Timeless Media Group - New Releases - Page 3

Re: Timeless Media Group - New Releases

Update on the next round of Timeless Media releases . . . .

Both Amazon and DVDPacific are now showing a March 19, 2008 release date for the three follow-up volumes of these series:

Arrest and Trial
Checkmate
Laredo

Initial release information at both sites had these titles being released a month earlier on February 19; still no official cover artwork or episode listings for these at Timeless' web site.

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Today, while at my local supermarket (Pathmark; stores in the Middle Atlantic States), I came across several of the Timeless Media westerns in an abbreviated, single disc format, selling for just $4.99 each. All of them appeared to be simply the first disc from the each of the three-disc sets for the following shows: “Laredo,” “Restless Gun,” “Riverboat,” and “The Tall Man.” I did not see any discs for “Cimarron City” or “Tate” nor were there any DVDs for the more contemporary series like “Arrest and Trial” and “Checkmate.” There were also a few made-for-TV westerns available like the remake of “Winchester ‘73” and “Lock, Stock and Barrel.”

The only brick & mortar stores where I’ve come across Timeless Media releases have been Wal-Mart and Suncoast Video and both of those stores have been very limited in what they have had to offer. I don’t know whether or not any other supermarkets will be carrying these titles, but I thought I’d mention it for those who might be interested in sampling these series. Strangely, these single disc editions do not appear in Timeless’ online catalog.

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Also NONE of the upcoming releases are listed on The Timeless website!

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I don't think this is the first time Timeless has done this. I bought a fistful of their "Timeless Television" discs from DVDPacific.com a year back and they weren't the two-disc editions, just single-disc. Covers were the same, only the info was different. I thought I was getting a bargain on them because they were only $1.99 a pop.

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I've encountered a fair number of the Timeless sets at Hasting's stores. Priced at only $19.99, which ain't bad. I picked up an extra set of "Arrest and Trial" as a birthday gift for a friend. I've gotten most of their recent Universal-leased items, having just picked up the "Laredo" volume a couple of weeks ago. It had been a while since I'd seen the series, and I'd forgotten what a breezy, fun show it was. Especially in that initial season.

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"Laredo" is entertaining and Neville Brand is a lot of fun to watch, though his co-stars (William Smith and Peter Brown) are good, as well. I've been generally pleased with this release from Timeless. Although just a tad soft looking, the prints are relatively defect free and color has generally been good. The only thing that irks me is the clipping of the opening title sequence for each episode. You get it once when the DVD loads and that's it. At least the end credits are intact, including the Universal logo.

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I never saw Checkmate, is it worth picking up? I'm a big fan of Doug McClure's character Trampas on The Virginian but I wasn't familiar with his work here. I also understand Eric Ambler created this show, which bodes well. How does it stack up against shows like The Naked City or even The Fugitive for writing? That's always my main focus. Just curious.

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Well, Wayne, to my memory, "Checkmate" was one of the very best detective/private investigator series of the late 1950s/early 1960s ("Checkmate" ran from 1960 to 1962). The writing is above average for a series of its type, but it's a different type of writing than what you'll find in shows like "Naked City" and "The Fugitive." Just an opinion but, to me, the writing is closer to some of the NBC Mystery Movies like "Columbo" or "Banacek," except that you have three leads rather than one and the shows were made for an hour time slot.

Timeless' audio/visual presentation is no great shakes as it was culled from 16mm films from collectors. Amazon has a really good deal on the "Best of Season 1" right now, just $15.49. The "Best of Season 2" is coming out later this month. You might also want to check out the customer reviews at Amazon for a few other opinions.

Amazon.com: Best of Checkmate: Season One: Checkmate: Movies & TV

I enjoyed this show quite a bit and have the second set on pre-order. I think that the writing style and tone of Timeless' other contemporary (1960s) series "Arrest and Trial" is much closer to "The Fugitive" and "Naked City" than "Checkmate" is.

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The scripts for "Checkmate" were uneven: there are a few taut, Agatha Christie-style mysteries (like Douglas Heyes' "The Murder Game") but mostly the writing was more on the level of the Warner Bros. private eye shows (flimsy plots, gratuitous fistfights). I think the show has been a bit overrated historically due to the Eric Ambler pedigree.

The reason to watch "Checkmate" isn't the writing, it's the presentation: the hip animated title sequence scored to Johnny Williams' jazzy title tune, plus the fact that Universal was willing to spend money on top directors and guest stars (Charles Laughton, Patricia Neal, Claire Bloom, Jane Wyman, etc.) who didn't usually do TV, at least not Hollywood genre shows, at that time.

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For anyone interested, I have the episode titles for each of the three new sets that Timeless is coming out with in a few weeks.

Arrest & Trial Part Two

Disc One:

Journey Into the Darkness
Those Which Love Has Made
The Witnesses

Disc Two:

Somewhat Lower Than the Angels
Run Little Man, Run
He Ran For His Life

Disc Three:

My Name is Martin Burnham
A Circle of Strangers
Some Weeks Are All Mondays


Checkmate Season 2

Disc One:

The Heat of Passion
Brooding Fixation
Through A Dark Glass
Juan Morena's Body

Disc Two:

Nice Guys Finish Last
A Chant of Silence
So Beats My Plastic Heart
The Yacht-Club Gang

Disc Three:

Death Beyond Recall
The Sound of Nervous Laughter
In a Foreign Quarter
Down the Gardenia Path


Laredo Season 1 Part Two

Disc One:

The Heroes of San Gill
Jinx
Above the Law
It's The End of the Road, Stanley
Miracle at Massacre Mission

Disc Two:

Meanwhile, Back at the Reservation
That's Noway Thataway
The Treasure of San Diablo
Sound of Terror
No Bugles, One Drum

Disc Three:

The Deadliest Kid in the West
A Very Small Assignment
A Taste of Money
Quarter Past Eleven
The Would-Be Gentleman of Laredo


I don't know any of these series well enough to comment on the overall quality of the episodes that were selected. I'm getting all three sets though.


Gary "these dvds are only a few weeks away from being released" O.

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Thanks, Gary. I have the first two sets pre-ordered and eventually hope to get to "Laredo," particularly as season 1 will be complete.

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I hate to be the one to spoil the party, but I believe at least one, if not more, of the CHECKMATE episodes are NOT uncut. In the second episode on Disc One of the BEST OF SEASON ONE there is a guest star listed on the end credits who never appeared in the show that's on the DVD, leading me to believe that is a edited, syndicated print.

I only watched the first two shows on Disc One before I decided to re-sell the set. I have the entire series on DVD-R from off air copies that look better than the TMG versions and since I was suspect about the prints being edited I saw no reason to hang onto it. In addition it was not a complete season, but instead and arbitrary choosing of "BEST OF." It did not even include what is generally considered the best episode of the entire series, "The Human Touch" with guest star Peter Lorre, a first season show. I was disappointed because I thought I would be trading up from my home made syndicated copies, but I just didn't think the VQ was in any way better than what I already have.

As for LAREDO, my brother showed me the episode that was the first broadcast show originally on NBC (which curiously is the second episode on Disc One of THE BEST OF SEASON ONE) and something about the commercial fade outs did not look right to me. They were much too fast and abrupt which leads me to believe they come from syndicated prints for stations to apply "bumpers" before and after commercial breaks. I can't say this for certain, but having watched the show during its original run and being familiar with the way shows would fade out to commercials at that time, this copy appeared to be too rushed. In addition there were more breaks than there should have been, a sure sign of a syndicated print.

However, like with BRANDED and GUNS OF WILL SONNETT and other vintage, relatively obscure series, I can't see the day when any of the TMG releases will come out in better versions. Given the MSRP on these sets, which is outrageous, they should have been better copies all the way around, but if they can be had for a deal, they may well represent the only opportunity to ever see them again. On that basis I am grateful they came out at all.

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"The Human Touch" is available on a commercially released DVD; it's on Mill Creek's "Best of TV Detectives - 150 episodes" along with the episode titled "Nice Guys Finish Last." But, like, the Timeless release of "Checkmate," these episodes are certainly not of pristine quality. Still, I'm happy to have them in my collection.

Mill Creek Details Page

The best looking "Checkmate" episode that I've seen on DVD is "The Heart is a Handout" which appears on Diamond Entertainment's "T.V.'s Lost Shows Collection."

TV's Lost Show Collection (5-DVD) - Television on DVD - Diamond : OLDIES.com

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Here's my two-cent question: If Timeless has any success with these episode collections, which have Universal's blessing but not their elements, would that possibly lead to Universal putting out their own releases of these shows that would be complete episode runs and from their own pristine elements? Is this licensing deal their way of floating a "trial balloon" out there to gauge fan reaction?

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I seriously doubt that Universal would release most of the series at a later date that Timeless has released under license from them. Timeless is a small boutique company that doesn't have to sell huge numbers like Universal would in order to turn a profit on these titles. Also, the titles that Timeless has been releasing are, comparatively speaking, fairly obscure, at least when you compare them with other Uni properties like "Leave it to Beaver" or "Dragnet." If Uni can't get past two seasons of LITB or a single season of "Dragnet," a series like "The Tall Man," "Riverboat," or "The Restless Gun" would have virtually no chance of a release through Uni. The Timeless releases are far from perfect, but at least we're getting a chance to see and own these older series again.

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Anyone get a shipping notice on any of the new Timeless Media releases that were supposed to be released today (Arrest and Trial, Checkmate, Laredo)? I ordered the first two from DVD Pacific, but they're still showing all three titles as being "on order." Just wondering if any of the other E-tailers were shipping these yet.

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I ordered ARREST AND TRIAL, LAREDO, and CHECKMATE from Amazon. They were supposed to be released last week but were postponed until today. No movement yet and I notice that they are not even listed on the Timeless website as of today!

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I'm almost hesitating posting this information since "Laredo" season 1, part 2 hasn't been released yet (but soon will, since cover artwork for the set has been posted at multiple online retailers), but Amazon is showing a May 20th release date for "Laredo" season 2, part 1 . . . . .

Amazon.com: Laredo Season 2 Part One: Laredo: Movies & TV

If this information is correct (and I hope that it is), we might reasonably expect that the complete series will be released before the end of 2008. Probably the only thing that Timeless could have done a little better on this series was to release the episodes in broadcast order, but kudos to them for releasing this series and the other 50s/60s westerns and crime shows. They are becoming a fast favorite releasing company of mine.

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Bob, I can give a third hand confirmation of LAREDO S2 V1 & S2 V2 coming out before the end of the year. I read a post about Laredo at another website recently and Timeless emailed someone over there in response to a Laredo question that Season 2 would be out in two sets in 2008.

In other Timeless news: Amazon,Buy.com, and Critic's Choice are showing a June 3, 2008 release for WILLIAM TELL. Amazon just shows the release date,Buy.com identifies it as a Timeless Media Group release as does the Critic's Choice item code. This is probably the 1958 show with Conrad Phillips but it could turn out to be the 1987-90 series.

I have the R2 Network release of the 1958 William Tell. The opening song that I remember from the U.S. syndication run was only used on one episode of the Network set. Different lyrics and a different section of the William Tell Overture were used on the rest of the episodes. If the U.S. version is on every episode in this set I may have to buy it again.

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Thanks, Bob, for the update on "Laredo." This is very good news and Timeless has done a mostly good job on this release.

Regarding "William Tell," I would be surprised if it was NOT the late 1950s version with Conrad Phillips. By and large, Timeless' focus on their TV-on-DVD releases has been vintage (pre-1970) shows. And I'm really happy to hear this as I believe this will be the first commercially available release of episodes from the series in the U.S., strange considering that it came from the same production company as "Robin Hood," "Sir Lancelot," and "The Buccaneers" and all of those series have at least some episodes available here. Not that I'm expecting any extras, but I believe that Conrad Phillips is still alive. Anyone for "Sir Francis Drake" or "Ivanhoe?"

I've also seen a listing for another June release from Timeless titled "Brenner." I'm completely unfamiliar with this series and checked IMDB.com for a few details. It indicates that it was a police drama series with Ed Binns and James Broderick. Stangely, there are two listings for the series, from 1959 and 1964. I have absolutely no recollections whatsoever of "Brenner." Can anyone here supply a few more details on this series?

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I don't remember watching "Brenner" either Bob. But here's some unusual info from the "The Complete Directory To Prime Time Network TV Shows":

Brenner,"Filmed entirely on location in New York", Binns and Broderick played father and son policemen.

"The series was produced in 1959 and selected reruns were aired by CBS in the summers of 1961,1962, and 1964. In order to freshen the series during it's 1964 run, ten new episodes were produced and aired in addition to the original 1959 shows."

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Ah . . . . . that explains the 1959 and 1964 entries at IMDB. I'll probably end up getting this one which, so far for 2008, gets my vote for the rarest vintage series released on DVD! Sounds like an interesting show and I like the two leads. I initially thought that this might be a compilation of some David Brenner stand-up comedy routines.

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Bob G. and Bob H.,
There are some Brenner episodes circulating among film collectors - I have a few. One, titled Good Friend, is about one of the partners (I think it was the Broderick character Ernie) having a buddy who is a criminal. Sort of a crisis of conscience for the idealistic Ernie. Interesting that James Broderick played the idealistic role in several shows. Recall his character on the Twilight Zone episode On Thursday We Leave for Home.

Tv.com lists 14 episodes of Brenner. I think there may more since Good Friend is not included. Anyway, this release should cover the entire series based on its list price.

It is nice to see a series like Brenner which doesn't fit the broad categories like Western or tradtional cop show get a release.

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I agree Tom, and I hope you are right that this will be the whole series of "Brenner". I've always liked Edward Binns for the integrity and humor he brings to his roles. James Broderick, I remember mostly from,"Family".

The InternetMovieDatabase lists 16 episodes of "Brenner" for it's summer of 1959 run,including "Good Friend", and 10 for the 1964 run.

It would be interesting to find out if "Brenner" was originally produced for the 1959-60 Fall season or earlier, but was cancelled and the decision made to burn it off on a Summer run (like they did with "Coronet Blue" some years later). It's ironic that it proved popular enough to be brought back for three more summer runs and even more odd that it produced more episodes four or maybe even five years after the first batch. I still don't know how I missed it.

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With the release of "Brenner" on DVD, that's at least four police dramas filmed in New York that are available on DVD, the others being "Naked City" (Image Entertainment), "Decoy" (Timeless Media and other public domain releasing companies), and "Man Against Crime" a/k/a "Follow That Man (Alpha Video and other public domain releasing companies). Still missing in action is "NYPD" with Jack Warden, Frank Converse, and Robert Hooks. I haven't seen an episode of that show since it went off the air in the late 1960s and wish one of the independents would pick this up. IMDB says the production company was Talent Associates and their production roster seems to have ended in 1979. I wonder who owns this now?

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has anyone had a problem with laredo vol 1?I just recieved mine on saturday and one of the discs will not load into any of my dvd players also will not play on my computer.its the disc with episodes, rendezvous at arillo, anybody here seen billy? etc.the other two discs pay fine.

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Steve, unfortunately, I think you may have a bad disc. I've had no problems whatsoever playing this disc in two different DVD players. There have been more reports of problems with the "Riverboat" set from Timeless, but not so with "Laredo." You could try contacting the company; their web site is:

Timeless Media Group

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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. I believe the head guy of Talent Associates was David Susskind.

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Warner Brothers! Ughhh . . . . . looks like "N.Y.P.D." will stay buried in the vaults. I was really hoping that some independent would get their hands on this. The chances that Warner would release this themselves is next to nil and it's probably not a big enough genre title to get released through Time-Life. It's a shame because it's a quality show.

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Both "William Tell" and "Brenner" are now showing as pre-orders at Deep Discount; $18.45 shipped for each title. That should be very near the lowest shipped price for these titles, though DVD Pacific has yet to list these two titles and may be slightly less expensive (I've purchased a few Timeless titles from them in the past for $18.15 shipped). Also the price at DD may be a bit lower as both of these titles look to be released around the time of DD's semi-annual 20% off sale which, if past history repeats itself, should be in June.