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Rating: - A comprehensive and most fitting tribute to The Twilight Zone
This 2006 Image Entertainment release of the complete 156 episodes of the original Twilight Zone is a fitting tribute to this remarkable,engaging and classic TV Show.It also could be said that this is everything you ever wanted to know about the show and so much more.With space restrictions I cannot possibly list everything that is available to you but I will highlight some of them for you and hopefully in doing so whet your appetite:All shows have been remastered from the original film elements and look wonderfully crisp and clean throughout,the majority of eps have special features built into them like interviews with various writers and producers,commentaries by actors who appeared in them and isolated music scores,a special features area on the last disc of every season,almost all previews of next weeks' show by Serling have been reinserted into each ep along with the original endings c/w end commercials(!),there are many tv clips showing Rod Serling appearing on other various shows of the times like Jack Benny,Garry Moore,Groucho Marks,etc.,filmed excerpts from a writers quorum he hosted,audio excerpts from a Sherwood Oaks College lecture series,the 1995 Amercian Masters Rod Serling tribute,and on and on.The dearth of material at your disposal within these discs is absolutely astounding and Image has done this series proud and it will be a benchmark that will stand for years to come.
If you own Mark Zichree's wonderful book "The Twilight Zone Companion"(I have the original /82 edition)it is easy to think you "know it all",but let me tell you that is NOT the case.With or without the book there is just so much to see and learn here that you will come away with a whole new understanding and appreciation for not only the series itself but the man behind the show,Mr.Rod Serling.I just finished viewing all the eps and look forward to viewing all the extras(which might take as much time as the shows themsleves!),but I made a slight exception to my rule this time around.I viewed one special feature in the collection which was Serlings' early 60's interview with Mike Wallace.At one point Wallace all confident and pompous tells/asks Serling that he guesses that with the new series coming up(Twilight Zone) he was no longer going to be writing anything important or relevant.I felt like putting my hand through the screen and giving Wallace a shot upside the head.But surprisingly and to his credit,Serling comes back at him and tells him what he thinks of the comment.The interview reveals much of Serling's abilities as a writer,thinker and as a man;in spite of Wallace.
The first three seasons are all half hour shows,the fourth are one hour shows and the fifth went back to a half hour.The fourth season to me tried to emulate The Zone's "rival" "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"(same time frame) but ended up for the most part a little too stretched at times.Openings for the seasons are as follows:1)a barren desert landscape/Dali-esque in look,2)The setting sun,3)The moving spiral,4)the moving clock and 5)The door.
It is certainly true that not every ep is good.There is a wide range of quality in this series running the gamut from excellent to poor.But when the series hit the mark,which it did quite often,it really hit home and stayed in one's memory.Some classics for me are ones such as Time Enough At Last,The Monsters are Due on Maple Street,Walking Distance,Death's Head Revisited,Eye of the Beholder,Living Doll,The Nick of Time,The Masks,You Drive,and so many more.And of course some contain bloopers of which Mark Zichree in his book mentions,but I found a couple not mentioned anywhere.In "Death Ship" there is a main control panel in the background behind the ships' steering controls.About 3/4 the way through you will see a "shoulder"(something dark)suddenly move out from behind the panel and back in.A little later you will see shadows above this area flicker and move around.In "90 Years Without Slumbering" Ed Wynn stars as a grandfather who lives with his pregnant granddaughter and husband and who thinks he must keep winding an old grandfathers' clock or die.The blooper comes when Wynn makes direct reference to the fact that his granddaughter must look after his "grandson".It wouldn't be his grandson but his great-grandson!You will also hear,especially in the first season,some eps that contain the whirring of cameras in the background.I wasn't looking for them,but if you're so inclined,see how many you can find.
Image has put all discs into(I found)very tight and thick plastic holders,which open like pages of a book.I found myself getting a little nervous sometimes taking them out as I couldn't get a proper grip from the outside edges and had to resort to pushing them from the underneath spindle to raise them a little.But after a while I got used to it and never had a slip up.Also long term this is good as you can be confident that these discs will not move around on you if you transport them anywhere.
The packaging is also worthy of note.Each seasons' covers and backs, along with the entire case the set sits into,is slightly holographic in nature and when moved in the right way illicits some pretty neat colours and effects.
All in all this set is every bit worth its' cost.It IS expensive I know and I put off getting this set for all this time because of that.I read the reviews over,finally made the plunge and have not regretted it one iota.This set WILL stand the test of time and it is a great testament to one of the best series ever to air on television.Its themes are Sci-Fi,fantasy,the occult,etc.,but they all give the illusion of reality and come with a patented bizarre twist near the end to send the message home.And don't for a minute think there are no messages in these shows as this genre is the perfect medium to disguise race relations,hatred,conformity and any of a myriad of other foibles of the human condition.But to me this is just the pleasant off shoot of what these shows really are;fabulous and thought provoking entertainment.If you have been holding back getting this set for whatever reasons,let me asure you you will not be disappointed in your purchase.If you have never seen this series,you also will not be disappointed and will enter into a wonderful journey and experience you will never forget.This is one of television's shining moments and we have Rod Serling and company to thank for it.

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