The Show
The original debut of The Twilight Zone predates me, so I can only imagine the profound impact that this weekly fantasy anthology had upon a captivated America. Unafraid to veer into comedy or hardcore science-fiction, creator/head writer Rod Serling crafted his iconic show for viewers of his era: simpler, more innocent, folks who wouldn't guess the surprise ending. I think people were also a little more patient in 1959-1960, as the dialogue-driven tales seem palpably unhurried in their explorations of universal human drama.
In Season 1 we note the more conspicuous presence of Serling himself, voiceover host to bookend the stories but also intermittently narrating throughout. This freshman assemblage represents some of the series' best, populated by disillusioned Mad Men, living dolls, deals with the devil, alien invasions, slick pitchmen, and the last man on Earth who'd be content to spend the rest of his life reading, if only his library card hadn't been stamped in... The Twilight Zone.
The Picture
New 1080p transfers have been created from the 35mm negative film elements which passed through the Twilight Zone cameras, way back when, Grain is quite faint and the 4:3 black-and-white image is remarkably free of distractions, just a little negative dirt which appears as tiny white dots. The reach-out-and-touch detail in the textures is incredible, and gone is the softness we're used to seeing in decades of TV airings. There's a lovely sharpness to the grass, leaves on the trees, individual drops of water from a sprinkler. I can hardly believe how good this show looks on Blu-ray.
The Sound
Remastered from the original magnetic soundtracks, The Twilight Zone is presented in uncompressed PCM 2.0 mono, both in its original quality and in a highly recommended restored form. The restored track exhibits an enjoyable clarity and punch, at higher overall levels compared to the original. Of course, the musical scores were always one of the show's greatest strengths, and in addition to their better-than-ever presence in the Linear PCM track, they are also available isolated in Dolby Digital for almost all of the 36 episodes. One installment, "Walking Distance," even has an alternate audio mix, also in Linear PCM. Of course we can't compare these to modern multichannel extravaganzas, but the quality is truly outstanding.
The Extras
Much of my amazement at this set is the fact that compelling, previously unreleased bonus materials continue to be unearthed for a TV series every bit of half-a-century old. New for this Blu-ray release is what is considered an unofficial Twilight Zone pilot, "The Time Element," written by Rod Serling and hosted by Desi Arnaz in a now-familiar style. Even the alternate syndication opening/closing is included, and all of it in high definition with Linear PCM audio. The Tales of Tomorrow episode "What You Need" has been recovered as well, for handy comparison to the TZ version. The original, unaired pilot version of "Where is Everybody?" with Rod Serling's pitch to the network/advertisers has also been archived, although this is still standard-def from its earlier discovery.
Nineteen new audio commentaries offer insights from film, TV and music experts as well as an original cast/crew member or two. These join the tracks issued prior on the DVD collection, from the likes of Martin Landau, Rod Taylor, Kevin McCarthy, Earl Holliman and Martin Milner. Some episodes have no accompanying commentary, while others pack as many as three. On-camera and audio-only creator interviews, both vintage and recent are shared here. A total of 18 radio dramatizations of classic Zone tales have also been recorded by some pretty famous contemporary actors.
There are also scads of rare snippets from award shows, original advertising bumpers and much more. The five discs are so densely packed with bonus features that there are menus, sub-menus, and in some cases sub-sub-menus.
Final Thoughts
I find that young people typically embrace The Twilight Zone, again for its relative simplicity and always-resonant lessons and conclusions. Nostalgia is certainly an enticement to pick up this set as well, with stunning audio and video that now far exceeds the first time we tuned into this landmark series.
Product Details
Where to Buy:
Update: The studio sent us these clips from the Blu-ray set that might whet your appetite. Check them out:
Rod Serling Twilight Zone series Sales Pitch PART ONE The Twilight Zone: Season One Blu-Ray ([Pilot Clip 1])
Rod Serling Twilight Zone series Sales Pitch PART TWO The Twilight Zone: Season One Blu-Ray ([Pilot Clip 2])
CLASSIC: Time Enough at last & breaks glasses. The Twilight Zone: Season One Blu-ray ([Time Enough clip])
Where to Buy:
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