"You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose
boundaries are that of the imagination. That's the signpost up ahead. Your next stop, The Twilight Zone."
And what a stop it is. Nowadays, we often think of The Twilight Zone as a quaint mid-century sci-fi show with a penchant for twist endings,
but it's oh-so-much more. Writer/show-runner Rod Serling's creation, in the late 1950s and early '60s, was a kind of Trojan horse for the TV-auteur's
subversively loaded scripts about science and progress, politics and religion, aesthetics and ethics—topics that were generally avoided or hushed on
prime-time television. Serling was able to push his social criticisms past the censors in the guise of sci-fi allegories, fantasy fables, and macabre morality
plays because, at the time, no one gave much thought to the capacity of "genre" stories—the juvenile domain of kids' comic books—for harboring
serious ideas. While some of Serling's philosophizing can seem overly didactic by today's standards, this was envelope-pushing stuff in a paranoid
society facing the start of the Cold War. And besides, The Twilight Zone isn't just a vehicle for ideas, it's also a home to whip-smart
writing, clever storytelling, and no shortage of creepy crawly, heebie-jeebies-inducing scares.
Gravity-defying Rod Serling presents...
In September, Image Entertainment released The Twilight Zone: Season 1, a five-disc Blu-ray set that is, in Twilight Zone terms,
the very definition of "definitive." After several technological generations of home viewing—from hazy TV re-runs and blurry VHS releases to good-
but-not-great DVD sets—The Twilight Zone's Blu-ray debut was and is nothing short of spectacular, with pristine high definition transfers,
newly remastered audio, and a bounty of special features. If you picked up that set—and you'll find our glowing review here—you might reasonably
wonder if Image could possibly maintain the same level of audio/video quality, not to mention the sheer quantity of bonus materials, for Season
2. Rest assured, readers, this follow-up, from a technical standpoint, is just as superlative and fully loaded as its predecessor.
Writing-wise, however, the show's second season—understandably, given the harried production schedule and budget cuts under CBS head honcho
James Aubrey's iron fiscal fist—isn't quite as innovative or gripping as the first. The Twilight Zone was always unapologetically and
effectively formulaic—the cold-open mystery, the slow-burn second act, the neck-snapping, brain-frying twist at the end that recontextualizes
everything we've just seen—but in season two we start to see Rod Serling repeating himself, borrowing elements from his previous scripts. A good
example is the season two opener, "King Nine Will Not Return," which is almost a wholesale repackaging of the season one premiere, "Where Is
Everybody?" Instead of a man wandering through a strangely deserted town, growing increasingly more paranoid, we have a crashed WWII bomber
pilot wandering around the strangely deserted wreck of his B-25, growing increasingly more paranoid. And the similarities don't end there.
Fortunately, this is the only time when he blatantly rips off an entire plot from himself; more frequently he chooses to recycle old motifs, to play
variations on his favorite themes.
Throughout season two, Serling and his likeminded writers—including Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson—return often to the topic of isolation
and its psychological effects. In "Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room," a small-time crook with a few hours to spare comes face to face with his own
reflection and sees a mirror version of himself that's more confident and ambitious. "The Invaders" follows the mounting terror of a woman trapped
alone in a farmhouse with tiny spacemen, and "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" finds a 19th century settler stumbling through the desert into
modern-day New Mexico. Most devastatingly, "The Silence" examines the horrific lengths to which a loquacious man will go when he stands to win
half a million bucks on a bet if he can remain quiet for an entire year.
"The Silence" overlaps with another common subject: greed. Serling presents the love of money—and materialism in general—as the root of many
evils and a sure-fire way to end up unhappy or dead or worse. When a curio shop owner discovers a wish-granting genie in "The Man in the
Bottle,"—an episode that embodies the "be careful what you wish for" mantra—his lack of foresight brings him to a horrific end. A similar fate follows
for two thieves who discover "A Most Unusual Camera" that can take photos of the future. And ditto for the poor shmuck in "The Prime Mover" who
decides to exploit his business partner's telekinetic abilities at a Las Vegas casino. These episodes, along with "Nick of Time,"—in which William
Shatner plays a young business exec obsessed with a fortune telling machine—also point at the dangers of toying with destiny, of altering the
"natural" outcome of events or buying into vague, horoscope-style superstition. Serling is certainly at his most moralistic and preachy when railing
against the almighty mammon and the perils of divination, and yet there's something sadly satisfying about seeing his corrupted characters
get what's coming to 'em.
Serling's worldview is a reflection of his times—he's clearly cynical about the post-WWII optimism of the 1950s, an attitude and era that's inverted
and dissected by The Twilight Zone's topsy-turvy take on the state of Cold War America. Season closer "The Obsolete Man," starring
Meredith Burgess, presents a bleak vision of a totalitarian future where books are outlawed and executions televised. Technology and its hold on
humans is lampooned in "A Thing About Machines," and "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" might as well be called "Will the Real Commie
Please Stand Up?" Of course, no discussion of season two would be complete without mentioning "The Eye of the Beholder," a meditation on the
perception of beauty and one of the all-time great Twilight Zone episodes.
But it's not all high-falutin' ideas. Sometimes you just wanna have the bejeebers scared out of you, and The Twilight Zone: Season 2
definitely has a few tales of goosebump-raising, cold-chill-up-the-spine-provoking terror. Just try to not be creeped out by the Gothic, Satan-trapping
insanity of "The Howling Man." Go ahead, attempt to escape the spiraling, recurring nightmare of "Twenty-Two." By all means, fight against the
mounting, dialing-from-beyond-the-grave dread of "Long Distance Call." You can't. You'll succumb. Resistance is futile.
Image Entertainment's presentation of The Twilight Zone: Season 1 was just about perfect, and Season 2 is no different. Going back to
the original 35mm negatives, all-new 1080p/AVC-encoded transfers—framed in the original 1.33:1 TV aspect ratio—have been struck for each episode,
and the picture, quite simply, is stunning. I'm not sure if the source materials themselves were clean to begin with, or if a restoration team went frame-
by-frame through each episode, cleaning up damage, but either way, the image is nearly pristine, with only a few scattered white specks on the print,
and no major scratches or stains. Even better, the grain structure of the black and white cinematography is fully intact, with no trace of excess filtering,
noise reduction, or edge enhancement. Nor are there any overt compression issues, like banding or macroblocking. The picture looks natural and bold,
with a crisp monochromatic gradation composed of inky deep blacks, bright but rarely overblown whites, and a rich spectrum of grays. Of course, there's
also an enormous leap in clarity from previous home video releases, and there are times when you'll be awed by the amount of detail contained in the
35mm negative. Herringbone suits yield up their woolen patterns, the thin mesh of face-covering bandages is easily visible in "Eye of the Beholder," and
skin texture is easily discerned.
If you're a longtime Twilight Zone fan, you'll already know that, as a cost-cutting experiment, six episodes from season two—"The Lateness of
the Hour," "Static," "The Whole Truth," "The Night of the Meek," "Twenty Two," and "Long Distance Call"—were shot on videotape and have a distinctly
soap opera-ish look to them. Image Entertainment has presented these episodes in 1080i, and while they aren't nearly up to the standard set by the
shot-on-film material—the picture is blurry and fine detail indistinct—I'm confident that they look as strong as possible, considering the shortcomings of
primitive 1960s videotape. Note that screenshots 18, 19, and 20 are taken from shot-on-video episodes.
As with the first season, Image Entertainment gives us two Linear PCM mono options, both sourced from the original magnetic soundtracks. Each
episode defaults to a newly restored and remastered mix that has been digitally cleaned up and optimized. The results are solid; the dialogue is
impeccably reproduced, the various sound effects are clean and even dynamically punchy on occasion, and the scores—many by Jerry Goldsmith—sound
wonderful. For comparison, you can also select the original, unmastered audio, which is noticeably murkier, with slightly muffled dialogue at times and a
low but persistent tape hiss. The remastered mixes are preferable by far, but it's commendable that Image thought to include the untouched audio as
well. Each episode also includes white, easy-to-read English SDH subtitles, which are aligned with the lower left corner of picture.
Episode List and Bonus Features
Like the Season 1 set, Image Entertainment has loaded up Season 2 with an impressive—and informative—array of special features,
including, yes, twenty-five commentary tracks with input from a bevy of Twilight Zone experts, audio interviews conducted by
The Twilight Zone Companion author Marc Scott Zicree, fifteen radio dramas, isolated scores (in Dolby Digital 2.0), sponsor billboards, and
more.
#37 King Nine Will Not Return
Commentary by Martin Grams, Jr.
Zicree Interview: Buz Kulik, 1978 (25:55)
Isolated Score by Fred Steiner
#38 The Man in the Bottle
Interview with Joseph Ruskin (SD, 13:42)
Isolated Score
Sponsor Billboards
Radio Drama starring Ed Begley, Jr.
#39 Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room
Commentary by Gary Gerani
Commentary by Scott Skelton and Jim Benson
Zicree Interview: Douglas Heyes
Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith
Sponsor Billboards
Radio Drama Starring Adam Baldwin
#40 The Thing About Machines
Commentary by Len Wein and Marc Scott Zicree
Isolated Score
Sponsor Billboards
#41 The Howling Man
Interview with H.M. Wynant (SD, 12:59)
Commentary by Gary Gerani
Zicree Interview: Douglas Heyes, 1978
Sponsor Billboards
Radio Drama starring Fred Willard
#42 Eye of the Beholder
Commentary by Donna Douglas
Commentary by Joseph Dougherty and Marc Scott Zicree
Commentary by Steven C. Smith and Jon Burlingame
Commentary by Gary Gerani
Zicree Interview: Maxine Stuart / Douglas Hayes, 1978
Isolated Score by Bernard Herrmann
Alternate End Title
Rare Color Photos
Sponsor Billboards
#43 Nick of Time
Commentary by Matthew Weiner and Marc Scott Zicree
Sponsor Billboards
Radio Drama starring Marshall Allmann and Jamie Anne Allman
#44 The Lateness of the Hour
Original Production Slate
Sponsor Billboard
Radio Drama starring Jane Seymour and James Keach
#45 The Trouble with Templeton
Zicree Interview: Buzz Kulik, 1978
Isolated Score by Jeff Alexander
Sponsor Billboards
Radio Drama starring Michael York
#46 A Most Unusual Camera
Isolated Score
Sponsor Billboards
#47 The Night of the Meek
Commentary by Len Wein and Marc Scott Zicree
Commentary by Gary Gerani
Original Production Slate
Radio Drama starring Chris McDonald
#48 Dust
Zicree Interview: Douglas Heyes, 1978
Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith
Sponsor Billboards
#49 Back There
Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith
Sponsor Billboards
Radio Drama starring Jim Caviezel
#50 The Whole Truth
Original Production Slate
Radio Drama starring Henry Rollins
#51 The Invaders
Commentary by Michael Nankin and Marc Scott Zicree
Commentary by Gary Gerani
Commentary by Jon Burlingame and Gary Gerani
Zicree Interview: Douglas Heyes, 1978
Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith
Sponsor Billboards
#52 A Penny for Your Thoughts
Commentary by George Clayton Johnson and Marc Scott Zicree
Zicree Interview: George Clayton Johnson, 1978
Isolated Score
Sponsor Billboards
#53 Twenty Two
Isolated Score
Original Production Slate
Sponsor Billboard
#54 The Odyssey of Flight 33
Commentary by Gary Gerani
Zicree Interview: Robert Serling, 1978
Isolated Score
Sponsor Billboards
Radio Drama starring Daniel J. Travanti
#55 Mr. Dingle, The Strong
Commentary by Don Rickles
Commentary by Martin Grams, Jr.
Isolated Score
Sponsor Billboards
#56 Static
Zicree Interview: Buzz Kulik, 1978
Isolated Score
Original Production Slate
Radio Drama starring Stan Freberg
#57 The Prime Mover
Commentary by George Clayton Johnson and Marc Scott Zicree
Commentary by Martin Grams, Jr.
Isolated Score
Sponsor Billboard
#58 Long Distance Call
Commentary by Bill Mumy and William Idelson
Original Production Slate
#59 A Hundred Yards Over the Rim
Commentary by Cliff Robertson
Commentary by Scott Skelton and Jim Benson
Zicree Interview: Buzz Kulik, 1978
Isolated Score by Fred Steiner
Sponsor Billboard
Radio Drama starring Jim Caviezel
#60 A Rip Van Winkle Caper
Commentary by Scott Skelton and Jim Benson
Isolated Score
Sponsor Billboard
#61 The Silence
Commentary by Marv Wolfman and Marc Scott Zicree
Sponsor Billboard
Radio Drama starring Chris McDonald
#62 Shadow Play
Commentary by Dennis Weaver
Isolated Score
Sponsor Billboards
#63 The Mind and the Matter
Commentary by Shelley Berman
Isolated Score
Sponsor Billboards
#64 Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?
Commentary by Marc Scott Zicree
Commentary by Gary Gerani
Isolated Score
Sponsor Billboards
Radio Drama starring Richard Kind
#65 The Obsolete Man
Commentary by Matthew Weiner and Marc Scott Zicree
Image Entertainment has done it again—their release of The Twilight Zone: Season 2 is just as beautiful and bountiful as September's debut of
Season 1. All twenty-nine episodes have been given stunning high definition transfers and newly remastered audio, and there's a true wealth of
supplementary materials here, including twenty-five all-new commentary tracks, fifteen radio dramas, and an episode of Suspense penned by
Rod Serling. For sci-fi geeks, horror hounds, fantasy fans, and lovers of the strange and supernatural, this is a must-have release. Look out for the third
season in February!
The Twilight Zone: Other Seasons
Season 1 5-disc set $47.99
Season 1 2-disc set $18.99
Season 3 5-disc set $48.95
Season 4 5-disc set $48.82
Season 5 5-disc set $48.20
Blu-ray bundles with The Twilight Zone: Season 2 (2 bundles)
In June, Image Home Entertainment will bring The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series to Blu-ray. This box set includes all five seasons of Rod Serling's groundbreaking anthology program. The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series streets on June 5th.
Image Entertainment has announced The Twilight Zone: Season 2 for release on Blu-ray on November 16, just two months after the release of Season 1. Like the first season, it will be presented in 1080p 1.33:1 video with mono LPCM sound, and English subtitles. Note ...
The Twilight Zone: Season 2 Blu-ray, Forum Discussions
