Zone Junkies

Zone junkies will love this classic. These can be watched over and over and never tire from them.

Truly a blast from the past

As others have already commented on the features and technical aspects of this set (which were generally well regarded), I thought I would make a few comments more on the episodes themselves.

This series aired for a few years in the early 60s (although it started in 1959) and immediately passed into pop culture and TV legend. Many famous actors and actresses, or soon to be famous, appeared in the show. I especially remembered the episode with Robert Redford, who was probably in his mid to late 20s but who looked 18, playing Mr. Death who had come to get an old woman.

In addition to Serling, the main writers for the show were Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson, who had already established reputations as fantasy writers, and who wrote many of the episodes. There was one other writer who did contribute some episodes, but unfortunately I can't recall the name.

I wasn't a fan of the original series as I was a little young at the time, having been born in the early 50s, but I saw some of the shows in reruns in the mid-60s. I was more of a fan of the Outer Limits, Lost in Space, and Star Trek, and only caught saw maybe a dozen episodes at the time. So at age 53, I decided to buy seasons 1-4 and finally watch most of the episodes. (I still need to find the last season, number 5).

I was pleased to see how well they have held up. It was the drab 50s and then turbulent 60s, and the Cold War, with its threat of possible nuclear annihilation, was in full swing. Perhaps that explains the pervasive film noir ambience and dark mood that often hangs like a pall over many of the episodes. Although the characters are drawn from all levels of society and from all walks of life--from two-bit criminals to the rich and famous--many are just various and sundry low-lifes, riff-raff, criminals, and grifters. And then there are the simply down and out--the bored or emotionally overwrought, old and unwanted, middle-aged and overstressed, desperate housewives, the dyspeptic, dispossessed, or depressed, and your average guy just down on his luck.

There were the few episodes that made an attempt at humor, but as the editorial review mentions, they don't seem to have held up as well as the other episodes. It was also interesting to see how often science fictional themes cropped up--although the science aspect isn't so important as the fact that a futuristic scenario allowed Serling to explore another dark topic--such as in the episode starring Jack Warden, who has been unjustly sentenced to a lonely existence on an uninhabited asteroid. He is going mad from isolation, his only contact with the outside world being the few minutes every 3 months when the supply ship comes to drop off supplies.

So overall, I'm finding it to still be a great series that has stood the test of time. This is truly a great slice of Americana, from a younger, simpler, less complex America that is now long gone.

A brief note here. The only reason for four instead of five stars is the many extra features The Definitive Edition contains. Some people may not care about those, which cost extra. These mainly include special commentary, interviews with writers and actors, photos from the first season, the separate music scores, Serling's rare blooper, his Netherlands sales pitch (the show was selected to appear in Holland), The Twilight Zone comic book in .pdf format, and his Emmy Award appearance (the Emmy's were hosted by Chuck Connors and Fred Astaire). If all you really want is mainly the episodes themselves, this edition will probably do quite well for you.

wasted my money

I bought this one after reading some reviews here, and I am regretting it after I was able to watch it. All the episodes were terrble. It made me blush, because it was really that bad.

I think I wasted my money on this one.