Review of Twilight Zone, The: Vol 9

Introduction

The episodes on this disk have the general themes of “the mind” running through them although apart from the first one all concern themselves with special telekinetic powers rather than the perception of the mind.



"Nick of Time", Episode 43 - November 18, 1960: Superstitious newlywed (William Shatner) is a young man who becomes obsessed by a fortune telling machine which seems to have the power to predict the future. Does his pennies reveal the future or determine it?


"The Prime Mover", Episode 57 - March 24, 1961: Ace Larsen, discovers that his business partner (Buddy Ebson) has special telekinetic powers that could change there future forever. They set out for Vegas and win -but how long can this luck last?


"It`s a Good Life", Episode 73 - November 3, 1961: How would you feel if every thought and emotion was subject to the whim of a 6 year old boy (Billy Mumy). A boy who can send you to “ the Cornfield” and eliminate you forever if it so pleases him.

"The Mind and the Matter", Episode 63 - May 12, 1961: An irritable man (Shelley Berman) who is appalled by the human race discovers that he has the power to rid himself of the hustle and bustle of mankind. He soon discovers that he doesn’t make the best company for himself, and that what he wants and what he gets are two different things.

Another good edition to the zone collection especially the episode “nick of time”. Shatner is at his best here and I have to say it still remains one of my favourite episodes. The twilight zone stories always work best when they remain believable and this story still remains convincing to this day. How many of you still stick to the superstitious ways of our past without even realising what you are doing or what the superstition is alluding too?
“Prime mover” and “the mind and the matter” remain fairly lightweight and entertaining but "It`s a Good Life" is the episode that most people will probably know. Remade for “Twilight Zone the Movie” this episode has a strange and unnerving storyline, good acting, and a certain dark side to it that made it a zone classic.

Video

Image quality remains the same as all the other twilight zones disk meaning that although suffering from the occasional scratch and flecks of dust, it still looks pretty good considering its age. Very little grain is present and no pixelation, or motion artifacts are apparent. Overall a pretty decent picture.

Audio

Basically what you would expect from a made for TV series. The mono track is a little edgy or raspy at times but it’s far from unlistenable. The noise floor is also a little high with hiss clearly audible in some scenes but its not particularly distracting and nothing that would stop you from enjoying the episodes on the disk.
Again at the same standard as the other disks, so if you enjoyed a previous edition then there’s nothing here to stop you enjoying this one.

Features

Like the rest of the Twilight zone volumes on DVD this edition contains various notes and essays about the series in general and the specific featured episodes. Inside the Twilight Zone contains a Rod Serling biography, a season by season commentary, history of the twilight zone and a review and credit section for each episode on the disk. This section is written by the author of “The Twilight Zone Companion” Marc Scott Zicree.
You also get the small postcard set that have a brief synopsis and picture of each episode printed on them.

Conclusion

Another worthy edition to the zone stable. Decent audio/video quality and some decent stories. What are you waiting for? Buy, Buy Buy.