Rating: 
Summary: ohhhh!!! i feel ill
Review: everyone has heard of the original outer limits....i had no idea it was because of how bad it was....i bought the 12 episodes of the new series and loved every episode, plus i have never seen an episode of the original "TWILIGHT ZONE" that i did not like. So not being totally familiar with the original series of the outer limits (other than an occasional episode from when i was younger) i said to myself "HOW CAN I GO WRONG?" well i found out ....BIG TIME! i literally had to force myself to watch the whole first disc...and then scimming through other episodes to see rocks conspiring to take over the planet,dust balls turning into energy with attitude...i had to say enough! the original series and the new series are like night and day. they differ in almost every way you can imagine.
while watching the original series i could almost imagine the president of whatever studio walking into a meeting of some of his soap opera writers and saying "WELL BOYS TWILIGHT ZONE IS BEATING US IN THE RATINGS SO STARTING TOMORROW YOUR ALL SCI-FI WRITERS" and then hearing the befuddled cries and whispers....."but i failed science".
while i can't see this appealing to anyone the episodes are well acted ...poorly written, but well acted. this is sci-fi for the star wars crowd(not a recommendation) not the star trek or star gate crowd. it is basically a soap opera in a science setting (i use science very loosly).
it borders on ridiculous and unplausable.every episode was a chore to watch...i can't believe TWILIGHT ZONE did in a half hour with next to no special effects what these writers could not with an extra 15 minutes and obviously bigger budget.
it is easy to see why this was a short lived program. what was it 49 episodes total....thats 48and a 1/2 too many.
the only good thing i can think about this show is that it spawned a worthy successor.....stay away at all costs stay away.
Rating: 
Summary: Our time has finally caught up with THIS time
Review: Let me start by debunking some of the problems with the quality of this presentation. I've had NO episodes out of the first dozen that have had audio drop-outs or out of synch voices. I think it could be likely there are bad batches of these floating around, but I didn't get one, maybe you won't either. As far as disc's that scratch too easily, thats also untrue, if you take care of what you buy, you're safe. My set came with a handsome pamphlet outlining each show, I thought I had read this show came with NO packaging, again, untrue.Now...
THE BREAKDOWN
I have to say for what I paid for this on an auction site and what I got are staggering contradictions. 30 hours of some great sci-fi for ten dollars more than the hours? Amazing. I must say however that the quality of writing and performances vary wildly from show to show. It may anger some to know that I think the Twilight Zone is a much better show overall. The Outer Limits OFTEN is as good but the problem is casting and script just aren't as consistant. A show like Soldier is so engaging while a show like Fun and Games is almost unwatchable, tedious, and pointless. I just didn't find that in TZ. In TOL's defense it really seems to be a "different" show than TZ, going more for 50's B-movie type of thrills than genuine 60's movies type of chills.
WHOSE WHO?
This show is almost Star Trek reborn, we all know William Shatner is here (not on this set though), Leonard Nimoy, and James Doohan but how about Apollo? Yep from Who Mourns for Adonis, and in the same episode is Malena Moreau from the Mirror, Mirror episode. Dr. Crater from The Man Trap shows up in The Boarderlands (<--a very good ep), Sally "The Walking Freezer Unit" Kellerman from Where No Man Has Gone Before is in The Human Factor, and the Klingon from Day of the Dove is of coarse in Soldier (not on this set though). And I have only watched the first dozen or so! In closing I must say I am thrilled and almost honored to own this. I was born 4 years after this show was made but saw and was glued to reruns in what had to be the early '70's. This show is part of my own "family" history in a way and has always been like family (to me anyway). I am glad they didn't pull a "Paramount" and release 2 episode discs like they pulled with Star Trek. My house is over-run with ST episode discs! They are like Tribbles! What is contained on this OL's boxset is what I have in 16 Volumes of Star Trek at 5 times the price, which is just awesome (shame on you Paramount).
Performances: 3/5
Audio "remastering":(no DD 5.1 like Star Trek?) 1/5
Original audio work: 5/5
Picture quality: 4/5
Packaging: 5/5
MGM DVD Effort 6/5
Rating: 
Summary: The Foundation and Standard for Science Fiction Television.
Review: I have been a fan of this series ever since it appeared back in 1963. In my review, I would like to acknowledge some of the legacy of this show. When these 32 stories had their final run it was also the end of a battle of standards between the network costs and the creative talents of Leslie Stevens and Joseph Stefano. The great music compositions of Dominic Frontiere and Robert Van Eps was passed on to enhance the series "The Fugitive" on it's final run. Joseph Stefano had hoped to create a new series from the final story of this set,"The Forms of Things Unknown", but the network had other plans. The music of "Forms" along with the opening graphics planned for the series was passed on to another, "The Invaders". It is a fact that this first series of "The Outer Limits" although similiar in design was a different series to the second. Ben Brady was the new producer who turned over the creation of the scripts to the sci-fi writers but held a tight fist to budget. Harlan Ellison changed the series out of mediocrity with "Demon with a Glass hand" and won an award for the series. When "The Outer Limits" packed up as a series, a large amount of the staff went to work on "Star Trek". On the whole, this series was there first to examine humanity by the way it views the invader. It explored science fiction concepts well and can always be related to from modern Science Fiction today. A format to package this series in this fashion was a long time coming but the compacting may have been a little too ambitious. I have tested the disks on my DVD player and I could watch all the stories but found it cranky and needed a disk wipe to free up the information. This series seems to suffer from bad program scheduling when shown on television and now a troubled format. To carry the legacy, this show needs better conditions in order to stand as the Foundation and Standard for Science Fiction Television.
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!
Review: I just got the recently issued Outer Limits DVD set released by MGM,
and I must say that despite some gripes I've heard about the quality
of playback on some DVD players,and the lack of "Bonus Material", (Have these kavetchers considered the source material? these films
are almost 40 years old) I consider this a MUST have DVD set. Just having the footage from the
beginining and the stuff cut for TV comercials restored is a joy to
behold. ... Anyhow, it seems that MGM is listening to the complaints, as this pressing had no playback or sync trouble at all.
Rating:
Summary: Seven Stars, if Possible
Review: The Outer Limits always demanded far more from its viewrs than similar series (e.g., Twilight Zone or the horrible Night Gallery). Part of the reason was that the network alowed nothing near the requested budget since theyt consider the series too offbeat. The second season season suffered from even further reductions in production costs. This goes a long way to explaining the cheesy costumes which is the only fault in the series. The benefit though was scripts that demanded active viewer involvement as contrasted to passive involvement where the effects tell the story. If this is understood the dreadful makeup of some of the aliens become inconsequential and easy to ignore while the absorbing dialogue drives the plot far better than effects ever could. As the the DVDs themselves...I've noticed a number of complaints about video or audio quality or both. My sense is this a function of the player since on my player (Pioneer) the transfer is crystallibne and the audio is flawless. One comment though is that the episodes consistently were filmed with odd lighting. Not the high contrast of film noir but a disturbing "shawdowness" that was apparent even in bright daylit scenes. I never understood how this was accomplished though it lent an eerir atmosphere that even full sun could not dissipate. Perhaps this is what some of the reviewers are complaining about in the video transfer. I have seen episodes on television and they all share this atmosphere. Now, if there is a God in heaven Volume two, second season will appear within weeks. Thanks MGM!
Rating:
Summary: wait for a better release
Review: It is the best of TV nostalgia, but this DVD set doesn't do it justice. I'm waiting for a COMPLETE release of all the episodes with BETTER AUDIO QUALITY.
Rating:
Summary: very nice,but it could have been so much more...
Review: The transfer to dvd seems to be very good,and I haven't noticed any brightness problems like another reviewer did,but then again my tv probably is not as good as his.My only complaint is the lack of extras.There are NONE.I would think that a show which has such a cult following as this one does deserves a little more attention to detail. A couple of suggestions: some original tv trailers would be nice.Also,some recent cast interviews would be very interesting.There are a lot of people who were in the show that are still alive ie; Ed Asner,Sally Kellerman,Robert Culp,Robert Duvall,Cliff Robertson,David McCallum,Bruce Dern,Warren Oates,etc...(my apologies if any of these people have died,but I don't think any have).Anyway,I would definitely reccomend buying this set even if they don't have the extras that dvd's are known for.It's just great television.
Rating:
Summary: Good Things in a Small Package
Review: The bare facts: This collection comes in a multi-section keep case that takes up 1" of shelf space; that's almost exactly the same amount of space occupied by a single VHS cassette in its cardboard jacket. By way of comparison, the first 16 volumes of the Twilight Zone DVD set (which also contain 32 "TV hours" of programming material) take up more than 9-1/2"... Since I have a limited amount of both shelf space and disposable income, I am ecstatic over this apparent new direction in DVD packaging. After reading the reviews here, I made sure that all 8 sides of my set played correctly on both of my DVD players. They do. I have NO reason to doubt the trouble reports here, and I DO know well the frustration of having to return a defective DVD...
Rating: 
Summary: Bad audio transfers ruin impact of great series
Review: In a series in which dialogue, sound effects, and music are as important as the visual aspects, it's unpardonable that MGM/UA has degraded the original sound quality on these DVD transfers. As opposed to the reasonably bright and clear sound quality available on previous VHS and laserdisc releases, what we get here is sound so compressed, dull, and distorted that it makes these great episodes a trial to get through. I didn't find the video quality all that bad, but I'm still relieved that I didn't give up my four volumes on laserdisc. My low rating is certainly not for the series itself, which ranks as one of the greatest ever. It's just me expressing my frustration over the irresponsible transfer of perfectly fine source material.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST SCI-FI EVER!
Review: Forget about the NEW Outer Limits! Stick to the classic shows! A little TOO expensive but, all in all , these shows were worth the money. My favorite is the show with the Ants with the cute , smiing faces. Anyway, you CAN"T go wrong with THIS collection!!
| 
