The Virginian - Page 4

I guess I'm one of the few people who actually really like the tin cases from TMG.  I have hundreds of TV on DVDs sets, and I really like the tin cases they look great on display.  I also had no problems with the cardboard insert in the Wagon Train tin.  Realistically how many times are people going to remove those discs from their holders any how.  Also, the cardboard will never have a bad reaction with the discs unlike some of the inferior plastic cases.

I just got the Sam's Club versions of Seasons 1 & 2 and wanted to chime in about how great the transfers look--much better than the color Wagon Train discs and other Timeless series.  Don't hesitate to pick these up if you're at all interested in the series (and you have access to a Sam's--if not, get the regular edition when it's released).

It is monumentally frustrating to me that I can't get hold of these just because (1)  there is no nearby Sam's Club and (2) the closest far away one doesn't have them!

I want this series but I really don't like the idea of having to pay full retail for them or even a small markdown at Amazon.

Can anyone who has both the DVD's and access to Encore Westerns, which is currently showing the entire "The Virginian" run (they are up to Season 3), compare the quality of the DVD's to the Encore Western quality?  I'm tempted to get the DVD's, but only if it is better than what I'm currently DVRing from Encore.

If the presentation on Encore is anything like what I've seen on Retro Network (RTN), or how The Virginian looked when it aired on the Hallmark Channel a couple years ago, I can only testify that these sets blow those away.

I thought the Encore Western presentation, which I'm sure is from the same remastering, looked pretty good.  But the non-HD presentation looked a little more 'blocky" and pixelish on my 42" tv than the upconverted DVDs do.  So it may depend on your display and how picky you are.  I also find it easier to keep track of what I've seen or not seen on DVD than on the DVR, so that aspect appeals to me.

I've also been DVR'ing the Virginian episodes since they started this year, and I bought the DVD's when released at Sam's. I've only sampled a bit between the two so far, but I would say the DVD's may look just a tab better and obviously lack the Encore icon on the screen.

I could have been perfectly happy with the Encore one's but decided to buy the commercial one's because I always like pressed versions over DVD-R's when possible. However, I am happy to have seasons 3 and up from just encore.

The first episode of season 3 on Encore yesterday had an interesting bonus: an NBC color tag, the one with the color camera moving across the screen, appeared after the Universal logo.

I just picked up season 1, vol. 1.  The picture quality is very impressive.  Beautiful.

I'm not used to the 75 minute run time of the episodes, that's a bit strange to me but I'm sure I can get used to it.

This looks to be a great show, and I had no idea whatsoever that they shot tv shows in color in 1962.  I'm picking up the next volume in a week or so.

I e-mailed Timeless inquiring if they were planning on releasing season 3 and forward.  The reply was there are no plans at this time for releasing additional seasons.  But it hadn't been ruled out.  I would guess they are going to wait on see how the sales of season 1 and 2 go.

It would be disappointing if there are no additional seasons released, the prints used are excellent.

The 1950s Superman, Cisco Kid and a few others from the 1950s were shot in Color. (Color TVs back then must have cost a Pretty Penny!) but nonetheless they did exist!

Amazon's price is now $44.49!
People (like me) who ordered it already are covered by the price guarantee scheme, but at least since they (better than) "price matched" CD Universe, I guess Amazon is the cheapest now.


Cees

Not when you can still pick up the entire first season at Sam's Club for less than $40.

True, but do they have Sam's Club in Amsterdam?

Is the second season even available through Amazon?  I picked up vol. 1, and 2 at Sam's.

If it were legal (here), I'd send you the Sam's season 1 sets for some Space Cookies.

I'll just go with Amazon's price now and wait, even if the packaging isn't as good as the split season version.

If nationwide sales are similar to my Local Sam's, it should be a no brainer.  They can't keep The Virginian in stock.  Both Season Sets have sold out already, almost twice.

I gotta say that I'm really enjoying these season sets. Besides the stellar visual presentation, I am constantly being reminded that these are just great little mini-western movies with good writing, mostly actual outdoor locations (sorry Bonanza), tremendously likeable regulars, and terrific guest appearances. Prime example; the Sam Fuller-directed episode, "It Tolls for Thee" with no less than Lee Marvin playing another great baddie. And my all-time favorite episode, "West."

 

I'm baffled at how they produced these 'featurettes' almost weekly for 30 episodes per season. That must have been some grueling schedule. Particularly when a good portion was shot on high altitude locations obviously a good distance from the usually scrubby Los Angeles foothills.  (Lake Arrowhead? Big Bear?)

 

I thought I would remember these too well to enjoy watching them again (having seen many recently on Hallmark), but the presentation is so much crisper, and without the commercials, it's been a total joy to sit back on a Saturday afternoon and be surprised by the quality of this show all over again.

 

at 75 minutes, these aren't mini-movies. these are considered feature film length at 75 minutes. That's a longer running time than a lot of the Universal classic horror flicks and plenty of crime films and detective series. Which does make it amazing to think they were able to work this fast and hard for a tv series.

You're right, they're only about 7-12 minutes shorter than most Bud Boetticher westerns and, sorry Randolph Scott fans, better IMO (or at least more varied in story/theme).

 

I watched the episode "West" again last night and was once again blown away by Douglas Heyes' directing (and writing) on that episode, as well as the great acting from Steve Cochran, Claude Akins, James Brown and Doug McClure. The story was rich, fast-paced (compared to many other episodes) and very innovatively shot. Many cowboys or gunslingers are killed in this episode, but the gunfights only focus on ECUs of the guns firing and not the targets or men getting hit. And the final gunfight takes place entirely off-camera and is simply reacted to by the ECU on Trampas' face. This is a bold and very emotional way to get the theme of a bygone era across (and at the same time deny western violence fans what they would normally expect). It was if the director deliberately decided, "Hey, YOU do the bloodshed in your own head in this one."

 

Of course all those artistic decisions could have been made based entirely on the director having blown the episode budget on some of his great tracking shots, the great montage of cowboy stock shots,  and having nothing left for squibs, blanks, or pryotechniqes, and being forced to innovate. But that's the beautiful thing about films and TV - the collaboration between viewer and creator on the actual (or accidental) intent going in and the interpretation coming out.
 

I was at Sam's Club (Greensburg, PA) yesterday and bought the $19.88 each S1 part 1 and part 2 box sets with the slimcases.

 

But I also saw that they had a single copy of the embossed tin 10-disc set version on the shelf too. It was priced at $39.88. The tin was kind of neat, but I still decided I liked the slimcase packaging better.

 

Now to find the time to start watching these, with so many other unwatched sets I have waiting.

Does anyone know if the show is available as Costco and for how much?

My Costco hasn't had any "Timeless" releases for quite some time (a few years I would say). Can't say for all Costco's.

I have never seen any Timeless releases at my Costco, but they always have some at Sam's.  This may be something that varies from region to region.  I've visited enough locations of both chains around the country to notice that they tailor their inventory to the local demographic.  And I'm almost certain that each chain is given a limited exclusivity on certain releases. 

My first season tin arrived from Amazon today, and I'm very pleased with my purchase.  The tin itself is a beaut.  The detail stamped on the cover is impressive. 

 

Looks like Timeless learned a few lessons from last year's Wagon Train tin.  Instead of a board book, this book has pages of thin cardboard glued together to form envelopes that the DVDs slide into from the right hand edge.  This is much less damaging than the earlier design, and protects the DVDs better. 

 

But I wasn't going to store my DVDs in this book anyway, and here is where the genius of the design comes in.  Once I'd put all eleven discs in flapped envelopes, I decided to slip the flaps into the appropriate page openings.  And guess what?  The book expands to accommodate the DVDs stored this way, and still fits into the tin.

 

Almost as if Timeless was expecting me to do this. 

I tried that trick since I would have liked to have a way of keeping the discs in the book while feeling secure but the paper sleeves wouldn't fit in them no matter how much I tried.   So instead the book stays out for me to consult, while I put five slimline double disc cases inside the tin box for storage on the shelf.

The sleeves won't fit into the slots in the book, but the flaps on my sleeves do.  I was just going to put the sleeves in between the book's pages, but decided to try slipping the flaps into the page slots just to hold the DVDs in place.  And it works surprisingly well.

Thanks, I figured it out now.

Any news if Timeless Media plans to release the whole series and any news on season 2 since costco seems to have it?