Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Twilight Zone: Season 3’ Continues Spectacular Series

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CHICAGO – The first two seasons of “The Twilight Zone” were two of the best Blu-ray releases of 2010, absolute heaven for fans of the classic TV show. With “The Twilight Zone: Season 3,” Image Entertainment has done it again, delivering an amazing collection of pristinely-transfered episodes with literally days worth of special features to keep fans busy. These releases are an easy choice for the best series of TV on Blu-ray yet released.

HollywoodChicago.com Blu-ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Blu-ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

My adoration for “The Twilight Zone” is pretty well-documented. It’s amazingly influential on this writer and as I said in my season two review, “It helped shape science fiction of all forms, not just television. It’s one of the most influential programs of all time and most episodes have held up incredibly well. There aren’t many programs from the early ’60s for which a shot-for-shot remake could air in 2010 and still be devastatingly effective. You can say that about most episodes of “The Twilight Zone.””

The Twilight Zone: Season 3 was released on Blu-ray on February 15th, 2011
The Twilight Zone: Season 3 was released on Blu-ray on February 15th, 2011
Photo credit: Image Entertainment

What are the highlights of season three, which ran from 1961 to 1962? If you know your “Zone,” you’ll be happy to find “Two,” “A Game of Pool,” “It’s a Good Life,” “Five Characters in a Search of an Exit,” “Nothing in the Dark,” “Kick the Can,” “To Serve Man,” and “The Dummy.” Some of these are among this “Zone”-head’s favorite episodes of all time. As for notable and current-and-future stars of this 37-episode season, you’ll be treated to Charles Bronson, Elizabeth Montgomery, Jack Klugman, Jonathan Winters, Peter Falk, Lee Marvin, Buster Keaton, Dean Stockwell, Robert Redford, Cliff Robertson, Donald Pleasance, and Carol Burnett.

Each episode of season three of “The Twilight Zone” is presented in its standard 4:3 full frame format with an HD transfer that’s pitch-perfect for the show, allowing it to look great but not overly or incorrectly polished. Old films and shows sometimes look “wrong” in HD but “The Twilight Zone” just looks perfect yet again. I can’t get over the video quality of these releases, ones that should be the model for what old programs should look like in HD.


Once again, the special features on season three are downright insane. All previously-available special features have been imported, along with hours of exclusive Blu-ray material. There aren’t nearly as many exciting new special features as the last two, but there are 19 new audio commentaries, and some excellent interviews, along with 19 radio dramas of episodes from this season including Don Johnson, Blair Underwood, Ernie Hudson, Adam West, Jason Alexander, and more.

Three releases in less than a year have merged to create one of the best series of TV-on-Blu-ray releases in history. Hopefully, this series will end up just as influential as the program they archive.

Special Features:
o 19 New Audio Commentaries
o Interview with Actor Edison Stroll
o Original Laugh Track for “Cavender is Coming”
o Vintage Audio Interview with George T. Clemens
o 19 Radio Dramas
o 37 Isolated Music Scores
o Audio Commentary by Jonathan Winters for “A Game of Pool”
o Clip From the 1989 Remake of “A Game of Pool”
o Clip From the 1985 “Dead Man’s Shoes” featuring Helen Mirren
o Vintago Audio Recollections
o Rare Rod Serling Appearances
o And Much More!

‘The Twilight Zone: Season 3’ was released by Image Entertainment on February 15th, 2011. It is not rated and runs 960 minutes.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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