Coming from Mill Creek mid-June "Best of TV Detectives" 150 episode box (1 Viewer)

[Bob Hug]

Brian, I've been trading E-mail messages with Ian Warfield at Mill Creek and there's a chance that Mill Creek might do a companion set to this one sometime in 2008, though nothing is cast in stone. Ian did mention that they are looking at putting out box sets of adventure shows and espionage shows in 2008, though I have no details about release dates or contents. While the source material is always a question mark with these types of releases, the varied shows included in these sets (some rare-to-see on DVD) coupled with a very affordable cost, add up to a lot of fun . . . can't wait to see what Mill Creek cooks up next!

 

[Chas_Michael]

Hi Bob, I read your review of the 2 dvd BCI 20 Dragnet episode DVD set over at Amazon.

How does the Mill Creek Dragnet 25 episodes contained in this set compare to the 20 BCI episodes for the Dragnet episodes? Are there any commercials in the BCI set? IIRC, there are only a few out of the 25 that have commercials in the Mill Creek Detective Box.

 

[Bob Hug]

Well, from an audio/visual quality viewpoint, the two sets of episodes from both BCI Eclipse and Mill Creek are comparable. That is to say that all of the episodes are very watchable, but they are derived from worn 16 millimeter prints. But since it doesn't appear that Universal will ever release the original "Dragnet" officially, these are probably as good as it's going to get for the original "Dragnet."

It's been several years since I've viewed the BCI set, but my recollection is that no original commercials were included. However, the episodes appeared to be complete with all original music intact. At the time it was released, I thought it was the best set available, but it is a 2-disc double sided release with five episodes per side. I had no issues with playback, but if you don't like double sided discs, then you might want to avoid the BCI set.

 

[Tim Tucker]

Originally Posted by Brian:C ">[/url]

I updated my site with a bunch of the new Alpha and Millcreek releases. Should help collectors in tracking down missing episodes. I will enventually have all the Millcreek Detectives and Westerns included.

 

[docdoowop]

I'm still enjoying this set, but I note the absence of "Best of TV Detectives" from the current Mill Creek website catalog. It doesn't appear to have been survived their recent artwork update. As I recall, some of the titles were duplicated on then-available Alpha Video releases, which have now gone OOP.

I get a kick out of discovering character actors early in their careers like Robert Strauss and Walter Burke in "A Jockey is Murdered" in a just-watched "Martin Kane, Private Eye". Early television is endlessly fascinating and it's a shame if this box has been dropped from their catalog.

 

[Regulus]

Their listing for Classic Sci-Fi TV is also missing. If they have discontinued these it's a good thing I got them when they were available!

 

[docdoowop]

Update: I see the TV Detectives box in the new artwork is available at Deep Discount, so it's still in the catalog.

 

[WaveCrest]

I found out about this intriguing sounding set yesterday when on the Amazon.com page for MGM's Highway Patrol set (in the 'other DVD titles you might be interested in' banner further down the page). How many episodes are on each of the discs, and what is the print/picture quality like for the episodes from the Richard Denning (who would go on to play Hawaii's governor in Hawaii Five-0) TV series Mr & Mrs North?