Review of Twilight Zone, The: Season 1

Introduction

This series needs no introduction for anyone who watched the repeats, or perhaps the original transmissions of the groundbreaking show. The short stories on screen are either written by show`s creator Rod Serling or adapted by his staff writers from short stories.

Anyone who has read Astounding Tales or will recognise the format of straightforward narrative twisting into a conclusion that makes you go "oh".

The format was so successful that it ran for five seasons and was revived for another series in the 1980`s and a feature film. But nothing can beat the original which was shown at a time when television was taking over from the cinema.

This was appointment TV.

Episode titles:

Where is everybody?

The pilot episode first shown in 1959 starts with a man who has forgotten his name walking through a town that appears to be deserted.

The star Earl Holliman later Angie Dickinson`s co-star in Policewoman, gives a spirited and interesting commentary. He offers a real meaty insight into what Serling was doing with the series.

One for the Angels,

A mediocre street salesman who is nevertheless adored by children must bargain with death over the life of a child. Veteran Ed Winn (father of Keenan Wynn)plays the salesman who must make the pitch of his life to prevent a death.

Mr. Denton on Doomsday,

Fate steps in and gives the town-drunk a second chance. This western episode features stalwarts of the chaps and chowder; Dan Dureau and Martin Landau with an early performance by Doug Mcclure.

This includes a commentary by Martin Landau.

The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine

A once famous film star spends all day watching her old films longing to be young again. Her business manager tries to get her a film part but she still wants the ingénue parts.

This episode features a still luminous Ida Lupino in this story that owes a little to Sunset Boulevard with a nice twist. Martin Balsam plays her manager.

Walking Distance

A man stops for petrol near his old home town and decides to pay a visit. He learns the hard way that you can`t go home again.

Escape Clause

A hypochondriac makes a deal with the devil but there`s always a loophole in any contract isn`t there?

The Lonely

A man condemned to live on a distant asteroid is given a gift to make his loneliness bearable. Jack Warden stars and it features a very young Jean Marsh(Rose from Upstairs Downstairs).

Time Enough at Last

A hen-pecked husband and harassed myopic bank employee longs for some time to spend reading.

The star Burgess Meredith also gives an interview which is billed as a commentary. It`s rather unsatisfactory as he barely remembers this episode from his busy career.

Perchance to Dream

A man is afraid to go to sleep because he believes he will die. He visits a psychiatrist but why does he recognise the woman on the reception desk?


Judgment Night

It`s 1942 and a man finds himself on the deck of a British ship. It`s lost its convoy and is running the Atlantic blockades alone. There are U-boats around and the man knows that they will be attacked but why does he know so much?

And When the Sky Was Opened

A returning astronaut visits his colleague in hospital. He is convinced there were originally three of them and tells of a night on the town celebrating where astronaut number three simply disappeared…

Written by Serling himself this is an excellent episode and pulls out all the sci-fi stops. Great stuff.

What You Need

A pedlar offers drinkers in a bar only what he believes they need. One man sees this as a money-making opportunity and decides to make use of the pedlar`s strange abilities.

The Four of Us are Dying

A con-man comes into town and uses his unique skills to fool several people but he is too good…

This is another episode using a device that would be picked up by The X Files.


Third From the Sun

With the world on the point of destruction a scientist and his family and friends seek to use a prototype space ship to escape. This tale reflects all the despair and paranoia of late 50`s America and has a special poignant twist.


I Shot an Arrow into the Air

An experimental space-ship is believed lost with all hands after leaving the earth`s atmosphere. Their battle for survival on an apparently barren planet is brutal …but the truth is far worse.

The Hitch-Hiker

A young woman travelling across America in her car keeps seeing the same hitchhiker. She is haunted by a sense of unease-what can he want?

You may see the twist coming but still a nicely set up episode.

The Fever

A couple win a gambling holiday in Vegas. The husband is scathing about the attractions of the place but becomes obsessed by a particular one-armed bandit.

The Last Flight

A young pilot appears on a modern airfield claiming to have entered a cloud in 1917 during a dogfight. He knows a lot about the war and nothing about the future he has landed in.

The Purple Testament

This war-story features Dick York(Bewitched) and William Reynolds.
A man thinks he can read death in the faces of his fellow soldiers.

Elegy

Three twenty-second century men lost in space land on a planet that looks a lot like Earth 200 years in the past. But there`s something very odd about the population.

Mirror Image

A young woman(Vera Miles) is waiting for a bus when she believes she is being haunted by her doppelganger.

Martin Milner her co-star gives a commentary which mainly consists of his film and TV career and where he went on holiday last year. Hey ho.

Great episode-shame about the commentary.

The Monsters are Due on Maple Street

After an apparent meteor strike the neighbours discover quite a few things they don`t like about each other.

A World of Difference

On an ordinary day Arthur Curtis goes to the office. He`s planning a weekend away but as he tries to make a business call someone shout`s "cut". He looks round to find he is on a film set and he is a fading film-star with a reputation for drunkenness.

Howard Duff stars as the man who finds his life is fiction and he prefers it that way.

This is another great concept, offering human drama set within the science fiction base.

Long Live Walter Jameson

A man who lectures in history seems to have some remarkable first hand knowledge for one so young.

Stars Kevin McCarthy who also appeared in The Twilight Zone:The Movie. His most famous film-role is the 1959 version of The Body Snatchers. At the ripening age of 91 he`s still working-no pensions in the U.S.

People Are Alike All Over

A reluctant astronaut meets a new group of people on Mars and soon finds that human nature is the same everywhere.

This stars Roddy McDowall as the uncertain astronaut who is worried about meeting `new people".


Execution

A criminal rescued from the noose in the old west, by a time machine, finds the future offers its own kind of justice.


The Big Tall Wish

A young boy still dreams that he can make it better for an aging punchy fighter. But how can the boy help him if he refuses to believe in wishes?


A Nice Place to Visit

Loser Rocky Valentine finally dies in a gun battle with the cops. Then things start to look up as he meets Pip who offers him the existence he always dreamed of. Surely this must be Heaven but what`s he ever done to deserve this eternal reward?

Nightmare as a Child

A young woman meets a strange child on the stairs and gets the impression she is trying to tell her something. Then a man from her past visits…

A Stop at Willoughby

A stressed executive with a social climbing wife dreams of another time and place. It`s just a stop on his rail route home-except it doesn`t exist…

Another poignant episode set in the modern period. Escape from the `rat-race` is an ongoing theme.

The Chaser

When offered a love potion to secure the girl of his dreams a young man thinks life is working out just fine. But love 24/7 can be wearing; if only there was an antidote.

John McIntire who plays the Professor with the potion became more widely known as black-hearted cowboys in films like Winchester `73 and also spent three years playing Clay Grainger in TV`s "The Virginian".

A Passage for Trumpet

An alcoholic trumpet player finally sells his trumpet gets very drunk and throws himself in front of a truck. Picking himself up he finds himself in a ghost world where no one can see or hear him.

Quincy M.E(Jack Klugman) stars as the trumpeter with the chance to try again.

Mr. Bevis

An unconventional man meets his guardian angel and gets the opportunity to try a different more successful life.


The After Hours

A woman trying to buy a thimble gets taken to an empty sales floor with only one assistant and one product.

Nice idea but the story is rather untidy and illogical.


The Mighty Casey

When a baseball team take on a robot player they think they finally have a chance for success. But the governing body rule he must have a heart to play with unexpected results.

Jack Warden makes another appearance as the Baseball coach.

A World of His Own.

A playwright(Keenan Wynn) is able to create his characters as flesh and blood Things get complicated when his wife finds out but surely he can just do a quick re-write?

Fun tale, unless you happen to believe you are a fictional character brought to life…

This series closer features creator Rod Serling.

Video

This series has been remastered so forget all those hazy episodes seen on the TV late at night.

The picture quality is good. There are some episodes where there have snips and the frames don`t quite match but overall the quality is very high.

Audio

Music is provided by many well known composers including Jerry Goldsmith and Bernard Hermann.

The sound quality is good with no obvious problems.

Features

There are audio commentaries by Earl Holliman, Martin Landau, Rod Taylor, Martin Milner, Kevin McCarthy, Ted Post and William Self. Vintage audio recollections with Burgess Meredith, Douglas Heyes, Richard L. Bare, Buck Houghton, Anne Francis and Richard Matheson Rod Serling audio lectures from Sherwood Oaks College.

These are of variable quality and some are more interesting than others. It`s more down to personal taste and commentaries are frustrating when they don`t produce what you want. The internet is probably a better place for trivia and facts.

On disc 6 there are some bonus items as follows:

The Liars Club

The US version of Call My Bluff using strange objects was hosted by Rod Serling. This episode features guests Rolfe Peterson, Betty White(The Golden Girls), Dick Ganter and Pia Lindstrom.

Emmy Clips

These are film clips from various award ceremonies. They include Fred Astaire and Dick Powell handing the award to Rod Serling.

Comic Book

Available as CD rom content this contains a pdf file of a "12c" comic book based on the series. It has several stories with similar themes. A nice extra.
Other extras are said to include a book and postcards but my discs came by themselves so I cannot comment on those.

Conclusion

Fantastic; I`ve spent several hours in The Twilight Zone and what a marvelous experience it`s been. Although the style of the episodes are slower than modern TV and although the plot lines have been reused by other more recent programmes these shows stand up well in comparison. There are below par episodes but with 36 there are enough good ones to make the overall experience positive.
The time that these were made was particularly sensitive and the Cold War is writ large in the themes of many episodes. There is also a preoccupation with war and personal freedom. Although certain space themes have been overtaken by history the strength and desire to be out there whatever the consequences is also a running theme.
The Twilight Zone mined a rich vein of science fiction stories and in turn it has been utilized by recent series such as The X Files and those that followed that.
The best thing about the show as it was free to be sci-fi and proud of it and possibly because of its `far-out` ness it offers a remarkable slant on what was then modern American life.
Its been a great experience during the dullness that is TV output these days looking forward to the next series.
The package as a whole looks to be nicely put together though I had to go and touch it in the shop. Despite the high retail price it`s usually to be found with a reasonable discount.