The Twilight Zone - Collection 1 (1959) Review

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(More customer reviews)For those of us in the know, all TZ episodes have been available on DVD for quite some time, but in 40-some odd volumes that contained 3 to 4 episodes each and left you broke after about 20 volumes. Now, As I write this, we are a couple months away from being able to own the entire Twilight Zone series in a collection of 5 box sets,... Has Image Entertainment finally given TZ fans something worth emptying their pockets for? You bet.
Okay, so they still haven't put the series in chronological order. Don't wait -- this will probably never happen. It's an anthology series and there is no continuity here that absolutely demands you have the episodes in order. But what Image has done is put 9 volumes in each box set (Vols. 1-9 are contained in Collection 1) and made the cases a little more compact. These are great cases, by the way, and the box isn't just something to throw away either. The episodes in Collection 1 are among the most memorable: "To Serve Man", "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", "Time Enough At Last", "The Lonely", "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street", "The Invaders", and "It's A Good Life", to name only a few of the 35 episodes.
Quite simply, these releases (meaning not only Collection 1, but the 4 others) mean that you'll be able to own the series on DVD for [much less money than]it would cost you to buy the volumes individually...

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The Twilight Zone: Vol. 18 (1959) Review

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(More customer reviews)Volume 18 in "The Twilight Zone" DVD series offers an interesting combination of two space stories with one about the Civil War. "I Shot an Arrow Into the Air," written by Rod Serling and based on an idea by Madelon Champion, relates how the U.S. spaceship Arrow One disappears off the radar screen and crashes. Three of its astronauts survive the crash and find themselves on what they take to be an asteroid with only five gallons of water between them. Corey (Dewey Martin), decides the only way to survive is to kill the other two. Another spaceship is featured in the hour-long "Death Ship," written by Richard Matheson and based on his short story. The E-89 investigates something shining on the surface of a planet and discover what looks to be their own wrecked ship and dead bodies. Lieutenants Mason (Ross Martin) and Carter (Fredrick Beir) become convinced they are dead, but Captain Paul Ross (Jack Klugman), will have none of that. "Still Valley" by Serling based on Manly Wade Wellman's short story "The Valley Was Made Still," stars Gary Merrill as Paradine, a Confederate scout who stumbles upon a town filled with Union soldiers all standing frozen. An old man (Vaughn Taylor) has used a book of black magic to work this miracle. The old man is dying and begs Paradine to take the book and use it to win the war. This is another disc where none of the episodes qualify as a classic Zone story. Its chief virtue is seeing Jack Klugman once again on the show, but for once playing a strong and very determined character.

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The Twilight Zone - Collection 5 (1959) Review

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(More customer reviews)This collection is in many respects similar to the other 4. But it contains more than its share of the very best episodes, as well as an interview of Rod Serling conducted by Mike Wallace just before TZ began its highly successful run. The interview frankly addresses the practical issues of using TV as a medium of serious expression. Even more disturbing, in my own view, is Serling's chain smoking as a manifestation of the stress inherent in being a creative artist in a society that neither understands nor warmly receives them.
In any case, this collection is excellent for TZ aficionados, for new fans sampling it, and for those on your gift lists who are hard to buy for. If you like, see also my reviews of the 4 previous collections.

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The Twilight Zone: Vol. 20 (1959) Review

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(More customer reviews)This DVD has 3 great episodes on it. "30 Fathom Grave" would have been one of those classic episodes that people keep quoting (Like "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" or "Time Enough At Last"), but it was a 30 minute episode that was stretched to an hour. If they had edited this as a half-hour episode, it would have been perfect, but it suffers from too much padding. It's still a good story though. The other two stories are great ones too, though "Elegy" is just a little predictable. Well worth owning though.

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Episodes: "Elegy" (Ep. 20, February 19, 1960) - Three astronauts land on a remote asteroid where everyone is frozen in place in the midst of their activities. The only one who moves is the caretaker (Cecil Kellaway), who reveals that they are in an exclusive cemetery where the deceased's greatest wishes can come true. "The Thirty-Fathom Grave" (Ep. 104, January 10, 1963, 50 min.) - A mysterious clanging sound is heard within a submerged submarine--20 years after it was sunk by the Japanese during World War II. A sheared periscope? Or ghosts of the drowned crewmen? Chief Bell (Mike Kellin) reveals a guilty secret that has tormented him ever since that horrible event. "A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain" (Ep. 131, December 13, 1963) - An aging man (Patrick O'Neal) desperate to keep up with his much younger wife (Ruta Lee), tries a highly experimental youth serum. To his wife's delight, he is restored to vigorous young manhood, but the worm soon turns when the serum continues its work...

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The Twilight Zone - Collection 2 (1959) Review

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(More customer reviews)The item you are viewing is the second in a series of 5 Twilight Zone DVD collections, each containing 9 volumes of 4 episodes each. ....
Not bad, eh? The only difference between the box set DVDs and the individual ones are the cases. They are better, in my opinion, because they are more compact and yet aren't those [inexpensive] cardboard things. You also get a nice box to house them in.
Onto the content. If you're a fan of only some of the episodes -- the most popular ones that people always talk about, chances are you should buy Collection 1 first (contains "To Serve Man", "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet", etc.). But there are definitely some classics contained in Collection 2. Among the 36 episodes (Volumes 10-18 of the individual DVDs) are:
--The After Hours: Anne Francis visits a department store's mysterious 9th floor. Didn't that mannequin just sell her a thimble?
--Living Doll: If you remember the TZ and don't remember "Talky Tina", there's something seriously wrong with you!
--The Obsolete Man: Has Burgess Meredith become obsolete?? This one has landed in the Fans' Top 15 Episodes.
--The Midnight Sun: The sun is inching closer and closer to Earth. That can only mean one thing... It's hot!
--A Hundred Yards Over the Rim: A man traveling with a wagon trains crosses over a rim in the Nevada desert in search of water, game and way to heal his son... but winds up in the Twilight Zone!
Complete Listing: A Hundred Yards Over the Rim, Once Upon a Time, The Last Flight, The Trouble With Templeton, Living Doll, The After Hours, The Dummy, The Fever, Mr. Denton on Doomsday, The Lateness of the Hour, The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine, The Trade-Ins, A Quality of Mercy, Judgment Night, The Obsolete Man, The Purple Testament, In Praise of Pip, One For the Angels, The Arrival, The Man in the Bottle, A Kind of a Stopwatch, Escape Clause, Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room, The Midnight Sun, And When the Sky Was Opened, In His Image (Hour-Long Show), The Last Night of a Jockey, The Mirror, The Old Man in the Cave, What You Need, What's in the Box, Death Ship (Hour-Long Show), I Shot an Arrow Into the Air, Still Valley

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The Twilight Zone - Collection 3 (1959) Review

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(More customer reviews)The 3rd and 4th installments of Image Entertainment's Twilight Zone DVD "Collections" hit the shelves January 7th, with the 5th and final one due February 25th. In case you are wondering about cost you figure to save by purchasing these over the individually-sold volumes. But for the casual fan who only wants certain episodes, individuals are still the way to go.
Collection 3 contains 9 more volumes of the original DVD releases (this time Vols. 19-27 are collected) in more compact and efficient (but also cool) cases. These are housed in a keepsake box that makes for easy storage. The stand-outs from Collection 3 include...
--A Most Unusual Camera: A camera that snaps pictures of the future? Certainly qualifies as unusual...
--Five Characters In Search of An Exit: Why have five characters (a soldier, a jester and a ballerina, among them) awoken to find themselves in an empty room with no doors or windows??? One of the single coolest episodes in the series!
--People Are Alike All Over: Roddy McDowall plays an astronaut who, while stranded on an unknown planet, learns just how much this episode's title rings true!
--Elegy: Indescribably cool!
This Collection, does however, contain many of the episodes that fans universally consider to be clunkers (namely Black Leather Jackets, He's Alive, Spur of the Moment and The Big Tall Wish), but this doesn't harm the overall quality of the Collection. It is as essential, in my book, as the other four.

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The Twilight Zone, Vol. 39 (1960) Review

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(More customer reviews)All three episodes on this DVD were written by Rod Serling and represent a variety of themes and styles. THE SILENCE seems like it would be more at home as an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." However, Franchot Tone gives an excellent performance as an elder member of a parlor club who finds the ceaseless rhetorical chatter of a younger member (Liam Sullivan) too nauseating to bear. Franchot Tone offers Sullivan a half million dollars if he can keep silent for a full year. Jonathan Harris, Tone's friend advises him against making the bet but to no avail. This is actually one of Serling's more memorable episodes from the 2nd season and is true to his ongoing theme of nostalgia for days or generations past. However what is intriguing in this episode is how the old guard faces off against the new with surprising results and Serling does not really give us a any feeling of optimism which he usually does for this theme (WALKING DISTANCE for instance). ON THURSDAY WE LEAVE FOR HOME is a strong episode from the 4th season starring James Whitmore as the inflexible leader of space settlers stranded and decimated on a barren planet. When they finally get the chance to return to Earth from a relief ship captained by Tim O'Conner, Whitmore sees his power as the leader of the settlement slowly erode. This is a great character study by Rod Serling of a man torn between power, which he thinks he needs to survive, and the love of a home he probably never thought he would see again. This is one of the best hour-long episodes. MR. BEVIS from the 1st season is a rather lightweight episode about a good-natured fellow (Orson Bean) whose life is turned around when he receives "help" from his guardian angel (Henry Jones). It reminded me of Serling's CAVENDER IS COMING episode which I enjoyed much better.

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Episodes: "Mr. Bevis" (Episode 33, June 3, 1960) - Orson Bean is James B.W. Bevis, a good-natured, accident-prone eccentric whose guardian angel gives him a chance at success. But there's a catch: all the goofiness in his personality has got to go. "The Silence" (Episode 61, April 28, 1961) - Archie Taylor (Franchot Tone) offers incessant talker Jamie Tennyson half a million dollars if he can keep quiet for a year. It's a bet that Tennyson can't resist. "On Thursday We Leave for Home" (Episode 118, May 2, 1963, 50 min.) - William Benteen (James Whitmore) has been the unquestioned leader of a stranded outpost in space for 30 years. But when a rescue ship usurps his power, he tries to force the colonists to remain.

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The Twilight Zone - Vol. 29 (1959) Review

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(More customer reviews)* "A Nice Place To Visit" (Eps. 28, aired 4/15/60) - When Gangster Rocky Valentine (Larry Blyden) gets shot to death, he is welcomed to a world where he gets everything he wants and wins at everything. But, when he gets bored, he finds out he is just getting his just deserts. Three Stars.
* "A Penny For Your Thoughts" (Eps. 52, aired 2/3/61) - With a lucky flip of a coin, bank clerk Hector Poole (Dirk York) gains the ability to read people's minds. But, as he soon discovers, you can't believe everything that people think. This is a more comedic than serious Twilight Zone episode, and gets four stars.
* "Little Girl Lost" (Eps. 91, aired 3/16/62) - Late one night, the Miller's six year old daughter, Bettina, can be heard throughout the house, but can't be found anywhere. With the help of a physicist friend, they discover a hole from Bettina's room to possibly the fourth dimension. Will the Millers be able to save their daughter in time? Although it has a X Files feel and it was a basis for a later Simpson's episode, the effects limitations of that time really shows. Two stars.
* "I Am The Night - Color Me Black" (Eps. 146, aired 3/27/64) On the morning of the execution of an idealist who murdered a racist bully, the sky has turned pitch black around the town. Emotions run high as the time of execution approaches. This story, penned by Rod Serling, gets somewhat preachy at times, but is still good. Three stars.
The prints used for these DVD are in excellent condition for their age, with only an occasional speck or mark.

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