The Twilight Zone - Vol. 2 DVD

It was in 1959 that ex-boxer and paratrooper turned screenwriter Rod Serling first opened the door to the "dimension of imagination" that is The Twilight Zone, a show quite unlike anything that had gone before, and better than much that has followed in its wake. This television series ran from 1959-1964 and it still looks fresh as ever, particularly on DVD. What distinguished the series (and still does) is the quality of the scripts, many of which were penned by Serling, but with significant contributions from veteran sci-fi authors and screenwriters such as Richard... Matheson. Actors of the calibre of Robert Redford, Burgess Meredith, Lee Marvin and William Shatner gave some of their best small-screen performances, while an unforgettable main title theme by Bernard Herrmann and musical contributions from young turks such as Jerry Goldsmith underline the show's attraction for great creative talent both behind and in front of the cameras.There are four more selected episodes from the series on Volume 2. "Time Enough at Last" (episode 8) features Burgess Meredith in a heartbreaking role as the only survivor of nuclear holocaust whose dreams are (literally) shattered before his very eyes. "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" (episode 22) is Serling at his humanitarian best, issuing a plea against prejudice and intolerance and dissecting the mechanics of mob hysteria all in the space of a half-hour television show. "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (episode 123) is one of the Zone's most celebrated set pieces, featuring a pre-Star Trek William Shatner as the paranoid passenger who sees a gremlin on the plane's wing. Directed by Richard (Lethal Weapon) Donner from a script by Richard Matheson, this episode was one of those remade in the 1983 Twilight Zone film. There is more aircraft oddity in "The Odyssey of Flight 33" (episode 54), co-written by Serling with technical dialogue assistance from a TWA pilot, giving the crew's conversation the stamp of authenticity as they plunge back and then forward in time.On the DVD: A neat animated menu with a winking eye guides the viewer "Inside the Twilight Zone", which consists of digests of background information on the individual episodes, as well as a general history of the show, season-by-season breakdown and a potted biography of Serling. --Mark Walker [show more]

Read More