Search - One Step Beyond: The Official First Season on DVD

Tales from the Other Side

Michael Osborn | Seattle, WA USA | 06/25/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, I have finished comparing `The Official First Season ` DVD set of One Step Beyond to the other sets previously available (Mill Creek, Delta, etc.) and I am very impressed with the difference. All the original music seems to be intact and the murky soundtrack that plagued those old sets with an underlying hum and hiss is now clear and clean. The `full-screen' restored picture is not only beautiful, but has been restored to its full image. When I played the episodes side-by-side using picture-in-picture I discovered that the picture on the others are all unnecessarily cropped. $35 seems a little high for a three-disk set, but I'm glad this series is getting the respect it deserves and I'm enjoying it. I only wish I had never seen them before so I could watch them all for the first time.
One Step Beyond had a total of 97 episodes and ran for three seasons from Jan 1959 to July 1961. Twilight Zone premiered nine months later, in October 1959, and it truly went beyond its predecessor. For example on One Step Beyond a person would have a dream that the Titanic is going to sink whereas on the Twilight Zone, a person may wake up and find themselves actually on that ill-fated ship. Still, the stories on One Step Beyond are fun in a spooky sense. Season one has 22 episodes, season two 39 episodes, and season three, 36."

THANK YOU, CBS/PARAMOUNT!!

Michael C. Glancy | Clinton,OK United States | 06/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just had to say "thank you" to CBS/PARAMOUNT for finally giving this series an official release. After many years of seeing nothing but old beat-up 16mm prints, I'm going to immensely enjoy seeing nice 35mm prints of this great show. I just hope all of the original music is left intact and that all 3 seasons are released. A great bonus would be to have original commercials, if available & a CD release of all the music. It's also great to see that BONANZA is getting an official release as well. I hope that CBS/PARAMOUNT continues to dig into its vaults and release more great TV treasures. My pre-order is in and I can't wait until September 15!! I hope those of you who are thinking about ordering this set will do so to ensure the release of seasons 2 & 3.

**REVIEW UPDATE** 9/16/09
Couldn't wait for it to be shipped so I went out and bought it! Audio and video quality are excellent. Now, for all you perfectionists, there are some light spots and a scratch here and there but this presentation is SOOOOO much better than anything I've seen before!! I've only watched 3 episodes so far, but they looked and sounded fine. The extended pilot episode has audio that is a little "draggy", but it's not very distracting. The best part is all the original music was intact. Of course, I had to watch "The Devil's Laughter" and all I can say is --- WOW!. I never thought I'd see this show look and sound this good. This set is well worth the money. Just as great as The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. Sales of this show and BONANZA should be good enough to merit the release of more season sets (I hope). BTW, there's a sticker on the front that has a quote from the author of the One Step Beyond guide, John Muir. It says "this is the presentation that the fans have been waiting for...". I think I'll agree with that. BUY IT!!"

Based on actual events and too long in the public domain

calvinnme | 06/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some have called this show a forerunner of "The Twilight Zone", but that is not exactly true. Each segment in this series was based on paranormal events or situations that defied logical explanation. In that sense, this show was much more similar in style to "The X-Files", except without the long story arcs. "The Twilight Zone" episodes, on the other hand, were pure fiction, often written to explore some current social issue that, due to the conventions of the times, would have been impossible to talk about in a straightforward manner without igniting a controversy. Also, this show ran in parallel with "The Twilight Zone" rather than preceding it, running for three seasons from 1959 until 1962.

I first saw this series in the 1980's when it was running on the then-new "Nick at Nite", and I was fascinated by it. I have one of the old public domain packages that has about half of the total 97 episodes in it. The video and audio were passable, but you got what you paid for. The one episode that really sticks in my mind is "Father Image", which is actually from season two. This episode concerned a man whose father has left him some property, including an old boarded-up burlesque house. Nobody can understand why he never sold the place, until an accident causes the son to see images from his dead father's life that include his murder of a girl he was having an affair with and the disposal of her body in the burlesque house, which he closed shortly after the murder and left abandoned. The son finds the body, and would have some explaining to do to the police if it was not obvious that the girl had died years before the son was born. The episode dealt with the issue of children inheriting memories from their parents. I just mention this episode as an example of the interesting episodes that occurred in every season of the show.

You'll notice lots of guest appearances by not-yet famous stars such as Elizabeth Montgomery, Charles Bronson, Jack Lord, Warren Beatty, and Pernell Roberts. I highly recommend it. This great show has too long been in the public domain and it will be wonderful to have a restored copy."

WHERE IS SEASON TWO?!

Jon | NY | 06/14/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Let's go, Paramount!

Click "YES" to send them the message that the fans are waiting.

The 'magic mushroom' episode is on season three so don't make us wait any longer than we have too."