The Show
Despite some naysaying I've heard recently, I firmly believe that The Twilight Zone Season 5 still had plenty of life left in her. The final year (1963-1964) saw a return to the tighter, more accessible half-hour format, and some of the classic entries we still speak of today arrive in this package: from William Shatner's second visit to The Zone in "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (later adapted for the feature film) to "The Masks" to "Living Doll" to lesser-appreciated gems such as the Richard Donner-directed "The Jeopardy Room."
With an apparent go-for-broke spirit, the season tackled controversial topics such as racism ("I Am the Night - Color Me Black"), drunk driving ("Stopover in a Quiet Town") and even gave us a quick peek at the war in Vietnam ("In Praise of Pip"). Of course, we are also subjected to conspicuous duds such as "Ring-a-Ding Girl" and the series-ending "The Bewitchin' Pool," but even the goofier notes (the wildly futuristic year of 1974 in "Steel"!) have since taken on a nostalgic charm.
Lots of familiar faces returned from seasons past, with at least one episode written by creator Rod Serling himself specifically for a guest star, namely Mickey Rooney's one-man show, "Last Night of a Jockey." And the show reached its most experimental heights by airing the Cannes Film Festival/Oscar-winning French short, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" from the story by Ambrose Bierce. Looking back, I'd say that The Twiight Zone went out with a bang.
The Picture
All episodes have been remastered for high definition from their film elements, at the proper 4:3 TV aspect ratio. The image is remarkably clean despite a somewhat limited bitrate, sometimes barely into double digits. This is not to say that the picture is noise-free, as common challenges such as the weave of cloth or the odd object like the head on a beer can go unhappily buzzy, and a cloud of smoke might display a digital twitch.
Blacks are generally natural if not always well-detailed, with some mushy exceptions. There's also a noticeable downshift in quality for "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," shot under entirely different circumstances, with more significant film damage and a different grain structure. But no denying it, this is the best I've ever seen any of these episodes look.
The Sound
The linear PCM 2.0 mono audio--available in original and restored flavors (restored highly preferred) offers a pleasing spread across the front soundstage, although there's no mistaking this for true stereo or anything greater. Ambitious crowd scenes as during the prize fight in "Steel" receive their due, but viewers wishing to be surrounded by the lively mob will be disappointed. Highs, including vocals, can be clipped at times.
And although "Owl Creek Bridge" looked worse than the typical installment, I thought that it actually sounded better than average, with an enjoyable fullness, clarity and punch. Not Star Wars certainly but a solid showing.
The Extras
Chief among the extras are 20 new commentaries by authors, experts and fans--including comic book super-scribe Neil Gaiman--but also by surviving creative personnel from back in the day, including the legendary director Richard Donner. There are also audio dramatizations of 22 of the 36 Season Five episodes voiced by some major contemporary talent, as well as more newly released audio and video interviews.
The DVD extras have been ported over, with lots of great previous audio commentaries, and the video bits in standard definition. A full listing is noted below.
Final Thoughts
Image Entertainment has put significant effort into making this final set worthy of the previous four, a significant upgrade in technical quality with an expanded feature set to boot, all held together with Blu-ray's superior navigation. It is a fitting conclusion to an outstanding achievement in television history.
Product Details
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