Twilight Zone may arrive on Blu Ray
- Thread starter Mr. Laser Beam
- Start date
The series (except for six episodes) was shot on 35mm. As such, it could benefit greatly from a high-definition transfer. And high-def transfers have already been made. They were the source of the more recent DVD season box sets.
If it's on Blu-Ray, I'm there. I already have The Prisoner, and am going to invest in Star Trek (1966) soon. With The Twilight Zone, it would mean owning the three most important science fiction series of the era on high def. And that would be pretty cool.
If it's on Blu-Ray, I'm there. I already have The Prisoner, and am going to invest in Star Trek (1966) soon. With The Twilight Zone, it would mean owning the three most important science fiction series of the era on high def. And that would be pretty cool.
Damn.. Won't be getting it as I got the DVD box sets last year.
As Harvey mentioned, from what I understand many of these older TV series that were shot on film would actually look far better on blu-ray than most shows from the 80s and 90s. While I enjoyed the Twilight Zone though, I don't think its the type of show that I would pick up on DVD
What's interesting is Twilight Zone is one of several shows I've heard cited as being "unreleasable" in HD without major alterations. The release of The Prisoner shows this to be hogwash. And I'm encouraged that they're releasing the shows full-frame and not with fake widescreening (don't get me started on that).
It'll be interesting to see what they do with the videotaped episodes. If they're able to include them, and make them watchable in HD (I've seen some Blu-Ray transfers of videotaped content that look like a 25-year-old VHS) then that bodes VERY well for the potential future BR release of other shot-on-video productions such as early Doctor Who, All in the Family, Ed Sullivan Show, etc. As long as Blu-Ray players remain backwards compatible with DVD this isn't an issue, but it's only a matter of time before a next generation format comes along that isn't, so the powers that be have until then to develop an acceptable workaround for shot-on-video and lower-quality film productions before we lose an immense amount of television history.
Alex
It'll be interesting to see what they do with the videotaped episodes. If they're able to include them, and make them watchable in HD (I've seen some Blu-Ray transfers of videotaped content that look like a 25-year-old VHS) then that bodes VERY well for the potential future BR release of other shot-on-video productions such as early Doctor Who, All in the Family, Ed Sullivan Show, etc. As long as Blu-Ray players remain backwards compatible with DVD this isn't an issue, but it's only a matter of time before a next generation format comes along that isn't, so the powers that be have until then to develop an acceptable workaround for shot-on-video and lower-quality film productions before we lose an immense amount of television history.
Alex
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TZ looks great on DVD on my PS3. I couldn't imagine it looking any better. Would be cool to see.
I'm excited abut this.
Two 40 year old TV shows 'Star Trek TOS' & 'The Prisoner' released on Blu-ray in 2009.
Now this announcement about the original 51-year old Twilight Zone on Blu-ray. The 2004 telecine transfers were done in HD from the original camera negative and as we know from TOS seasons 1-3 that telecine from the original camera negative preserves everything that was shot by the cinematographer.
This is how modern day TV shows are done anyway. Take CSI for example shot on 35mm film:
If any older TV shows that were conformed on film are released on Blu-ray this is how they should be done.
I hope this can happen in the next 5 years :
Batman' 1966-68 live-action TV series wish for Blu-ray/DVD
Two 40 year old TV shows 'Star Trek TOS' & 'The Prisoner' released on Blu-ray in 2009.
Now this announcement about the original 51-year old Twilight Zone on Blu-ray. The 2004 telecine transfers were done in HD from the original camera negative and as we know from TOS seasons 1-3 that telecine from the original camera negative preserves everything that was shot by the cinematographer.
This is how modern day TV shows are done anyway. Take CSI for example shot on 35mm film:
from October 1, 2008 post magazine
If any older TV shows that were conformed on film are released on Blu-ray this is how they should be done.
I hope this can happen in the next 5 years :
Batman' 1966-68 live-action TV series wish for Blu-ray/DVD
Bump: Amazon now taking pre-orders for Season 1 of TZ on Blu-Ray. No street date yet though.
TVShowsOnDVD has an entry as well.
TVShowsOnDVD has an entry as well.
Really? I've never seen Twighlight Zone or The Prisoner included in a list of unreleasable Blu-Ray shows. If anything they are the shows that people said COULD be released on Blu-Ray. The shows that are nearly unreleasable in HD are the shows from the 80s-00s. Those are the shows that were worked on in video and have no hope of higher resolution without reverting to the originally shot negatives and re-editing the entire episode.
I think the 80's Zone (which is my favorite out of all the versions) is the only one that can't be released on Blu-Ray. It was made 'on the cheap' to begin with, i.e. the aforementioned issue with videotape editing. And even the filmed footage is somewhat less than ideal. Oh well, at least the standard def DVDs will tide me over...
And the plot thickens: There will be a FOURTH VERSION OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE. Guess who's narrating this time? Jude Law. The pilot's been greenlit and will be out this year.
Yep, you read that right. A fourth TZ. Let's hope this will be better than the dreary 2002 version...
And the plot thickens: There will be a FOURTH VERSION OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE. Guess who's narrating this time? Jude Law. The pilot's been greenlit and will be out this year.
Yep, you read that right. A fourth TZ. Let's hope this will be better than the dreary 2002 version...
I've seen both. I also saw Trek TOS listed as unreleasable unless they farted around with the SFX which they did for TOS/R. And that show well predated the whole edit-on-video thing (and of course TOS ended up on Blu-Ray in its more-or-less original state, too). Anyway, the point remains moot so long as Blu-Ray remains backwards compatible with DVD. They're going to have to figure out a workaround (that doesn't involve remaking everything) by the time either Blu-Ray standards change and backwards compatibility is no longer allowed (sort of like what happened with PlayStation when they moved up the models, and also things like the move to Intel Core Duo Macs making it impossible to use most software from OS9 and earlier), or a new format comes along that is only HD (or, worse, only 3-D) compatible. They must come up with something, otherwise they're going to lose billions of dollars investment as 60 years worth of TV production becomes "lost culture".
As I say, the key remains whether or not the shot-on-video TZ episodes will be included in the Blu-Ray edition. If that happens, then IMO it opens the door for a lot of video-related material to be released in high-def, from old-school Doctor Who to All in the Family ...
Alex
Well BBC is already releasing The Next Doctor on Blu Ray even though it was not filmed in HD. But they're only releasing it so they can release a complete set on Blu Ray. I suspect something similar will be done with TZ. They'll upscale the couple video episodes to keep the set complete, but they will look no better than what your TV/DVD/BR player would do with the DVD version.
But it will still say nothing about what other old shows are released in Blu Ray. You could upscale TNG for example and release a Blu Ray set. But the image would look no different than what you get from your DVD now. The only shows that will see the effort to convert are shows where you will be able to see a difference. That's also why converting shows is not a moot point right now. If a show can be redone and released in higher quality I want to see it now, I don't care about a debate on format support and if my Blu Ray player will support the old DVD version.
The TZ videotaped episodes will probably be included, but only upconverted from SD (i.e. not in "real" high definition). This is what happened with DS9's "Trials and Tribble-ations" when it was on the TOS blu-ray set. The DS9 ep was not in HD, it was just upconverted.
There's nothing physically preventing them from releasing standard definition material on Bluray. The only thing holding them back is the whole "what purpose does this serve?" issue.
For something like the six TZ eps that were done on videotape, they will simply do the best they can with what they have (as noted by Mr. Laser Beam) and include them alongside the other eps for completeness' sake. One positive though is the max bitrate is higher for Bluray, so they won't have to compress the eps as much as they would on a DVD.
Also, if you read some of the stuff on the Doctor Who Restoration Team website, there's numerous mentions of Who eps that are only on videotape, but at a higher PAL resolution of 525 lines (compared to DVD's 480 lines of resolution). So there's a little bit of improvement right there.
For something like the six TZ eps that were done on videotape, they will simply do the best they can with what they have (as noted by Mr. Laser Beam) and include them alongside the other eps for completeness' sake. One positive though is the max bitrate is higher for Bluray, so they won't have to compress the eps as much as they would on a DVD.
Also, if you read some of the stuff on the Doctor Who Restoration Team website, there's numerous mentions of Who eps that are only on videotape, but at a higher PAL resolution of 525 lines (compared to DVD's 480 lines of resolution). So there's a little bit of improvement right there.
Oops, make that September 14th. 
To take one step beyond--so to speak--what TZ eps would you potentially like to see in 3-D? I say this with the idea that the overwhelming majority of eps would gain nothing from it, but surely this or that fave would be cool to see that way. My first nominee--Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.
On the other hand, even a holodeck on digital steroids couldn't save some eps :
Spur Of The Moment
Sounds And Silences
The Bewitchin' Pool
Queen Of The Nile
Stopover In A Quiet Town
Uncle Simon
And the ninety or so eps in which the past was not really that nice a place.
I hope they deep-six any new remake. Like SNL and Monty Python for comedy, TZ succeeded even in its worst moments because it challenged the conventions of the moment in time it was broadcast in. Absent that, only the true classics stand out. Otherwise, how many shrewish wives, doors to fantasy realms that make you choose, and vengeful fates reflected back onto the resenter can you take?
I'll bet we see a lot of set detail that wasn't evident before, and that the crew at the time obsessed over.
On the other hand, even a holodeck on digital steroids couldn't save some eps :
Spur Of The Moment
Sounds And Silences
The Bewitchin' Pool
Queen Of The Nile
Stopover In A Quiet Town
Uncle Simon
And the ninety or so eps in which the past was not really that nice a place.
I hope they deep-six any new remake. Like SNL and Monty Python for comedy, TZ succeeded even in its worst moments because it challenged the conventions of the moment in time it was broadcast in. Absent that, only the true classics stand out. Otherwise, how many shrewish wives, doors to fantasy realms that make you choose, and vengeful fates reflected back onto the resenter can you take?
I'll bet we see a lot of set detail that wasn't evident before, and that the crew at the time obsessed over.
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