Customer Reviews

Tales of Tomorrow: Collection One

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not long ago, I had only heard about the television show Tales of Tomorrow just twice: once as a passing reference as an inspiration of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone in his PBS documentary, and once more when I saw the episode "All the Time in the World" at the Museum of TV and Radio in NYC when I visited there last August. I had always liked TZ and I was happy to see one of it's predecessors which had left the air before my parents were even born. I was not disappointed as the episode was another example of intelligently wielded suspense and science fiction, the kind of show that they just don't make any more (well UPN tried, but let's not talk about that right now). There were other available episodes, but my family and I had to leave the museum, but imagine my happiness when I heard that a DVD boxset of Tales was coming.

Tales of Tomorrow: Collection One is a series of selected episodes from the first season of televisions first sci-fi anthology series (including the one I previously mentioned); many of us are used to full season sets but after all, some episodes may no longer be accounted for. There are no extras at all except for scene selection, though somehow I doubt there could be things like deleted scenes or creator commentaries (since many of the creators are probably no longer with us).

I'm giving this collection 5 stars not because these episodes are timeless classics but because they are a rare and fascinating window into television's early history. The shows feature commercials recorded on the same film as the show, and it's also apparent that TV producers at the time weren't big advocates for reshoots as they could be called today. Actors badly flub their lines in many shows but keep on going. Lon Chaney gives a well-known and confusing scene as Frankenstein where he hefts a chair in rage, calmly puts it down, then pantomimes smashing it. My favorite is from the "Miraculous Serum" where a doctor listens for a dying woman's breathing without putting the stethoscope in his ears first. Ha!

But these stories don't deserve to be laughed at. Seeing these shows made so long ago with such clarity is one of the greater gifts of the DVD revolution and I would recommend "Tales of Tomorrow" to anyone who loves television in general. I'd love to see another installment, perhaps with a documentary. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Tales of Tomorrow is really the forerunner of so many popular science fiction programs that dominated sci fi's "golden age" during the late 50's thru the 60's. The ideas for series like "One Step Beyond," "Twilight Zone," and "Outer Limits" can trace their ideological and creative roots back to this series. For example, one episode, "What You Need" was also picked up by Rod Serling as a story idea. Even John Newland, host of "One Step Beyond," plays a protagonist in one of the less memorable and weaker episodes.

While it is easy to be put off by the flubs in dialogue or the flimsy and cheap sets, the series is fun to watch while the story ideas remain different, imaginative, and creative. The episodes have been restored and remastered as best as possible by Wade Williams Productions. Wade Williams and his production team was responsible for restoring such greats as "Rocketship XM" and "Destination Moon" back in the mid-80's, often finding and restoring lost (in some cases replicating long shots with extras) or damaged footage from the original print.

The episodes here are restored with their original commercials for Kreisler watch bands in their appropriate commerical breaks, and watching the epsidoes in their original and intended format is a fascinating glimpse into television history.

Thank you, Image, for releasing TALES OF TOMORROW on DVD. This first set contains 13 episodes from the first season. The quality is excellent, considering these shows were made more than a half-century ago. Some of them even include the original commercials! Menus are fine and include chapter markers within each episode. Please, Image ... release more!

I'd never heard of this series before viewing the DVD, and didn't know what to expect having never really seen much 50's Television programs. But this was a pleasant surprise. The episodes are done like plays, e.g they were done live with the focus on stories and characters, not FX. As such, you relate to the characters as people, and that makes the viewing enjoyable.

Also interesting is that the original commericals are included with each episode. These are fun to watch from an historical perspective, and entertaining in their own right. Botttom line, don't expect modern FX or space opera sci-fi. This is story telling with a sci-fi overlay, and highly recommended.

The picture quality is superb from kinescope masters. Thanks to IMAGE, the original network commercials are intact and do not feature the crappy new-style computer imagery that was made to substitute the opening and closing credits. Wade Williams, who claims to own the rights to this series, re-edited the episodes so he could copyright the new versions. Those were put out on VHS and TV airings for years but thanks to Image, these are uncut and unedited. Only flaw is some of these episodes were already released commercially (and on dollar store DVDs) such as "Ice From Space" and "Frankenstein" so there isn't a lot of new stories here. Image did not put out all the episodes from the first season as they skipped to the second season after putting out two-thirds of the first season. Apparently they only want to release the episodes with name stars. This is sad as this is a landmark science fiction series from the live television era that needs a complete release.

I remember watching Tales of Tomorrow back in the early fifties on our 12" black and white TV with my mother. Remember this show was done "live on stage" with primitive props and technology. America never did science fiction before and did not know how to present it at first to the viewing public. Actors did not really know how to act in a science setting. I can remember the one called "The Caccoon", when a couple of the prop people who were moving wires were shown in the scene. It was our first try in this country. From this we learned and "War of the Worlds" was produced and even today it beats the the new version. So considering the time and live stage acting, it was ahead of its time especially with some of the weird creatures shown.

If you like Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, The Veil, and One Step Beyond then you'll like this. Then again, if you've heard of Veil and OSB then you probably already know about this set of spooky stories.

Great mix of stars and stories/subject matter.

I thought I'd take a chance on this one (saw Paul Newman's name listed and James Doohan too) so I thought why not. You have to keep in mind that these are old time sci fi, so settle down when the special effects aren't...well, special. It's good and there is a bit of smirking going on as the various programs are watched; but you already know they're oldies and isn't that part of the whole experience? Buy it, you like it!

Tales of Tomorrow is very much like The Twilight Zone, but pre-dates it by several years. In the 50s special effects were just
about nonexistant, but most of the stories and plots were good and the acting was generally at least decent. And that really counts
for a lot more than all the flash/bang special effects you will ever see.
It`s not as good as The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits, but it`s well worth watching and beats any of the glop that passes for
tv these days.

Yes it was the first show of it's kind, and ok it came very early in the adnvent of television, but unfortunately, I must agree with the reviewer who nearly panned the show.
I do rate it slightly better if only for the fact that this was the introduction into TV sci fi, and as such, deserves to be heralded as the one that got the ball rolling. Tales actually owes much of it's style to the Tales of Tomorrow radio show than anything else. That is how the show originally got it's start, and for a while after it's introduction to television, the radio show still existed alongside it.
Production values were questionable at best, and much of the series feels claustrophobically trapped in tiny, poorly accoutoured soundstage sets that wouldn't fool a sci fi fan even in it's original airtime. Acting was often typical of the day, with emphasis on OVER-acting permeating much of the show's episodes.
Writing was often repititious and stories thin and in need of filler.
Still, if you want to see how it all started for sci fi television and have a penchant for nostalgia, you should definitely watch this vision of the future. It truly was, in every sense, just that.