The Show:
The Twilight Zone is easily one of the best television shows ever produced. Pushing the boundaries of weird and strange tales with creator Rod Serling narrating, it is the definition of classic and challenging television that more than holds up over time. So when the series was revived in 1985, it's natural that such a show would be met with disdain. Rod Serling wasn't involved and the recent Twilight Zone theatrical movie was very underwhelming. And while it would be so easy to bash this with a big bag of "not my Twilight Zone", the show itself isn't half bad. As a continuation of the Twilight Zone name, it doesn't stand toe-to-toe with the original series. But as an anthology series on its own, it's a solid work of extraordinary talents whipping up a few entertaining tales. The may not be masterpieces, but they're suitable enough to allow this talented group of writers to play in the Zone sandbox.
The format of each story remains true to the spirit of The Twilight Zone, usually beginning with similar narration by Charles Aidman. Each premise revolves around some strange or paranormal situation that usually ends with a surprising twist. Sometimes the twists are deadly in the form of being careful what you wish for, facing the id or deals with the devil gone wrong. Others are just strange and even humorous as when an alien visitor gives Earth one day to redeem itself only to have misinterpreted his instructions to the humans. You may even recognize the story Button, Button being the inspiration for the theatrical film The Box.
The length of the stories vary by the episodes. Some are about 45 minutes in length allowing for 2-3 stories while the later seasons were only about 25 minutes for 1-2 stories. In a way, the short length actually helps some of the simpler stories shine better while allowing for more weird tales per episodes. As a result, however, I can't discuss many of the shorter tales as the mere mention of the twist spoils them entirely. I will say that being a product of the mid-1980's that there are a handful of episodes centering on the Cold War and fear of nuclear annihilation. Some of the episodes are also remakes of original Twilight Zone episodes (A Game of Pool, A Kind of Stopwatch), but most of them pale in comparison.
The show starts off real strong with the first episode "Shatterday" featuring a young Bruce Willis in a story by Harlan Ellison (Star Trek) and directed by Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street). It's a decent little tale of a man confronting himself as another entity that sets the tone for the series. Wes Craven even sticks around to direct a few more of the early tales including stories about a man losing his sense of language and a shape-shifting alien entity. While The Twilight Zone did change production teams midway through, there was still a lot of skilled writers involved with conceiving the show that included J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5), Rockne S. O'Bannon (Farscape, Defiance), Ray Bradbury (too many great novels) and even George R. R. Martin (Game of Thrones). The producers even managed to convince Harlan Ellison to come back and write the final episode.
Watching the show is a little bit like watching the old Doctor Who episodes. There are some stellar scripts at work coupled with a few memorable actors (Morgan Freeman, Martin Landau, Helen Mirren), but the technology just isn't strong enough to allow these episodes to stand the test of time. There is some painfully awkward computer graphics here and there as in one tale where the god of love shoots arrows at a man with a digitally inserted bow and arrow. Why this absolutely needed to be composited in as opposed to just giving him a bow and arrow prop is beyond me. Some of simpler effects involving light and editing are much more effective as opposed to laughable insertions of spaceships into establishing shots. The acting is a similar mixed bag. Naturally, some of the bigger talents turn in some great performances, but most of the acting ranges from okay to soapy.
But, again, similar to Doctor Who, I really do admire the show for the stories they were trying to tell on a television budget with a massive episode order. They may not all be as classic and ingenious as the original series, but they are just as challenging and really give the what-if scenarios a fine workout. It's the kind of show I love to have playing in the background and I mean that in the best possible way. Then again I'm a sucker for these anthology type programs so take that as a word of caution. If you never really dug or enjoyed the strange tale TV series in the vein of The Outer Limits or Tales from the Crypt, chances are this isn't the one to win you over. But if a little hammy acting and 1980's special effects don't bother you, the 1980's Twilight Zone really does hold up for some unique stories by prime writers.
The Disc:
The 109 episodes/stories set averages to about 10 per disc. The video contains an awful lot of grain and ghosting. At first glance it appears as a bad transfer, but in actuality the series was shot on film and edited on video. Given that there are no film negatives to remaster from, this is about as good as the series is going to look so I wouldn't hold out for a Blu-ray release. The 2.0 Dolby Digital audio sounds decent enough even though most of the episodes are presented in mono.
I should also mention that for a 13 disc set, this is one of the most cheaply made sets I've seen in a long time. All the discs are contained on a plastic spindle case with the top only protected by a cardboard fitting.
The Extras:
Extras include a handful of deleted scenes, some audio commentary (including a few with Harlan Ellison) and an interview Wes Craven.
Our Say:
Despite the low quality of the video and packaging, the 1980's Twilight Zone is well-worth seeking out if nothing else than for the talented directors and writers involved. Like any anthology series, it's a variable mixed bag of stories that range from fascinating and creepy to bland and laughable. But the moments when the show really hits its highs make it so worth watching. It goes without saying that this revival doesn't topple the 1959 original (especially since this version remakes a few of those golden episodes), but it's a decent enough show in its own respect. Not an absolute must buy, but certainly one worth seeking for a few neat and spooky tales.
