The early 1960s marked a time of fascination with outer space. After Sputnik went up, the race was on. Television shows that speculated on what life was like in outer space or on other worlds flourished. It seemed as if it would be only a matter of years before we would be sailing off to explore strange, new worlds.

Into that climate, The Twilight Zone had several stories dealing with the concept as well. The structure of the show was such that each week an entirely new story was told. This allowed for creativity in both storytelling and casting.

In releasing the series on DVD, rather than putting out season-long boxed sets, the studio instead cobbled together episodes that seem to have something in common. In this volume, two of the episodes fit together quite nicely under the theme of space exploration. The third is the odd one out. There are only three on this volume due to one being an hour in length. Made up of episodes from the first, third, and fourth seasons, this DVD does, however, contain some terrific stories.

I Shot an Arrow Into the Air tells the story of the crew of a spacecraft who take off from Earth and have no idea where they end up. With dwindling supplies, they resort to infighting as they struggle to survive. Death Ship takes a crew to explore an unknown world and is disturbed by what they find there.

Still Valley is the odd one out. In this, a Confederate soldier must decide if he will accept a stranger’s offering that will surely ensure victory for the South.

All of these stories are terrific and thought-provoking. The tales might not have the supernatural qualities others have had, but they have some excellent twists on life and our choices and perceptions. They are primarily character-driven. No one nowadays would even think that the spaceship depicted in Death Ship could ever actually take flight, but it was a popular notion of the time.

I wish the series had been released in boxed sets with plenty of extras. Unfortunately, that’s another area where this release is weak. The extras are uniform from disk to disk with little to differentiate it.

Even after all these years, these stories hold up well. My kids liked watching them. The restoration on the discs is well done and the picture and sound are both excellent. I saw little to no interference or snow on the picture. I really enjoyed being able to watch the episodes uncut and uninterrupted after all these years of reruns that were hacked up.

I don’t think I would purchase this release, but if you want to see the shows, it’s definitely worth renting. The stories hold up for the younger generation. We enjoy watching them when we have the opportunity and I just wish the series would be released the same way so many others have in boxed sets.

I Shot an Arrow Into the Air

A space vessel with a crew of eight is launched from Earth and disappears. The ship crashes on what appears to be the desolate landscape of an asteroid. Only four of the eight are still alive, and one of those is critically injured. The three that are uninjured, Colonel Donlin, Corey, and Pierson, immediately begin squabbling over the supplies left, particularly the water.

Corey and Pierson head out to see if they can find anything on the barren rock. When only Corey returns, Colonel Donlin forces Corey at gunpoint to take him to where he says Pierson died. They find Pierson still alive, but hardly able to communicate. He tries to tell them something but is only able to make a few lines in the sand.

It’s down to just Colonel Donlin and Corey, and both of them won’t survive to learn what Pierson was trying to tell them.

There’s a voice-over by Serling near the end of the story as the survivor is climbing the rocks. I haven’t heard that before, just Serling on the introduction and conclusion.

Death Ship

A ship whose mission is to scout out possible inhabitable worlds orbits a world where one of the three crew members insists he has seen a metallic glint during a flyover. Lt. Ted Mason insists they need to check out the surface. Captain Paul Ross capitulates and they descend. When they land, the first sight they see is that of another ship, similar to theirs, crashed nearby.

When they explore the ship, the find the inside remarkably similar to theirs, with three bodies inside.

Each of the men soon begins having experiences of being back home among loved ones.

Jack Klugman appears once again in an episode of the series. He appeared in a total of four different stories over the years it was on the air.

Still Valley

During the Civil War, two Confederate soldiers are on a mission to scout the Union Army that is in the valley below their position. Sergeant Joseph Paradine descends into the town, and finds the army there, but completely motionless. It’s as if they are somehow frozen in time.

Sgt. Paradine wanders through the town until he meets up with an old man who identifies himself as Teague. He tells Paradine that he can give him a book with the power to do this to the Union Army. The only catch, is that they will be in league with the devil if they use the spells within it. Paradine takes the book back to his unit and turns it over to his superior.


INSIDE THE TWILIGHT ZONE SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Rod Serling Bio
• Season by Season
• History of the Twilight Zone
• Reviews and Credits