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This review is for "The Twilight Zone Complete Series" on BluRay. This is the original 1959 thru 1964 TV series only which includes all 156 episodes on 24 BluRay discs. This collection was first released at the end of 2016.
And just for the record, Amazon advertises this package as released by Paramount Studios. That is not exactly true. The original series was produced by MGM studios for the CBS TV Network which is now partners with Paramount studios. But this particular collection is released by Imagine Entertainment. Every disc loads up and shows the "Imagine Entertainment" video logo. This is just a small point of interest because it does not add or take anything away from the quality or features of the original presentation.
As a big fan of "ZONE" since I was a kid, I have waited to buy this series on BluRay for a long time. Amazon finally lowered the price enough to grab my attention.
I have watched the reruns on TV for many years. SYFY TV has run a 3 day marathon on the 4th of July weekend and again on the New Years Day weekend, for several years and I always watch as much of them as possible via the DVR. The one main problem with watching on TV is that the networks cut the episodes badly to fit a million commercials. Well.... it seems like a million. But they cut as much as 8 minutes of the program out to ad commercials. These shows were only 25 minutes originally, so 8 minutes is almost 1/3 of the show that is missing. That is a lot of program we don't get to see anymore. What a rip-off by the cable networks.
Now here is the biggest highlight of owning this series on BluRay. For me it made the price more than worth every penny. All 156 episodes are presented in the original full length 26 minutes with no cuts or edits. You see the entire episodes as they originally aired back in the 1960's. It was like watching almost new stories. I saw scenes that I didn't remember ever seeing before. I even saw a few entire episodes that I didn't remember because they are not popular episodes and do not get aired by the cable networks.
Every episode has a sneak peek of the next episode at the end with Rod Serling, that was aired during the original showings. At the half-way point of each episode is one of those 5 second tags that identify the program as they went into a commercial. Like I said, these are complete full episodes as they originally aired. You can chose to select each episode separately or you can select the "PLAY ALL" option on the main menu. There are average 7 episodes on each disc. A small few have 8 episodes. The season 4 episodes were the only shows that were full hour episodes. Without commercials, they run 55.5 minutes and they are only 4 episodes to a disc.
Now for the specs.....
I have to admit that I am very impressed by the picture quality shown in 1080p. It is the sharpest Black & White picture I have seen so far. There are a handful of episodes from the first season that have some grain in the background elements, but the overall picture remains sharp and crystal clear. I think they increased the sharpness for extra definition which allows some of the grain to bleed through a little. But this is not a major issue as only a few episodes in the first season have the grain. But 99.6% of the episodes are so clean, crystal clear, and super sharp. Very good contrast to brightness ratio. No bleeding or dirty artifacts across the screen. In fact, most of the episodes look like they were shot on today's digital equipment. It really is quite impressive. The only drawback is the episodes are still in the original 4:3 format. But it is well worth it.
The sound tracks are interesting but a little odd. First off, there are no Dolby or DTS audio encoding. All audio tracks are in the standard LPCM 2.0 which means it is 1.0 mono on both left and right. There is no 5.1 stereo for effects or anything else. All audio is LPCM mono and will play on surround amps as pro-logic with all audio coming out the center channel only. And there are no other language tracks. All tracks are English only.
But the audio quality is excellent. The box cover says the audio has been digitally remastered. Track 1 (Default) is the remastered audio. Track 2 is labeled as the original analog audio track. But I could not hear any difference between them. In fact they both sound like a remastered track. Many of the episodes have a commentary track with actors and staff. But every episode has an isolated music only track. I am not sure why they did this as every episode uses mostly the same background music fillers. They only changed the opening theme music 3 or 4 times in the entire 5 year run.
And now for the only "CON".
The "CON" is minor but it is the usual complaint that everyone makes about most home video collections. And that of course is the cheap packaging. They use one box which contains several flip plates. Each flip tray holds 2 discs on each side. But they slightly overlap each other. You have to remove disc 1 to get at disc 2, then do this again to replace disc 2. Then flip the tray for the next discs and do it again. And many of the discs were very hard to remove from their holders. This practice can scratch or damage the discs if you are not careful.
A long time ago, I ordered some DVD cases just for this problem with series I purchased before. I ordered cases that can hold 16 disc and some that can hold 10 discs. I had to use one of each to hold the entire Twilight Zone collection. The paper label cover from the original case fits perfectly in the new replacement 16 disc case. Each flip tray holds one disc on each side for safer storage and access.
I will never understand why these rich multi billion dollar movie studios can't use better quality cases. They are not expensive and would not add anything to the cost of the product. The extra cases I bought come out to around $1 or $2 each. Most people would be glad to pay an extra $2 for good storage cases.
The bottom line.................
If you are a Twilight Zone fan, this is the collection you want. Don't bother with any of the others. This is the one with the best picture and audio and full length uncut unedited episodes. And for the audio and videophiles like me, you will be very impressed with this collection.
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Reviews with images
Epik™ Pak is an epic FAIL! Here's the FREE fix:
Since the stock disc holders are LOUSY, painful to use and force BENDING OF THE DISCS to remove, here's what I did. First, I REALLY didn't want to spend another $10+ and then have my collection sitting in a separate case; NO GOOD. After careful inspection of the design of the center hole nib grippers, I noticed they all had TOO MUCH plastic that would overhang the mounted disc making it difficult to remove. So I removed all the discs (OUCH!), set them safely aside, then grabbed a standard cardboard nail file, which just happens to be made of sandpaper. I carefully rubbed just the sides of each tab that grabs and makes contact with the inner edge of the disc. After a couple of swipes I would brush away any particles, then test the mount for tightness; if it was still too tight I would sand it again, being careful not to go too crazy. I got the method down and did all the mounts....WOW! Now they fit snug yet are a LOT easier to grab and pop off from the edge. No more DANGEROUS bending of these terrific discs, no more sore fingertips, and I can SAFELY keep the discs in their original container!Bonus Tip: on the last mount I sanded too much; the discs were too loose! So I bent a large paperclip straight-ish, heated the tip with a lighter, then placed the hot tip on the little nib/tab to disform it slightly to extend back out, just enough to now grip properly.And now a word from Mr. Serling about next week's show: CBS/Paramount, get your act together. Don't go with the lowest bidder for these disc collections. Here's a tip: next time BEFORE deciding which vendor's CLEVER design to use, hand a sample to your mom or dad and see how easily they can handle it. We've had CDs in this form factor since around 1984; it's now 2020 and you STILL haven't figured out a decent disc holder? Embarrassing!
Top reviews from other countries
Rebecca Carpenter
The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series Blu-ray
Reviewed in Canada on March 4, 2019
