Twilight Zone - the Original Series: Season 5 [DVD]

In its fifth and final season, Twilight Zone went through some challenging times. Rod Serling had even less involvement, writing scripts in a hurry and generally feeling very fatigued. Producer Bert Granet passed on to William Froug just after the season began. Unsurprisingly, season five suffered from a lack of quality compared to earlier seasons, although there are still some superb episodes.

The season starts strongly with Twilight Zone alumni Jack Klugman and Billy Mumy in 'In Praise of Pip,' about an alcoholic bookie who discovers his son is dying in Vietnam. The season continues to have strong episodes such as 'Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,' a superb tale and one of the most-loved episodes concerning a recovering mental patient (William Shatner in one of his best performances) seeing a gremlin on the wing of an airplane he's flying home in; 'Living Doll,' in which a little girls' new doll starts terrorising the girls stepfather; 'Number 12 Looks Just Like You,' a chilling story about a future society that encourages people to upgrade their appearances to all look beautiful; 'Night Call,' which sees Gladys Cooper receiving eerie phone calls on dark and stormy nights; 'The Masks,' wherein a dying millionaire exacts revenge on his greedy family; and 'Stopover In A Quiet Town,' in which two people wake up in an empty town made out of cardboard and paper.

Most episodes in season five ultimately fall very average compared to previous offerings: 'Steel,' 'A Kind of A Stopwatch,' 'The Last Night of A Jockey,' 'The Old Man in the Cave,' 'Uncle Simon,' 'Probe 7 Over and Out,' 'Ring-A-Ding Girl,' 'You Drive,' 'The Long Morrow,' 'The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross,' 'Spur of the Moment,' 'Queen of the Nile,' 'What's in the Box,' 'I am the Night - Color Me Black,' 'The Jeopardy Room,' 'Mr Garrity and the Graves,' and 'The Brain Center at Whipple's' either offer great ideas that are not realised well or are all average episodes that pass the time well enough.

There are some (by Twilight Zone standards) dreadful episodes in this season: the clichéd and utterly dull 'The 7th is Made up of Phantoms'; 'Ninety Years Without Slumbering,' which completely cheats its audience at the end, 'Black Leather Jackets,' a contender for worst ever episode and mind-numbingly dreadful; the childish and irritating 'From Agnes - With Love'; the totally awful 'Caesar and Me'; 'Come Wander With Me,' the most bizarre and confusing episode ever made, so incoherent that it is rendered unwatchable; 'The Fear,' in which Twilight Zone lives inside its own clichés for 30 minutes of pointless drama; and finally 'The Bewitchin' Pool,' the final episode, wherein the script isn't brilliant but the production is so much worse.

Fortunately, the Twilight Zone's worst is still pretty good, and even in the worst episodes there is still at least something, however small, to admire.

Also on this DVD are 4 non-syndicated episodes that are rarely seen. Included chronologically, it was a rare treat to see these for the first time. They are somewhat of a mixed bag all in all: 'A Short Drink From A Certain Fountain' doesn't generate much energy, and 'Sounds and Silences' is pretty okay but could have been much better, whereas 'The Encounter' is a fascinating and extremely personal tale about consequences, and is fresh and diverting. But the episode that REALLY impresses is, ironically, not really a Twilight Zone episode at all. This is 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,' which was produced as a French short film that won the Cannes Film Festival. Serling brought the rights and aired the film as a Twilight Zone episode. Stunningly produced, it is one of Ambrose Bierce's most haunting stories.

The sixth disc in this release includes footage of Serling's lectures and interviews with guest stars and writers, and is worthy of your attention.

So The Twilight Zone comes to an end. Although season five may not be perfect, it is a vital part of this incredible show. A terrific series, all in all, and one of the true landmarks of television entertainment. A masterpiece.

Rod Serling, creator of the hugely influential Twilight Zone series, wrote the majority of episodes included in all five seasons. The format and ideas featured in the famous cult classics, was ahead of its time. While some, weaker episodes, appear dated, the overall quality of this original and groundbreaking series make it a cultural treasure cherished by a huge fanbase. Serling was an articulate man and a gifted writer. His penchant for off-the-wall, surreal scenarios were drawn from the sci-fi genre he clearly loved and was influenced by. His black and white series afforded opportunities for many actors and writers who went on to become famous. The work Serling's brainchild created for others cannot be overestimated, nor can the amount of enjoyment and entertainment value for countless people be accurately estimated. Suffice to say, the Twilight Zone is securely fixed in the affections of numerous and diverse people from different generations. Serling himself regularly appeared throughout all five seasons, he is especially famed for his eloquent prefaces and epilogues in most episodes. His witty eloquence and distinctive turn of phrase has been much imitated and admired, while the compassion that tempered his clear intellect made him a likeable human being as is manifest in his on-screen presence.

The fifth season of TZ, sees a return to the half-hour formats of seasons 1-3, which was extended to an hour in season 4. Purists prefer the traditional, shorter length episodes and the series finale appears to benefit from the concise stories it includes. Solid performances from the typically prestigious cast lend to the stronger titles featured.

'The Last Night of a Jockey' starring Mickey Rooney, and 'The Self-Improvement of Salvador Ross' with Don Gordon are particularly worthy of attention, both having the perfect balance between good ideas and strong performances that showed TZ at its best. William Shatner fans will appreciate 'Nightmare at 20, 000 Feet' more than less impressionable individuals who tend to find the plot feeble and the 'Gremlin' risible. But this is a rare nadir easily compensated for by predominantly good material. Time as a theme and a rich seam for all writers after H. G. Wells (whose seminal debut 'The Time Machine' was first published in 1895) crops up entertainingly in 'A Kind of Stopwatch', 'A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain' and 'Ninety Years Without Slumbering'. Humour, pathos, the unexpected and poignancy are liberally mixed in the last season of the series.

Much imitated, TZ was a pioneering treat at the time of release that has not been equalled. ('The Outer Limits', produced some years later, was a disappointing attempt to rival TZ, the obvious source of its inspiration.) It served as the launching pad for the careers of many actors and afforded low-profile writers a platform to reach a wider audience. The fact it is so fondly regarded more than forty years after it first emerged is an impressive testament to the quality of Serling's unique vision. A more substantial endorsement than any review can provide.

Alas! Season 5 was the final outing for the brilliant Twilight Zone. I've just finished watching this :(

Aired in 1963-64 this last season contained 36 episodes and here they are with a brief description just to jog the memory. . .

1. In praise of Pip- A bookie receives news that his son has been wounded in combat, then gets the chance to save him.
2. Steel- A boxing promoter tries to get the most out of his broken-down robot boxer.
3. Nightmare at 20,000 feet- A salesman, who is recovering from a nervous breakdown, sees a creature on the wing of the airplane he is on, but no one believes him.
4. A kind of a stopwatch- A talkative bore acquires a stopwatch that halts time.
5. The last night of a jockey- A disgraced jockey is granted his wish to be big.
6. Living doll- A man is physically threatened by his stepdaughter's new, talking doll.
7. The old man in the cave- A soldier causes discord for a community of atomic-war survivors who are being guided by an unseen cave dweller.
8. Uncle Simon- The long-suffering niece of a grumpy inventor finds no peace after his passing.
9. Probe 7, Over and Out- A space explorer crash-lands on a distant planet and learns his own has been destroyed by nuclear war - then discovers that he is not alone on this new world.
10. The seventh is made up of phantoms- Three National Guardsmen exploring the site of Custer's last stand wind up getting involved in the actual battle.
11. A short drink from a certain fountain- An old man married to a younger woman takes an untested youth serum.
12. Ninety years without slumbering- A man believes he will die the moment his grandfather clock stops ticking.
13. Ring-a-ding girl- A movie star receives a ring from her fan club that draws her back to her home town, where she offers to do a one-woman show to stop plans for a town picnic.
14. You drive- A hit-and-run driver is haunted by his car.
15. The long morrow- An astronaut falls in love before going on a 40-year mission into space.
16. The self improvement of Salvadore Ross- A suitor discovers he can trade his physical assets for those of others.
17. number 12 looks just like you- A young woman resists having the surgery that her society requires to make everyone beautiful and identical.
18. Black leather jackets- Three motorcycle-riding men are actually part of an alien invasion force - and one of them falls for a teenage girl.
19. Night call- An old woman keeps receiving frightening phone calls.
20. From Agnes-with love- A programmer receives advice on his love life from a computer that is in love with him.
21. Spur of the moment- An engaged woman is terrorized without a reasonable explanation by a woman on horseback.
22. An occurance at owl creek bridge- A Confederate spy is about to be hanged when the rope breaks, allowing him to escape and return home.
23. Queen of the Nile- A reporter discovers the secret behind the apparent eternal youth of a film actress.
24. What's in the bx?- An unhappy couple's newly-repaired television set shows them hurting each other.
25. The masks- At Mardi Gras a wealthy dying man requires his daughter and her family - his would-be heirs - to wear masks that show their true selves.
26. I am the night-Colour me black- A man is to be hanged at sunrise, but on the appointed day, the sun fails to rise.
27. Sounds and silences- A man's obsession with loud noises causes his wife to leave him; then all of the sounds in his life go haywire.
28. Caesar and me- A struggling ventriloquist's dummy talks him into a life of crime.
29. The Jeopardy room- A political refugee is forced into a game of cat-and-mouse with a rather artistic assassin.
30-. Stop over in a quiet town- A married couple wakes up after drinking at a party and find themselves in a strange town devoid of life - except for the distant laughter of a child.
31. The encounter- A samurai sword sparks a conflict between a World War II veteran and a Japanese-American
32. Mr Garrity and the graves- A stranger brings a dog back from the dead and offers to do the same for those in the town cemetery, making the townsfolk uneasy.
33. The brain centre at Whipple's- A factory owner decides to replace his human employees with machines.
34. Come wander with me- A professional singer looks for an authentic song in the mountains, where he gets in trouble with the locals.
35. The fear- A state trooper and a secluded woman experience strange incidents after the woman reports seeing lights in the sky.
36. The bewitchn' pool- Two children escape from their bickering parents to a special place by way of their swimming pool.

Some great actors appeared in this final season, some of who had already done a stint in previous episodes/seasons. Jack Klugman, Lee Marvin, Bill Mumy, William Shatner, Mickey Rooney, Telly Savalas, James Coburn, Richard Basehart, Marsha Hunt and Martin Landau to name but a few! Not forgetting Nick Cravat as the Gremlin terrorising Shatner!

I personally think a fitting end to the Twilight Zone series. I will no doubt watch all five seasons again over the years. Highly recommended to all sci fi/paranormal fans.