The four episodes included on The Twilight Zone, Vol. 26 focus on characters who inevitably pay a price for their tragic flaws. In "The Big Tall Wish," an aging boxer (Ivan Dixon, later to costar in TV's Hogan's Heroes) can't comprehend the influence of a little boy's magical wish that brought him a surprise victory--a victory that's sacrificed to the fighter's own cynicism. (The twist is nothing new for TZ fans, but the episode's mostly black cast was a noteworthy breakthrough for 1960 television.) "Showdown with Rance McGrew" is an amusing send-up of pampered actors, in this case a milquetoast TV cowboy whose comeuppance arrives in the form of the real Jesse James--in a real Western town--whose attitude toward phony cowboys is anything but tolerant.

The best of the Twilight Zone dvds.

I have most of the TZ dvds and plan on getting them all. This one marks the 30th I've bought and I have to say it's the best so far. All four episodes are strong and good, and there's something for everyone. For the fun-lovers, there's "Rance McGrew" - a light-hearted TZ episode that's really funny in certain parts. For the child in all of us, there's "The Big Tall Wish", which tells us to never stop believing in the magic. For the more serious-minded traditional TZ lovers, there's two excellent episodes in "Piano in the House" and "Night Call" - both excellent in every way! While most TZ dvds suffer from a slow episode or two thrown in with a few strong ones, this dvd has nothing but goodies on here. A great one to start your collection with!

Four tales on the ways of magic in "The Twilight Zone"

Magic makes its presence known in the four episodes from "The Twilight Zone" collected in Volume 26 of this DVD series. Ivan Dixon has a nice role as Bolie Jackson in "The Big Tall Wish," written by Rod Serling. Just about washed up as a prizefighter, Jackson wins his fight because little Henry (Steven Perry), used magic to help. But Jackson refuses to believe in the magic. In "Showdown with Rance McGrew," written by Serling and based on an idea by Frederic Louis Fox, temperamental television cowboy star McGrew (Larry Blyden) suddenly finds himself in the real Old West where the real Jesse James (Arch Johnson) has a complaint about the way he and his fellow outlaws are portrayed on television. "A Piano in the House," written by Earl Hamner, Jr., stars Barry Morse as Fitzgerald Fortune, a cynical theater critic who uses a magical piano player to get his party guests to reveal hidden truths about themselves. Fortune is an unpleasant man who meets a deservedly unpleasant fate. Gladys Cooper makes a return visit to the Zone as Miss Elva Keene in "Night Call," written by Richard Matheson and based on his short story "Long Distance Call." Miss Elva, who is crippled, keeps getting strange phone calls with a man's voice saying, "Where are you? I want to talk to you." She is already scared, but when she learns the phone calls are coming from a fallen wire lying atop the grave of her long-dead fiance Brian, who was killed in the car crash that crippled her. This episode is another minor masterpiece from Matheson. This is an above-average volume in the series, which just happens to have three of my favorite "non-classic" episodes of the Zone.

"Night Call" Makes it All Worthwhile!

"Night Call" is one of the top 2 or 3 creepiest Twilight Zone episodes ever!! Superbly written script with excellent plot development (it gets more than the allowable number of "stars")! A great acting performance, and gradually mounting tension throughout! The other episodes are much less effective although "Piano in the House" is actually a very good script-- Unfortunately, superficial character development diminishes some admirable acting performances--It gets "2 1/2 stars" but the remaining two episodes are below average (by Twilight Zone standards). By today's standards, they are above average!