A closer look
Before the invention of the VCR, the only way to rewatch a TV show was to hire a guy to literally take photos of his television screen as it aired. John Cura invented 'Tele-Snaps,' charging actors and directors for physical contact sheets of their live performances. Because the BBC had a nasty habit of erasing their own broadcast tapes to save money, Cura's blurry screen photographs are now the only surviving visual evidence that dozens of classic British television episodes ever existed.
