Customer Reviews

Classic Sci-Fi TV - 150 Episodes

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Mill Creek Entertainment has done it again! After tackling TV Westerns, TV Crime Shows, TV Spies and Family TV Shows, this offering focuses on early television science fiction shows, with a bit of horror and the paranormal thrown in for good measure. There is quite a bit to savor in this set, so here's the rundown, by category:

Animated Series:
Captain Fathom - 3 episodes
Clutch Cargo - 1 episode
Space Angel - 9 episodes

Filmed TV Series:
Captain Z-Ro - 24 episodes
Flash Gordon - 14 episodes
Johnny Jupiter - 1 episode
One Step Beyond - 16 episodes
Rocky Jones, Space Ranger - 23 episodes
Thriller (Boris Karloff version) - 1 episode

Live Television Series:
Climax - 1 episode
Lights Out - 4 episodes
Tales of Tomorrow - 6 episodes

Filmed Dramatic Anthology Series:
G.E. Theater - 2 episodes
The Star and the Story - 1 episode
Your Jeweler's Showcase (Operation E.S.P.) - 1 episode

Unsold TV Pilots:
Captain Fathom (live action version)
Destination Space
Here Comes Tobor
The Shadow (Tom Helmore version)
The Shadow: Invisible Avenger (Richard Derr version)
Tales of Frankenstein

Public Service Film:
Stamp Day for Superman (cast of "The Adventures of Superman")

Movie Serials:
The Phantom Empire
Radar Men from the Moon
The Undersea Kingdom


While some may consider the inclusion of movie serials to be a bit of a cheat on this set, one can argue that movie serials (and radio) served as a starting point of sorts for the early years of episodic television and, of course, the serials did eventually make their way to television's airwaves. Perhaps the only major omission of a show with a paranormal flavor that is in the public domain and is not included in this set is Boris Karloff's limited series "The Veil" which, possibly, could have substituted for one of the serials. Regardless, this 12-DVD set includes a mixture of some very common, some not so common, and some downright rare shows. Arguably, the biggest "find" on this set is the inclusion of 24 episodes of "Captain Z-Ro" and, to the best of my knowledge, this set marks the commercial DVD debut of Boris Karloff's "Thriller," a series that many fans have long desired to see on DVD. Perhaps the inclusion of the "Thriller" episode "The Return of Andrew Bentley" might prompt further consideration for an official DVD release of this series in the future. And those who previously purchased Mill Creek's 4-DVD set of 50 "One Step Beyond" episodes will be delighted to know that of the 16 episodes included here, only one episode ("Where Are They?") is repeated from that earlier box set.

Among the unsold pilots, I enjoyed the second incarnation of "The Shadow" titled "Invisible Avenger," which was filmed on location in New Orleans in the late 1950s and was eventually released theatrically, and "Tales of Frankenstein." Don Megowan, who appears as the monster in "Frankenstein" also appears in the live action version of "Captain Fathom," which plays like a low rent version of "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea." One also wonders about the possibilities of "Destination Space" had it been picked up as a regular series by CBS. Though a bit on the talky side (especially in the middle scenes depicted on earth), the pilot featured solid performances from TV veterans like Harry Townes, Charles Aidman, Edward Platt, Whitney Blake and Gail Kobe, and had the backing of a major studio, Paramount.

As is the case with compilations of public domain shows, the audio/visual quality is all over the map and reflects a variety of sources such as kinescopes for the live shows and unrestored 16 millimeter syndication prints for many of the TV show episodes. While none of the episodes that I have viewed so far are unwatchable, this is definitely not a set for videophiles, nor those expecting state-of-the-art special effects. In fact, the special effects are downright primitive when compared to today's special effects and CGI. But considering the low budgets for most of these productions, it's obvious that the SFX people were trying to do the best they could with the limited resources available to them and that's part of the charm of watching these early Sci-Fi TV efforts.

The variety of the shows included in this set is so broad that there is bound to be something to appeal to almost anyone who even remotely enjoys science fiction. This set is highly recommended for classic/vintage TV fans and those who enjoy the early days of science fiction on the small screen. My rating is closer to **** & ½ for this release, just missing a full five stars given the variable audio/visual quality.

I run the Sci-Fi Lists website and I have to say I am more than happy with this outstanding collection of public domain TV episodes and cinematic serials. Despite what one other reviewer said, some of this stuff is extremely hard to find anywhere else... especially the 24 time-tripping episodes of Captain Z-Ro. When you add in the TV version of Flash Gordon (14eps) and the well-produced Rocky Jones (23eps) there is no escaping the fact that this set is value for money.

Criticism of the inclusion of cinematic serials is also unfair. They were repeated mercilessly during the early days of TV, with the good quality transfers of the Commando Cody adventure Radar Men From the Moon being the pick of the bunch. For sheer low-budget joy check out failed pilot Here Comes Tobor and the three nifty 'Synchro-Vox' Cambia animated series. The episodes of the various TV anthology series are also generally very well selected on the basis of their sci-fi content. No Captain Video, Tom Corbett or Space Patrol--but the cosmically canny sci-fi artefacts on offer are out of this world!

Any reviewer stating that this collection is a rip-off couldn't be more wrong in my opinion. Mill Creek is a wonderful company that is one of the first distributors to provide public domain material at a budget, affordable price. Their price structure is the same for all their 150 episode box sets. If you can wait a little while you will be able to pick this up for around $16 or less. I couldn't recommend their other TV classics enough. Their 3 Western and Detective releases are wonderful, and should be sought-out. I have been asking Mill Creek to release a Sci-fi set this past year and they are now doing it and I couldn't be happier. Since they are releasing public domain material, they have to stick with what they have available. I'm sure they are putting the serials on the set to not only fill space, but they must have thought they would fit in nicely with the Sci-fi theme. I can't wait to watch some of these old episodes again. Looks like good family fun.

For those of you who bought the Alpha Video Lights Out sets, here are the episodes of Lights Out on THIS set.

Only one new episode not featured on Alpha's releases, and it's Just What Happened.

Lights Out

S3E07 - Just What Happened - 9 October 1950
S3E25 - Curtain Call - 12 February 1951 (On Alpha Video Sets)
S3E44 - The Passage Beyond - 25 June 1951 (On Alpha Video Sets)
S3E51 - The Man with the Watch - 13 August 1951 (On Alpha Video Sets)


For those of you who bought The Mill Creek One Step Beyond 50 Pack, here's what's on THIS SET.

The only repeat is Where Are They. The rest haven't been released by Mill Creek before.

One Step Beyond

FYI : The dating method I used - 012059 = January 20th, 1959.

1x01 012059 - The Bride Possessed
1X06 022459 - Epilogue
1X08 031059 - The Premonition
1X16 050559 - The Burning Girl
1X22 061659 - The Riddle
2x10 112459 - Reunion
2X12 120859 - The Stone Cutter
2X18 011960 - The Forests of the Night
2X25 030860 - The Haunting
2X29 041260 - Encounter
2X35 052460 - Contact
2X37 060760 - House of the Dead
2X38 061460 - Goodbye Grandpa
3x12 121360 - Where Are They (On Mill Creek 50 Set)
3X19 013161 - The Gift
3X31 052361 - The Sorcerer

From the packaging to the content of this set, (IMHO)it's worthy for any fan of this genre. For me, one part of the enjoyment is the historical appreciation to what the TV landscape was like decades ago.
As far as Mill Creek adding the following Movie Serials:
The Phantom Empire

Radar Men from the Moon

The Undersea Kingdom

I'm glad they did.

To top it off even--- They've included an episode of ----Clutch Cargo!!

I have wanted them for my collection anyway---these titles are a great bonus.
I would have paid 11.99(which is what I paid) for just those serials in the first place.
Yes many are in public domain, but downloading can be pain.
So many gems in this package I could go on, but Mill Creek at least produced this set with dual layer DVD(s) [one side] instead of their usual dual sided DVDs.
No annoying watermark logos, thank you Mill Creek for stopping that practice. (as far as I can recall there were none on the episodes I have watched)


Remember the age of the product, so don't expect a perfect picture but you what you do see is a treat for lovers of this material(vintage-classic sci-fi etc...).
For this price, Mill Creek has put out a package I could not wait to add to my collection.

Picture quality of some of the old TV series shows are not very good. It amazes me that the 30's and 40's western movies on Western channel are such good quality compared to the Sci-Fi TV shows from the 50's. On these Sci-Fi DVD's the picture is smooth and there is little little loss of action but they lack sharpness making hard to see details. It is if they are just a bit out of focus. For the money it is acceptable.

I agree the packaging of this product is lacking. Paper sleeves in a large plastic box which tends to break in shipping. My first set arrived with a badly broken box but the disks were undamaged. The replacement was undamaged.

This is a very fun set! Many of the programs on this set are either difficult to obtain or much more expensive elsewhere.

"Tales of Frankenstein" is a Hammer Horror pilot that went unsold. Unless the production expense of the show were a barrier I don't understand how this one failed to make the cut. It's excellent! It plays like a Hammer film but in 30 minutes. It's one of the many rare gems on this collection.

Overall A/V quality is good to very good for these programs except for those done with kinescope. Those are only fair due to the nature of that process. Many prints are the best of the respective programs I've yet seen, especially the serials. The exception are the remastered episodes of One Step Beyond: The Official First Season.

While many might argue about the inclusion of the serials on this set these were shown on many Saturday TV Matinee programs as pre-movie "shorts" or post-movie fillers. The episodes of "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger" feels like a TV successor to these type films. Good prints of the 3 serials are most welcome!

Sadly, the set seems to have gone into a "second printing" and the unsold pilot "Here Comes Tobor" (1956) has been dropped in favor of 2 more episodes of "One Step Beyond" (now 18 total). I can only assume this was due to a rights issue.

The additional episodes of "One Step Beyond" are:

"The Clown"
"The Dark Room"

Both of these appear on the Mill Creek The Very Best of One Step Beyond set as well as a few other PD collections. "The Dark Room" is in season 1 and is on the superior One Step Beyond: The Official First Season set. The substitution makes for a net loss as far as content is concerned unless you do not own the other Mill Creek set.

BUT - Don't let that dissuade you from purchasing this product. It's *lots* of nostalgic fun for both Sci-Fi and Classic TV fans!

4 stars due to the overall "average" A/V quality.

Classic Sci-Fi is definitely on this collection! There are some great episodes of Flash Gordon and Captain Z-Ro as well as some unexpected animated series on this collection. Mill Creek Entertainment has continued to bring classic shows to DVD and these large movie packs come at a great value. The quality of the discs are great, mill creek entertainment has begun shipping their products with all new packaging and artwork that brings these collections to a whole new light. Classic Sci-FI 150 episodes will bring hours of entertainment of some great shows from the 1950's.

A great collection of TV sci fi from cartoons, television anthologies, programs and serials. I have had more fun watching this set.

Great old Sci-Fi shows that have been gone for decades. A must-see for Sci-Fi historians. Kinda hoaky but in a good interesting way.