THE TWILIGHT ZONE has been a hugely popular show amongst not only horror and sci-fi fans, but basically everyone anywhere. At the very least even non-fans are at least familiar with the show and its signature opening and theme music. Just in time for the show’s 55th anniversary the good folks over at Image Entertainment and RLJ Entertainment have released THE TWILIGHT ZONE: ESSENTIAL EPISODES 55th ANNIVERSARY EDITION. The nice thing about this set is that it gives people that aren’t as into the show (someone like me) a chance to get their feet wet before diving into the deep end.
Before watching this set my experiences with THE TWILIGHT ZONE were quite limited. I’ve been on the Tower of Terror at Disneyland, I’ve seen the movie, I know The Simpsons reference it quite a bit, and I’ve seen a handful of episodes that I vaguely remember from my childhood. Basically I went into this pretty new and not quite sure how I’d feel about it.
I’m happy to report that I loved it.
The collection comes with 17 episodes from the show’s original 156-episode run. I really enjoyed every episode but two really stood out to me. The first was “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street.” Directed by TV veteran Rod Winston, this episode is about your typical suburban street that is eventually driven to mad paranoia when strange happenings begin to occur. The show in general really messes with your psyche and this episode is a prime example.
Everyone that lives on this street is really good friends with one another. They’ve all become close over the years and trust each other. Once the street loses electricity and crazy theories are discussed as to what may be the cause, they quickly turn on one another. This is a mob mentality at its best (or worst) and is the type of episode that is just as relevant today as ever before. Brilliantly done.
The next episode that really did it for me will probably come as no surprise. Of course I’m talking about the season 5 episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.” This is one of the episodes that was done in the movie and has been parodied on The Simpsons and a million other things I’m sure. It may very well be the first episode people think of when they hear The Twilight Zone and I must say that’s with good reason.
William Shatner stars as a man who has recently recovered from a nervous breakdown and has a fear of flying. Naturally he is on a plane. Once the plane is in the air he becomes convinced that there’s a monster that only he can see doing damage to the plane. This is Shatner at his absolutely best and he delivers a performance that only he (and Jon Lithgow) could ever deliver.
I always knew this episode was written by the legendary Richard Matheson, but upon actually watching it I did get a nice little surprise in the way of Richard Donner. I had no idea going into this that Donner had directed it. Donner’s skill is quite evident in this episode and it’s no wonder he went on to become the Richard Donner we all know and I’m going to assume is say to say, love.
Overall I think this 55th Anniversary Collection serves as a nice introductory piece for someone just looking to start their journey into The Twilight Zone. My one complaint is that it does lack special features but again if you look at it as something to just introduce you to the show then the special features aren’t needed. If you’re not sure about giving The Twilight Zone a chance, I highly suggest you start with this collection. These collections of episodes will give you some insight as to what the show is all about.
Rating: 4/5
Own THE TWILIGHT ZONE - ESSENTIAL EPISODES 55TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION today: http://www.us.rljentertainment.com/product/twilight-zone-essential-episodes-55th-anniversary-collection/9f53ff9f-7693-e311-8c44-020045490004
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