains to the UK postal laws then and I guess if CZE did not follow through and make a proper claim, perhaps the package legally sells as abandoned property. Somehow I find it hard to believe that no one in the Royal Mail could figure out who it belonged to though.

Anyway, if no one is going to stop the seller because of murky ownership, I must say that this will probably be a hot card for those completing the set. Authorized or unauthorized, as long as the sale is not illegal and the autograph is genuine, I would consider it part of the set if I wanted the complete title. That's just my opinion and it would depend on the legality of it because I do not support buying counterfeit cards. This would really just be a very special circumstance, assuming that there is not more coming on this story that changes it all again.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
Somehow I find it hard to believe that no one in the Royal Mail could figure out who it belonged to though.

If you lived here, you wouldn't be remotely surprised.

Like a lot of companies, RM are outstanding when everything goes right, and useless when it doesn't. "Undeliverable" could mean all kinds of things.

Glad to see everything appears to be as I thought. I would expect the signatures to be genuine, because if the cards had gone missing on route to Tim to be signed, Crypto would have said so, and would have likely sent Tim a new batch to be signed. The fact they haven't means they went missing on their way back to Crypto.

quote:

Originally posted by ravenheart:

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
Somehow I find it hard to believe that no one in the Royal Mail could figure out who it belonged to though.

If you lived here, you wouldn't be remotely surprised.

Like a lot of companies, RM are outstanding when everything goes right, and useless when it doesn't. "Undeliverable" could mean all kinds of things.

Yes, but even if you don't know Cryptozoic because its international, even if no one in Royal Mail ever collected a trading card, they are still hand signed by a fairly well known British actor. Wouldn't the package at the very least go back to McInnery if it could not be delivered?

Or maybe they did notify him and no one came to pick it up and CZE didn't inquire after the missing cards until the box was already auctioned off as unclaimed?

It's pretty funny how certified autograph cards continue to find new ways to be screwed up despite all the practice. The best and safest method was always to have the signing performed in the presence of the manufacturer's representative and the cards were turned over there and then. However it is cheaper and easier to use the honor system and the post office, so strange stuff happens.

They would only be returned to Tim if he filled in a senders address on the package - most people don't bother to do this.

They also won't have opened it, so they don't know it contained signed cards. It's just a box to them.

Once I read the statement I thought HEY! and purchased one of the £9.99 cards. For whatever reason the seller got them legally so it's a fair purchase - plus Captain Darling was SUPERB. It is of course possible that the cards were in a box and had brown paper wrapped around with address and sender adress on and the wrapping has got destroyed just leaving a box. Companies all around the world (incl USA) sell off unclaimed items left on trains, unclaimed luggage at airports, items handed into the police and storage containers that are unpaid. Individuals make a living out of buying up these items (and numerous TV companies make money showing us them doing it ).

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:
Once I read the statement I thought HEY! and purchased one of the £9.99 cards. For whatever reason the seller got them legally so it's a fair purchase - plus Captain Darling was SUPERB.

Lord Percy Percy for the first two, please.

Blackadder doesn't get that much recognition over here, you hear more about Fawlty Towers and Monty Python, but it was way longer than the Fawlty and way better than Monty. For a very funny show, I don't think people realized how dark and cynical Blackadder really was. That's hard to do.

I've got the whole run plus stand alones on VHS. For some reason I never upgraded to DVD, but I guess I should. Good reason to watch it all again.

For years they have been talking about a new series, I believe all the main actors are still living. You would think they could have come back one more time, just considering the popularity in the UK alone.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
For years they have been talking about a new series, I believe all the main actors are still living. You would think they could have come back one more time, just considering the popularity in the UK alone.

They're still talking about it. They have done the one comeback since the original run of four series, but that was... what, 17 years ago now?

In general though, resurrecting old comedies isn't looked upon very kindly. People always assume it won't be as good as it used to be. They're usually right, but not always.

Just noticed the prices have now doubled on those Tim McInnerny autos.

quote:

Originally posted by ravenheart:
Just noticed the prices have now doubled on those Tim McInnerny autos.

When it's all said and done that seller is going to make a pretty penny on those. It is a shame though that they didn't make it back to Cryptozoic to get pack-inserted and become "official". Wouldn't stop me from buying one though if I was putting the set together.

Has anyone else noticed that boxes of this are now approaching $200? It's refreshing to see a set succeed this much without a lot of help (or even notice) from "mainstream" collectors. On another forum several others even dismissed it early on, saying boxes would be a Black Friday special this year. Yeah, good chance of that.

quote:

Originally posted by Logan:
Has anyone else noticed that boxes of this are now approaching $200? It's refreshing to see a set succeed this much without a lot of help (or even notice) from "mainstream" collectors. On another forum several others even dismissed it early on, saying boxes would be a Black Friday special this year. Yeah, good chance of that.

Well looking at the prices, in the usual places, I'm pretty confused about these Outlander cards myself. I don't watch the show and didn't buy boxes because I know very few of the actors. I can see where some people may have thought it didn't have enough of a base interest and it did.

However not since Inkworks Twilight have I seen one swatch costume cards asking for so much. Usually its the autograph cards that will lead any upward movement.

I really don't understand why nearly all the hits are way up there. Is there such big demand and so little supply? If so, this show should be #1 in all the ratings. It isn't and I have barely heard of it since its first season. So I'm happy that fans have a good one here, but it really is a head scratcher and I don't know how anyone would have predicted it in the short term. Long term value, who knows?

The show has a bigger following than ratings show. People wait for the DVDs if they can't access Amazon Prime in the UK or the US. As to not hearing about it since the first season, there's been a second season and I think at least two more have been commissioned.

Another reason is probably because the books have a massive following. I think the first one was written about 20 years ago, but Outlander fans are as obsessive as LOTR or GoT book readers. And the author Diana Gabaldon, is directly involved with the TV show.

Personally I think the books are badly written twee garbage and so very obviously written by an American trying to write about Scottish history and using every lazy cliche possible, BUT I do like the TV show. I'm sure I'm amused by things I shouldn't be when watching, but that makes it entertaining. Throw in great costumes, scenery and a certain 'take' on the real history and there is the interest. The production values are as high as GoT, but done on a much smaller budget.

As to the actual cards. The costume cards were quite limited. A handful only had about 30 made instead of the more normal 120-200 range. I bought a box and was lucky enough to get one of the rare costumes so I was happy with that.

Although some of the actors are new to most people, there is a legend or two in there, like Simon Callow. If you don't know who he is, you should be ashamed.
Tobias Menzies(Edmure Tully from GoT) plays two characters, one in the 1940s and an ancestor in the 1740s, which is interesting.

There is a nerdy Outlander site dedicated to the trading cards. "Outlandish Trading Co Store". It's where I got my own info to collect a few of the cards I wanted without getting sucked into the silly prices. It's a good place to snoop around and see what people have found appealing about the set.

quote:

Originally posted by Hedgehog Witch:

Although some of the actors are new to most people, there is a legend or two in there, like Simon Callow. If you don't know who he is, you should be ashamed.

I am ashamed, I really am.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:

quote:

Originally posted by Hedgehog Witch:

Although some of the actors are new to most people, there is a legend or two in there, like Simon Callow. If you don't know who he is, you should be ashamed.

I am ashamed, I really am.

LOL I'll point him out...the older guy who dies of the heart attack in the movie Four Weddings And A Funeral.(he's the 'funeral') He was also in Shakespeare In Love. He's a classical actor of stage and screen and in recent years has done a lot of work playing Charles Dickens on one-man stage shows...he played Charles Dickens in an episode of Doctor Who a couple of years ago.

I'll also add Graham McTavish is in Outlander, he was one of the dwarves in The Hobbit trilogy.
Lotte Verbeek is in it and has popped up on all kinds of things on TV, such as The Borgias, Agent Carter and Blacklist.

I think Outlander has followed the pattern of a lot of new TV series in the past few years of putting together a mainly newbie cast, supported by well known actors. GoT Season One was basically a cast of newbies with Sean Bean and Lena Headey ensuring viewing figures.

Thinking about it, there are so many TV shows now, that there aren't enough of the established actors around to commit to 12-22 episode seasons on TV. So newbies with a few more well-known actor cameos is the best format and probably the only plan studios and networks can use.

But, yeah, only time will tell if their work endures and stays in the minds of even the most obsessed of fans in the years to come...therefore affecting the value of the trading cards too.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:

quote:

Originally posted by Hedgehog Witch:

Although some of the actors are new to most people, there is a legend or two in there, like Simon Callow. If you don't know who he is, you should be ashamed.

I am ashamed, I really am.

I saw Simon Callow in "Waiting for Godot" playing alongside Sir Patrick Stewart & Sir Ian McKellen in the Theatre. Simon Callow also appeared in a very good comedy show (IMO) called "Chance in a Million" in the 1980's

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:

quote:

Originally posted by Hedgehog Witch:

Although some of the actors are new to most people, there is a legend or two in there, like Simon Callow. If you don't know who he is, you should be ashamed.

I am ashamed, I really am.

I saw Simon Callow in "Waiting for Godot" playing alongside Sir Patrick Stewart & Sir Ian McKellen in the Theatre. Simon Callow also appeared in a very good comedy show (IMO) called "Chance in a Million" in the 1980's

I might have to check out the collective works of Simon Callow, looks like he's been in everything.

SPOILER ALERT - Godot never does show up.

quote:

Originally posted by hammer:

I saw Simon Callow in "Waiting for Godot" playing alongside Sir Patrick Stewart & Sir Ian McKellen in the Theatre. Simon Callow also appeared in a very good comedy show (IMO) called "Chance in a Million" in the 1980's

That's like acting royalty all on one stage. I would have loved to have seen that. I think it did go fairly local to me a couple of years ago, but my body doesn't always like to play fair, making travel anywhere a pain, literally.
McKellen, Stewart & Callow. That's one heck of a line-up.