One Step Beyond -- Restored! - Page 2

Here's a review.

If the picture & sound are as good as he says (he goes on ... and on ... about how great it looks and sounds), why only a "C+" rating?

When you say "traditional" syndicated opening, do you mean the syndicated opening that dates back to the ''60s (which was shown for decated) or the redone 'modern' one (I think a redone one accompanied Sci-Fi Channel or other airings in the '90s).

One would hope it would, at least, be the 'original' syndicated opening rather than the computer-generated one.

I've now found several online reviews of it ... but none of them mention if the original Harry Lubin background music is intact.  (One reviewer does make note of his theme song, though.)

Can anyone confirm: Original music all there? 

And:  Where can you buy it other than online?  (None of my local Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, Borders, or Barnes & Noble stores are carrying it ... and I'm in a large metropolitan area!  What's up with the poor distribution to stores?)
 

I picked up the ONE STEP BEYOND release today and have had only a moment or two to skim through a few episodes.

Picture quality is amazing - good black & white with rich, deep blacks.  Audio quality has a bit of a splashiness to it, not uncommon for something of this age.

The main title sequence is the one common in syndication, with Newland's standard intro followed by the starfield, the descending chords in the music as "ONE" "STEP" "BEYOND" appears.

The first disc contains a bonus section that includes a promo, the original Alcoa opening, and a title sequence for the 1990's version.

I managed to check out some end credits.  Most seem intact with a noticeable edit in the flow of the music.  I don't recall if there was some "Alcoa" element there that may have been edited out.  One end credit screen faded a bit early and went to the CBS/Paramount logo screen.

As far as I can tell at this point, and I really haven't watched much at all, Harry Lubin's score is intact.

For the record, I found the set at one of my local Best Buy stores.  Not all in the area were listing it in the online inventory, but about half of the stores around here had it listed.

Harry

Thank you for the advance notification of just what can be expected Harry!

I received word yesterday that my copy has been shipped which means it will likely arrive sometime later today.

It really sounds exciting that this exeptional anthology dramatic tv series will be in superior condition much more than we have been generally accustomed to seeing.

Well, season two (1959-60) of ONE STEP BEYOND anyone?

Jeff T.

Today, in addition to the pilot, I watched the episode entitled "Premonition."  It seems that this is one that stuck in my mind so many years ago, dealing with a young girl who "sees" a chandelier falling on her as she dances underneath it.  Somehow that image stuck with me, and I recalled it while watching THE AVENGERS "Death's Door", dealing with a similar calamity.

The picture quality was just stunning, looking crisp and as though it had been filmed yesterday.  The young actress playing the child version of the main character turned out to be Beverly Washburn, who had quite a child-actress career in the '50s.  She later appeared in STAR TREK as the short-haired ensign who complains of hearing loss in "The Deadly Years."



Here's a screen shot of the "ALCOA PRESENTS" opening:



The pilot episode is presented twice on the first disc.  When you select the episode, you can pick the extended version or the standard-length one.  The standard-length one has had a better restoration done on it, while the extended one is of a lesser quality.

It's a treat to see the "next week" promos at the conclusion of each episode.

Harry

Harry,

Wow, great catch on Beverly Washburn. I will have to look for that if I ever see this episode.

I don't own the restored episodes, but I do enjoy my Mill Creek set.

Incidentally, I own just about every episode of The Avengers. "Death's Door" is easily a favorite of mine.

Your mentioning the episode "Premonition" brought to mind the episode of the same name ("The Premonition") from the original The Outer Limits. And that too featured a child actress in it -- although she was moving at a much slower rate of time for quite a bit of the episode!

Don't walk, RUN to your nearest retailer or online site and grab this first-season.  The quality difference between this new official release and the Mill Creek "mess" is far greater than you can imagine.

This set is expensive.  Make no mistake about it.  I paid around $40 to get it on day-of-release at the local Best Buy.  For 22 half-hour episodes, that's pretty pricey.  But considering the alternative of being stuck with the PD releases for the rest of my life - it's worth whatever they want to charge to my way of thinking.

Harry

Harry,

"I can imagine quite a lot." ;)

Seriously, it sounds like quite a set.  I just dropped around $500 on the Beatles music, so I'm taking a break from purchases for a while.  So maybe a very slow jaunt to my nearest retailer will suffice.

I have put this one on my list.  I love the episodes of One Step Beyond I have seen thus far.

And now, borrowing a tad from Mr. Serling --

Submitted for your approval:

http://www.televisiontunes.com/One_Step_Beyond_-_Ending.html

[That was odd.  I currently have Love Me Do playing, and that track and the theme to One Step Beyond are both G-mode works -- the former in major, and the latter in minor.  Luckily, I caught the One Step Beyond theme in time before there was an inevitable clash of the blues. ;)]

I hear you.  I'm in the same "Beatles boat" - but I also bought the proverbial bullet and grabbed ONE STEP BEYOND too.  In fact, my mono box set arrived yesterday, the same day that I picked up ONE STEP BEYOND.  Since I'd already heard some samples of the mono set, it wasn't as imperative to open.  Nonetheless, I did indeed open that mono set this morning after looking at a couple of ONE STEP BEYOND episodes!

Harry

Harry,

Is there a definitive compendium you would recommend on One Step Beyond?  I own several companions/compendiums detailing other series (The Outer Limits / Schow and various Trek books come to mind), and wouldn't mind obtaining one of the better ones for One Step Beyond.

I watched The Dead Part Of the House recently.  It was neat seeing some TOS alumni (Joanne Linville); I always relish seeing characters I recognize from other shows, particularly in their earlier work.  

I've not found one, but then I haven't researched it much.  The closest thing I have as a compendium for ONE STEP BEYOND is the chapter in FANTASTIC TELEVISION.  I suppose there could be some online sites that would be more detailed than that.

Harry

McFarland and Company has published a book about the series, but it's a bit pricey:

Analytical Guide to Television's One Step Beyond, 1959-1961

To be honest I have all the definitive seasons of Twilight Zone and the Complete Outer Limits Set, and so far all releases of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and I have never heard of One Step Beyond! It was odd... I spotted it on the shelf at Best Buy and looked it over, then went over to their APPLE area and looked it up on imdb.com and it got my attention, so I then noticed that WalMart.com had it listed around 34.86 (BB 39.99) and took it to custumer service and told them I wanted to match the WalMart price they just looked it up and matched it.

I watched the EXT. Pilot Bride Possessed and it was decent. I didn't hate it. I will buy the last two seasons if paramount releases them as actual seasons. Hopefully it sells well enough.

Many thanks. The customer reviews of the work seem positive.

Thanks as well, Harry-N.

I also noticed that Paramount uses a blurb from that book's author, John Kenneth Muir, on the cover sticker. 

     The extended pilot looks to be from 16mm while the rest of the episodes look to be remastered 35mm.

The only difference is a longer and different Newland introduction, after seeing that bit, I suggest going with the remastered version when watching.  

Newland's longer introduction is somewhat remeniscent of Rod Serling's introduction to the CBS network executives, where he describes different scenarios of what could end up in upcoming shows.  In Newland's case, he seems to be telling us which stories of the supernatural could have been chosen for the pilot.

Harry

I am still hoping for further seasons of this series, I had never ever heard of it until I stumbled across it at Best Buy and decided to give it a try. I think the set was worth every penny. No longer sitting in public domain hell.

If you like Twilight Zone, Outer Limits type shows Please don't pass up purchasing this set.

Maybe they will announce another season for this Fall/ Halloween season.

It's a great series for sure, hope to see more of it soon! I prefer it myself to both Outer Limits and Twilight Zone. 

     Quote:

I hate to be the one to say this but... Don't hold your breath.

Gary "my crystal ball does not see a second season in the near future, unfortunately" O.

Well, maybe there'll be some news closer to Halloween, I won't hold it any longer than that... :-o

I would feel it both odd and a cheat by Paramount if they hook people on buying the first season and then don't release the rest.  I too am hoping for Season Two to be out soon!  Any word yet?

 

Eric

Yeah, I'm hoping too they haven't forgotten it completely but maybe saved it for this Halloween as I think Paramount's not really having an awful lot of classic genre (television) titles in their possession, so here's a chance I don't think they should pass up being that they own this popular show. Hopefully it's been remastered/HD-transferred.

 

Gary, I hope you are wrong and they release Second Season by October.  There will be a lot of unhappy people who put down a high price for the Official First Season only to get ripped off unable to complete a series they started!  It isn't like they didn't sell any and if supply and demand are an issue, press few for the few who want it or... go the alternate route of burn on demand like the Warner Archives.

 

Eric

 

I'm hoping for a crack in the crystal ball as well. I'm not sure what CBS/P is thinking on this one, but I'm not quite convinced they have given up. It is worth commenting that A episode of One Step Beyond will be included on the Blu-Ray for Season One of Twilight Zone, so maybe they're hoping for a spike in sales based of BR sales of Zone to get another season out for One Step Beyond.

 

Or I may have just hit my head very hard.

Well, CBS has been stretching out the classic tv releases, so who knows when the next OSB release might be - look at the gap between seasons 4 and for of Have Gun,Wll Travel.
 

I looked at the Blu-Ray specs of Twilight Zone and I don't see any One Step Beyond episode on that list.  Which episode was rumored to be included?

OK, time to admit a mis-read that I should have checked on BEFORE I dd the posts -  it's not One Step Beyond, it's Tales of Tomorrow included with Twilight Zone Blu-Ray. My apologies for the mistake. Anyway, it's a Tales of Tomorrow episode called What You Need.