The Twilight Zone - Season 1 (The Definitive Edition) (1959) Review

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(More customer reviews)Right around the time of their release a couple years ago, I invested in Image's series of five 9-Disc box sets that collected every Twilight Zone episode from the original '59 series. From a collector's standpoint, this seemed like a great move, as these sets turned out to be much more affordable than the previous releases, which were 45 individual volumes. I figured I had the collection and could sit back and relax. I really enjoyed the sets (my reviews of them can be found here, as a matter of fact) and watched them ritually once I owned them.
In March 2004 when the rumors first hit that definitive season-by-season sets were to hit, I put my collection on e-bay and received almost all the money I invested in them in return. Yes, as a diehard TZ fan, I support the definitive releases wholeheartedly. Part of being a DVD collector is knowing that upgrades are imminent. In fact, this may not be the last time I invest in the series... experts forsee Blu-ray coming into play within the next 5 years and a company like Image with no single film or TV property to their name bigger than The Twilight Zone may someday release these with HD transfers on Blu-ray disc. DVD, like a cheaper version of Laserdiscs, is ten times the collector's format that VHS ever was.
In short, Image doesn't expect everyone to upgrade. They're not trying to bleed the same customers dry. But they are making a ton of the diehards and DVD collectors truly ecstatic. What hasn't been mentioned in any of the reviews here yet is THAT THE VIDEO AND AUDIO HAVE GONE THROUGH A RESTORATION PROCESS -- they LOOK AND SOUND BETTER than they ever have before, whether your first exposure to them was on CBS in the early 60s, in the late 70s (when the re-runs were very popular), or during the holiday marathons of the 90s and today on the Sci-Fi Channel. Not only that, but included are Rod Serling's "Next week..." teasers and, for the first time, audio commentaries by major players in the episodes themselves as well as crew members (Martin Landau in "Mr. Denton...", Earl Holliman in "Where is Everybody?", and Kevin McCarthy in "Long Live Walter Jameson" immediately spring to mind). As a TZ diehard, I thought I'd seen and heard as much as I'd ever get to, but Image has put together something new for me to look forward to. The "audio lecture" Amazon refers to is from Sherwood Oaks College and is split into several parts. There is a great deal of discussion regarding "Walking Distance" for instance -- and we are able to listen to it while watching the episode at the same time. It runs nearly the entire length of the episode. Real treats also include Zicree's interviews conducted in the late 70s for the writing of his book with such stars as Burgess Meredith and Anne Francis.
Also -- the old collections tried to theme the episodes on each disc, but this simply didn't work for me. Too often I'd only want to watch one of the episodes on a disc and would have to frequently change out. With this set, we'll be getting the first season which, in a point that is rarely disputed, is the best of the series:
Where Is Everybody?, One for the Angels, Mr. Denton on Doomsday, Sixteen Millimeter Shrine, Walking Distance, Escape Clause, The Lonely, Time Enough at Last, Perchance to Dream, Judgment Night, And When the Sky Was Opened, What You Need, The Four of Us Are Dying, Third from the Sun, I Shot an Arrow into the Air, The Hitch-Hiker, The Fever, The Last Flight, The Purple Testament, Elegy, Mirror Image, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, A World of Difference, Long Live Walter Jameson, People Are Alike All Over, Execution, The Big Tall Wish, A Nice Place to Visit, Nightmare as a Child, A Stop at Willoughby, The Chaser, A Passage for Trumpet, Mr. Bevis, The After Hours, The Mighty Casey, and A World of His Own.
So while Image doesn't expect you to double dip, you gotta feel good going knowing you have that option someday. I don't think "corporate greed" factors into the equation as much as customer demand from fans like myself (as well as the logical necessity) for one of the best shows of all time to have an exhaustive and organized set of releases. Take care and we'll see you in the fifth dimension!

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The complete first season of Rod Serling's classic, groundbreaking series exploring the fantastic and the frightening.

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