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DVD Shopping Bag: The Twilight Zone Season 5 Blu-ray
A New watch to the Zone By
Robert T. Trate
August 31, 2011
William Shatner in Richard Matheson’s Nightmare at 20,000 Feet episode
© Imagine Entertainment/ Robert Trate
Imagine Entertainment releases the fifth and final season of The Twilight Zone today on Blu-ray. Their entire collection on Blu-ray has been on another plane of existence. Each and every episode has at least one special feature, most have four. Everything from commentary tracks to radio dramas. This is your fifth and definitive edition to Rod Serling’s masterpiece of a TV series. For further praise, kudos, and down right awe check out my reviews of season 1, 2, and 3 here on Mania (season 4 was not made available for review).
The Twilight Zone is an interesting series as a whole. As viewers, we have come to know episodes by several different means. Whether that be by the actor, the premise, or by the title (“Time Enough at Last”) we all have our routes for navigating the Twilight Zone. Watching (almost) the complete series from a critics stand point has been fascinating. A chance to see them all in order, with original bumpers, and coming attractions made it incredibly difficult to turn them off. In the more recent past The Twilight Zone has been viewed on the Sci-Fi Channel*; usually in marathon form. We know what episodes we hope to see and we keep watching/ waiting for them. As far back as 1999 Imagine Entertainment released volume numbered DVDs featuring a collection of best episodes. Here we would see episode 22, “The Monsters are due on Maple Street”, with episode 54, “The Odyssey of Flight 33”. These are fine episodes but for the price, at the time, hardly worth the money. With this complete collection I offer to you Twilight Zone fans a fresh and different way to watch the show. Watch it only by the writer of the episodes.
The idea hit me while I was watching William Shatner in “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”. The episode was written by Richard Matheson. The writer of “I am Legend” and films such as Somewhere in Time plus 15 other episodes of The Twilight Zone. Matheson does an interview for the Blu-ray and gives the audience incredible insights to working on the series. Twilight Zone Historian Marc Scott Zicree asks all the right questions and really gets into Matheson’s head. Matheson speaks about his other episodes and even other writers. We quickly learn that next to Matheson, Charles Beaumont is the only other writer to pen more episodes (22) outside of Serling (148).
Season 5 boasts some of Beaumont’s and Matheson’s best work. The fore mentioned “Shatner episode” was also adapted into Twilight Zone the Movie. Beaumont here has Telly Savalas matching wits with Talky Tina in “Living Doll”. Perhaps you would like even to watch the inspiration for Hugh Jackman’s Real Steel in Matheson’s “Steel”. Better yet, marvel how things only got worse since 1964 in Beaumont’s "Number 12 Looks Just Like You". For that episode I do apologize because we as a society have not come very far.
Now, much like I read comics, I am going to follow my favorite writers on my all time favorite TV show. The stars, the premises, even the titles will be gone. Now the only thing that matters is the writer or writers (as Serling, Beaumont, and Matheson did adapt each other’s work) on these stories. What will I do after that? I’ll watch the ones not written by these three fine gentlemen. After all there are always new ways to discover, the Twilight Zone.
Top 10 Picks of the Week(there aretoo many to only have 5 this week):
1. The Twilight Zone: Season 5 [Blu-ray]
2. The Incredible Shrinking Man (also written by Richard Matheson)
3. Top Gun (Blu-ray + Digital Copy)
4. Affair to Remember [Blu-ray]
5. Wild Bunch (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle)
6. The Nightmare Before Christmas (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy)
7. Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy [Blu-ray]
8. If . . . (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
9. Tango & Cash (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle)
10.Under Siege (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) (Proud to have it on Blu-ray!)
ACTION / ADVENTURE / KUNG FU/ THRILLERS / WESTERNS
A Proper Violence Starring Randy Spence, Justin Morck, Shawn Mahoney and Will Brunson
Batman (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) Starring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Robert Wuhl
BKO: Bangkok Knockout [Blu-ray] Starring Gitabak Agohjit, Speedy Arnold, Supakson Chaimongkol
BKO: Bangkok Knockout
Beneath the Mississippi
Bereavement Starring Michael Biehn, John Savage, Alexandra Daddario
Billy the Kid's Smoking Gun
Blood Simple [Blu-ray] Starring John Getz and Dan Hedaya
Border Devils
Border Outlaws
Brave One (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) Starring Naveen Andrews, Terrence Howard and Nicky Katt
The Coffin Starring Ananda Everingham, Florence Faivre and Andrew Lin
Death Race [Blu-ray] Starring Jason Statham, Ian McShane and Tyrese Gibson
The Departed (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson
Fast & Furious (2009) Starring Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and John Ortiz
2 Fast 2 Furious Starring Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Cole Hauser and Ludacris
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Starring Lucas Black, Damien Marzette, Zachery Ty Bryan
The Fast and the Furious Starring Paul Walker and Rick Yune
Gantz [Blu-ray] Starring Kazunari Ninomiya and Kenichi Matsuyama
Gantz
Gauntlet (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) Starring Clint Eastwood, Pat Hingle, William Prince
Green Zone [Blu-ray] Starring Matt Damon, Nicoye Banks and Jerry Della Salla
Gunners and Guns-Black King
In a Better World (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) Starring Mikael Persbrandt and Trine Dyrholm
Murder Is News
Norwegian Ninja Starring Mads Ousdal and Jon Oigarden (see my review)
Ocean's Twelve (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia and Don Cheadle
The Perfect Host Starring David Hyde Pierce and Clayne Crawford
The Perfect Host [Blu-ray]
Point of No Return (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) Starring Dermot Mulroney, Gabriel Byrne, Harvey Keitel
Pueblo Terror & Whirlwind Rider
Raiders of the Red Gap
Rush Hour 3 (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) Starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker
Shoot Em Up (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) Starring Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti and Stephen Mchattie
Swordfish (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) Starring John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Don Cheadle and Vinnie Jones
Tango & Cash (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) Starring Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell and Jack Palance
Top Gun (Blu-ray + Digital Copy) Starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer and Anthony Edwards
Tracy Rides & Pinto Rustlers
Under Siege (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) Starring Steven Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey
Wrecked [Blu-ray] Starring Adrien Brody and Caroline Dhavernas
Wrecked
Wild Bunch (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) Starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan
ANIME
Neo Angelique Abyss Complete Collection
Pokemon Dp Galactic Battles 5-6
Pokemon: Dp Galactic Battles 5
Pokemon: Dp Galactic Battles 6
Spice and Wolf: Season Two (Blu-ray/DVD Combo) Starring Jamie Marchi, Brina Palencia and J. Michael Tatum
Spice and Wolf: Season One [Blu-ray]
Spice and Wolf: Season Two (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Limited Edition)
CARTOONS
The Ant Bully (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle)
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs [Blu-ray 3D]
Rio (Four-Disc Blu-ray 3D/ Blu-ray/ DVD/ Digital Copy) Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway
Scooby Doo & The Ghosts
Scooby Doo & The Pirates
Scooby Doo & The Zombies
Shrek (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo) Starring Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow
Shrek 2 (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo) Starring Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Julie Andrews
Shrek the Third (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo)
CLASSICS
Affair to Remember [Blu-ray] Starring Cary Grant
The Cigarette Girl of Mosselprom Starring Yuliya Solntseva and Igor Ilyinsky
Follow the Boys Starring Russ Tamblyn, Richard Long and Ron Randell
Grand Illusion Starring Jean Gabin, Dita Parlo, Pierre Fresnay
When the Boys Meet the Girls Starring Harve Presnell
COMEDY AND LOVE Mania Style
Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy [Blu-ray] Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover (you should already own this, see my review)
Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy
Raising Arizona [Blu-ray] Starring Nicolas Cage and Trey Wilson
Criterion Collection
The Complete Jean Vigo (A propos de Nice / Taris / Zero de conduite / L'atalante) (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] Starring Michel Simon, Jean Dasté, Dita Parlo and Louis Lefebvre
The Complete Jean Vigo (A propos de Nice / Taris / Zero de conduite / L'atalante) (The Criterion Collection)
If . . . (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] Starring Malcolm McDowell, David Wood, Richard Warwick
Orpheus (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] Starring Jean Marais, Francois Perier, Maria Casares and Marie Dea
Orpheus (Criterion Collection)
HORROR
Big Box of Zombies
Children Of The Corn: Genesis Starring J.J. Banicki, Dusty Burwell and Kai Caster
Children of the Corn-Genesis [Blu-ray]
Deadgirl [Blu-ray] Starring Shiloh Fernandez, Noah Segan, Michael Bowen
Final Destination 2 [Blu-ray] Starring Michael Landes and Tony Todd
Final Destination 3 [Blu-ray] Starring Ryan Merriman, Kris Lemche and Alexz Johnson
Roadkill Starring Kacey Barnfield, Diarmuid Noyes, Eliza Bennett
Stained Starring Tinsel Korey, Anna Mae Routledge and Tim Fellingham
MODERN CLASSICS on BLU-RAY
Good Will Hunting [Blu-ray + Digital Copy] Starring Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck
Inglourious Basterds [Blu-ray] Starring Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz (super cheap, which probably means special edition coming soon)
Miller's Crossing [Blu-ray] Starring Gabriel Byrne and John Turturro
SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY
Asylum Seekers Starring Pepper Binkley, Bill Dawes and Judith Hawking
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader [Blu-ray 3D] Starring Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Gary Sweet and Terry Norris
Clash of Titans (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) Starring Harry Hamlin and Burgess Meredith (see my review)
The Incredible Shrinking Man Starring Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, Paul Langton
Journey to the Center of Earth (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) Starring Brendan Fraser and Josh Hutcherson
Red Faction: Origins Starring Robert Patrick and Gareth David-Lloyd
Sinbad & The Minotaur Starring Manu Bennett, Steven Grives, Holly Brisley
TV LAND
90210: The Third Season Starring Shenae Grimes and AnnaLynne McCord
Cell 211 Starring Alberto Ammann
Desperate Housewives: The Complete Seventh Season Starring Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman and Marcia Cross
Detroit 1-8-7: The Complete First Season Starring Michael Imperioli, Jon Michael Hill and Erin Cummings
House, M.D.: Season Seven Starring Hugh Laurie, Robert Sean Leonard and Lisa Edelstein
House, M.D.: Season Seven [Blu-ray]
Murphy's Law: Series 4 & 5 Starring James Nesbitt
Nikita: The Complete First Season Starring Maggie Q, Lyndsy Fonseca and Shane West
Nikita: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]
Roots Starring Levar Burton
Sons of Anarchy: Season Three Starring Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal
Sons of Anarchy: Season Three [Blu-ray]
The Twilight Zone: Season 5 [Blu-ray] Starring Bill Mumy, George Takei, Gladys Cooper and Jack Klugman
The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season Starring Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder
The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray]
BOX SETS
Coen Brothers Collection (Blood Simple/Fargo/Miller's Crossing/Raising Arizona) [Blu-ray] Starring William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi
George Sanders Saint Movie Collection Starring George Sanders
The Mummy Trilogy [Blu-ray] Starring Brendan Fraser, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo
Murphy's Law Complete Collection Starring James Nesbitt
Robert Trate writes two weekly columns for Mania the DVD Shopping Bag and the Toy Maniac. Follow Robert on Twitter for his for Geek ramblings, Cosplay photos and film criticisms.* Robert spelled the Sci-Fi Channel the proper way as that is the way it was spelled when it was actually good.
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I can't believe that more of these stories haven't been used to make full-length movies... The material was so good! I'm sure there are legions of young movie-goers who have no idea of how awesome this series was, or what it even is.