The 4th Season DVD set of The Twilight Zone has been sitting on my work bench for ages, I'm hardly can bring myself to watching them, not sure why, I like the show when I see it but I have a hard time chain watching them. I half feel bad that I haven't gotten more excited about the episodes. I've settled for a disc at a time and waiting a while between them. Here's the last of the 6 discs in Season 4.
On Thursday We Leave for Home May 2 1963
Written by Rod and directed by Buzz Kulik. James Whitmore is the leader of a failed colony stuck on a planet for 30 years. It's a hellish place, hot with two suns drying everything out. They all survive in caves under the ground but it's a hard life and everyone is really excited to be leaving from the place. Finally a rescue ship comes and it breaks Whitmore's control over his people. Sadly he's deluded enough not to know he's slipped off the deep end, and since he's in the zone he's going to be really disappointed when the people turn against him. It's never easy being a nut job. It's another script about a failed guy and I'm not as interested in those much anymore. It's well written and well directed. There's an isolated score.
Passage on the Lady Anne May 9 1963
Written by Charles Beaumont and directed by Lamont Johnson. Joyce Van Patten and Lee Phillips are a married couple who book a trip on a ship to England. They don't get along too well, and talk about divorcing during the trip. All the other passengers are elderly folks who tell Joyce and Lee that they were all honeymooners on the ship when they were young. They all decided to take the ships last voyage. Wilfred Hyde White, Gladys Cooper, Cecil Kellaway and Alan Napier are amongst the passengers. They put the couple on a lifeboat and the ship leaves them in the ocean, never to be seen again. They are rescued and so is their marriage. A more interesting story than the previous episode but like most of the 4th season the hour long shows feel drawn out. It was the last episode with a script by Beaumont. He'd get sick and Jerry Sohl and others would ghostwrite some of his future story ideas. He died in 1967. There's an isolated score by Jack Garriguenc.
The Bard May 23 1963
Written by Rod and directed by David Butler. The season ends with a goofy episode. Jack Weston is a failed writer, his agent kicks him out of the office but it's hard to get rid of the guy. The agent has a deal going for a show about black magic and witchcraft and he lets Jack submit a script. Jack gets a book of the black magic arts from a story and accidentally conjures up Shakespeare. William writes some scripts for Jack but doesn't care for the changes made nor for Jack's big head. There's some nice guest stars, William McGiver, Howard McNear and Burt Reynolds. It's pretty silly and I liked that more than the more depressing episode that started the disc. There's a TZ Radio Drama and an isolated score by Fred Steiner.
The disc has some extras on it. There's a clip from Saturday Night Live with Dan Aykroyd as Rod. The Genesee Beer Commercial and the Famous Writers School promo both have Rod in them. Season 4 Billboards, a Photo Gallery and a PDF of a Twilight Zone comic round out the rest of the disc.
Now I'm done the fourth season and I can put the DVDs away. There's still the fifth season to get too. Maybe I'll fall into the Twilight Zone before I get to it.
Comments