Timeless Media Group - New Releases - Page 4

Bob Hug · 04-01-2008, 12:39 PM

Looks like Timeless Media has finally updated their web site to include artwork and episode listings for the "Best of Checkmate, season 2," "Arrest and Trial, part 2," and "Laredo, season 1, part 2," all of which are still missing in action from the large online retailers (they were supposed to be released on March 25th). Interestingly, the description for both the new releases of "Checkmate" and "Arrest and Trial" says the episodes in these collections were " . . . . faithfully reproduced from the original NBC masters . . . ."

Best of CHECKMATE Season Two

ARREST & TRIAL Part 2

Laredo Season One - Part Two

jdee28 · 04-01-2008, 12:47 PM

With Checkmate, Best of Season 2, I'm surprised they didn't include the one with Elizabeth Montgomery & Jack Lord, "Star System." Maybe they'll do more releases and pick up the missing episodes. It's too bad they didn't do the complete first or complete second season. 16 mm prints of all 70 episodes of this show are out there.

Bob Hug · 04-01-2008, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdee28

With Checkmate, Best of Season 2, I'm surprised they didn't include the one with Elizabeth Montgomery & Jack Lord, "Star System." Maybe they'll do more releases and pick up the missing episodes. It's too bad they didn't do the complete first or complete second season. 16 mm prints of all 70 episodes of this show are out there.

John, there's an interesting twist on these two new releases (Checkmate, Arrest and Trial) which suggests that we might possibly see more releases, and that's the inclusion of the description " . . . . faithfully reproduced from the original NBC masters . . . ." which suggests that Timeless may now be getting their source material directly from NBC Universal as opposed to the first releases where 16 mm prints from collectors were used. But regardless of whether or not better masters are indeed being used, sales of the second volumes will most likely be the determining factor for further sets.

Tim Tucker · 04-01-2008, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Gu

Bob H, I would guess Warner Brothers owns "N.Y.P.D". Talent Associates also produced "Get Smart" which came out on DVD from Time-Warner.

Not quite. Time Life did the Get Smart DVDs with HBO Video, not Time-Warner. Therefore, the Talent Associates properties must belong to the HBO library now

Peter M Fitzgerald · 04-01-2008, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Hug

John, there's an interesting twist on these two new releases (Checkmate, Arrest and Trial) which suggests that we might possibly see more releases, and that's the inclusion of the description " . . . . faithfully reproduced from the original NBC masters . . . ." which suggests that Timeless may now be getting their source material directly from NBC Universal as opposed to the first releases where 16 mm prints from collectors were used.

Hmmmmm...I'm hoping this bodes well for M SQUAD!

Hank Dearborn · 04-01-2008, 07:46 PM

NYPD has always been syndicated by Worldvision so the show would now be Paramount property.

jdee28 · 04-01-2008, 08:19 PM

Hope we get more releases of Checkmate and Arrest and Trial.

It's been interesting watching The Untouchables, Season 1, Volume 2, with Anthony George as a regular, playing second banana to Robert Stack after Jerry Paris left the series mid-season. This is what apparently got George the lead on Checkmate. In my opinion though, Anthony George was much better suited for a supporting role, especially given his limited acting ability, which seemed to consist of having a pained face one minute, a blank face the next. Doug McClure, the second lead on Checkmate, was pretty much the same. The incredible roster of guest stars though more than makes up for the two leads. I just wish some of the stories were stronger. They do play sometimes as grade Z Warner Brothers detective fare.

With Arrest and Trial, the Ben Gazzara half is excellent. I just wish it had been an hour show with only Gazzara, instead of bringing in Chuck Connors, who looked more like a hulking prize fighter than a smart, sympathetic defense attorney. The two of them had no chemistry at all.

Stephen Bowie · 04-01-2008, 11:26 PM

Yes, jdee28 is pretty much dead on about the strengths and limitations of both Checkmate and Arrest & Trial. Doug McClure, apart from not being able to act, is often hilariously effeminate for someone who's supposed to be a tough guy & a lady's man. (He managed to butch it up some later on The Virginian.) The other day I was talking to a guy who did some scripts for Checkmate, and he told me that all the writers complained about how the premise had the characters trying to PREVENT crimes rather than solve them. That made it kind of dramatically inert: they were always talking about what might happen rather than participating in what was happening.

Apart from the clash in acting styles between Connors (who, as jdee28 notes, is epically miscast) and Gazzara, Arrest and Trial also suffers from putting the two leads on opposite sides of the law. I forget who I'm paraphrasing here, but someone who wrote about the show had a funny line about how that meant that every episode made either Connors or Gazzara look like an idiot.

Bert Greene · 04-02-2008, 10:55 AM

I thoroughly enjoyed the initial "Arrest and Trial" set, as I'm an absolute sucker for that kind of 60s-vintage, character-study dramas. But, I also can't deny the format of the series undermines it. First off, they can never have a criminal be 'too' nefarious, because it would make the second-half of the program unpalatable. Plus, if it was proven the figure on trial was entirely innocent, Gazarra and the police come across as complete dopes. So, the stories are too often pinned in from two sides, and ultimately leading them to place the blame of the crimes on 'society' as a whole, which made for rather frustrating endings (at least, for me). Still, like I said, I love the character-driven approach to television back then, so I do overlook those flaws. I definately plan to get the follow-up volume.