The Twilight Zone-Update? (1 Viewer)

[pitchman]

Wow! I had no idea this came with the book, too. This $62.99 purchase is looking better and better... and I already have a copy of the book! BTW, if you have not read the Twilight Zone Companion, you are in for a real treat! It is a fun read and a great resource.

 

[Dane Marvin]

Saw it early today at a B&M as well (thanks, Dave J ) along with the '85 Season 1. Bought the '85 season 1 because I already have this one supposedly arriving at my house tomorrow. I looked it the set though and two seconds in the door from work will be tearing into that thing. Can't wait to re-read the TZ Companion as well, even though Zicree tends to rip into a lot more episodes than you'd think. There are some pretty damn good eps that it seems he didn't like that much or expected way too much from considering the show was already way ahead of its time. Incidentally, the last time I read the book was from the library. I lost it and wound up having to pay for it. Now the circle will be complete.

Psyched about the short wait for season 2, which is the 2nd best season of the series (I suppose an argument could be mounted that it's the best, but season 1 owns in my opinion).

Looking forward to "Walking Distance"!

 

[Linda Thompson]

On a side note... Don't forget Sci-Fi Channel's annual New Years tradition -- the TZ marathon. The commercials are touting "uncut"...

Here's this year's lineup (Eastern time zone):

http://tinyurl.com/4ptlz

(I hope the link to the grid works. It works for me, but I have the proper cookie on my system...)

 

[ScottR]

All I can say is WOW! I perused this set, and watched an episode "The Big Tall Wish" and this set is fantastic....the episodes are crisp and clear, as is the audio. They also included the original bumpers between commercial breaks, and many episodes include promos for such CBS shows as "Wanted Dead or Alive" as well as the original closing logo with the CBS eye wallpaper background, followed by the CBS logo at the end. I wish all of the "Next Week on" promos could have been found but all the ones I have seen that don't include the video portion at least have audio. Don't pass this set up....it's wonderful!!!!!

 

[Dave Jessup]

I'm delighted with this set too. Picture/sound is as good as a 45-year-old TV series can be.

You'll be interested in Rod Serling's critique of "Walking Distance" when you choose his "audio lecture" sound option. After years of believing it was among his favorite episodes... well, I'll say no more for now.

One can take into account this was 1975, sixteen years after production, and the man was looking at it from a viewpoint of one who'd (in most cases) not had satisfying success in his work for some years.

All the goodies in this set will be sparking discussion and debate for some time, I'm sure.

 

[Dane Marvin]

Just opened it. Came to check in with everyone to see what's up before I pop in the first disc.


What, Dave??? I have to listen to this feature before I do anything else. "Walking Distance" has been my favorite episode for about 5 years now, and it's huge with the fans and critics alike. Are you telling me Rod didn't like the way it turned out????

*runs to pop disc 1 in*

 

[Craig Beam]

I paid $103.99 for the set at Best Buy, which has to be the most I've ever spent for a single DVD purchase. I'm not bothered in the least by this, however... The Twilight Zone is far and away my favorite TV series of all time. I haven't had a chance to check the discs out yet, but I'm quite impressed with the packaging... Wow, what a great set. I've heard great things about the Seinfeld sets (the general consensus seems to be that they're the pinnacle of TV on DVD), but I'm thinking these just might even top those. Damn, what a great day for Twilight Zone fans!

I didn't pick up the 80's TZ set, but I'm sure I'll get it at some point. There were enough gems in there to justify the purchase.

 

[Michael Elliott]

If anyone wants to sell Vol. 2-5 of the previous sets then send me an e-mail please.

 

[Rick P]

did they manage to get "The Time Element" into this set? Or will that be later? or not at all??

 

[ScottR]

"The Time Element" is not in this set, as far as I know. I wish they would include it at some point, though. Is it available anywhere else?

 

[Carlos Garcia]

Am I the only one here who plans on passing up on the season that had the hour long episodes (season 4)? I love this show, but to be honest, I'm not really a fan of most of the hour long episodes. I'm sure most fans think the same way...Say what you want about the earlier release of the show on DVD, but they were pretty smart in releasing all of the hour long episodes bundled up with the half hour ones. My concern is that season 4 sales may not be good enough to warrant a season 5 release, and ALOT of season 5 episodes were classics. Deep down, I'm almost praying they skip from the season 3 release directly to season 5 and release season 4 last.

 

[Craig Beam]

Season 4, while certainly not up to the standards set by the previous seasons, certainly had its share of great episodes:

In His Image
Death Ship
On Thursday We Leave For Home
Jess-Belle
Miniature
The Bard

I doubt that “most fans” think as you do, Carlos. Yes, season 4 was a step down… but frankly, season 5 had WAY more clunkers (but I’m certainly buying it!). I think we’re all planning on buying all 5 sets…. Right gang?

The initial press about these new sets specified that ALL FIVE seasons were being prepped, with plans to release them every three months. I’ve heard nothing to indicate that the remaining seasons will materialize only if a certain sales mark is achieved. I have faith that Image/CBS will deliver the entire series.

 

[TravisR]

Yeah, there's some less than great episodes in Season Four but I'd break out in hives if I had a hole in my collection

At the very least, the extras should be interesting even if the episodes aren't the best.

 

[Carlos Garcia]

Hmmm, I don't know Craig. Do you really think more fans remember "In His Image", "Death Ship", "On Thursday We Leave For Home", "Jess-Belle", "Miniature", and "The Bard" more than they do "Steel", "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", "Night Call", "The Jeopardy Room", "A Kind of a Stopwatch" or "Living Doll" (aka Talking Tina)? Maybe it's just me, I don't know. I just don't feel the 1 hr format worked on the Twilight Zone as well as it did with the Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Anyway, I hope season 4 sells well, because I'll be looking forward to season 5.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey Craig-

You said you purchased the set at Best Buy for $103.99. Is this on sale this week as BB usually does for release week? I could not find any info on this price on the BB site. Thanks!

Nelson

 

[Carlos Garcia]

Does anyone know if the old Image Entertainment DVD sets of the Twilight Zone contain any extras whatsoever that won't make their way to this new "Definitive Edition" set? The reason I ask is that there were alot of extras on those sets as well, like music only tracks, show bumpers, etc. and I wouldn't want to get rid of all those volumes unless I know for sure this new edition will also include every single extra found on those discs as well. Anyone?

 

[Paul_Scott]

Nelson, i was checking on this this afternoon and when they scanned the price in the store it came up $103.xx, also no sale signs on the display.

i wish amazon would get off its ass and get my set shipped.
usually they are pretty good about making deliveries coincide with street dates, but this ones gonna be way off.

and yeah Carlos, i'll be skipping season 4 too.
in fact, after season 3 i may just move on altogether.
there are definitely some good eps in S5, but it will take me quite a while to work thru the first three sets of these.
shows with a non serial format tend to cause my interest/attention to wax and wane precipitously.

i'm also going to wait for the next DDD 20% off sale to pick up S2 and 3 (hopefully it will be just after 3 streets).

 

[Carlos Garcia]

If anyone is interested, the best price I've found for the season 1 set was at www.coconuts.com. There it only costs $69.99, but that's not all, if you type in "FIRSTPURCHASE" in the coupon code box (and it is indeed your first purchase there), they give you 10% off! That's a total price of $62.99, which I don't think anyone else can beat at the moment. I just ordered my set last night.

 

[Dane Marvin]

My concern is that season 4 sales may not be good enough to warrant a season 5 release, and ALOT of season 5 episodes were classics.

Not a chance in hell. Image will deliver all 5 sets. It's not like they're Warner or Fox and have super-high expectations for everything they make and can just move on to the next project. This is one of their bread & butter properties. They're probably already working on the extras for season 5.

Also, there's no way I'll be skipping any of these sets. Season 4, for what it lacked, is still worth owning. "On Thursday We Leave for Home" (with James Whitmore) is among the best episodes of the entire series. "Death Ship" was like an episode of "The Outer Limits" and, therefore, a real treat. The music in it is excellent. "Miniature" is saved by excellent acting from Robert Duvall (please do a commentary!) and Martin Balsam in "The New Exhibit" has always been one I enjoy. I also have fond childhood memories of "The Valley of the Shadow", as flawed as it is (especially in its resolution). Nope, can't miss it. Definitely a good set for Image to put "The Time Element" on just to get skeptics to buy the set. Mwahaha!

On the subject of "The Time Element" though: it may be lost for all we know. All you can find about it on the 'net is that it's rarely been seen since it aired. If it isn't lost, it isn't a real TZ episode anyway, so we're not allowed to curse Image if they are unable to secure the rights (or even find it for that matter). I'd love to see it though!

Season 5 definitely had some clunkers and fizzled out with the final episode "The Bewitchin' Pool", which featured the same 3- or 4-minute scene at both the end and beginning as well as terrible dubbing over the little girl's lines half the time (with the voice of "Talky Tina", nonetheless). But those who skip season 5 will certainly be missing out on two of the most talked about episodes in the series: "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" with Shatty and "Living Doll" with Telly Savalas. "A Kind of Stopwatch" is also great, due in large part to the fantastic characterization of McMurtry. Like many TZ episodes though, it had its flaws and total "WTF?" moments, like when McMurtry first discovers how to freeze time and winds up freezing a bunch of stock footage, including some scenes that would not have taken place even remotely close to the time period in which he lived.

 

[Lane F.]

Can anyone who has gotten the new Season 1 set let us know how the picture quality compares to the older version? Thanks.