The Twilight Zone (2019): Season 1 - February 18th 2020

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Looking forward to the new Twilight Zone 2019 series on Blu. I only caught a couple of episodes when this came out, but wanted to watch the rest of them - I just didn't have time and/or had too many other things I was watching. So, seeing this in HD will be nice.

Per the two episodes I saw:

-I liked how they completely modified the story for "Nightmare @ 20,000 feet" & didn't make the storyline a simple re-hash of the original iconic '60's episode (with Bill Shatner); the '83 TZ film did try to recreate this story (with John Lithgow) and it wasn't that great.

In any case, this 2019 version was an interesting & creepy storyline about someone who could apparently "see" the future due to a recording he had found. Truly bizarre and unsettling. As someone who hates flying anyway, I could really relate to the nervousness the main character felt, as well as the nervousness that the other passengers felt due to his strange behavior.

The ending was freaky - i.e., I don't see how all of the passengers on the plane could have survived the crash (on that desert island) - without something supernatural going on; i.e., under normal circumstances it was obviously impossible they all lived without getting too injured - no way. And, obviously, they took out the AS character - and covered up the deed.

- "Comedian" was also a solid episode. I liked how it explored the world of stand-up comedy, humor, comic timing, etc. Obviously, the would-be comedian wasn't getting anywhere by talking about politics, etc. - he only started becoming popular when he talked about his own life (or an exaggeration of his life). Of course, the downside was that all of these people/things he talked about disappeared as if they had never existed. I was surprised by the ending.

Elements of this episode reminded me of the underrated film Punchline (1988), a great film about stand-up comics - starring Tom Hanks & Sally Field.

[Auss1e]

I hope there's an Australian release but if not I'll import.
I liked most of the episodes from this new Twilight Zone. Nightmare at 30,000 feet and A Traveler were my favorites. The Wunderkind was easily the worst. Created only to take a stab at Trump (which is fine) and clearly had no intention telling a proper story. Rest of the season was mostly good. Hopefully the quality is a bit more consistent next season.

[Jompa]

I will buy this. I have all the previous ones on DVD

[Donl1282]

Is $45 worth it for this set?

[tangerinewolf]

Originally Posted by Donl1282

Is $45 worth it for this set?

I think the price will go down by the time it's released. It usually does on pre-orders. It is a five disc set. That's because it contains all ten episodes in color and in black & white, a two-part documentary, a Rod Serling retrospective, and more. I think certainly hardcore fans will buy it, as I will.

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by Donl1282

Is $45 worth it for this set?

No.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by Donl1282

Is $45 worth it for this set?

Content: yes

Packaging: no

[tangerinewolf]

Originally Posted by Makarov

No.

Then don't buy it!

[movielib]

Originally Posted by Donl1282

Is $45 worth it for this set?

Bull Moose has it for $35.97.

https://www.bullmoose.com/p/33246934...n-1-blu-ray-nr

It's part of the B2G1 at Target but it's $46.49 and hard to find items to go with it to make it worthwhile.

I haven't seen it yet myself but I'm curious even if it's not that good.

[klauswhereareyou]

Night Gallery is a mixed bag, but the there are enough good episodes to outway the bad ones. I own the dvd set, but would be up for a Blu-ray one.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Kaiju no Kami

I think it's an insult to the franchise. Outside of The Misfortune Cookie, Her Pilgrim Soul, Nightcrawlers, To See the Invisible Man, and The Road Less Traveled, this show does not feel like The Twilight Zone at all. It feels like a bunch of stories no one could sell until they attached the Twilight Zone name onto it.

Philistine.

Seriously? An insult to the franchise? It wasn't an insult. Sure, a lot of people were down on it because it wasn't exactly like the original, but so what? It was 20 years later; it should be different. It still told a lot of damn good stories, and told them well.

The five episodes you mention are definitely among the best, but they aren't the only outstanding episodes. I think "Paladin of the Lost Hour" is one of the finest hours of television I've ever seen in my 60 years of TV viewing. Others I think were excellent include: "Wong's Lost and Found Emporium", "One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty", "I of Newton", "The Star", "A Small Talent for War", "A Matter of Minutes", "Dead Run", "Profile in Silver", "A Saucer of Loneliness", "The Toys of Caliban", and "Time and Teresa Golowitz".

The series did take a downturn in its third season, though. CBS the network cancelled the show, but CBS the production company wanted more episodes to put it into syndication. That season was done in Canada on the cheap, but even then there was the occasional terrific episode like "The Cold Equations". To make matters worse, because of the varying lengths of the stories, they chopped up some of the longer stories, and expanded others with unnecessary footage to get them to fit into a series of 30-minute episodes (Much like Universal did with Night Gallery). Even some of the great episodes didn't work as well as they did originally.

Now, I love the original series (I actually watched it during its original network broadcast run), but I also love the 80s series just as much. And the fact that the original series had so many episodes in toto (150+), there were a lot of stinkers in there along with the classics. But people tend to remember only the classics.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Originally Posted by Kaiju no Kami

I think it's an insult to the franchise. Outside of The Misfortune Cookie, Her Pilgrim Soul, Nightcrawlers, To See the Invisible Man, and The Road Less Traveled, this show does not feel like The Twilight Zone at all. It feels like a bunch of stories no one could sell until they attached the Twilight Zone name onto it.

Completely disagree that the '80's Twilight Zone is anything other than an excellent show & a great addition to the franchise. I was a teen when this came out & was watching the series on it's original run - so I have more nostalgia for this than for the original b&w version (which I only saw in re-reruns).

I'm currently re-watching this series & am on the second season - very impressive, especially for a low-budget sci-fi/fantasy show from the '80's.

[Kaiju no Kami]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Philistine.

Aw, sounds like someone got upset because my opinion differs from theirs.

Seriously? An insult to the franchise? It wasn't an insult. Sure, a lot of people were down on it because it wasn't exactly like the original, but so what? It was 20 years later; it should be different. It still told a lot of damn good stories, and told them well.

1. Don't call it The Twillight Zone then if you aren't going to tell the stories properly.

2. I'm currently 75 episodes in and there have been maybe 8 stories tops that have been worthwhile. Most of them have been mediocre at best, an utter borefest at worst.

The five episodes you mention are definitely among the best, but they aren't the only outstanding episodes. I think "Paladin of the Lost Hour" is one of the finest hours of television I've ever seen in my 60 years of TV viewing.

Is that the one with the homeless dude who ends up befriending an old man who has the watch that must never reach midnight? If so, yeah, that one wasn't bad.

Others I think were excellent include: "Wong's Lost and Found Emporium",

Dreadfully dull and boring.

"One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty",

Decent in an HP Lovecraft kind of way.

"I of Newton",

That is one of my favorites. It's the only short episode that didn't suck.

"The Star", "A Small Talent for War", "A Matter of Minutes", "Dead Run", "Profile in Silver", "A Saucer of Loneliness", "The Toys of Caliban", and "Time and Teresa Golowitz".

Of the rest, Dead Run is the only one on that list I liked. The rest were garbage, especially Toys of Caliban and Saucer. Saucer was ruined thanks to DuVall's horrid acting.

The series did take a downturn in its third season, though.

That's funny because so far I think Season 3 has been vastly superior to Season 2 as even the most blandest episodes have at least had endings compared to S2.

but even then there was the occasional terrific episode like "The Cold Equations".

Nope, wasn't a fan of that borefest either. It was so friggin stupid too.

Now, I love the original series (I actually watched it during its original network broadcast run), but I also love the 80s series just as much. And the fact that the original series had so many episodes in toto (150+), there were a lot of stinkers in there along with the classics. But people tend to remember only the classics.

I never said the original show did not have stinkers. That's going to be apart of any show. The fourth season to the original series was a train wreck, but "Cavendar is Coming" is the only episode I will say that is worse than most of the 80s stuff.

I'll post the episodes I have enjoyed later when I'm not getting ready for work.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Kaiju no Kami

Aw, sounds like someone got upset because my opinion differs from theirs.

And it sounds like you're upset that my opinion differs from yours. But I'm not really all that upset. I'm just expressing my opinion, just as you are yours.

Don't call it The Twillight Zone then if you aren't going to tell the stories properly.

They are told properly. Good episodes are properly told episodes. It shouldn't matter what the show's title is. A good episode from the 80s show is better than a bad episode of the original show. As far as I'm concerned, a bad episode of the original series is more of an insult to that series than a good episode of the 80s series is.[/QUOTE]

[Thomas Veil]

Originally Posted by jayembee

And it sounds like you're upset that my opinion differs from yours. But I'm not really all that upset. I'm just expressing my opinion, just as you are yours.



They are told properly. Good episodes are properly told episodes. It shouldn't matter what the show's title is. A good episode from the 80s show is better than a bad episode of the original show. As far as I'm concerned, a bad episode of the original series is more of an insult to that series than a good episode of the 80s series is.

[/QUOTE]

Dude don't bother he's been trolling other threads too. He doesn't want to discuss he just wants to trash everything.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

It makes a lot of sense that someone who hates the '80's TZ so much is still bothering to watch this - apparently in it's entirety. Great logic!

[Kaiju no Kami]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

Completely disagree that the '80's Twilight Zone is anything other than an excellent show & a great addition to the franchise. I was a teen when this came out & was watching the series on it's original run - so I have more nostalgia for this than for the original b&w version (which I only saw in re-reruns).

I have no nostalgia for any Twilight Zone series though. I watched the original series for the very first time last year. I loved it so much I have decided that I am going to watch every episode of the entire franchise good or bad.

I'm currently re-watching this series & am on the second season - very impressive, especially for a low-budget sci-fi/fantasy show from the '80's.

I actually have no issues with the effects work. I'm not even sure why people bring budgets up to me when that does not effect my enjoyment of a series one way or the other. My enjoyment is based on quality of writing and character development. If it wasn't, I would not love the classic Doctor Who series nor most Tokusatsu shows and Kaiju films.

Originally Posted by jayembee

And it sounds like you're upset that my opinion differs from yours. But I'm not really all that upset. I'm just expressing my opinion, just as you are yours.

Then I must have misread your response, so my mistake.

They are told properly. Good episodes are properly told episodes. It shouldn't matter what the show's title is.

Fine, but the problem is a lot of episodes don't have a climax. Take the credit card one for example. This lady gets a credit card, loses her family, begs for forgiveness, and then the show just ends with, "Beware of credit cards." How is that an ending?

Or the one with the two brothers that go to a warehouse looking for their dad and find a giant insect in an elevator shaft. That one also just stops as well.

Originally Posted by Thomas Veil

Dude don't bother he's been trolling other threads too. He doesn't want to discuss he just wants to trash everything.

Which other threads?

Do you want a compete dissertation as to why I like or do not like something?

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

It makes a lot of sense that someone who hates the '80's TZ so much is still bothering to watch this - apparently in it's entirety. Great logic!

1. I paid for the DVD set.
2. I committed to watching the whole franchise the moment I started it.


Anyway, the episodes of the 80s series I have liked have been:

Wordplay
Nightcrawlers
Dealer's Choice
Her Pilgrim Soul
I of Newton
Night of the Meek
The Misfortune Cookie
To See the Inivisible Man
Button, Button
Voices in the Earth

[Network23]

if you guys wanna rag on TZ, look no further than the early 2002 series, that was syndicated on UPN. The only redeeming episode from that was the sequel to "A Good Life" - "Its Still A Good Life". And Thats about the only episode i remember from that series.

As far as the 80's series goes it cant be touched at this point with the writers directors and stars and stories it told. And just like the original, its got its own classic episode bunch as well.

The new series is good, i like that the series is limited to 10 or so episodes per season, so that they can be concentrated and not forced to speed things up to fill episodes. But given that the pressure to do outstanding episodes every time increases.

[Kaiju no Kami]

Originally Posted by Network23

if you guys wanna rag on TZ, look no further than the early 2002 series, that was syndicated on UPN. The only redeeming episode from that was the sequel to "A Good Life" - "Its Still A Good Life". And Thats about the only episode i remember from that series.

I haven't seen that one yet. I'll be watching that one next. I hope.

Anyway, my local library is getting the DVD release of the show in, so I hope it includes the B&W versions.

[tangerinewolf]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

Night Gallery is a mixed bag, but the there are enough good episodes to outway the bad ones. I own the dvd set, but would be up for a Blu-ray one.

There's some speculation on The Kino Lober Studio Classics Thread that they might be considering releasing a blu-ray set of Rod Serling's Night Gallery. They have an agreement with Universal. Fingers crossed.