Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

The television series The Twilight Zone still holds up so well today. The stories were groundbreaking in their time. During this era of television, tight control was exerted by network censors and sponsors which prevented anything that was topical or could have the least bit of controversy associated with it. Rod Serling, the creator of The Twilight Zone, had experienced this for himself in his career prior to crafting this show. He correctly guessed that if he couched some of these ideas that wouldn't get by the censors in a normal setting in a science fiction setting, it would be allowed. The result was one of the few shows coming out of the late 1950's and early 1960's that was intelligent enough to hold up well to audiences nearly fifty years later.

When the series was first released to DVD, instead of releasing it in season-long boxed sets like most other series, the studio chose to release it on a series of volumes, numbering up to the low forties, with three or four episodes on each disc. The number of episodes varied due to the normally half-hour show being expanded to an hour for one season. The episodes chosen weren't from the same season or in any particular order. Instead, it seemed that they were chosen around some common theme those that put this release together could come up with. While pretty low in the volumes, I thought this was going to be a problem as the numbers grew, and I was correct.

This 39th volume isn't as bad as others in the series before it. The three episodes do have a central theme of men who face life-altering choices. In Mr. Bevis, a man who seems to have no luck except for bad luck gets a chance to live a life much different. The Silence has a man who talks too much making a bet that he can keep silent for a year. Finally, On Thursday We Leave For Home has the leader of a group of colonists who have been stranded on a distant planet reluctant to give up his role as their leader.

The episodes themselves look good. They are presented here uncut and uninterrupted which is a nice way to view them. The picture is quite good, with little dirt or interference on the print. The sound is also better than I expected with just a soft hissing noticeable in the more quiet moments. Where the DVD is lacking is in any special features. What's on this disc is the same thing that's been on every other disc of the series. There's a biography of Rod Serling and some trivia, but even this isn't crafted to be specific tot he episodes on this disc.

The quality of these three episodes leads me to give this volume one more star than I normally would as these are pretty exceptional ones for the series run and it's surprising to find such strong stories this far along in the DVD release. Even On Thursday We Leave For Home manages to make good use of the extended one-hour format rather than feeling like a script that was packed with filler to fit into the one-hour time-slot. I still don't recommend purchasing them as there are now season-long and complete series DVDs available with much more special features. It is worth getting a look at all three of these episodes if you haven't seen them before, whether it's renting it or finding them another way.


Mr. Bevis

In a typical city neighborhood lives a man by the name of Mr. Bevis. He seems to be one of those people who have nothing but bad luck. In one day, he's coping with losing his job, his car dying, and he gets evicted.

Just as he's about to drink his way out of his misery, he learns he has a guardian angel. That angel allows him to relive the day with a few modifications. Suddenly he's not the same Mr. Bevis who seems to take a wrong step no matter where he goes.


The Silence

A braggart at a men's club who seems to be unable to stop talking is challenged by another member to not speak for a year, to be awarded $500,000 at the end of the year if he can do so. He is imprisoned in a room of the club behind a glass wall to be watched during that time. No one believes he can do it, but as the year marches on, it seems like he might beat the old man after all. The problem is, the old man might have promised more than he can actually deliver.

On Thursday We Leave For Home

William Benteen is the leader of a group of colonists stranded on a far-off, barren planet for thirty years. They've received word a ship is coming for them, but they are fighting to keep their equipment running until the ship arrives. Much of the equipment is needed to survive for things such as providing them water as well as cooling off their habitats.

The ship arrives, and while everyone else rejoices, Captain Benteen takes it for granted that everything will be the same as it has been all these years, just in a different place. However, the people he has been taking care of for so many years have different ideas.


© 2010 Patti Aliventi

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD