Customer Reviews

The Twilight Zone - Collection 2

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The item you are viewing is the second in a series of 5 Twilight Zone DVD collections, each containing 9 volumes of 4 episodes each. ....

Not bad, eh? The only difference between the box set DVDs and the individual ones are the cases. They are better, in my opinion, because they are more compact and yet aren't those [inexpensive] cardboard things. You also get a nice box to house them in.

Onto the content. If you're a fan of only some of the episodes -- the most popular ones that people always talk about, chances are you should buy Collection 1 first (contains "To Serve Man", "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet", etc.). But there are definitely some classics contained in Collection 2. Among the 36 episodes (Volumes 10-18 of the individual DVDs) are:

--The After Hours: Anne Francis visits a department store's mysterious 9th floor. Didn't that mannequin just sell her a thimble?

--Living Doll: If you remember the TZ and don't remember "Talky Tina", there's something seriously wrong with you!

--The Obsolete Man: Has Burgess Meredith become obsolete?? This one has landed in the Fans' Top 15 Episodes.

--The Midnight Sun: The sun is inching closer and closer to Earth. That can only mean one thing... It's hot!

--A Hundred Yards Over the Rim: A man traveling with a wagon trains crosses over a rim in the Nevada desert in search of water, game and way to heal his son... but winds up in the Twilight Zone!

Complete Listing: A Hundred Yards Over the Rim, Once Upon a Time, The Last Flight, The Trouble With Templeton, Living Doll, The After Hours, The Dummy, The Fever, Mr. Denton on Doomsday, The Lateness of the Hour, The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine, The Trade-Ins, A Quality of Mercy, Judgment Night, The Obsolete Man, The Purple Testament, In Praise of Pip, One For the Angels, The Arrival, The Man in the Bottle, A Kind of a Stopwatch, Escape Clause, Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room, The Midnight Sun, And When the Sky Was Opened, In His Image (Hour-Long Show), The Last Night of a Jockey, The Mirror, The Old Man in the Cave, What You Need, What's in the Box, Death Ship (Hour-Long Show), I Shot an Arrow Into the Air, Still Valley

Why does Amazon charge $89 for a boxed set of 9 discs each worth $5? It should at least break even and be $45. I have found a Twilight Zone collection of 9 disks brand new somewhere else for $35. Come on Amazon, I know you can do better than this.

There are portions of the Twilight Zone which I won't even touch on with this review. The performances, dialogue, writing, direction, etc. are so far beyond reproach, they not even be mentioned. However, while only being 3 Volumes into this Collection 2 (who wants to rush?), something occured to me. This isn't great because it's Sci-Fi, in fact, Sci-Fi was merely the "hook" that got me here. It's great because it doesn't pander to the lowest comman factor. If you don't "get" the Twilight Zone, that's your loss. It won't even slow down a beat to look back to see if you are still following. Simply put, it's smart. It's direct. It's 25 minute snippets of a dream realized fully. Not many people can say they had a vision and were able to see it to its conclusion. That's the Twilight Zone.

I don't believe I am at the portions where the "eye" is gone in the menu set-up, but I "had" the singular Volumes 20 and 25 at one time and know how well the menu set-up was changed and am eagerly looking forward to that. Other than the first 3 or so Volumes of this having the sluggish menu set-up, I would like to still frown upon the eps. not being in at least production order. Not having the "Serling" round table discussions on this dvd set that are on my laser disc versions, still force me to hang on to them. Hopefully, a compilation in the future could be made. Note to FOX or whoever owns the rights, I can with little shame say I'd pay any price to have them all together on one convenient disc.

Even as an avid fan of the original Star Trek, I have come to the conclusion that the Twilight Zone is/was the best show TV ever produced, and is in every way the Beatles of television. Today, I watched the episode the Obsolete Man, which is one I hadn't seen for a very long time (I don't have cable and the "TZ marathons" haven't been on for ages). After viewing it, I came to the conclusion also that that one episode had been worth my money ... then I remembered, I still have 30 some odd episodes to watch in Collection 2!

What a grand time to be a fan of the Twilight Zone. My heart still goes out to all of you in the trenchs that bought every single disc separately.

Having had a partial collection on video for many years now, I anxiously awaited the release on DVD. Finally! The complete series (156 episodes) has finally received the treatment it truly deserves. This series has held up well for 40+ years, and I have no doubt it will make it for at least another half century. Television writing was at its peak with this show, and the evolution of television filming (and videotaping) techniques is obvious over the course of this series. And the trademark twists at the end of each episode still take me by surprise!

Technically, the digital remastering to DVD has brought new life to Rod Serling's brainchild. The video presentation is crisp and well defined, bringing out the subtle details so well, that you will find yourself completely absorbed in the nuances of Serling's vision, and the outstanding production values for this early 60's series (just keep in mind that this is pre-Computer Generation era). The audio was clear, and blissfully noise free, but a bit low on the volume when compared to the title and menu audio tracks (both on the �geyeball�h version of the earlier disks, and the intro sequences on the later disks). The shows are presented in their original format, so no widescreen version is necessary. And television always translates well to...well, television. Although the extras include a Rod Serling bio, a brief synopsis of each of the 5 seasons that the series ran, and a Twilight Zone history, these features are identical on each disc. The true gem of the extra features is the episode synopsis and review. Each disc is unique in this respect, with a plot summary and some background "inside info". Although mostly taken from the book "The Twilight Zone Companion," I found this feature to be the most interesting.

Each collection has its �ghits�h and �gmisses�h, but the series is, overall, a rewarding experience. The only "disappointments" that I found were the collection's lack of a subtitles option (which I really would have appreciated), and the fact that the episodes are not in order (which slightly detracts from observing the actual progression of growth within the series). That makes this more of a 4 1/2 star rating (but you can't do that, can you?). If you have ever enjoyed even one episode of this legendary series, you will not regret buying these collections. And if you've never seen it, give it a try...you'll be hooked.

Having had a partial collection on video for many years now, I anxiously awaited the release on DVD. Finally! The complete series (156 episodes) has finally received the treatment it truly deserves. This series has held up well for 40+ years, and I have no doubt it will make it for at least another half century. Television writing was at its peak with this show, and the evolution of television filming (and videotaping) techniques is obvious over the course of this series. And the trademark twists at the end of each episode still take me by surprise!

Technically, the digital remastering to DVD has brought new life to Rod Serling's brainchild. The video presentation is crisp and well defined, bringing out the subtle details so well, that you will find yourself completely absorbed in the nuances of Serling's vision, and the outstanding production values for this early 60's series (just keep in mind that this is pre-Computer Generation era). The audio was clear, and blissfully noise free, but a bit low on the volume when compared to the title and menu audio tracks (both on the �geyeball�h version of the earlier disks, and the intro sequences on the later disks). The shows are presented in their original format, so no widescreen version is necessary. And television always translates well to...well, television. Although the extras include a Rod Serling bio, a brief synopsis of each of the 5 seasons that the series ran, and a Twilight Zone history, these features are identical on each disc. The true gem of the extra features is the episode synopsis and review. Each disc is unique in this respect, with a plot summary and some background "inside info". Although mostly taken from the book "The Twilight Zone Companion," I found this feature to be the most interesting.

Each collection has its �ghits�h and �gmisses�h, but the series is, overall, a rewarding experience. The only "disappointments" that I found were the collection's lack of a subtitles option (which I really would have appreciated), and the fact that the episodes are not in order (which slightly detracts from observing the actual progression of growth within the series). That makes this more of a 4 1/2 star rating (but you can't do that, can you?). If you have ever enjoyed even one episode of this legendary series, you will not regret buying these collections. And if you've never seen it, give it a try...you'll be hooked.

There is as much strength in this group of episodes as in those packaged into "collection #1." (Please see my review of that.)

If you are a TZ fan, this merits your attention. If you are exploring TZ, try a small, inexpensive sampler, then step up to this when you are ready. Seriously consider this, also, for those on your gift list who have everything and/or are difficult to buy for.

Having had a partial collection on video for many years now, I anxiously awaited the release on DVD. Finally! The complete series (156 episodes) has finally received the treatment it truly deserves. This series has held up well for 40+ years, and I have no doubt it will make it for at least another half century. Television writing was at its peak with this show, and the evolution of television filming (and videotaping) techniques is obvious over the course of this series. And the trademark twists at the end of each episode still take me by surprise!

Technically, the digital remastering to DVD has brought new life to Rod Serling's brainchild. The video presentation is crisp and well defined, bringing out the subtle details so well, that you will find yourself completely absorbed in the nuances of Serling's vision, and the outstanding production values for this early 60's series (just keep in mind that this is pre-Computer Generation era). The audio was clear, and blissfully noise free, but a bit low on the volume when compared to the title and menu audio tracks (both on the �geyeball�h version of the earlier disks, and the intro sequences on the later disks). The shows are presented in their original format, so no widescreen version is necessary. And television always translates well to...well, television. Although the extras include a Rod Serling bio, a brief synopsis of each of the 5 seasons that the series ran, and a Twilight Zone history, these features are identical on each disc. The true gem of the extra features is the episode synopsis and review. Each disc is unique in this respect, with a plot summary and some background "inside info". Although mostly taken from the book "The Twilight Zone Companion," I found this feature to be the most interesting.

Each collection has its �ghits�h and �gmisses�h, but the series is, overall, a rewarding experience. The only "disappointments" that I found were the collection's lack of a subtitles option (which I really would have appreciated), and the fact that the episodes are not in order (which slightly detracts from observing the actual progression of growth within the series). That makes this more of a 4 1/2 star rating (but you can't do that, can you?). If you have ever enjoyed even one episode of this legendary series, you will not regret buying these collections. And if you've never seen it, give it a try...you'll be hooked.

This a must-buy, just like the first set. Before these sets came out, I was buying each DVD for 15 bucks a piece. Here, you get nine for less than a hundred dollars, so... you do the math. The second set is wonderful. It includes some of the scarier episodes like "Living Doll" and that other one with the ventriloquist dummy - Okay, so I can't remember the name of the episode right now... sue me. Episodes like those still retain their spooky-factor, even though they were made many years ago. The remastered B&W looks great, and Rod is very cool as usual. Due to the slim-line cases, the box doesn't take up very much room, which was a big plus for me. If you are any kind of TZ fan at all, you really cannot pass this up.

I have read some reviews of these DVD's that complain about the "Eyeball Menu" format being annoying and hard to work with - which they were!... I wanted to point out that they must have been listening, because around Volume 14, they changed the format to something much less animated but easier to work with by far. The eyeball is gone, no jarring music, and the text information does not advance by itself anymore. Overall, it is a vast improvement. Oh, just buy it!... or Talky Tina will come for you...

We now have our second 'The Twilight Zone - Collection' and we enjoyed it with the same anticipation and viewing as we did 'Collection 1.'


One of the great aspects of viewing each collection, you never know which episodes will be paired. So part of the enjoyment is the 'I wonder what's next?'


This collection includes two of the sixty minute episodes. They're like a mini-movie in their quality and production. Even the thirty mintue episodes have that quality. Serling never skimped on making these high quality productions and performances. As I said about 'Collection 1,' the actors Serling used became household names, actors who saw a quality part, and knew a good opportunity when they saw it.


We're going to continue collecting these dvd's. From the packaging to the product itself, this is first rate film/television viewing. Serling deserves great credit in providing a product with such entertainment value and social significance.


One of Serling's feature films, 'Patterns' follows in the footsteps of Twilight Zone. It's not on dvd as of yet, but I highly recommend it when it is made available. It's everything TZ was and more.

Stark + soulful old show.
Hope Di Caprio's new version tries to be as subtle, and doesn't jazz it up too much like so many other remakes.