Twilight Zone (1958-1964 original series)

[BruceH]

Yes, Eric---thanks for all the info.

[ejp626]

No problem.

My dilemma is Seasons 4 and 5, since there are quite a lot of stinkers in these two seasons, but a few of the great episodes as well. I know I'll get them eventually, but they are a lot lower on my list.

I haven't decided if I will get the Outer Limits. I'd probably like them, but I never watched this very much.

[mikelz777]

Is anyone here familiar with the episodes in season 4 when the series went to hour-long shows before going back to half-hour episodes for the 5th and final season? By the time I ever saw this show on TV it was already in syndication and I think they only ever showed the half-hour episodes. I've never seen any of the hour-long episodes. I have the DVD sets for seasons 1, 2, 3 and 5 (the definitive editions) and was wondering if season 4 was worth picking up.

[connoisseur series500]

Is anyone here familiar with the episodes in season 4 when the series went to hour-long shows before going back to half-hour episodes for the 5th and final season? By the time I ever saw this show on TV it was already in syndication and I think they only ever showed the half-hour episodes. I've never seen any of the hour-long episodes. I have the DVD sets for seasons 1, 2, 3 and 5 (the definitive editions) and was wondering if season 4 was worth picking up.

I've got the complete set, but I don't know offhand which would be season 4. I could check the discs, but it would help if you could tell me which was the last episode of season 3, and I could go from there. I've seen many of them, but not all.

[Dan Gould]

Is anyone here familiar with the episodes in season 4 when the series went to hour-long shows before going back to half-hour episodes for the 5th and final season? By the time I ever saw this show on TV it was already in syndication and I think they only ever showed the half-hour episodes. I've never seen any of the hour-long episodes.

SciFi channel runs Twilight Zone at least once a week during the day, and I've noticed that the hour long episodes have been included. Maybe you can check the schedule and set up your TiVO or VCR. I've always felt that the hour long episodes don't work like the shorter ones but I certainly haven't seen all of them.

[mikelz777]

Is anyone here familiar with the episodes in season 4 when the series went to hour-long shows before going back to half-hour episodes for the 5th and final season? By the time I ever saw this show on TV it was already in syndication and I think they only ever showed the half-hour episodes. I've never seen any of the hour-long episodes. I have the DVD sets for seasons 1, 2, 3 and 5 (the definitive editions) and was wondering if season 4 was worth picking up.

I've got the complete set, but I don't know offhand which would be season 4. I could check the discs, but it would help if you could tell me which was the last episode of season 3, and I could go from there. I've seen many of them, but not all.

These were the hour-long episodes that made up the 4th season. I have the Definitive Editions of the other 4 seasons (1,2,3,5) but was trying to weigh whether it was worth picking up the "deviant format" 4th season. I see the set can be had for around $35.00 but would prefer to get it for its watchability and quality rather than out of a desire for completeness.

#1 In His Image

A science enthusiast creates a perfect mechanical man, one who compensates for his own shortcomings. Starring George Grizzard, Gail Kobe, Katherine Squire, Wallace Rooney.

#2 The Thirty-Fathom Grave

A man is haunted by the sounds from a submarine that sank 20 years ago. Stars Mike Kellin, Simon Oakland, David Sheiner, John Considine, Bill Bixby.

#3 Valley of the Shadow

A reporter discovers the secret of a small village but can he escape it? Stars Ed Nelson, Natalie Trundy, David Opatoshu, James Doohan.

#4 He's Alive

A young hatemonger is inspired by the ghost of Adolf Hitler. Stars Dennis Hopper, Ludwig Donath, Curt Conway, Paul Mazursky.

#5 Mute

A young couple experiment with telepathy. Stars Ann Jillian, Frank Overton, Barbara Baxley.

#6 Death Ship

An astronaut refuses to admit that he and his crew may be dead. Stars Jack Klugman, Ross Martin, Frederick Beir, Mary Webster.

#7 Jess-Belle

A girl strikes a deadly bargain with a witch to ensure the attention of a young man. Stars Anne Francis, James Best, Laura Devon, Jeanette Nolan, Virginia Gregg.

#8 Miniature

An introverted young man falls in love with a doll in a museum. Stars Robert Duvall, Pert Kelton, Barbara Barrie, Len Weinrib, William Windom.

#9 Printer's Devil

A newspaper editor who is facing bankruptcy hires a man who claims to be the Devil. Stars Robert Sterling, Patricia Crowley, Burgess Meredith.

#10 No Time Like the Past

A time traveler attempts to change history by warning the victims of impending disasters. Stars Dana Andrews, Patricia Breslin, Malcolm Atterbury.

#11 The Parallel

An orbiting astronaut passes into a strange parallel world. Stars Steve Forrest, Jacqueline Scott, Frank Aletter, Philip Abbott.

#12 I Dream of Genie

A store keeper discovers Aladdin's lamp. Stars Howard Morris, Patricia Barry, Mark Miller, Jack Albertson.

#13 The New Exhibit

Famous murderers from history become the star attraction of a wax museum. Stars Martin Balsam, Will Kuluva, Maggie Mahoney.

#14 Of Late I Think of Cliffordville

A remorseless businessman makes a deal with the Devil in order to go back in time. Stars Albert Salmi, Julie Newmar, John Anderson.

#15 The Incredible World of Horace Ford

A toy manufacturer relives his boyhood. Stars Pat Hingle, Nan Martin, Ruth White.

#16 On Thursday We Leave for Home

The leader of an expedition to a remote asteroid cannot bring himself to face the dissipation of his authority that returning to Earth would bring. Stars James Whitmore, Tim O'Connor, James Broderick.

#17 Passage on the Lady Anne

An unhappily married couple take a cruise to save their marriage. Stars Lee Philips, Joyce Van Patten, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Cecil Kellaway, Gladys Cooper.

#18 The Bard

A hack TV writer conjures up William Shakespeare to act as his collaborator. Stars Jack Weston, John Williams, Burt Reynolds, John McGiver.

Edited March 17, 2008 by mikelz777

[mikelz777]

Is anyone here familiar with the episodes in season 4 when the series went to hour-long shows before going back to half-hour episodes for the 5th and final season? By the time I ever saw this show on TV it was already in syndication and I think they only ever showed the half-hour episodes. I've never seen any of the hour-long episodes.

SciFi channel runs Twilight Zone at least once a week during the day, and I've noticed that the hour long episodes have been included. Maybe you can check the schedule and set up your TiVO or VCR. I've always felt that the hour long episodes don't work like the shorter ones but I certainly haven't seen all of them.

I'll have to check that out and see if I can catch a few of the episodes in the hour-long format. I've never seen one and never saw them run on TV before.

[connoisseur series500]

Thanks for the list, Mike. I don't have enough time to watch many of them, but I'll try to see a few of them over the next few weeks. I did see #2, and it was a good episode. I think you can tell by the plots and actors/actresses whether they are likely to be good. I probably won't be able to get you an answer for a while, so you may have to decide on your own.

[mikelz777]

Thanks for the list, Mike. I don't have enough time to watch many of them, but I'll try to see a few of them over the next few weeks. I did see #2, and it was a good episode. I think you can tell by the plots and actors/actresses whether they are likely to be good. I probably won't be able to get you an answer for a while, so you may have to decide on your own.

I'm in no big hurry. I wish I waited on some of the earlier season sets I bought, I would have saved myself a significant amount of money. I just bought season 5 for $32 sealed/delivered but paid over twice that for season 1, 2-3 years ago.

[Teasing the Korean]

The hour long episodes are uncomfortably long, as if they took half-hour scripts and stretched them out to fill an hour. The worst offender is the Robert Duvall episode about the doll house. You're not missing anything if you haven't seen these.

[Teasing the Korean]

Anyone into the Twilight Zone music? Jerry Goldsmith composed some great jazzy stuff for the series.

[Dan Gould]

Last year I was reading an anthology of original stories that were adopted for The Twilight Zone; I recognize quite a few of them in the synopses of the hour long episodes. Some good stories, too, but I really think it was a mistake to go to the hour long format.

[BruceH]

Last year I was reading an anthology of original stories that were adopted for The Twilight Zone; I recognize quite a few of them in the synopses of the hour long episodes. Some good stories, too, but I really think it was a mistake to go to the hour long format.

I heard that the hour format was forced on Serling by the network and he hated it.

(BTW, I always thought the music was perhaps the best thing about the series.)

Edited March 17, 2008 by BruceH

[Teasing the Korean]

...BTW, I always thought the music was perhaps the best thing about the series.

There's a great 4 CD set of TZ music, with a disc devoted to Bernard Herrmann and another to Jerry Goldsmith. Well worth it.

Edit: There is also a 2-disc set with re-recordings of Herrmann's music.

Edited March 17, 2008 by Teasing the Korean

[Dan Gould]

Last year I was reading an anthology of original stories that were adopted for The Twilight Zone; I recognize quite a few of them in the synopses of the hour long episodes. Some good stories, too, but I really think it was a mistake to go to the hour long format.

I heard that the hour format was forced on Serling by the network and he hated it.

(BTW, I always thought the music was perhaps the best thing about the series.)

You can't be serious that the music was "the best thing" - or else I'd have to guess you aren't that much of a fan. I mean really - the music is good and all but its like saying the best part of M*A*S*H* was the laugh track.

[Teasing the Korean]

You can't be serious that the music was "the best thing" - or else I'd have to guess you aren't that much of a fan.

I like the show, but I agree that the music may have been the best thing. It was of a consistently high quality, while the episodes were hit or miss.

Edited March 17, 2008 by Teasing the Korean

[Dan Gould]

You can't be serious that the music was "the best thing" - or else I'd have to guess you aren't that much of a fan.

I like the show, but I agree that the music may have been the best thing. It was of a consistently high quality, while the episodes were hit or miss.

Obviously not every single episode was a "classic" but I'd say it had to be "consistently high quality" to sustain its appeal all these years. "Hit or miss" doesn't exactly capture that, and I'm just astounded that anyone could find greater pleasure in the music than in the stories themselves. In all seriousness I can't say that I have ever made note of the music at all.

[Teasing the Korean]

You can't be serious that the music was "the best thing" - or else I'd have to guess you aren't that much of a fan.

I like the show, but I agree that the music may have been the best thing. It was of a consistently high quality, while the episodes were hit or miss.

Obviously not every single episode was a "classic" but I'd say it had to be "consistently high quality" to sustain its appeal all these years. "Hit or miss" doesn't exactly capture that, and I'm just astounded that anyone could find greater pleasure in the music than in the stories themselves. In all seriousness I can't say that I have ever made note of the music at all.

Dan, that's fine. However, a number of great respected composers contributed to that show, including Herrmann, Goldsmith, Leonard Rosenman, and many others. It was a great period for film and TV scoring. The sensibilities of composers from that era combined with the sci-fi/fantasy elements of shows like "Twilight Zone," "Outer Limits" and others meant that composers could really stretch out in terms of color, effect, etc. You may not have noticed the music, but the opinion that the music is the best part of those shows is hardly an uncommon one. For what it's worth, I have the 4 CD TZ box set and the 2 disc Herrmann TZ set, yet I don't own a single episode on VHS or DVD. I prefer the music to the show, though there were some very cool episodes. I try to catch it on the Sci Fi channel every now and then.

Edited March 18, 2008 by Teasing the Korean

[Dan Gould]

OK. As they say, YMMV.

[Kalo]

Last year I was reading an anthology of original stories that were adopted for The Twilight Zone; I recognize quite a few of them in the synopses of the hour long episodes. Some good stories, too, but I really think it was a mistake to go to the hour long format.

I heard that the hour format was forced on Serling by the network and he hated it.

(BTW, I always thought the music was perhaps the best thing about the series.)

You can't be serious that the music was "the best thing" - or else I'd have to guess you aren't that much of a fan. I mean really - the music is good and all but its like saying the best part of M*A*S*H* was the laugh track.

The laugh-track on M*A*S*H was the same ol' dead people laughing. But the music from The Twilight Zone was memorable in its own right and very arguably the most memorable thing about the series as a whole. Just sayin'...

[Teasing the Korean]

Now listening to Nathan Van Cleave's excellent score for the episode "Two."

This score was later used liberally for the CBS Radio Mystery Theatre in the 1970s.

[BruceH]

Last year I was reading an anthology of original stories that were adopted for The Twilight Zone; I recognize quite a few of them in the synopses of the hour long episodes. Some good stories, too, but I really think it was a mistake to go to the hour long format.

I heard that the hour format was forced on Serling by the network and he hated it.

(BTW, I always thought the music was perhaps the best thing about the series.)

You can't be serious that the music was "the best thing" - or else I'd have to guess you aren't that much of a fan. I mean really - the music is good and all but its like saying the best part of M*A*S*H* was the laugh track.

Well in some ways I'm NOT much of a fan. Every time I've caught a TZ marathon I've been amazed at how many of the episodes were weak. Frankly, if you're not veiwing them through a filter of nostalgia, most of them don't hold up very well at all. But I do have a bit of nostalgia for the show, so I guess I am a partial fan...just not a huge one.

And to compare saying the music is the element that you appreciate the most is "like saying that the best part of M*A*S*H* was the laugh track" is just, well, laughable. One is the themes and occasional score, the other is a goddamn LAUGH TRACK. C'mon!

(Come to think of it, since M*A*S*H* was scored for part of it's run by Benny Golson, I'd have to say that, yeah, for at least that amount of time, the best thing for me about that show was ALSO the music. What's wrong with that?)

Edited March 18, 2008 by BruceH

[BruceH]

Last year I was reading an anthology of original stories that were adopted for The Twilight Zone; I recognize quite a few of them in the synopses of the hour long episodes. Some good stories, too, but I really think it was a mistake to go to the hour long format.

I heard that the hour format was forced on Serling by the network and he hated it.

(BTW, I always thought the music was perhaps the best thing about the series.)

You can't be serious that the music was "the best thing" - or else I'd have to guess you aren't that much of a fan. I mean really - the music is good and all but its like saying the best part of M*A*S*H* was the laugh track.

The laugh-track on M*A*S*H was the same ol' dead people laughing. But the music from The Twilight Zone was memorable in its own right and very arguably the most memorable thing about the series as a whole. Just sayin'...

Yeah, I'm not saying that it ain't arguable.

But those episodes that are your particular favorites: Even if you didn't notice the music consciously, I'm sure it contributed subliminaly to their effectiveness. That much I don't think can be argued against.

But by all means, YMMV, now and forever.

[Dan Gould]

Well, I compared it to the laugh track because like the musical accompaniment, it was used to punctuate certain moments in the story - comedic or dramatic doesn't really matter, the purpose is the same.

But mileage does vary a great deal - when I catch a TZ marathon, I am struck by how consistently good the stories are, with the real clinkers standing out among such gold. And there's no nostalgia at play because I only saw them in syndication starting sometime in the '70s.

But I tell you what, next time I watch, I will try to pay attention to the music.

[BruceH]

A laugh track just isn't the same thing as a score, but otherwise I agree with you. (Even about the quality-quotient of the episodes. My take on that depends a lot on my mood. These things are very subjective. And when I've occasionally caught some of some little-known anthology-series of the time on cable, like Thriller!, TZ looks very good in comparison.)