CHECKMATE - The Complete Series DVD set (Timeless)

Has anyone bought this Checkmate complete set & if so were they remastered, restored from original studio 35 mm prints or were they the best unrestored 16 mm prints they could get from collectors?

Larry Tate :)

I'm still waiting for my set from Deep Discount but I would assume it's the same as before with collectors prints.    There is no way that they're getting access to 35mm vault prints for something like this without spending a fortune.

I just heard from a good friend here at HTF, via PM, who bought this set and has already watched several episodes.  The prints are not remastered in any way, and they are cut for time.  It's a real shame, but this looks to be similar to the M Squad dvd set Timeless released last year in terms of quality.

 

 

Gary "sorry to be the bearer of bad news" O.

I was hoping that Sam's would carry this . But that doesn't seem to be the case . The last few Timeless releases that have came out havn't showed at my local Sam's . I will eventually pick this up when i can find it on sale online .

 

Frankly, I was already expecting this.     I didn't think the source material would be any better than the two "Best of" releases and that this time it was just a matter of having the whole series economically and in concise packaing.     THe boxed set of the complete series actually takes up LESS space than did the two best of sets in their single disc three case Amray sets.
 

Thanks for the heads up, Gary. I guess I should have expected it given that the few episodes I watched on THE BEST OF had inferior quality and were edited.  Given the price of this package I'll probably just stick to my alternate set, which is pretty horrible looking, but it doesn't sound like I would be trading up. 

 

You equate this set with M SQUAD in terms of quality, but as far as you know they didn't include any edited shows on the M SQUAD release, did they?

 

POINT "I sure wish Timeless could get their act together and have some consistency" BLANK

I really don't think TImeless can be blamed on this, or the other sets that have to use 16mm prints.   The bottom line is that if Universal ever got around to making a tape set at some point, then the episodes are going to look better and if Universal never did, we'll just find ourselves stuck with the 16mm prints because an operation like Timeless couldn't possibly afford to pay for a new set of transfers.

 

I think if one can get it at a discount where it's no more than $50 as I was able to do, it's still a good buy overall, and it's interesting to see Doug McClure in a contemporary show just before sliding into "The Virginian" two years later.

Jack,

 

Did you have either of the "Best of" sets? I'm curious to know if the video quality has stayed consistent between the new episodes in comparison with what was released before.

The 24 episodes that were in the best of are clearly the same prints, and they were evidently the best looking ones because the pilot with Anne Baxter is a much better looking episode than the first one I watched which had Julie London guesting, which seemed much rougher looking.     I think its evident that they probably had to scrounge to find every episode which is what delayed a complete season release for awhile but this is likely to be the best we'll see it.     Its not the worst kind of release I've seen, but you have to go in with slightly lower than usual expectations and let your interest in the show guide your choice. 

That's been my fear from the beginning, how many and how bad some of the episodes would end up being to make a complete collection. I have found the show interesting though, so it might be a pickup some day at the right price and when no higher priority release is looming in the horizon.  I happily own M-Squad so lesser quality is okay if I get enough enjoyment from a show.