The Twilight Zone Season 4 and 5 (1 Viewer)

[Craig Beam]

But Nelson, this isn't an older title. It was released TODAY. Plus, CostCo actually put out the last two sets (seasons 3 and 4) BEFORE street date. And I got season 1 on release date at Best Buy (if memory serves, they only had three or four copies).

I thought today would be a sure thing.... But damn, I was wrong. We checked two different CostCos and came up empty (they don't even show the set in their system). I was REALLY looking forward to completing the set today...

A ray of hope! Fry's Electronics usually has just about every DVD known to man. I'm grabbing the wife and heading over there RIGHT NOW.

 

[Nelson Au]

Craig- I meant the original Twilight Zone TV series is not a new production, something many youth of today would likely not know, have interest in or regard as some old black and white show.

 

[TravisR]

Actually the Best Buy near me is the one place that had it out early (but for $88). That lack of knowledge of the title is what let it get out early.

Over at AICN, they have a review of the Season Five set.
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=22087

 

[DanMel]

I think just about everyone that is currently living that have access to Americian TV know what the Twilight Zone was. Now if you are talking other shows from that era such as The Invaders, maybe everyone does not know that show. I was born in 1967 and never heard of that show. However, we are talking the original Twilight Zone with Rod Serling. I have a 10 year old Niece of whom I never mentioned anything Twilight Zone to her. She saw my twilight zone collection on the shelf this Christmas and commented how much she loved that show. There are HUGE marathons run every new years and at other times of the year. It is commented about in hundreds of movies and tv shows. A challenge for you would be to find any 10 people living anywhere in the United States who have not heard of it and get back to me.

Now as for the youth not having any interest in it. I think it is a safe assumption that the Twilight Zone will be looked at 200 years from now with the highest regard as is Shakespere is looked at today. As for any of the shows of today, I don't think so.

Now that this latest offering of the Twilight Zone is complete, lets get on to releasing it all over again in high definition as I will be buying them all over again. This will mark my second time of completing the series as I bought all 45 of the original volumes each month that a new one came out at 17 dollars a pop back in 1999.

 

[Jeff#]

How can a show produced 40+years ago be re-released in high definition??

 

[WillLon]

Black & white film is a high-resolution medium. So high-definition releases of great black & white filmed TV shows is a perfect match.

 

[TravisR]

While I agree that most people will heard of/seen The Twilight Zone, I think Nelson's point was that only classic TV or sci-fi fans are going to be buying these sets. And that's a very small number of DVD buyers.

At the Best Buy near me, they've had three copies of Season Five on the shelf for the last week and they've sold none. I don't think too many people are rushing out to buy a 40 year old TV series especially the kids.

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks Travis, you said it better then me.

 

[Craig Beam]

Still... no... luck... today....

 

[Jeff#]

Color is high-resolution too, but that isn't the point.

Image Entertainment gave us the clearest images possible from the original Twlight Zone film masters. There's no way to enhance those old shows any more than they already are.

A series would have to be filmed or taped in a high-definition process to truly be HDTV. The first 30 years of Saturday Night Live were broadcast in standard NTSC definition. The current 31st season (2005-2006) are all in HDTV and letterboxed as they go out live.

 

[JeffT.]

THE TWILIGHT ZONE definitive edition DVD series is a higher priced (and guality) release targeted primarily at the (more) "serious" collector and it is (somewhat) out of the spending bracket of most (so called) younger consumers.

This may account for its (seemingly) limited sales appeal on some store counters but its Amazon sales rank (especially in Canada) is respectable enough attesting to the likeliness that many series fans are (wisely) taking advantage of the (advance) preorder online discounts.

You get (at least in this particular instance) precisely what you pay for.

Compare this to the generic, domestic 20 dollar DVD releases especially of VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (ABC 1964-68) and THE TIME TUNNEL (ABC 1966-67) where in the case of the latter almost no money was spent on the shoddy and (laughingly) amateurish looking packaging design.

Does 20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment really expect to attract solid sales with this reprehensible eye sore?!

That's probably why the VOYAGE box art hasn't been disclosed as yet at this late date (just a mere month and a half away from its impending release) because Fox is just too plain ashamed to do so (likely due to the derisive criticism it has no doubt already received for THE TIME TUNNEL).

Speaking for myself I don't mind paying extra for a quality definitive edition of THE INVADERS (ABC 1967-68).

And contrary to what some may actually believe THE INVADERS is (still) well known and will (certainly) prove to have (considerable) appeal for the younger generation of SF fan in the 21st Century...much more so than a lot of other (unlikely) tv properties that are continually be suggested in this discussion forum.

Jeff T.

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Jeff#, most of the episodes were shot on 35mm film, which has greater fidelity than HDTV digital tape, although the lighting and lab processing of the early 60s makes the show look 'dated' to some people today. A moving image doesn't have to have originated on HD tape to be shown on HDTV, but as 35mm film is such a high-fidelity format, when transfered properly in high-definition, it can be shown on HDTV and look amazing. This won't be the case with TV shows shot on analogue video.

Many Twilight Zone episodes look like movies, due to being shot on high-quality black and white 35mm by great cinematographers.

So you ask, "How can a show produced 40+ years ago be re-released in high definition?"

The answer is simple: The 35mm film negatives were transfered in high-defintion (1080p) to HD digital tape, cleaned up and authored to DVD in standard defintion. These same hi-def mastertapes could successfully be shown on HDTV and look great - look better than the current DVD editions, in fact as they could - potentially - be shown in true 1080p. The same procedure will be done for films like Citizen Kane, Psycho, Raging Bull, etc.

 

[Mike*SC]

Gordon McMurphy is absolutely right. Anything that currently exists with a resolution as high or higher than HDTV (which is to say, anything filmed on 35mm film or better that still exists in that format) can be released in high def, though obviously not necessarily in the 16x9 format (is that what's hanging you up, Jeff#?).

Of course, it gets more complicated when you're talking about shows shot on film that were transferred to standard def video and then edited as such. In this case, only by going back to the original film (expensive, unlikely, and often impossible) can a true HD master be made. "The Twilight Zone" began and ended on film, so this is not an issue for that show (well, except for the half-dozen episodes shot on video). Pretty much any show shot on film before the mid-80s went through the film process straight through. But there's about a twenty year gap from the mid-80s until (generally) just a couple of years ago when shows shot on film were transferred to video immediately and never went back. Now, generally, shows are shot on hi-def video and stay that way (though some shows are still shot on film, and some are still edited in standard def video).

 

[WillLon]

One thing worth mentioning are those 6 episodes from Season 2 that were shot on videotape -- far from high-def.

The DVD transfers leave alot to be desired in terms of quality. There are quad scratches, horizontal streaks most noticeable at edit points, heavy grain, etc. throughout them. The episode "Static" is an episode that comes to mind as a particular offender.

Restoration like the old b/w Doctor Who episodes released on DVD would be far better.

But this would have cost Image more money for those 6 episodes.

 

[TravisR]

I'm by no means an expert but if the source tapes of the six video TZ episodes look like crap, wouldn't you be at the mercy of that?

 

[Craig Beam]

I imagine some sort of digital restoration could be done to the six videotaped episodes, but at great expense. People already bitch loudly enough about the price of these Definitive sets, so I'd hate to hear the ruckus if Image tacked on an additional ten bucks to cover the cost of further restoring 6 out of 156 episodes (1/26). I'd still pay it, naturally, but some might draw the line. Yes, the videotaped episodes look pretty ratty next to the gorgeous filmed episodes, but it softens the blow (at least for me) that none of those six episodes come anywhere near my top 30 favorite episodes list.

Well... there's "Night of the Meek," isn't there? Hmmmm...

 

[DanMel]

All the shows are currently remastered into High definition and were downgraded to the DVD format for the definitive edition. It will cost Image nothing extra to put these out as they are already done and I would be shocked if these are not some of the very first high def discs released as soon as the industry is ready to start marketing it with players.

I am not quite ready for it yet and can wait as I do not even have a high definition TV. The picture quality is certain to look no better than the dvd releases if viewed on a regular TV set.

 

[Jeff#]

I still don't see how that old a TV show, filmed in 35 millimeter stock -- as beautiful as those digitially reissued film prints are on DVD, can compare to a something filmed on high-definition video / film from this century. Proof of that is director Robert Rodriguez third and last El Mariachi film "Once Upon a Time in Mexico", which was shot on HD videotape and transferred to film.

Maybe some people wouldn't dare to technically compare a classic TV series to any modern feature production, but even 70 mm film outdoes 35 mm.

 

[JeffT.]

You mean to say that amidst all this fine (and welcomed) discussion on THE TWILIGHT ZONE - THE DEFINITIVE EDITION - SEASON FIVE 6-disc box set that nobody here as yet has actually acquired it?

I have an excuse as it isn't released in my region till next week...and even then it will still probably take some time to be shipped to me.

But I definitely do have it on order...for some months now as a matter-of-fact!

Anyways don't let me interrupt the ongoing debate.

Jeff T.

 

[JPCinema]

I picked up my Season 5 boxset yesterday for $79.99 at Tower Records in Chicago.