A World Of Difference
Episode 23, March 11, 1960
What if the character an actor played in a movie thought he was real? Actor Jerry Reagan really thinks he is his character Arthur Curtis. Has the stress of real life become too much and has he cracked, have the lines between reality and make believe blurred off into the Twilight Zone. Or has he simply found himself on the set of Neighbours and Home and Away, where everyone thinks they really are famous people, rather than the hideous failed sheep cloning experiments we know they are. Tune in and find out, on channel Z…

Back There
Episode 49, January 13, 1961
After a discussion on time travel with friends at a gentlemens club (no, not that kind of club), Peter Corrigan (the Professor from Gilligans Island) gets the opportunity to test out his theories when he sudden finds himself back in time just before the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Will he be able to save the president with a bullet proof jacket he made from coconuts, or will Gilligan absent-mindedly foil his plans again, and leave him stranded in time with just a radio made from rocks and Ginger wearing a g-string made of palm tree leaves (OOOUCH!)

One More Pallbearer
Episode 82, January 12, 1962
Paul Radin wants an apology, Goddammit! An apology from his Army Commander, his priest, and his high school teacher. He's a rich, powerful, connected man and he just happens to have a bit of a mean streak, too. So naturally, what would you do if you had everything and you were pissed off? That's right…you'd get revenge on everyone who you think has wronged you. Make them apologise. Make them grovel. Make them PLEAD FOR MERCY FROM THE LORD ABOVE! HALLELUIAH!! PRAISE THE LORD! So, as I was saying, he wants an apology for all the humiliation he feels he's suffered because of these three people. In return, he'll save their lives by letting them use his bomb shelter 300 feet below the surface, as the world goes to war and the bombs drop on the cities above their heads (well, that's what he wants them to think, anyway). But first, he wants that apology…

Ring-A-Ding Girl
Episode 133, December 27, 1963
The Ring-A-Ding Girl (not really sure why she's called that - maybe it's her porno name) is a small town girl come good in Hollywood. She is suddenly beckoned home when she begins to see the faces of old friends in a ring given to her by them as a gift. But her visit home will have a purpose that neither she nor they could ever imagine, and the annual picnic will never be the same again…

It seems that a common trait of all four episodes on this volume would be the slightly heavier black levels across the shows. Granted that the element of so many characters wearing darker outfits doesn't help this much, but generally the shadows and dark clothing just don't have as much detail as usual. Otherwise, the rest of the image is still quite good though and the image looks about as clear as it ever has. On the audio front, we hear a slight return to the hissing that has generally been absent (or less audible) in recent shows. Starting with "A World Of Difference", it is most obvious, with a bit of sibilance in the dialogue also. As we move along through the episodes these little issues pretty much clear up and return to the normal standard we've enjoyed.

The extra features on the dvd consist of a selection of text based screens. They contain a Rod Serling Biography, Season By Season Commentary, History Of The Twilight Zone and Reviews of the individual episodes on the disc. Sure, it’s not a comprehensive package, but there’s some good (but brief) reading, and the reviews are quite interesting.

Overall, I didn't half mind this volume. Certainly not anything amazing by classic Twilight Zone standards here, but they're all consistently good and interesting to watch. Probably an even split with "One More Pallbearer" and "A World Of Difference" being the stronger of the lot and the others just slightly less so. Still, the Twilight Zone dvds are an excellent window into the past and a perfect wake-up call for the crap that passes for entertainment on television these days.