Outer Limits (Original Series) - Why Rereleased? (1 Viewer)

[RoyM]

Wow, that's bad news, Doug...

I wonder if the problems are limited to certain run of sets then, since this has been released for a few years. If it had been a pervasive problem since the set was initially released, there would surely have been hue and cry over this by now. Perhaps it is limited to the re-release (and price dropped) sets? Could this have been a single bad run from one of MGM's production facilities?

My replacement copy has re-shipped from DDD in the last few days. I'll report back after I get it and check it out, but I'm not encouraged.

 

[Jack Briggs]

I bought both seasons upon their initial release (a year apart). None of the discs is unreadable on any of my players.

 

[Jim.Stokes]

Sci Fi has been running mini marathons every Friday night of the later run episodes (1995-2002), I set up a series recording on my Comcast DVR, and they play somewhere between 10-15 episodes in a row sometimes. It catches an episode every now and then on Fox too.

 

[Doug Otte]

Roy, that's what I'm thinking, and I almost decided to just return it for something else and buy it again in 6 months or so. By then, I would hopefully safely get a fresh crop. However, I'm stubborn, so I decided to try again. Let us know how your replacements work.

doug

 

[RoyM]

Doug (and anyone else who's interested):

I finally received my replacement copy yesterday. First thing I did was check Disk 2, Side B and sure enough, it does not work. Looking at the surface of the disk, it has a strange murky appearance, sort of like the "coffee-ringing" we're so used to seeing on many disks, but much worse. It almost appears as if the substrate of the disk has melted or was ruined in someway during manufacturing.

In any case, there is now no doubt in my mind that there were large scale manufacturing defects with this set, probably in one of the more recent production runs that is now just getting into circulation. I don't know if MGM is yet aware or can be made to do something about this, since it seems that the problem may be flying under the radar for the moment.

I contacted DDD again via their telephone CS, and they said they would actually check the next replacement copy before they shipped it to me. If some of you are having problems getting a good replacement copy from them, you can try going that route. I'm not sure how much good it will do if they have a bunch of bad copies, but I'm taking one more shot before giving up.

 

[Doug Otte]

Thanks, Roy. DDD just put my 3rd set in the mail today. I'll report back after I get it.

The e-mail I got from MGM a few weeks ago said they weren't aware of a widespread problem. Take that with a grain of salt, if you wish.

One thing bugs me: on my first set, all sides of all discs played on my old (1999?) Toshiba, but I had the problems on my new Pioneer 59AVi. So I started thinking (there's always a first time, right?): what is most obviously different about these players? The Pioneer plays DVD-A, but the Toshiba doesn't. Maybe that affects it being able to play problem DVD-Vs (although this is the first time any disc won't play on it). So, when I get the replacement, I'm going to try switching off the DVD-A readability to see if that makes a difference.

Doug

 

[Doug Otte]

Another unfortunate update:

Side A of disc 2 in my 3rd set is still bad. Switching off the DVD-A option didn't matter. This time, I wrote another e-mail to MGM and gave all the details, asking if they'd replace just the bad disc for me. They're slow in responding, but if I don't hear from them in a few days I'll return the set to DDD and ask for something else instead. I've had my eye on the Joan Crawford collection, and a few other noirs as well.

Doug

 

[Doug Otte]

Wow! That was fun - searching through all the old threads to find this antique.

The reason I'm resurrecting this one is that, after having bad luck with the original Season 2 OL DVDs, I took a chance on the new reissue. If you're unfamiliar with it, they chopped Season 1 into 2 separate boxes, and put Season 2 into a 3rd box set. The art is different, but the disc contents and layout are exactly the same. I spent $16 for Season 2 during Deep Discount's recent sale - half what the original Season 2 cost! The only error is the listing of the discs and episodes on the box - it appears they planned to put everything on 2 discs instead of 3. When they later changed their minds and kept the same 3-disc layout as the original, they corrected the listings on the cases for each disc, but left the wrong info on the outer box.

And, the good news is: all the discs appear to work in my players.

Doug

 

[michael_ks]

I have to admit I was a bit tempted to purchase vol. 3 after reading your post. But then I read a review on Amazon which stated that S2 was defective for him and both "I, Robot" and "The Inheritors Pt. 1" will not play on the reissue (exactly my problem on the older set).

 

[RoyM]

I did pick up the new Volume 3 re-release, hoping to replace the defective Original Series, Season two release of a few years back that I (as well as many others) was saddled with for the last few years. And sure enough, the infamous bad Side A of Disk Two issue was present on the new Volume 3 release I got as well. Needless to say, this sent me into a fit of apoplexy.

But I did take a chance and return it for exchange (to Columbia House). Luckily, the second copy I got was defect free and played fine - unlike the situation with the original Season Two release which I exchanged six times and got a defective copy every time.

So thankfully it does appear that there are some good copies of the Volume 3 release out there, for anyone who has been suffering with the defective Season two releases. You may have to go through a return process again ("sigh"), but there is some possibility of getting this annoying situation corrected after all.

 

[Ron68]

I bought all 3 volumes of the re-release in a bundle pack sale on Amazon not too long ago but I haven't got around to playing any of them yet. Now I'm worried, guess I'll check them out soon.

 

[Tim Tucker]

I consider myself lucky then. I bought the original releases, and just finished off the lot. All 49 episodes played without any problems.

 

[Sam Favate]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the problem with the original discs only an issue with some players?

 

[redbird]

I too bought the show a few years back and it played fine the first couple of times. Then I had a disc problem-freezing on the "Fun and Games" ep and its counterpart on the other side ("The Chameleon") from Season 1. UGH!

I ended up buying a replacement for that disc when the show was reissued and it plays fine. What irked me most about this reissue was the fact that it was double sided-again! I would have rebought the whole show had it come out on single sided discs but I guess I'll have to be satisfied with this silly reissue. At least the discs are identical to the originals, which was a somewhat pleasant surprise.

 

[Ron68]

I have only one complaint about these sets, so far. I hate the way the discs are labeled, I can't tell which side is which. I'm only on disc 1 of Vol. 2 and each disc I've put in my player has come up as side 2, I want to watch these in order of airing, so I have to keep ejecting the discs and flipping them over. I took the disc and placed it in the machine exactly how I removed it from of the case. Usually these double-sided discs are put in these cases with side one is facing down.

Usually these discs are labeled side A and B. Warner Bros prints a label around the center ring on one side and usually the non labeled side is side B. I wish whoever produced these Outer Limits discs had made it clear which side was which. Other than that, the sets are playing well. I really enjoyed "The Invisibles" and the "Zanti Misfits" the most. I didn't care for "Zzzzz", it practically put me to sleep.

 

[michael_ks]

Certainly one of the weaker episodes of S1, but the sight of Joanna Frank (the 'Bee Girl') never fails to hold my rapt attention.

 

[Ron68]

I had to return my Volume 3 set because the episode "Behold, Eck!" wouldn't play, it kept freezing up throughout the episode, it was unwatchable. The next episode "Expanding Human" kept freezing periodically. I was surprised Amazon replaced the set since I had it so long. They sent me all 3 Vol.s, I did buy them in a bundle sale, so I just swapped out the discs that messed up and kept the original 2 Vol.s that I had received. I returned the other 2 unopened, I didn't want to have to rewatch all of season 1 again, especially when I knew my sets worked fine, only had problems with discs in Vol. 3. I checked out every episode on my replacement discs and they all appear to be working fine.

I must say I'm enjoying the shows in season 2 a lot more than season 1. Soldier is by far my favourite episode of the series, Eck was great too. I rewatched Soldier and Cold Hands, Warm Heart with William Shatner and they both held up well.

 

[Ockeghem]

I had to replace this series three times before I got a copy that plays without any difficulties. I believe it was a particular run (or runs?) of these that was the problem. When I waited six months and purchased them at another outlet, I finally got a copy that worked without a hitch. But since this is just about my all-time favorite show, it was a bit touch-and-go there for a while. I've since played every episode at least twice, and all is well. I even kept a written record of which episodes I played, the discs these were on, and the number of times I played them.

 

[Ockeghem]

Ron68:
Although I love just about each and every episode from this series, I thought I'd add that my favorites are probably Don't Open Till Doomsday, The Architects of Fear, Nightmare, and The Mutant. The music and sound effects from this series (Frontiere et al.) are astonishing. It's scary how integral these are to the overall viewing experience. On other Boards, I've gone into great detail about this facet of the show. The music has intrigued me for years.

 

[michael_ks]

In my opinion Frontiere's music in S1 has never been bested in the realm of dramatic television. Upon first hearing his many haunting, minimalist-styled and often atonal cues decades ago, well they haven't left me to this day. In the first three episodes you cited, the dramatic punch and high quality of the segments owe a great deal to his original compositions. Mr. Frontiere could have hands down received an Emmy for his music, if the people who vote on such things had any idea what OL was about.