M-Squad Coming 9/23/08 - Page 3

Bert Greene · 11-29-2008, 02:06 PM

An interesting judgment call for Timeless... release a collection of "M Squad" comprised of 60-70% of the episodes, all from relatively decent-looking 16mm transfers, or go all-out for completeness, courtesy of adding some dodgy old video dupes. To be honest, I'd be happy either way, as the series has never really re-surfaced anywhere in recent decades, and certainly constitutes a rarity. I just wanted to see the series, regardless.

And, it sure is a zippy little crime series. Not necessarily a must-see 'classic,' but the episodes are briskly-paced and consistently satisfying in a rather seedy, pulp-like manner. Tons of familiar character actors popping in and out. I'm ten or so episodes into the set, and certainly enjoying it. Quite a lot, actually. But, I can see how some folks might balk at the Alpha-level print quality on some of the episodes. Maybe I should balk a little too, but I can't help but marvel at the fact that, holy smokes, I've got the whole bloomin' run of this super-rare series here at my fingertips! Wow!

Gary OS · 11-29-2008, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bert Greene

An interesting judgment call for Timeless... release a collection of "M Squad" comprised of 60-70% of the episodes, all from relatively decent-looking 16mm transfers, or go all-out for completeness, courtesy of adding some dodgy old video dupes. To be honest, I'd be happy either way, as the series has never really re-surfaced anywhere in recent decades, and certainly constitutes a rarity. I just wanted to see the series, regardless.

And, it sure is a zippy little crime series. Not necessarily a must-see 'classic,' but the episodes are briskly-paced and consistently satisfying in a rather seedy, pulp-like manner. Tons of familiar character actors popping in and out. I'm ten or so episodes into the set, and certainly enjoying it. Quite a lot, actually. But, I can see how some folks might balk at the Alpha-level print quality on some of the episodes. Maybe I should balk a little too, but I can't help but marvel at the fact that, holy smokes, I've got the whole bloomin' run of this super-rare series here at my fingertips! Wow!

I'm sure it's a nice series and I wish I could have pulled the trigger. I'm not as picky as some folks when it comes to quality, but at the same time I do have lines I have to draw in the sand. I have no idea whatsoever where this set is on that scale, for me personally, so that's not the sole reason I took a pass. To be honest, this last quarter was just so filled with huge vintage sets that something had to give because of my wallet. It's just that when I read about the A/V quality I decided that the "Abbott & Costello Mega-set" and the "Lone Ranger mega-set", along with a ton of other things, simply made this one expendable for the time being. But I have no doubt it's a great series to have in hand.

Gary "it's still on my radar" O.

Gary16 · 11-30-2008, 10:51 PM

I just discovered that discs five and six of "M Squad" both contain the contents of disc five. Although the discs are correctly labeled, the small print around the center hole clearly says "disc five" on both of the discs. Has anyone else found this to be the case? I will try to contact Timeless about a replacement disc.

Bert Greene · 11-30-2008, 11:55 PM

Just checked my set, and the discs 5 and 6 are okay, with appropriately different contents. Must be an individual anomaly. Unfortunate, but I think Timeless will make good on the error.

Bob Hug · 12-01-2008, 07:18 AM

I'm still awaiting my set from DVD Pacific, as it still hasn't shipped yet, but I guess that's the tradeoff for getting the set at nearly half off.

I'm in Bert's camp on this set, knowing the situation with Timeless and their licensing deal with NBC Universal. I just don't see "M Squad" being given any kind of major restoration work, so this set will probably be as good as it's going to get. I still would have purchased "M Squad" even if Timeless didn't come up with the missing episodes.

Gary OS · 12-01-2008, 09:30 AM

Hope I wasn't understood on this issue. I didn't take a pass on this set simply because I heard the prints were uneven. I knew that would be the case regardless, and unless they were as uneven as those initial ROUTE 66 prints it wouldn't have mattered to me. I'm sure it's a neat set and down the road I'll pick it up when finances allow. But this 4th quarter was so jam-packed with vintage material I knew that I could only get two of the big three mega sets that were coming out (A&C, Lone Ranger, and M-Squad). I picked the first two because they were more important series to me. But I am hoping that you guys can report in as you keep watching this set and tell us how it looks, and how the episodes play out, over all.

Gary "take care, friends" O.

Bob Hug · 12-01-2008, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary OS

But this 4th quarter was so jam-packed with vintage material I knew that I could only get two of the big three mega sets that were coming out (A&C, Lone Ranger, and M-Squad). I picked the first two because they were more important series to me. But I am hoping that you guys can report in as you keep watching this set and tell us how it looks, and how the episodes play out, over all.

Gary "take care, friends" O.

Gary, you're absolutely right about the 4th quarter and vintage releases. I had to take a pass on the mega Wagon Train set because of budget and it's killing me that right now Amazon has some of the Timeless westerns on sale . . . . . but I just can't afford them right now after the DD/DVD Planet sales and, to top it off, one of my DVD players died last week . . . . just in time for the Black Friday sales.

Gary16 · 12-01-2008, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary OS

I am hoping that you guys can report in as you keep watching this set and tell us how it looks, and how the episodes play out, over all.

I have now watched the first 5 discs of "M Squad" (I indicated above that for some reason my disc 6 is the same as disc 5 even though it has the correct printed label on it). Even though some of the transfers are almost unwatchable without making severe adjustments to your monitor/projector -- such as turning the brightness way down-- I find that I am still enjoying every episode. I haven't watched a dull one yet and Lee Marvin is just sensational. Despite the many guest stars, Lee carries the show and is in virtually every scene. While I could never recommend this set to someone expecting it to look like "Perry Mason" or even "Burke's Law" or "Honey West," I still highly recommend it for fans of the show (some of the episodes do look genuinely good but many do not). Many years of film collecting taught me that a good movie is still good even if you're watching a lousy dupe. The same applies here.

Gary OS · 12-01-2008, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Hug

Gary, you're absolutely right about the 4th quarter and vintage releases. I had to take a pass on the mega Wagon Train set because of budget and it's killing me that right now Amazon has some of the Timeless westerns on sale . . . . . but I just can't afford them right now after the DD/DVD Planet sales and, to top it off, one of my DVD players died last week . . . . just in time for the Black Friday sales.

Ughhh. I forgot about the Wagon Train set. That makes 4 mega sets that I had on my radar initially. But I just can't afford all of them right now. It is tough when you have to choose, but Abbott & Costello have been my favorite comedy duo of all time (I'm a huge, huge fan to say the least) and the Lone Ranger set was just too sweet for me to pass up. That left me very short on cash - unfortunately.

Gary "oh well, good things come to those who wait - for big sales down the line

" O.

Gary16 · 12-01-2008, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bert Greene

Just checked my set, and the discs 5 and 6 are okay, with appropriately different contents. Must be an individual anomaly. Unfortunate, but I think Timeless will make good on the error.

Just spoke with the customer service person at Timeless who couldn't have been nicer. She said there were a few wrong disc sixes that got through and she's sending out a replacement disc immediately! Great customer service.

Bob Hug · 12-01-2008, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary16

Just spoke with the customer service person at Timeless who couldn't have been nicer. She said there were a few wrong disc sixes that got through and she's sending out a replacement disc immediately! Great customer service.

I've had good customer service responses from BCI Eclipse, VCI Entertainment, S'more Entertainment, and Mill Creek Entertainment in the past, so it's nice to hear that Timeless Media Group can be added to the list of good companies to deal with, though I've yet to experience any issues with TMG. Notice how it's these smaller independent companies that "try harder" to satisfy their customers.

Bob Hug · Yesterday, 08:04 AM

Good news for those who ordered "M Squad" from DVD Pacific . . . . they're finally shipping the sets.