Disc Details

Technical Specs

  • 5-Disc Set

Video Resolution/Codec

  • 1080p/AVC MPEG-4

Aspect Ratio(s)

  • 1.33:1

Audio Formats

  • English Uncompressed PCM Mono

Subtitles/Captions

  • English

Supplements

  • An overwhelming number of extras!

Exclusive HD Content

  • A TON of exclusive content as well!

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The Twilight Zone: Season 3 (1961) (Blu-ray)

Image Entertainment / 1961 / 950 Minutes / Unrated
Street Date: February 15, 2011

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Overall Grade 4.5 4.5 out of 5

(click linked text below to jump to related section of the review)
The Movie Itself 4.5 out of 5
HD Video Quality 4.5 out of 5
HD Audio Quality 4 out of 5
Supplements 3 out of 5
High-Def Extras 5 out of 5
Bottom Line Must own

Reviewed by Aaron Peck
Friday, February 18, 2011

Editor's Note:

Be sure to read Aaron Peck's fantastic reviews for:

'The Twilight Zone: Season 1 (1959)'

and

'The Twilight Zone: Season 2 (1960)'

The Movie Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

Loneliness still seems to be the driving character force in the 'Twilight Zone's third season. Still, the show kept going strong. Even if the same aspects of human nature kept popping up throughout the season, Rod Serling and his team still found ways to tell the stories in different ways. Not only do we get a few "one-man" shows here, where characters wander around an empty world trying to figure out what's going on ("Two") we get quite a few episodes where characters are lost in their own psychosis ("The Arrival" and "Nothing in the Dark").

By the end of the season 'The Twilight Zone' had surpassed its 100th episode. There are a few instances during the season where you can tell the team of writers may have been running out of fresh ideas. Even though "Nothing in the Dark" features a young and vibrant Robert Redford, the episode itself seems quite mediocre compared too many of the classic episodes in the first and second seasons.

Order 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'

Coming to Blu-ray June 12th

That isn't to say season three isn't without its merits. Season three is home to quite a few episodes that are considered classics by many, including "To Serve Man" and "Five Characters in Search of an Exit" (an inspiration for 'Toy Story' perhaps?). Famous author Ray Bradbury even lent his talents to the show by writing "I Sing the Body Electric." My personal favorites from the season include "A Game of Pool" where an obsessed pool player is challenged to a game of pool by the ghost of Fats Brown, the best pool player who ever lived, or "The Shelter," which shows just exactly how crazy and selfish people can get when they're faced with destruction. Continuing on with the scare of nuclear war and how people act when they're facing the end, "One More Pallbearer" features a sadistic rich man wanting to get even with people who wronged him in the past.

Season three of 'The Twilight Zone' is an enjoyable addition to the collection, but as I said, there are times where you can see that the show was gasping for original ideas. Still it plowed through, occasionally popping out well-crafted episodes that stayed true to the 'Twilight Zone' aesthetic.

By now you know what you're getting into. Fans of 'The Twilight Zone' will rejoice once season three hits store shelves. Even if it doesn't pack the same punch as the first couple seasons, this is still extremely solid storytelling, backed by some fantastically writing dialogue. I absolutely love the dialogue in "One More Pallbearer." Sure it comes off a bit hammy, but it's introspective nature and the way it's delivered make it perfect.

There isn't much more to say about this release. It's wonderful that Image is going through and fully restoring these seasons to their original glory. Reliving 'The Twilight Zone' on Blu-ray is definitely one of the greatest things about the format!

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

The third season of 'The Twilight Zone' has been packaged together on five 50GB Blu-ray discs. Discs one, two, and five have seven episodes each while discs three and four have eight. Disc five also contains some extra special features that aren't specifically tied to an episode. Like the other seasons, this season is packed nicely into an oversized Blu-ray case that has a two swivel disc hubs that nicely house a disc on the back and front of them, with the fifth disc sitting in its own hub against the back cover. An insert is provided with an extensive episode list, which lists all the special features that can be found with each episode. A slipcover is also provided.

The Video: Sizing Up the Picture

My oh my! The first season looked astounding on high-def. Absolutely breath-taking. The second season featured a few episodes that were shot on video tape that didn't transfer to the format all that well, but still, the rest of the season was just as solid as the first. Image continues with its fantastic restoration with their 1080p presentation of season three.

Detail is utterly superb. What's truly amazing is that it isn't until now that people have been able to see every single detail that was captured by the show's film. TVs back then obviously couldn't reproduce the kind of clarity they can now. Finally, in high definition we can see every single detail! From the individual beads of sweat that form on Fats Brown's head during "A Game of Pool" to the smooth boyish good looks of a young Robert Redford. Detail is simply amazing throughout the season. Pores, hairs, and smile lines are all completely visible.

Blacks are sufficiently deep. Grays are bold and defined, with whites adding a wonderful contrast. Depth and dimensionality shine here as the black and white photography reveals the detail of the image.

I did notice a few very minor hiccups, however. During "The Arrival" at approximately the 11:37 mark there's a small digital flub that causes random blocking to appear for a brief second as the camera pans across the inside of the plane's fuselage. Also in "The Arrival" along with a couple other episodes throughout the season, tightly checkered jackets pulsate like they're blinking. In "The Arrival" it's Serling's corduroy jacket that throbs relentlessly while he's on screen. Noise does pop up on occasion in the form of white flecks and spots that appear and disappear rather frequently. Even though these specks are apparent through all of the episodes, they never detract from viewing.

Overall though, this is another fine video presentation from the folks at Image Entertainment. They treated this show right with seasons one and two, and they haven't stopped with season three.

The Audio: Rating the Sound

As with the other seasons, Image has offered the choice of listening to either a restored uncompressed PCM mono audio mix, or if you prefer you can listen to the original mono mix.

There are slight differences in the two mixes. The restored mix puts more emphasis on the dialogue, bringing voices to the forefront, and pushing the musical soundtrack to the back. Still, I find either of the options worth listening to. Purists will most likely want to stick with the original mix, while others may opt to listen to the newly restored mix.

Either of the options offers brilliant dialogue reproduction, with the restored track putting a little more emphasis on the voices. Every word uttered comes clearly through the center channel, and never becomes lost in the sound effects and music even though it's all packed into the same channel. Hissing and crackling never pop up to spoil the show.

Just like in the other two 'Twilight Zone' releases this Image release features a wonderfully rich audio presentation even though it's confined to a mono source. It still feels like it's something more than that.

The Supplements: Digging Into the Good Stuff

I'm tired of watching the commercials, but I suppose it's nice to see who sponsored the show and provided it the money to create new episodes. Other interviews and assorted clips are also found here.

Disc 1

Episode 66: "Two"

  • Rod Serling Teaser (HD, 27 sec.) - Serling introduces the episode and gives cursory information about the director and the actors that are starring in it.
  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 33 sec.) - Commercials for Colgate toothpaste and Wildroot Cream Oil.

Episode 67: "The Arrival"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 33 sec.) - Commercials for Oasis cigarettes.

Episode 68: "The Shelter"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Episode 69: "The Passerby"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for Mobil gasoline and Vaseline hair tonic.

Episode 70: "A Game of Pool"

  • Audio Commentary - Jonathan Winters played Fats Brown. The commentary is a little thin as Winters just wings it and announces obvious things happening on screen like saying "That's me in that picture." He never goes in depth into anything happening on screen. It's kind of frustrating when we see Fats in heaven being paged and all the balls that he's playing with are black. All Winters says is "All the balls are black. That's interesting." Yes, it is. Tell us why it was that way.
  • Interview with Buzz Kulik and Buck Houghton (1978) - Like all of these older interviews that have been on the other sets this plays as a commentary even though it isn't a commentary. The episode plays as the interview is conducted, but they aren't talking about what's happening as we see it. They talk extensively about Winters and his performance. They also talk about how they needed to use professional pool player stand-ins to make some of the trick shots that are seen in the episode.
  • Jonathan Winters Reads the Alternate Ending (SD, 3 min.) - While clips of the episode play, Winters reads the alternate ending, which doesn't have the same punch that the ending which was used.
  • 1989 Remake Clip - This is a clip from 'The Twilight Zone' remake in 1989. It actually uses the alternate ending that Winters reads, instead of going with the ending that was originally used in the episode.
  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Episode 71: "The Mirror"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 31 sec.) - Commercials for Vaseline hair tonic and Mobil gas.

Episode 72: "The Grave"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 31 sec.) - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Disc 2

Episode 73: "It's a Good Life"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 31 sec.) - Commercials for Mobil gasoline and Vaseline hair tonic.

Episode 74: "Deaths-head Revisited"

  • Zicree Interview: Buck Houghton (1978) - This interview is like the others, and plays along with the episode like a commentary. Lots of background noise and hissing, but it's an interesting interview in that Houghton talks about the director Don Medford and how he was an action oriented director that put his own spin on this rather "talky" episode.
  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 33 sec.) - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Episode 75: "The Midnight Sun"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for Vaseline hair tonic and Mobil gasoline.

Episode 76: "Still Valley"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Episode 77: "The Jungle"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for Mobil gasoline and Vaseline hair tonic.

Episode 78: "Once Upon a Time"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 33 sec.) - Commercials for Vaseline hair tonic.

Episode 79: "Five Characters in Search of an Exit"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 33 sec.) - More commercials.

Disc 3

Episode 80: "A Quality of Mercy"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for Swan dishwashing liquid and Vaseline hair tonic.

Episode 81: "Nothing in the Dark"

  • Zicree Interview: Lamont Johnson and George Clayton Johnson (1978) - Playing along with the episode, this interview is like the other interviews. The dialogue is a little hard to hear, and there's a constant hiss going on.
  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 33 sec.) - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Episode 82: "One More Pallbearer"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 33 sec.) - Commercials for Handi-Wrap and Contac nasal decongestion medicine.

Episode 83: "Dead Man's Shoes"

  • 1985 Remake Clip: 'Dead Womans Shoes' (SD, 3 min.) - Here's a very 80s clip of the remake of 'Dead Man's Shoes.' I was surprised by the appearance of a young Jeffrey Tambor.
  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Episode 84: "The Hunt"

  • Zicree Interview: Earl Hamner (1978) - Playing along with the episode, Zicree interviews the episode's writer. The discussion the two have in the brand new commentary is much more clear and easier to hear. They go over the same information in both the commentary and the interview however. Hamner recounts the way he came to meet Rod. He recounts the same story in the new commentary for this episode.
  • Sponsor Billboard (HD, 17 sec.) - Commercial for Contac nasal decongestant.

Episode 85: "Showdown with Rance McGraw"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 31 sec.) - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Episode 86: "Kick the Can"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 33 sec.) - Commercials for Contac nasal decongestant and Vaseline hair tonic.

Episode 87: "A Piano in the House"

  • Zicree Interview: Buck Houghton and Earl Hamner (1978) - More interviews from Zicree, this time he's cornered producer Buck Houghton and writer Earl Hamner. As the interview plays along with the episode we find that this is one of the tougher interviews to hear with the hissing even louder than before. Background noise of papers flipping around also hinder the hearing of the dialogue. Houghton takes up much of the time talking on and on about getting the episode made and the business side of things.
  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Disc 4

Episode 88: "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for Contact congestion medicine and Vaseline hair tonic.

Episode 89: "To Serve Man"

  • Zicree Interview: Richard L. Bare (1978) - Zicree interviews Richard L. Bare, the director of "To Serve Man." Sounds like they're conducting this interview in a busy restaurant or cafĂ© because you can hear plates clanging around and people chatting in the background. They have a friendly chat about the episode with Zicree responding with girlish giggles and "Yes, yes" exclamations. Zicree does talk to Bare about things he knew nothing about like voices and makeup. It doesn't make for a great interview if the interviewee doesn't know what you're talking about.
  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 33 sec.) - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Episode 90: "The Fugitive"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for Vaseline hair tonic and Pepsi.

Episode 91: "Little Girl Lost"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Episode 92: "Person or Persons Unknown"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 17 sec.) - Commercial for Polident denture cleanser.

Episode 93: "The Little People"

  • Zicree Interview: Buck Houghton (1978) - Producer Buck Houghton joins Zicree once again for an interview. This is a pretty short interview, but they talk extensively about getting the scale building right for the episode to make it look realistic.
  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 33 sec.) - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Episode 94: "Four O'Clock"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 33 sec.) - Commercials for Rise shaving cream and Pepsi.

Episode 95: "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Disc 5

Episode 96: "The Trade-Ins"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for Arrid deodorant and Polaroid 10-second camera.

Episode 97: "The Gift"

  • Sponsor Billboards Sponsor Billboards - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Episode 98: "The Dummy"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 31 sec.) - Commercials for a Polaroid camera and Contac decongestant capsule.

Episode 99: "Young Man's Fancy"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 31 sec.) - Commercials for Chesterfield cigarettes.

Episode 100: "I Sing the Body Electric"

  • Zicree Interview: Buck Houghton (1978) - Buck Houghton talks about how they had to do almost a full reshoot of this episode, which is why two directors are listed. The first shoot as Houghton says, just didn't work at all.
  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 31 sec.) - Commercials for Nair hair remover and Polaroid cameras.

Episode 101: "Cavender is Coming"

  • Original Laugh Track - 'The Twilight Zone' with a laugh track? Too weird.
  • 'The Garry Moore Show' clip (SD, 9 min.) - Rod Serling appears from the fog on 'The Garry Moore Show' in a comedy called the 'Twi-night Zone.' Some pretty funny stuff here.
  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - More commercials.

Episode 102: "The Changing of the Guard"

  • Sponsor Billboards (HD, 32 sec.) - Commercials for headache medicine and Arrid deodorant.

Additional Bonus Material

  • 'Liars Club' (SD, 21 min.) - Rod Serling hosts this gameshow called the 'Liars Club.' It's pretty cool to see a really young Betty White on the show. The contestants have to recognize who is telling the truth and who isn't.
  • 'Tell it to Groucho' clip (SD, 15 min.) - Rod Serling appears on Groucho Marx's TV show interview show.
  • The Famous Writers School promo (SD, 4 min.) - Rod Serling does advertising for the Famous Writers School that teaches people how to write well and successfully.

HD Bonus Content: Any Exclusive Goodies in There?

Just as you expected Image has put together another exhaustive list of extras including new commentaries, interviews, and the inclusion of 'The Twilight Zone' radio dramas.

Disc 1

Episode 66: "Two"

  • Audio Commentary - Co-authors of "Rod Serling's Night Gallery: An After Hours Tour" Scott Skelton and Jim Benson helm one of their many commentaries on this set. This commentary seems scripted, but is very interesting as they talk about the director Montgomery Pittman's influence on the show, and the show's hankering for showing post-apocalyptic, nuclear war disasters. Still the commentary is rather dry, and doesn't offer a lot of anecdotal stories, rather it's a scripted commentary about the episode, it's background, and it's influence on the show as a whole.
  • Isolated Score by Van Cleave - After two whole seasons of this you're probably used to these isolated scores. Either you like them, or completely skip over them. Here's another isolated score to add to the collection.
  • Radio Drama starring Don Johnson (43 min.) - Yes, that Don Johnson stars here. I really love these radio dramas. I wish that they came included on a separate CD for easy car listening, but they don't. Still, they are great to listen to if you can't plop yourself down in front of your TV.

Episode 67: "The Arrival"

  • Isolated Score - Another isolated score for you music lovers to enjoy.
  • Radio Drama starring Blair Underwood (37 min.) - Blair Underwood stars as the man who tries to figure out why a plane has landed with no one aboard.

Episode 68: "The Shelter"

  • Isolated Score - Another isolated score for you.
  • Radio Drama starring Ernie Hudson (39 min.) - Ernie Hudson stars as a man who is trying to keep his friends out of his shelter. Didn't really like this one, just because there's a lot more emotion in the TV episode that doesn't resonate through the voices here.

Episode 69: "The Passerby"

  • Isolated Score by Fred Steiner - Another isolated score for you.
  • Radio Drama starring Morgan Brittany (38 min.) - Another radio drama to add to the collection.

Episode 70: "A Game of Pool"

  • Audio Commentary - 'Twilight Zone' writer George Clayton Johnson joins mainstay Marc Scott Zicree on this commentary. Zicree acts as the host, and he tries to pry information out of Johnson who doesn't really want to give it. Still this is a better commentary than Winters' commentary, because it actually talks about the background of the episode. They talk more in generalizations, however, instead of specifics about what's happening on screen.
  • Isolated Score - Another isolated score.

Episode 71: "The Mirror"

  • Isolated Score - Another isolated score.
  • Radio Drama starring Tony Plana (44 min.) - Here's another radio drama to add to the collection. I actually liked this radio version better than the TV episode. The TV episode is dreadfully overacted.

Episode 72: "The Grave"

  • Audio Commentary - TV and film historian Gary Gerani is the lone commentator on here. He's one of the commentators who talks about exactly what's happening on screen. He pulls stuff to your attention, which is nice, like why westerns were easy and cheap to make during this era. Lots of "uhs" and "ums," but Gerani always does a good job at staying on task and offering interesting anecdotal evidence.
  • Audio Commentary - Martin Grams, Jr. author of "The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic", is one of the most knowledgeable commentators. He's starts off the commentary by talking about how "The Grave" was actually filmed during the second season, but was shelved for unknown reasons. He also talks extensively about what the spinning wheel is at the beginning of the third season openings. Grams is one of the scripted commentators though, so you lose a bit of the personal touch, but he's a fantastic commentator with his wealth of knowledge.
  • Isolated Score - Another isolated score.
  • Radio Drama starring Michael Rooker (38 min.) - Here's another great radio edition to add to the collection of radio episodes.

Disc 2

Episode 73: "It's a Good Life"

  • Audio Commentary - Bill Mumy, the actor who plays the little boy in the episode joins us for a commentary. He tells us that this is his second of three 'Twilight Zone' episodes, but this one was his favorite. He's got a nighttime radio DJ voice that slowly lulls you to sleep. That's not to say he's boring though, he has a fantastic knowledge of the show, its directors, and its creators. He talks specifically about his character Anthony Powers, and how he was told to play the kid, and what kind of facial expressions to use. He also offers plenty of anecdotal stories about the process of filming and the way he approached playing Anthony.
  • Audio Commentary - Marc Zicree is joined by Marv Wolfman (creator of the 'Blade' series and 'New Teen Titans') for this commentary. Wolfman is a bit more personable than some of the other people that join Zicree on commentaries. Still, Zicree dominates the conversation, but Wolfman holds his own. They talk about how close this adaptation is to the original short story with the only difference being that the child in the original story is three years-old, while the child in this one is six. Zicree talks extensively about the idea behind the story, and the motivations of the characters. Will anyone try and end the madness or will they go on with their lives being forced to love this kid out of fear?
  • Isolated Score - Another isolated score is provided here.

Episode 74: "Deaths-head Revisited"

  • Audio Commentary - Zicree is joined by the author of "Sandman" and "Coraline," Neil Gaiman. Zicree talks about how Rod Seriling, along with him and Gaiman are all Jewish. In that way they were able to relate more to the story presented in this episode. Zicree talks about how Serling wanted to talk about these social issues affecting Jews, but didn't feel like he could so instead he wrote stories with the issues embedded.
  • Isolated Score - Another isolated music track.
  • Radio Drama starring H.M. Wynant (42 min.) - Here's another radio drama to add to the collection. Beware though, the audio seems to be cranked up on these, so they may blast your ear drums if you have it set to the same level you were watching the movie at.

Episode 75: "The Midnight Sun"

  • Audio Commentary - Lois Nettleton, who plays the woman in the episode, offers a commentary here. Like many of the other actor commentaries this one has quite a few dead spots and Nettleton doesn't seem to want to offer much information. She talks about herself and how she came to be on the show. She talks about acting on the set and what it was like working with director James Sheldon.
  • Audio Commentary - Gerani returns for another commentary. Gerani's commentaries are nice and personable. He never seems to have anything scripted, but just spouts off information about the episode off the cuff. He talks about the special effects that were used during this episode, like the shots of the sun, and the shots of the climbing thermometer. He also mentions how good Nettelton was in her role and the amazing way she played this woman who is slowly descending into madness.
  • Isolated Score by Van Cleave - Another isolated score for you, this time features the legendary Van Cleave.

Episode 76: "Still Valley"

  • Isolated Score by Wilbur Hatch - Another isolated music track.
  • Radio Drama starring Adam West - This is one of my all-time favorite radio segments for 'The Twilight Zone' just because I'm a huge Adam West fan. It makes me laugh too, because all I can think about is his Mayor West character from 'Family Guy.' I love the guy's voice. He's just extraordinary here.

Episode 77: "The Jungle"

  • Audio Commentary - Zicree is joined by writers John Tomerlin ('The Picture of Dorian Gray') and William F. Nolan ('Logan's Run'). Zicree begins the commentary as the host and asks Nolan and Tomerlin questions, which they answer. They comment on the fact that Serling isn't wearing a tie in the opening which is very strange and never happened all that much. They delve more into the writing of the episode, which is a good discussion with these two professional authors. They talk about the basic motivator in 'Twilight Zone' episodes where ordinary people are all of a sudden thrust into extraordinary circumstances and how that works to the show's benefit. It lets the audience connect with the characters easier.
  • Audio Commentary - Skelton and Benson join together for another commentary. Skelton again goes with the more scripted route offering historical facts about the episode and its creators. Later on they do have a discussion about the writing of the episode and how the dialogue for this episode was written by talking out the lines into a Dictaphone, which led to more realistic and dramatic conversations on screen.
  • Isolated Score - Here's another isolated score.
  • Radio Drama starring Ed Bagley Jr. (33 min.) - Ed Bagley Jr. stars here in the radio adaption of "The Jungle."

Episode 78: "Once Upon a Time"

  • Audio Commentary - Martin Grams Jr. joins us for another commentary. He talks about the old western movie set that was used more than once for episodes of 'The Twilight Zone.' This one is more scripted and Grams trips over his words quite often because he's most likely reading his thoughts off of a piece of paper. He talks about how the bloopers for this episode have, for some reason, been lost. But, he talks about a reel of film that was found that with 10 minutes of deleted scenes from 'The Twilight Zone' that's never been reproduced or put on home video. It's been shown at a few film festivals, but other than that it just sits in a CBS archive gathering dust. Too bad they didn't include those on this set.
  • Isolated Score by William Lava - Here's another isolated score.

Episode 79: "Five Characters in Search of an Exit"

  • Audio Commentary - William Windom, who plays the Army major in the episode, offers up a commentary. He talks about his work on the episode and how it was nominated for an Emmy that year. The most interesting anecdotes that the gives are about the giant cylindrical tube that the actors were confined to while shooting this episode. The tube was able to be tipped, which is what they did when it looks like they're trying to climb out. A lot of dead moments though, like the other actor commentaries.
  • Isolated Score - Another isolated music track.
  • Radio Drama starring Jason Alexander (40 min.) - Jason Alexander of 'Seinfeld' fame takes on the role of confused Army major as he tries to find an escape.

Disc 3

Episode 80: "A Quality of Mercy"

  • Audio Commentary - Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy, joins us for a commentary on this episode. This is the first time that Nimoy has watched this episode in 40 years. He plays one of the soldiers, more specifically the radio operator. He offers up only cursory observations, pointing out what's on screen like "Hey, that's me" and "Here comes the hot shot officer." For some reason during this audio commentary the episode plays in standard definition, but when you watch the episode normally it plays at 1080p.
  • Isolated Score - Another isolated score.

Episode 81: "Nothing in the Dark"

  • Audio Commentary - Zicree is joined again by George Clayton Johnson to talk about this episode which was written by him. Even though Zicree refers to this episodes as one of the "great, great classics" I just don't see it. As far as 'Twilight Zone' episodes go, I thought this one was overly predictable and didn't pack that signature punch. Zicree talks extensively about different religious beliefs and different views on death. Johnson talks about his fear of death, and that he identified with how the old lady felt about death.
  • Isolated Score - Another isolated score.

Episode 82: "One More Pallbearer"

  • Isolated Score - Another one to add to the collection.
  • Radio Drama starring Chelcie Ross - Here's another great radio segment for you. I loved this one, since this is one of my personal favorite episodes of this season.

Episode 83: "Dead Man's Shoes"

  • Radio Drama starring Bill Smitrovich - More radio dramas to add to the ever growing collection on this set. Yipee!

Episode 84: "The Hunt"

  • Audio Commentary - Zicree is joined by Earl Hamner who wrote this episode. Hamner wrote eight 'Twilight Zone' episodes and then went on to create TV shows like 'The Waltons.' Hamner talks about how he came to write episodes for 'The Twilight Zone.' Rod Serling gave him a chance to write for the show, because Hamner didn't have any movie credits at the time.
  • Isolated Score by Robert Drasnin - Another score-only feature for you music fans.

Episode 85: "Showdown with Rance McGraw"

  • Audio Commentary - Robert Cornthwaite joins us for this new audio commentary. Like the other actor commentaries Cornthwaite points out obvious things happening on screen, and gives some information about how the episode was filmed in the MGM backlot. He's much more talkative, however, than the other actors although he talks a lot about his own career instead of discussing the episode we're watching.
  • Isolated Score - Another isolated score.

Episode 86: "Kick the Can"

  • Audio Commentary - Zicree is again joined by writer George Clayton Johnson. Johnson wrote this famous episode. Zicree discusses the idea behind the episode, which is how do we stay young even though we're growing older?
  • Isolated Score - Another isolated score.
  • Radio Drama starring Shelley Berman and Stan Freberg - Another radio drama for your listening pleasure.

Episode 87: "A Piano in the House"

  • Audio Commentary - Skelton and Benson are back again, this time discussing the episode "A Piano in the House." More scripted commentary with overly descriptive language. When it comes to commentary I just want the nitty gritty, but Skelton and Benson are far too flowery with their language making this commentary especially a bit of a chore to get through. Like you're listening to a lecture rather than a commentary discussion on the material.
  • Isolated Score - Another isolated score is included.
  • Radio Drama starring Michael York - Here's another radio drama for you folks that love them as much as I do.

Disc 4

Episode 88: "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank"

  • Isolated Score by Tommy Morgan - Another isolated score is provided.

Episode 89: "To Serve Man"

  • Audio Commentary - Zicree is joined by Jeff Vlaming writer for shows like 'NCIS,' 'X-Files,' and 'Fringe.' Zicree is a much better interviewer during the commentaries than he is during the 1978 interviews. They discuss the 1950s sci-fi feel to the opening scene. They discuss the UN stock footage that was obtained for the title sequence and how the footage was actually very clean. They joke quite often about what is happening on screen and Zicree goes even as far as saying certain scenes were fun, but unnecessary.
  • Isolated Score - Another isolated music score.
  • Radio Drama starring Blair Underwood (45 min.) - A semi-regular to the radio dramas, Blair Underwood does a great job here as he does in the other dramas he's been a part of.

Episode 90: "The Fugitive"

  • Isolated Score - Another isolated music score is provided.

Episode 91: "Little Girl Lost"

  • Audio Commentary - Zicree is joined by Mark Fergus, writer of 'Children of Men,' 'Iron Man,' and the upcoming movie 'Cowboys and Aliens.' to discuss this episode of 'The Twilight Zone.' Fergus talks about how "Little Girl Lost" is one of his favorite, and most memorable 'Twilight Zone' episodes. More discussion about ordinary people going through extraordinary situations.
  • Isolated Score by Bernard Herrmann - Another isolated score is provided.

Episode 92: "Person or Persons Unknown"

  • Isolated Score - More music-only features for you.

Episode 93: "The Little People"

  • Isolated Score - More isolated music.

Episode 94: "Four O'Clock"

  • Isolated Score - Another isolated track of music.
  • Radio Drama starring Stan Freberg - Another radio drama to add to the collection.

Episode 95: "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby"

  • Isolated Score by Tom Morgan - Another isolated score for music lovers.

Disc 5

Episode 96: "The Trade-Ins"

  • Interview with Edson Stroll (SD, 7 min.) - This is an odd feature because this is the only interview on here that is actual video and audio instead of just being audio played along with the episode. Stroll talks about the good times he had on 'The Twilight Zone' and how being on the show in this episode and "Eye of the Beholder" helped his career.
  • Isolated Score - Another isolated score is provided.
  • Radio Drama starring H.M. Wynant and Peggy Webber (40 min.) - Here's another radio drama for you starring occasional contributor to these radio segments, H.M. Wynant.

Episode 97: "The Gift"

  • Isolated Score - More isolated music.

Episode 98: "The Dummy"

  • Audio Commentary - Cliff Robinson, who stars as the ventriloquist in this episode joins us for a commentary. Like many of the other actor commentaries, Robinson talks more about himself and his career than he does about the actual episode he was starring in. Lots of dead spots without commentary.
  • Isolated Score - More music.
  • Radio Drama starring Bruno Kirby - Another great radio segment for your enjoyment.

Episode 99: "Young Man's Fancy"

  • Isolated Score by Nathan Scott - Another isolated score.

Episode 100: "I Sing the Body Electric"

  • Audio Commentary - Zicree is the lone commentator on this one, which doesn't happen much. Zicree has a bottomless knowledge of the show, and discusses in depth how Ray Bradbury came to be involved with 'The Twilight Zone' and that he was supposed to be a regular writer on the show. Zicree drops a bomb that Bradbury was asked to do the commentary on this episode but Bradbury declined because he was disenfranchised with the show because his experience was "not a happy one" as Zicree puts it.
  • Isolated Score by Van Cleave - More isolated music.

Episode 101: "Cavender is Coming"

  • Audio Commentary - Martin Grams, Jr. offers up another one of his scripted sounding commentaries. He talks about how this episode was originally intended to be a pilot episode for CBS called "Mr. Bevis."
  • Isolated Score - More isolated music.

Episode 102: "The Changing of the Guard"

  • Audio Commentary - Zicree is joined by Len Wein, creator of 'The Swamp Thing,' and 'Wolverine' to discuss the season finale of season three. They talk about how emotional this episode is. How it's one of the most emotional episodes of all 'The Twilight Zone' episodes.
  • Isolated Score - More isolated music.
  • Radio Drama starring Orson Bean (36 min.) - Another radio drama for the collection.

Additional Bonus Material

  • Zicree Interview: George T. Clemens (1978) Part 3 (47 min.) - Spread across each of the season sets this is the continued interview with cinematographer George T. Clemens who was instrumental in the creating the look of the show. This is an audio only interview.

Easter Eggs

No easter eggs reported for 'The Twilight Zone: Season 3 (1961)' yet. Found an egg? Please use our tips form to let us know, and we'll credit you with the find.

Final Thoughts

Fans of 'The Twilight Zone' will once again be pleased with Image's treatment of the source material. It's just amazing how great these episodes look and how well the film holds up. This third season isn't as packed with classics as the first two seasons, but it has its fair share of memorable episodes. This is an extensive set, featuring more special features than you can care to remember. Still, the features that have been compiled here, with special attention paid to Blu-ray exclusive commentaries, is astounding. Any fan will be ecstatic to pick this one up. This is a must own release, as are the previous two seasons.


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