Tales of Tomorrow:Collection One

Rating:
Summary: Wake me when it's over... and then shoot me.
Review: I bought this set because I am a fan of Sci-Fi and the Twilight Zone. These shows are not bad considering they were written and produced over 50 years ago but they haven't stood up to the test of time. These shows are the ones that inspired future generations to make better shows and movies so I don't want to be to harsh but the shows are very boring and the acting is over the top. It was very difficult to get through each episode, it was like torture and I hope to never have to watch these shows ever again.

Rating:
Summary: Great set of freaky tales
Review: If you like Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, The Veil, and One Step Beyond then you'll like this. Then again, if you've heard of Veil and OSB then you probably already know about this set of spooky stories.

Great mix of stars and stories/subject matter.

Rating:
Summary: See Yesterday's Tales of Tomorrow ... Today!
Review: Not long ago, I had only heard about the television show Tales of Tomorrow just twice: once as a passing reference as an inspiration of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone in his PBS documentary, and once more when I saw the episode "All the Time in the World" at the Museum of TV and Radio in NYC when I visited there last August. I had always liked TZ and I was happy to see one of it's predecessors which had left the air before my parents were even born. I was not disappointed as the episode was another example of intelligently wielded suspense and science fiction, the kind of show that they just don't make any more (well UPN tried, but let's not talk about that right now). There were other available episodes, but my family and I had to leave the museum, but imagine my happiness when I heard that a DVD boxset of Tales was coming.

Tales of Tomorrow: Collection One is a series of selected episodes from the first season of televisions first sci-fi anthology series (including the one I previously mentioned); many of us are used to full season sets but after all, some episodes may no longer be accounted for. There are no extras at all except for scene selection, though somehow I doubt there could be things like deleted scenes or creator commentaries (since many of the creators are probably no longer with us).

I'm giving this collection 5 stars not because these episodes are timeless classics but because they are a rare and fascinating window into television's early history. The shows feature commercials recorded on the same film as the show, and it's also apparent that TV producers at the time weren't big advocates for reshoots as they could be called today. Actors badly flub their lines in many shows but keep on going. Lon Chaney gives a well-known and confusing scene as Frankenstein where he hefts a chair in rage, calmly puts it down, then pantomimes smashing it. My favorite is from the "Miraculous Serum" where a doctor listens for a dying woman's breathing without putting the stethoscope in his ears first. Ha!

But these stories don't deserve to be laughed at. Seeing these shows made so long ago with such clarity is one of the greater gifts of the DVD revolution and I would recommend "Tales of Tomorrow" to anyone who loves television in general. I'd love to see another installment, perhaps with a documentary. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Rating:
Summary: Great set!
Review: Thank you, Image, for releasing TALES OF TOMORROW on DVD. This first set contains 13 episodes from the first season. The quality is excellent, considering these shows were made more than a half-century ago. Some of them even include the original commercials! Menus are fine and include chapter markers within each episode. Please, Image ... release more!