This particular set, Vol. 1 of a proposed three volume set, covers various episodes from 1949-1953, including the debut episode with none other than Boris Karloff (sporting a hairstyle that can only be termed an adult version of Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer's). As might be expected, the story quality varies greatly from episode to episode, but there are some nice treasures to be found, notably a neat little shocker called "Dead Ernest" which was more or less ripped off a few years later during the first season of Alfred Hitchcock Presents in an episode entitled "Breakdown" starring Joseph Cotten and featuring a bit part by an unknown actor named Aaron Spelling (yep, that one).

The real fun of this set is spotting impossibly young actors who would go on to be stars, notably Paul Newman, Leslie Nielsen and Cloris Leachman. Sometimes "stars" who have never been heard from again are the leading players, while those named above, and others of their ilk, play bit parts at the beginnings of their careers.

The production values of these early episodes are understandably minimal. Occasionally filmed establishing shots are interpolated for at least a little "atmosphere," but for the most part these are studio-bound, one or two set pieces with small casts.

Many of the episodes are directed by either Robert Stevens (who went on to produce the series, and later directed the first episode of The Twilight Zone, "Where is Everybody?"), or future Oscar nominee Robert Mulligan (To Kill a Mockingbird), and they all show an economy of camera placement combined with a uniform competency of performance that marked this nascent medium.

The DVD

Video:
If you have seen kinescopes (which were produced by literally plopping a film camera in front of a monitor and filming the live over the air performance), you may be pleasantly surprised at the quality of many of these. Some episodes show some significant damage, especially in the lead-ins (the Paul Newman episode is especially bad in this regard). Don't expect good contrast or sharp images. If you set your "expect-o-meter" a little on the low side, though, you won't be horribly disappointed and may indeed be happily surprised.

Sound: As with the image, the sound quality varies and is never more than good. The earlier episodes (as is to be expected) have somewhat less audio clarity than the later ones. All of the episodes have a theater organ providing underscore, and that can occasionally overpower the dialogue.

Extras: Unfortunately no extras are included in this boxed set. It would have been nice to have a little historical context of the series, both radio and television versions, as well as the many future "names" associated with the show.

Final Thoughts:
This is a great little set for those interested in early television. Though many of the episodes are forgettable, there are a handful of great little chillers here that, along with the future star sightings, make this a "recommended" for a select few.

____________________________________________
"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet