SUSPENSE and STUDIO ONE ANTHOLOGY (1 Viewer)

[Hollywoodaholic]

I have the Studio One set and the scripts and the acting are good enough to distract you from the limited quality of the kinescope video quality. It's ironic that television, in it's primitive infancy featured content that was so sophisticated and intelligent. Which is the direct opposite of today: unbelievable sophistication in the visual presentation, but dumbed down short-attention span theater (generally speaking).

 

[Doug^Ch]

Suspense never fails to make me smile every time I sit down to watch it. The video quality is very acceptable considering that some of it dates as far back as 1949. The Autolite commercials with Rex Marshall are worth the price of the sets alone.

I just finished watching episode entitled the Spider from the third set last night. How is this for a plot: A woman on her honeymoon is saved from having her head cut off and shrunken (method: skull opened, brains removed, and packed with hot sand) by a blind Colonel Sanders look alike. She is only saved from this fate by her desperate fear of giant spiders. I could not help but laugh at this episode when the spider descended on to her face from above while she was immobilized but fully cognizant. This episode is not really representative of the rest of the series, but there is plenty of good stuff there and some great guest stars show up from time to time.

 

[MattPeriolat]

I would agree with that sentiment. The only show to come out of this decade that I would put in the same classic catagory as ILL and TTZ so far is Lost and I know I may catch some heck for that, but my opinion.

I've checked out DVD talk and I'm leaning toward Studio One as my next TV on DVD buy, assuming I can get the cash.

 

[Rob_Ray]

From a technological standpoint, it's ironic, but if you think about it, overall it really isn't. In television's infancy the viewing audience skewed more toward the upper classes since they could best afford the latest technology. Television didn't reach its maximum penetration of the market until much later.

 

[Bob Hug]

May I also suggest Stephen Bowie's informative article on "Studio One." Stephen posts here from time to time and is wealth of information when it comes to the early years of television.

Studio One The Classic TV History Blog

and his follow-up article . . . .


http://classictvhistory.wordpress.co...om-the-studio/

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

True.

HBO and pay cable (AMC) are probably now the equivalent of that more exclusive subset that used to be those who could afford a television. So that's where you find the headier stuff. But Lost, as mentioned, is a pretty good example of a current show that gets high marks for both sophisticated technical presentation and elevated food for thought (with lots if arcane literature references).