The Outer Limits (The Original Series) - Volume 1 |  | Actors: Vic Perrin, Bob Johnson, Ben Wright, Robert Culp, Robert Duvall
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy New: $6.97
as of 3/21/2010 23:10 EDT details
You Save: $23.01 (77%)
New (53) Used (28) Collectible (2) from $5.63
Seller: kingofalldiscounts
Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 47072
Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 736 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: MGMDM107769D
UPC: 027616077691
EAN: 0027616077691
ASIN: B000OPOAKW
Theatrical Release Date: September 16, 1963
Release Date: June 5, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Movie DVD
Amazon.com
From the moment Vic Perrin's omniscient "Control Voice" first proclaimed, "There is nothing wrong with your television set," on September 16, 1963, The Outer Limits was destined for greatness. The dazzling, long-beloved series was a daring experiment in "omnibus" TV, trading the speculative fantasies of The Twilight Zone for farther-out sci-fi concepts. Producers Leslie Stevens and Joseph Stefano had risen as gifted writers from (respectively) Broadway and Hollywood; Stevens rebounded from his previous canceled series, while Stefano had scripted Hitchcock's Psycho and was eager to expand his creative horizons. With an executive order for scary monsters and cold war thrills, their fruitful symbiosis was preceded by the superb Stevens-directed pilot "Please Stand By," named after the series' once-proposed title and changed to "The Galaxy Being" for its broadcast premiere. Cliff Robertson launched an impressive succession of guest stars, and on meager, oft-exceeded budgets of $120,000 per episode, The Outer Limits became a showcase for shoestring ingenuity. The "blue ribbon crew" (as Stevens called it) included cinematographer Conrad Hall, whose Oscar®-winning skills were honed on the series' cramped TV-studio sets. Packed onto two double-sided DVDs, these 16 episodes (out of a total 49) comprise the series' dynamic first season of moody, frequently paranoid black-and-white adventures. Repeat performers Martin Landau, Robert Culp, and Sally Kellerman excel (respectively) in the fan-favorite episodes "The Man Who Was Never Born," and "The Architects of Fear" (and who can forget the insect-like menace of "The Zanti Misfits"?). There are a few clunkers, of course, but the series' quality (and parade of monsters) is remarkably consistent, and DVD compression does not compromise its technical achievement. These eerily seductive shows invite repeated viewing, supporting Stephen King's oft-quoted remark that The Outer Limits was "the best program of its type ever to run on network TV." --Jeff Shannon
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
 It's still new to me January 20, 2010
Daniel R. Borgman (Ocala, FL)
Having read many a rant from my fellow reviewers, about how there is nothing new in this most recent DVD release of The Outer Limits, I should like to bring their attention to the one and only DVD release of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica, some years back.
Priced a copy lately? Or been able to locate one, period? Without competition
from an ever-continuing flow of new releases, the lucky owners of those finite
few copies can, and are naming their own price.
I got into the DVD universe fairly recently compared to many of you. But soon
enough, I discovered the thrill of being able to go down to my local Wal-Mart or Best Buy(I didn't know about Amazon yet!), and purchasing whole seasons of my favorite shows to watch as many times as I wanted, without having to scour flea markets for old VHS tapes. In the case of The Outer Limits, I didn't know it was a reissue. And what's more...I didn't care. I've since purchased all three volumes, and have been quite happy with each.
These are worthy additions to my video library. They play well, the images sparklingly clear, with no freeze-ups or skips. The menu is cleverly designed, and the outer case is attractive and inviting. My only complaint, and its the
reason I didn't award the set five stars, is that the sound is rather muddled.
And not in just a few episodes, but EVERY SINGLE episode in all three volumes!
I compared select portions of the soundtrack to that of VHS copies I'd made years earlier off the Sci-Fi Channel. The difference is pronounced, especially
in the background music. Whereas the full orchestra effect is faithfully reproduced on the TV copy, on DVD we hear only the higher-pitched notes. I
really don't understand this. You'd think they would have corrected the problem
after the first volume, but no. Changing the sound setting on my television to
"Theater" has improved things, but not enough.
Perhaps in the next reissue?
 Absolutely first rate hard sci-fi, never surpassed on TV June 30, 2009
Robert J. Crawford (Balmette Talloires, France)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was my intoroduction to sci-fi when I was in 2nd grade. Certain episodes were so vivid that they etched themselves permanently in my memory. Upon watching them again, I see how they are also emotionally appealing and surprisingly sophisticated, both in their science and in the lack of "feel good" deus ex machina endings that mar so many otherwise excellent Star Trek stories.
I think by far the best story of this lot is "The Man Who was Never Born", which exudes a kind of timeless anguish. It still moves me to think of the deformed Landau, who was truly brilliant. But the "Architects of Fear" is also wonderful, with the good man sacrificing himself in vain and communicating his love to his wife from his horribly altered form. They are both tragedies with grand conceptions behind them, truly unique. "The Galaxy Being" and "The Sixth Finger" are also deeply affecting and believable in their way. These are all timeless themes in hard sci-fi, done extremely well.
There are some bad episodes too, but overall the good ones are worth the price of admission. I do not see why some reviewers are angry at the format of splitting season 1 into 2 volumes - it doesn't cost more.
Warmly recommended as a piece of TV history that still stands on its own as outstanding hard scifi.
do not touch the dial... May 10, 2009
J. Mark Bickerton (Richmond, VA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Hindsight is always 20/20...this volume is circa 1963, with limited special effects and cinematography, yet I still remember watching this series as a frightened child. It is important as such for viewers to realize that historically, this was an early science fiction endeavor for TV. Still, there was such enormous suspense (not only in the acting but also in the music) for this series to enable it to set the standard for what would later become more realistic sci-fi productions.
 Get the UK R2 PAL edition April 15, 2009
Mark C. (Seattle, WA United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
if you can play those discs-season one is on 8 one-sided discs(same with season 2 on 5-), going for £12 or about $20 when you take off VAT
Despite several bad reviews, this is a fine product! February 7, 2009
William J. Irvin (Fremont, CA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I give this product a four star rating. I only subtract one star because I, like many others, do NOT like flipper discs (two-sided DVDs). That does, indeed, make them more prone to some sort of damage than one-sided discs, but it's still easy enough to handle them without damaging them if you are even moderately careful. Other than that, despite the terrible reviews given by others, I have been VERY happy with my purchase.
I have read most of the reviews, good and bad, as I always do, and was hesitant to buy this series, which I love! What I purchased was a bundled set featuring Volume 1 and Volume 2 (which together comprise the entire first season). The Outer Limits was always one of my favorite shows, and I was disheartened when I read the bad reviews about how the picture was grainy and not remastered, about the fact that they were flipper discs, and especially the ones who stated flatly that this set was a ripoff and an attempt to resell bad merchandise. Personally, I find those types of reviews a bit irresponsible unless the reviewers have proof of what they say.
[...]
I have not had a single glitch. Not one. I know others have said their DVDs skipped, froze or otherwise hosed up on them, and I have no doubt this is true, however I liken many of these horrible reviews to people who rave about playing the lotto because they could win millions, or people who refuse to fly because they hear about crashes and think it will happen to them, as well. I used to take all these types of reviews more seriously than I do now, until I discovered that, despite the fact that I have bought several DVDs that were also given bad reviews by others due to faulty packaging, flawed product, etc, I have NEVER had any of that happen to me! I would be willing to bet a lot of money that none of these issues will happen to YOU either, if you purchase this product. We read a bad review, jerk our knees and decide not to buy this 'garbage' because someone else had problems with theirs.
As I mentioned, I have friends who always play the lottery, citing the news stories about those who HAVE won millions. The fact that the odds of winning are astronomical (you stand a better chance of being hit by lightning THREE times in a single year and LIVING than hitting the lotto jackpot) doesn't deter them at all. In essence, they are very likely tossing their money down the drain. Very slowly, I grant you, but they are still doing so. I also alluded to plane crashes and people who refuse to fly because they read about some horrific plane crash and get scared that it's going to happen to them. Again, the odds of that happening are FAR worse than being seriously injured in a car crash, yet they don't think twice about driving, but won't fly. Thousands of planes take off every day. How many major crashes do we hear about each year? Two? Maybe three?
This may all sound silly, but I mention these two examples because, in my personal experience, it's the same type of thing as believing that just because a few people had bad experiences with the DVDs they bought, that YOU will too. It's the frustration factor. If you are dissatisfied with something, you are quite likely to complain to others about it, whereas if you like the product, you are far less likely to tell people that you like it unless you are asked. I believe the odds are greatly against you receiving a faulty product if you bought this DVD set. I do understand those who have posted that this product deserves only one or two stars are frustrated and are being sincere, but they are only basing it on one person's experience - their own. Yes, there are others who also say they have had problems, but do you really think the VAST majority of these DVD sets are defective? If so, you may just be among those who also believe you really have a decent chance of winning the lotto or getting in a plane crash. I would bet the farm that neither will EVER happen to you, just as I know the odds are excellent that you will NOT wind up with the problems that are posted here. If you are truly concerned about receiving a defective product, I would recommend purchasing this DVD new, rather than used. If there are THAT many defective DVDs out there (which I personally doubt), I would not risk buying from a previous owner. Especially since you can find this Outer Limits DVD brand new at a low price if you shop around.
I really don't wish to get on a soapbox about this, but truly, I have about a dozen DVDs about which, were you to go through all the Amazon reviews, you would find many complaining about quality issues, yet I have not had a single thing go wrong with any of them! That's gospel truth.
The Outer Limits package I purchased contain the entire first season of 32 episodes and, at 15 bucks for all of that (these are also HOUR LONG episodes, don't forget), the set I purchased was a major BARGAIN! You may be able to get this for even less than I paid! These episodes may not be pristine transfers that were remastered, but neither are they overly grainy. They look and sound okay to me. I'm very happy with mine. For that price, how can I not be? As I say, had these NOT been on flipper discs, I would have easily given this set five stars. If you are an Outer Limits fan, this is a very good deal, indeed!
Peace.
**UPDATE** I have now watched the entire second volume and there has not been a single skip, freeze or other glitch. What a great, fun show this is! I have ordered the third volume, which gives me the entire series. It was extremely affordable. I will be viewing volume 3 soon. I hope, and fully expect, it will be the same great value that volumes 1 & 2 were. I have been completely honest in this review. I will be honest in reviewing volume 3, as well. If I find anything amiss, I will let you know.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
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