One Step Beyond -- Restored! (1 Viewer)

See the announcement from TVShowsonDVD.com . . . .
One Step Beyond DVD news: Announcement for One Step Beyond - The Official 1st Season | TVShowsOnDVD.com
Honestly, after the multiple public domain releases of OSB with as many as two-thirds of this series getting released by companies like Alpha Video, Mill Creek Entertainment and many others, I thought that this series would probably never get an official release . . . . but here it is. What a pleasant surprise!

That's incredible news, Bob! I never purchase any of the PD releases myself, but I do fondly recall John Newland's work on OSB so I'll be looking forward to this.

Personally, I think they're taking a risk with this, but I suppose there are many, many fans who are willing to double and even triple dip by now.

michael_ks said:

. . . . . I suppose there are many, many fans who are willing to double and even triple dip by now.

Click to expand...

Count me among this group!

How many seasons did this show run?

My good friend Harry told me about this impending DVD release over a month ago and I personally have been patiently waiting the momentous news of this which has finally happened.

I honestly couldn't be happier about this as I am a devout ONE STEP BEYOND (ABC 1959-61) fan myself and quite frankly I think it will do exceedingly well.

We previously had a lengthy and indepth discussion on this very topic in this very discussion forum and I can't help but feel that someone at Paramount caught wind of it and was inspired to move ahead on a truly important DVD release.

More than anyone could know!

And we are talking about (if I understand correctly) a full restoration job here.

These classic genre shows are always BIG sellers with an established market and will be remembered long after most of these tired sitcoms and drama shows have gone by the wayside.

Bring on ONE STEP BEYOND!

Jeff T.

And the reported running time of 561 minutes means each episode should run a full 25 1/2 minutes -- fantastic news.

When my local UHF station ran ONE STEP BEYOND some years back, the episodes were cut to 22 minutes (and lousy prints, too).

Not too worried about Paramount doing a music replacement here ... Harry Lubin's classic theme and underscore just HAS to be intact -- doesn't it?

THIS caught me very flat-footed! Seems to me that CBS/P is moving heaven and earth to get back on the fan's Christmas card list and this is a big step in the right direction.

I've honestly never seen an episode, but am willing to try this on a blind buy based on reputation and word of mouth and hey, we want CBS/P to finish this.

Good lord, between Lucy, Bonanza and OSB and Shout!, this is getting expensive for classic TV.

I'm also psyched about this news. I bought a PD set of this a few years ago, but found the jumpy, blurry prints too distracting from the show to be able to watch it. I think it should do pretty well, since the list price won't be too high, and it will appeal to people who've exhausted The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. I'm very happy to see CBS doing another black & white show!

I'm more interested in seeing NEXT STEP BEYOND released myself

Superb news of a more simple presented horror, I prefer it to the streamlined "Twilight Zone".

Some well-timed good news, this.

Thanks, for the heads up Bob (and Dave)!

I still recall seeing some of the original broadcasts as "ALCOA PRESENTS: ONE STEP BEYOND" all those years ago. And once these shows hit syndication, boy did the prints deteriorate quickly. I remember them running on a local UHF station with prints just as miserable and choppy as the public domain stuff out there now.
This is most welcome news - and finally official. I don't consider it any kind of double or triple dip, since the existing prints out there are so bad that people just haven't actually SEEN these episodes.
ONE STEP BEYOND was definitely a "goosebump" deliverer as some of these shows scared the bejeezus out of this impressionable 10-12 year old! If the stories weren't enough to do it, Harry Lubin's theme would get me every time.
I can't wait to see the restored prints on these - and I'd love it if the original "Alcoa" elements were left in place, but I fear that's too much to hope for. It's more likely that we'll get some kind of modern re-do of the opening/closing sequences that will eliminate the "Alcoa" stuff, or things will still be choppy.
Harry

I agree, it would be nice if the original Alcoa Presents was retained. If not, the next best thing would be the openings from teh original syndication run (i.e. not any kind of a modern re-do, please).

AndyMcKinney said:

any kind of a modern re-do, please).

Click to expand...

I was thinking along the lines of a CGI recreation of the original, just to smooth it out. The edits in the openings that are found on the public domain versions were done to eliminate the "Alcoa" elements, announcements, etc. As I recall, they used to have John Newland himself almost seamlessly introduce the first Alcoa commercial in the network days. It was all integrated into the openings, not unlike the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse stuff.
A number of series on DVD have had reconstructed opening credit sequences - sometimes for expediency of not having to restore the same frames over and over again (e.g. THE FUGITIVE, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE) - sometimes just to present it without the commercial integration (e.g. BEWITCHED).
Harry

Just so you'll know, guys...when the Sci-Fi Channel ran this series in the 1990s, WorldVision Enterprises (the then-owners of the series) created a brand-new opening and closing titles sequence using CGI animation, done as if the series had continued on through the 1990s, plus a new synth-pop theme song to boot. If CBS does use this title sequence...I'll be darned.

Hmmm...This press release lists 22 episodes in the first season, yet the old stand-by book FANTASTIC TELEVISION by Gerani & Shulman lists 30 episodes in the first season.
Which one is correct?
Harry

This seemed an appropriate time to add the following to this thread. It's such a gorgeous theme, with a very haunting melody and a truly compelling harmonic progression.
Incidentally, I will be picking these up as they are released.
http://www.televisiontunes.com/One_Step_Beyond_-_Ending.html