Customer Reviews

Kolchak - The Night Stalker

5 star:		(106)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Before "The X-Files", Darren McGavin was reporter Carl Kolchak whose news stories would focus on the supernatural and science fiction aspects of a story. "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" only ran a short (it was only about 20 episodes)season on ABC. Although it lacked the creative fire power of the two TV movies (Producer/director Dan Curtis, director John Moxey and writer Richard Matheson were not involved with the series at all), the best episodes had a sharp sense of humor and a couple of young contributors that would make their mark elsewhere (the creative team behind "Back to the Future" and the writer-producer of "The Sopranos" were both contributors to the series). I realize that writer/creator Jeff Rice ended up suing Universal over the TV series but do wish that an interview with him or commentary tracks had been included.

Released to coincide with the new "The Night Stalker" TV series produced/written by Frank Spotnitz ("The X-Files", "The Lone Gunmen"), the series is bare bones when it comes to extras.. However, the episodes will be uncut which is a big plus for fans. Having had to suffer through versions burned from the Sci-Fi Channel broadcast, I'll be happy to finally have these sans commercial interruptions.

There's good and bad news about the format; all these are released in the dual layered, dual sided format. Because it requires a disc to be "pressed" four times instead of two, there's a higher chance of problems with the discs. Universal has, in the past, had a problem on occasion with the dual layered/dual sided DVDs freezing up (I recently had a problem with "McCloud" and others have had other problems). Hopefully they've solved the manufacturing snafu that caused this problem in the first place and this won't be a problem here. I didn't have any of the discs freeze up on me when I tried them but that doesn't mean that certain players may not have this problem because of flaws during the manufacturing process.

The good news--at last this series is available on DVD. It doesn't look anywhere as good as MGM's release of "The Night Stalker/The Night Strangler". There's a lot of debris in the image and the images are very, very dark--much darker than necessary which makes night scenes kind of a problem to view at times (since much of the series takes place at night this could be a problem). The packaging is nice with the shows each stored in a single slim line jewel box which will help prevent wear and tear. "Kolchak" was recently voted the worst looking DVD transfer of 2005 (at TVonDVD)because of the poor contrast, image quality, etc. Should you still get it? Absolutely. If you're a videophile the image quality may bother you but if you're just watching it for the enjoyment of the show I doubt it will except on the first couple of episodes.

Sure there were dogs here (the werewolf episode among them) but there were also some exceedingly good episodes that demonstrated a unique, quirky sense of humor that translated well to TV. As a monster-of-the-week horror series, "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" had no peers during the 70's. Among the best episodes are "Horror in the Heights" (written by Jimmy Sangster "Horror of Dracula"), "Chopper" (written byBob Gale & Robert Zemeckis -"Back to the Future", "Contact", "Forrest Gump")and a number of terrific episodes written by "The Sopranos" creator David Chase. I would have loved a commentary track from Jack Grinnage (Ron Updyke)but I suppose that's asking for too much. There are no extras outside of promos for other Universal products. Since there's a blank side on the last disc, there was plenty of room to include some. Why not include the promos that ran on ABC for the show? I'm sure there are vintage interviews with Darren McGavin. Since Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz are such great fans of the series why not interview them (along with Jeff Rice) for the set here?

As a big fan of the late (he passed away in March 2006)Darren McGavin and fan of the original TV movies, I'm glad to see this finally coming to DVD but do wish that Universal had included either vintage interviews that McGavin gave at the time or, better yet, commentary tracks or current interviews with McGavin or the surviving cast/production members. It may not be perfect but, hey, at least it has finally arrived on DVD.

Were there cheesy episodes? Sure but then again it's good cheese with witty dialogue and great performances from a seasoned cast of veterans. The best episodes showed wit and imagination and look pretty good even though optical effects and make up weren't quite as advanced as today. You can see Mulder to some extent in Kolchak and Scully's doubting Thomas in Vincenzo. If you get a chance you should also see Darren McGavin's two appearences on "The X-Files". He also has a cameo (via digital technology)in a witty tip of the hat in the pilot episode of the new "Night Stalker" TV series. Oh and got to love that seersucker suit! We'll miss you Darren but at least we have your terrific performances in film and TV shows!

Just for the record I want to make it clear that I am reviewing the DVD box set of the TV series 'Kolchak: The Night Stalker' unlike at least half of the other reviewers on these pages who have reviewed the original Telemovie.

As for my review, let me add my voice to the chorus in saying how wonderful it is to finally have all 20 episodes of the series on DVD. The show has been a favourite of mine since it's initial run in Australia, and has never lost its sparkle, largely due to excellent performances by the cast.

I'm not going to cover the actual content here, other reviews that were on the right subject have done that well enough.

I am VERY disappointed in the manner the series has been released. Universal needs to understand that double sided DVDs are a thing of the past. I hate them; they are difficult to look after, and due to the 4-pass process, more prone to failure.

Surely with the cost of media today, it would not have made a noticeable difference in cost to release these as single sided/dual layer discs. I know MGM released the Telemovies as a Flipper as well, but at least they cleaned up the source material and added some extras. A little effort was shown, unlike Universal's continuing stream of bare bones and 'near enough' attempts.

Picture quality is also of a dubious nature. OK, so the show is called 'The NIGHT Stalker', that doesn't mean you're not supposed see anything!!! The Ripper in the first episode virtually vanishes in his black suit in the dark, to the point where you don't know what's happening at times. Brightness and contrast have been adjusted so that information contained in these dark areas has 'blended together'. No amount of adjustment on your TV will let you see any more.

Universal have done little or nothing to improve the picture quality of these episodes. I have VHS tapes of the show, and while they are of course, lower in resolution, there is virtually NO difference in image clarity. Aside from the hopefully more permanent nature of DVD media, there is little to no reason to spend your money chasing a better image. You won't find it here.

I read in a newsgroup recently that Universal executives have passed an order allowing no more than 2 hours restoration to be done on a single episode from any of their catalogue being released to DVD. That would barely be enough time to identify problems, let alone put them right. For a startling comparison, check out the work that the BBC restoration team are putting into restoring Doctor Who and other titles from their archives (http://www.restoration-team.co.uk/). It puts most other studios to shame.

In closing, if you buy this box set, you'll have the series, just not in a condition that it deserves, given the popularity and fan base it has inspired in it's lifetime.

1 star for Universal's handling of the set, 5 stars for the episodes themselves.

Caveat Emptor!

Since the announcement of a "modern update" was announced for Night Stalker (with Stuart Townsend as Kolchak), I knew two things... The new series will more than likely be terrible, and two, that Universal will finally release the original series on DVD to coincide with the new series. Nothing gets these studios off of their rears like self-promotion. Well, all I can say is "It's about time!"

I loved watching Kolchak: The Night Stalker when it first aired (I was in 4th grade). Reruns aired in the early 80's as part of a rotation on the CBS evening movie or late movie, or whatever they called it. Sci-Fi has been running them occasionally with little or no pre-announcement and unfortunately 4 episodes (Legacy of Terror, Demon and Lace, Firefall, and The Energy Eater) have only been presented as two movies that merely combined the episodes into a confusing mess called "Demon and the Mummy" and "Crackle of Death".

Finally we will have all 20 episodes as they should be seen. The lack of special features is disappointing but not suprising. As other reviewers have commented, I would love to hear commentary from Jeff Rice, David Chase, and/or especially Darren McGavin. I don't normally review something before it hits the streets, but short of a gigantic mess-up on Universal's part, a high rating is definately warrented for this amazing series.

Personal favorites: "Horror In The Heights" which the Kolchak Companion describes as the episode most likely to sell the series to a non-viewer. Also high on the creep scale are "The Spanish Moss Murders", "Chopper", and "The Zombie". What a great gift just in time for Halloween!

First let me say that I have worked in the video industry, Broadcast, VHS Duplication and now DVD authoring and replication business for 15 years. I understand video and quality.
Secondly let me say that I love the Night Stalker Series and was anxious as hell to see it released some day on DVD.
The day that this set came out I bought it and that night started watching it.
Now the bad part: The quality of the film to video transfers are some of the worst I have seen. The light levels of the projection device were so low that all night scenes are so dark that nothing, absolutely nothing can be seen in some parts. Other parts are so dark that only vague shadows can be seen. I took the discs to work and scoped them out. The white and black levels are in acceptable ranges of 100% white and 7.5% for black. This is not the problem. The film to video transfer had insuficiencent projection level to resolve the images.
Night Stalker looks like a bad 1950's home movie transfer. In the first episode "The Ripper" there is an intense battle between the ripper and a squad of police. All kinds of action, jumping shooting and such is going on. I remember it well. On this collection you can't even see what is happening. I showed it to a video expert and friend who had never seen Night Stalker and asked him to tell me what he thought was going on in this scene. He was clueless, it was too dark to see.
Don't waste your money on this poor, poor cash in. Night Stalker deserves a real high level transfer and remastering, Universal is definitely not universal unless junk is how they define the universal standard. Record the reruns off the Sci Fi channel. These transfers are just fine and you can see everything quite well. Even with the cuts and commercials they are much more enjoyable than this terrible collection.
Big, big, big dissapointment...

"The Night Stalker" lasted only one season (from 1974-1975) but despite the cheesy special effects and make-up, it is still very entertaining. Sometimes creepy, sometimes funny, the series usually provides a good combination of chills and laughs. Like most series, it sometimes suffers from poor episodes but for every bad episode like "Mr. R.I.N.G," you have a very good one like "The Ripper." My personal favorite episodes are "The Ripper," "The Vampire," "Horror In The Heights," "The Zombie," and "The Spanish Moss Murders."

One of the elements that makes the series so memorable are the actors. Darren McGavin stars as the bumbling seersucker suit and straw hat wearing reporter Carl Kolchak, Simon Oakland as his shrill and hilarious boss and the delightful Ruth McDevitt as co-worker Miss Emily. It is hard to see where the inspiration came from for the new "Night Stalker" series which stars a deadpan Stuart Townsend, who seems to be channeling the zombies instead of Darren McGavin.

Some of the guest stars include Keenan Wynn, Mary Wickes, Carolyn Jones, Lara Parker, Nina Foch, Phil Silvers, Tom Skerritt, Tom Bosley, Alice Ghostley and Jim Backus.

This dvd boxed set includes all 20 episodes on 3 discs (2 are double-sided). Unfortunately, there are no extra features. An interview with Darren McGavin and a documentary on the history of the show would have been most welcomed. Still, having all the episodes together without the interruption of commercials and cuts is something to cheer about.

All 20 episodes are included:

Disc 1:

#1 "The Ripper" - Jack the Ripper revisits the 20th century. This episode is reminiscent of the two tv films that inspired the series - "The Night Stalker," and "The Night Strangler." Very creepy, atmospheric and suspensful despite some holes in the plot.

#2 "The Zombie" - Voodoo enters the world of organized crime. You will be squirming in your seat when Kolchak attempts to sew up the lips of a sleeping zombie!

#3 "They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be..." - Missing animals from the local zoo are found with their bone marrow extracted.

#4 "The Vampire" - A Las Vegas call girl is using her customers as her meals. One of my favorite episodes.

#5 "The Werewolf" - Kolchak takes a vacation on a cruise ship and so does a werewolf. Not the best episode - the werewolf looks like an actor in a Halloween costume and it seems to end abruptly.

#6 "Firefall" - An "X-Files" type episode that deals with spontaneous combustion.

#7 "The Devil's Platform - A politician is gaining prominence after he sells his soul to the devil.

#8 "Bad Medicine" - An Indian takes the shape of various animals to kill wealthy women for their jewels.

Disc #2:

#9 "The Spanish Moss Murders" - A sleep subject is summoning a swamp monster which is terrorizing Chicago.

#10 "The Energy Eater" - A new hospital is plagued by electrocution deaths.

#11 "Horror In The Heights" - Senior citizens are being killed by a mysterious beast. One of the series best episodes.

#12 "Mr. R.I.N.G." - A killer robot is connected to a top secret government project.

#13 "Primal Scream" - A prehistoric creature is brought to life in an oil company's research laboratory.

#14 "The Trevi Collection" - A coven of witches infitirate the fashion industry. Lara Parker, who plays the witch Madelaine, played the witch Angelique in the series "Dark Shadows."

#15 "Chooper" - A headless motorcyle rider wants his head back.

#16 "Demon in Lace" - A succubus stalks the campus of Illionois State Technical College.

Disc 3:

#17 "Legacy of Terror" - An ancient Aztec mummy is sacrificing guests at a hotel.

#18 "The Knightly Murders" - A medieval knight seeks revenge on developers who plan to transform a museum into a nightclub.

#19 "The Youth Killer" - Applicants to a dating service are dying from instant aging.

#20 "The Sentry" - An ancient lizard-like creature dwells beneath an archives building.

Imaginative in its day, with some fine actors. Here horror & suspense mystery met with mixed results. Before Scully & Muldur, there was Carl Kolchak. An INS Chicago reporter. Every episode he would stumble on stories ranging from the odd to the supernatural. My favorites are the "Ripper," where he learns that the original one is still alive. In "The Devil's Platform," Tom Skeritt is a Senatorial candidate who sold his soul to rise in the world of politics. "The Trevi Collection," the ever stunning Lara Parker is a 20th century witch who systimatically destroys her rivals in the fashion industry, so she can rise in it.


Darren McGavin was truly excellent in his role as the beleaguered journalist who no one beleives. Often battling both his boss Tony Vincenzo-Simon Oakland, & the police. Every episode saw him get shocked, petrified, & jaded with the world & most of those he dealt with. Only Ruth DeVitt, as the lovable Miss Emily Cowles appeared to be Kolchak's only comfort. There were dumb episodes, "Werewolf & Zombie" come to mind. However, this was fun TV. You always felt sorry for Kolchak, his stories were censored & usually everyone thought he was a nut.

I had know idea, the impact this show would make on my life. I was on the "Hello Dolly" exterior set at 20th Century Fox when they were filming the undergound city. I had know idea that I would be part of the series. The casting of Darren McGavin and Simon Oakland is pure genius. The movies where the best thing on Televison. They should have been movies. Watching the movies and Darren's performans proves what a seasoned actor can bring to a role. Darren's exstensive theatre backround. Is very apparent, his timing is superb and his team mate Simon Oakland puts the candle on the cake. If you haven't seen these two movies buy them, rent them. But see them. Sincerely Jack Grinnage

2006 UPDATE AND FINAL FOLLOWUP:

This is a follow-up to my earlier review. I am going to try and give my thoughts on some of the problems -- some legit, some overstated (IMO) -- with regards to the DVD. I also wanted to give some additional commentary on the episodes themselves. I'll focus on the problems with the DVD quality first, since that is what has set off many people on this site and additional commentary on the episodes of "Kolchak" is secondary at this point.

I've had a chance to watch all 20 episodes. It is imperative that once you get the DVD set that you watch all 20 shows as soon as possible (see #5 below).

OK, let's get right to some of the major concerns some have had here with the DVD set:

(1) The Transfer: You can see some grain when you use the zoom function on a DVD but it's not much worse than a SP-recorded VHS or other DVD's I've had made. The TV series transfer is not as good as the 2 telemovies (the Zoom feature shows the increased pixelation on the TV show). You can see some grain on them when you zoom or on a much larger TV. When you look at it normally, remember, "Kolchak" is film -- the speed of the frames is 24 frames per second (fps). Video transfers are 30 fps. For this reason, make sure that you have a quality DVD player that can handle 3:2 pulldowns and film-based DVD's. A quality DVD player will improve the playback of the DVD's.

(2) Darkness: We have some experts on this here that talked about the specific transfer process and the problems with dark scenes and lack of light. I don't want to contradict them as they certainly know more than me on the technicals. Let me say this. Yes, the scenes are dark. But the show was shot predominantly at night (one of the reasons Darren McGavin tired of the series rather early) and some of the characters wear dark outfits. Someone commented that in the scene in "The Ripper" you wouldn't know what was happening if you hadn't seen the show before. This was the scene at night, with a black-caped Ripper fighting policemen (wearing dark blue uniforms) after he jumped from the building beams. YOU AREN'T GOING TO SEE THAT MUCH DETAIL in that scene. It's a scene shot in the dark with mediocre lighting with characters wearing dark clothes. I don't know if any transfer or digital cleanup would improve it that much. I've seen the episode on TV and it's not any better than the DVD. So I can't believe that the original broadcast or even any "brightening, improved transfer" would improve it. That said, I have a.....

(3) Solution: If you have an HDTV or high-end TV, adjust the "gamma" control which distinguishes black levels. Adjusting the black levels -- or contrast levels on simpler sets -- will help improve the visibility during dark scenes. DVD's sometimes have different settings (Movie, Standard, Cinema, etc) -- play around with them. To compare and contrast, check out the labyrinth scenes in the movie "The Rock" -- if you can make out the water, people, and walls in the murky black, your TV and DVD are doing a good job and you probably won't be able to improve your blacks/gamma/contrast anymore for a DVD like "Kolchak".

(4) DVD: If you can, utilize the progressive function on your DVD player. This requires use of component cables, not the standard red/white RCA jacks. The picture is noticeably smoother and improved over both composite and S-Video jacks.

(5) Quality Control: If you can't watch all 20 episodes fairly quickly, I suggest you use medium fast-forward to see if the disks are all working properly. Best to view them all in normal PLAY back, but at a minimum, if you can't do that or are pressed against a return date deadline for exchange, play them back in a "slow" fast-forward mode that takes you a bit over an hour or two to watch all 20 episodes. Make sure the disks all work fine -- they may not release these on HDTV so these DVD's will be all she wrote for some time.

Now for some more "Kolchak" fun-facts:

(1) Length: All episodes are 50-plus minutes compared to recent showings on Sci-Fi of about 44-45. The first 10 episodes shown in 1974 are actually a minute longer (51 minutes and change) compared to the last half of the series (50 minutes and change) shown in 1975 -- ABC no doubt was trying to make up for the lousy ratings with an extra minute of commercials. Ah, the 1970's...when a 1-hour program only had 9-10 minutes of commercials!

(2) It's great to see the 4 episodes that were butchered by stitching them together into 2 separate movies. I hated seeing the episodes that way -- Darren McGavin had to re-dub commentary to make it seem even halfway intelligible.

(3) Funny Line from "The Trevi Collection": "A small nominal contribution is requested...NOT THAT NOMINAL!"

(4) Scenery: Look at that newsroom. It's how it was in the 1950's up through the 1970's. The show was shown in 1974 and the big teletypes were still the way the news media communicated with each other (besides phones). No internet, no cable news, no iPods, etc.

(5) R.I.P.: Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland and Ruth McDevitt....god bless. Great actors and actress....wonderful acting....hilarious 1-liners.....they are sorely missed.

Jack Grinnage? underrated and underused. His interactions with Darren McGavin are classic.

(6) The Guest Stars: Wow, where to begin. Julie Adams ("Mr. R.I.N.G") from "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954) Robert Cornwaite ("The Energy Eater") from "The Thing From Another World" (1951), Lara Parker ("The Trevi Collection") from "Dark Shadows", Jamie Farr ("Primal Scream") from "M.A.S.H.", Bernie Kopell ("The Trevi Collection") from "Get Smart" and "Love Boat", Larry Linville ("Chopper") from "M.A.S.H.", Jim Backus ("Chopper") from "Mr. Magoo" and "Gilligans Island", Sandra Gould ("Primal Scream") from "Bewitched", Phil Silvers ("Horror in the Heights) from "Sergeant Bilko", Tom Skerritt ("Devils Pact") from "Aliens", Kathie Brown (a/k/a Mrs. Darren McGavin) 1960's actress from "Star Trek" to "Bonanza" (Pernell Roberts love interest), Carolyn Jones ("Demon in Lace") from "The Addams Family")

Then you have the 1970's actors and actresses who seemed to show up in dramas like "Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island" or sitcoms every other week -- Nita Talbot, Dick Gautier, Barbara Rhoades -- the list goes on and on. There's a star and/or everyday actor or actress that you'll know visually from lots of other 1960's and 1970's appearances in virtually every "Kolchak" episode. Some you'll recognize right away. Others you'll be going back to IMDB.com . Try and get those cameos in today's TV series. You can't. Oh yeah,....David Chase from "The Sopranos" as a writer, too!

Wow...what a series.
_______________________________________________________

I normally wouldn't write a review before testing or buying the product, but as it was me who contacted Jack Grinnage, an original cast member from KOLCHAK, I wanted to give my thoughts. Jack Grinnage is an original cast member from the TV series (not the movies) and we are lucky to have him post his thoughts. I hope Jack will share more thoughts on the series and the DVD release once they are out, either here or on his website. Thank you, Jack, you have alot of fans here.

Now for the DVD's. The best thing about the release is going to be the ability to see the shows uncut for the first time in 30 years. Even CBS when they ran the show late-night in the early 1980's edited out some footage (minimal; they actually had the show run over an hour to minimize edit cuts and maximize commercials). Seeing KOLCHAK uncut, even without expanded commentary (we can get alot of the behind-the-scenes stuff from the Internet, thankfully) is worth the price of the DVD's. Regrettably, Darren McGavin is not in good health and is not included in the commentaries. I wouldn't have minded seeing Jack Grinnage ("Ron Updyke") or Carol Ann Susi ("Monique Marmelstein") on the DVD commentaries, but what's done is done.

Now to the key point. As others have noted, these disks will be dual-sided, which means the opportunity for defects is increased. They will also be made by Universal, which means the opportunity for defects is almost guaranteed. If anybody from Universal is reading these posts, take it from the people who will be buying the disks: we would rather pay a few bucks more for QUALITY DVD's that have been pre-screened for any defects, than get slip-shod quality and saving a few bucks.

Unless Universal wants die-hard KOLCHAK fans returning these sets countless times to get a complete set of defect-free disks, get it right. The folks who are buying these sets are die-hards who will not tolerate glaring imperfections. If the DVD's were being purchased by ordinary collectors just interested in an obscure TV show, they might put up with it. We won't.

I really wish the DVD's were single-sided and had a nice KOLCHAK emblem on the non-playing side. Would it cost more to produce with more features and doubling the disk quantity? Sure -- but who here wouldn't pay it? Universal should know that the people who buy this DVD are going to be the fans of the show, not folks casually strolling down the DVD aisles at Best Buy. So why not tailor it to us, the fans who have clamored for the show for years? I think I speak for many when I say we all would pay a few dollars more for higher quality, one-sided, added-commentary DVD's. But again...what's done is done.

Now that we know what Universal has decided to give us, please, just make sure the disks work and work right from the get-go. It will ultimately save Universal and the retailers alot of money to get it right the first time -- and save loyal fans like us alot of aggravation.

Here's to one of the best televison shows of all time, which first premiered on Friday the 13th of September, 1974. Want a good scare? Well, buy this DVD set...as Carl Kolchak himself said at the end of one of the episodes "....IF YOU HAVE THE NERVE!!"

10/22/05 POST-PURCHASE UPDATE: Well, they screwed it up!

It appears that our worst fears have been confirmed and the quality control on these DVD's appears to rival that of the American auto industry in the late 1970's. Dual-sided disks, missing disks, glitches & freezing up -- it appears that better quality could have been obtained from having someone burn DVD's from the older Kolchak VHS tapes. So it appears that all we are getting is a poor digital transfer of the series (thankfully, they appear uncut) with plenty of playback problems.

The one bright spot might be to contact Universal -- write or email the corporate guys, not the Video Customer Service folks ! -- and tell them how dissapointed you are with their product and that in the future you will refrain from buying ANY Universal DVD sets given the lack of extras, poor production quality, etc. Perhaps Universal will be prodded into producing a much-higher quality set of HD-DVD's in a few years when that format starts making the rounds.

I will give a final update once I have seen all the episodes off of the DVDs (assuming they all play on my DVD player, that is).

I have just screened an advance copy of this short-lived cult television series and am saddened to report that the transfers are poor. They are obviously tape masters unceremoniously dumped onto dvd and hastily "released" in order to cash in upon the "new" Night Stalker series. They look to be the exact same tape masters which were utilized in the mastering of the vhs series which was made available via mail order in the mid 1990's, in fact, these may even look a bit worse. They are soft, colors are faded, and there is abjectly awful and omnipresent grain abounding. Am I at all surprised by this ? No. This shows nothing but contempt for the fans. UNIVERSAL is on par with PARAMOUNT and SONY as far as displaying avariciously shrewd and contemptible attitudes towards anything which is not a prospective HUGE "moneymaker". Sadly, this is STILL an essential purchase for TRUE horror fans. The five stars are for the series, NOT for UNIVERSAL, who wouldn't merit even one star.........

I love Kolchak. I couldn't wait to get the dvd boxed set. Unfortunately, by Universal making the discs 2 sided (flippers), they are somewhat poor quality. The second disc in my set had some major warpage. It wouldn't even play on my Magnavox DVD player, which, granted, is also a testimonial to how lousy Magnavox DVD players are. But the disc also exhibited some minor freezing up on my Toshiba player, and would only play correctly on my trusty Panasonic (which seems to play anything you care to feed it). So I give this set 3 stars, which, considering the quality, is overly generous. Just beware, if you purchase it, that it helps to have a DVD player that plays anything, regardless of quality.