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Checkmate the Complete Series $32.99 @ Amazon

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Old 10-21-10 | 10:21 AM
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ktg
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Checkmate the Complete Series $32.99 @ Amazon

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According to price-tracking sites like this one, this appears to be a significant price drop.

I knew nothing about this show until the box set popped up in my Amazon Gold Box. 14 disks, 70 1-hour episodes, loads of A-list Hollywood costars/cameos, music by John Williams. Figured someone would remember it. If there are better deals, please post, but this looks like the lowest price on dvdpricesearch at the moment.
Old 10-21-10 | 10:39 AM
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Re: Checkmate the Complete Series $32.99 @ Amazon

According to Amazon Customer Reviews, picture quality appears to be an issue which isn't unusual for these types of sets.

Anyone here viewed this set?
Old 10-21-10 | 11:36 AM
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Re: Checkmate the Complete Series $32.99 @ Amazon

Not sure about the legality (could be public domain... who knows) but there's a couple of complete episodes up on YouTube, if you want to sample before purchase.
Old 10-21-10 | 12:57 PM
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Re: Checkmate the Complete Series $32.99 @ Amazon

I have the prior release that contained a subset of episodes. These are not remastered like you will find with shows like Twlight Zone or Perry Mason, but they are generally better quality then many of the public domain sets. So if you are familiar with other type of releases by small companies that don't have access to masters and must locate older 16mm prints or video tapes, then you will probably have a good idea.

I found the show interesting enough to double dip to get the complete collection for this price. As mentioned above, checking out an episode on YouTube would probably be a good idea to determine if you like the premise of the show.

Now that said, TMG likes to release 12 to 24 intro sets to gauge interest. As a result, they select not necessarily the best shows for these but the biggest guest stars. They also aren't going to include the worst prints. So based on having difficulty locating all the shows, I would expect a few in the set to be borderline not watchable just to be able to complete the entire collection. Assume that going in based on some of the reviews.
Old 10-21-10 | 02:36 PM
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Re: Checkmate the Complete Series $32.99 @ Amazon

I don't intend to double-dip, based on the pq. The best thing about this show has always been the theme by John Williams.
Old 10-21-10 | 03:44 PM
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Re: Checkmate the Complete Series $32.99 @ Amazon

I've really been on the fence about this release because of the pq based on all the reviews. Like Brad, I had purchased the 2 "Best Of" sets and enjoyed them well enough in spite of the pretty poor print quality. I had hoped Timeless would be able to release a set in keeping with their current releases where they've been able to access much better prints on many series they had previously released in "Best Of" type sets. Bottom line, this low price finally convinced me to pull the trigger this morning after reading the initial post in this thread. I had to think about it for a while in spite of the great discount, but at the end of the day I figured it would be worth it to have a complete episode set of this series. Plus, I'm supporting a company I really appreciate right now. Timeless and Shout are still releasing pressed dvds of vintage TV shows, and for that I'm willing to give them the nod on so-so pq sets.

Gary "look for Timeless to bless us with more obscure titles in 2011, or so my sources tell me" O.
Old 10-21-10 | 05:29 PM
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Re: Checkmate the Complete Series $32.99 @ Amazon

The bottom line is that this is never going to be released any other way on physical media.

The series is excellent, far better than the WB detective shows that were its contemporaries. Just to be able to see it in its entirety, especially at this price, makes the sometimes only "watchable" quality quite bearable.

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