Alternate Timelines and Rubber Monsters Galore!

Between Light and Shadow: A Twilight Zone Podcast ran for five years, from October 2016 to November 2021 (which sounds more impressive than it actually is, given the fact that I only managed to generate 69 total installments that entire time). It was always my intent to do some sort of Outer Limits-centric tangent-type episode at some point during those years, which the second half of the 2020 David J. Schow double feature extravaganza (detailed last time) did sorta satisfy… emphasis on sorta. 

See, back at the show’s inception, I seriously considered doing an Outer Limits podcast instead. At that time there were NO podcasts exclusively devoted to TOL and only a smattering of websites (this blog, We Are Controlling Transmission, maybe one or two others). The Twilight Zone, on the other hand, was well represented on both fronts. So why did I choose The Twilight Zone? I think it ultimately came down to---- which show did I know better? Which show had I loved longer? 

Do I regret my decision? If I’m being honest---- Christ, yes. 100%. Don’t get me wrong--- I’m (mostly) proud of the podcast, now that a bit of time has passed since it ended (but I struggled--- sometimes mightily so--- with that fucker while I was doing it). From Day One I was always nipping at the heels of established giants (The Twilight Zone Podcast and The Twilight Pwn, chiefly), and my little show never really took off as I’d hoped it would. Had I gone the OL route instead, I would’ve been the only game in town (until Victor Gamboa launched The Outer Limits Podcast in November 2017, that is). 

And you know what? I suspect I would’ve enjoyed the experience more had I done an OL podcast. 

When I started crafting the aforementioned Outer Limits-centric tangent-type episode for BL&S, I leaned hard into the Sophie’s Choice decision and imagined an alternate universe in which I had in fact taken that proverbial road less travelled. Marvel’s What If? had just finished its first season, so it felt like the perfect time to riff on the whole Multiverse thing.  

On November 11, 2021, mere weeks before the show breathed its last, I rolled out the inaugural (and only) installment of Between Awe and Mystery: An Outer Limits Podcast, which focused on the “Tourist Attraction” episode. It's basically the EXACT same format as Between Light and Shadow--- it’s got the same segment jingles, the usual customary music segment with Dr. Reba Wissner, the same lame dad jokes--- but with one critical difference: DJS was on board as essentially a co-host. Check it out:

We treated the whole thing as if we’d been doing The Outer Limits the whole time… and managed to confuse a couple of listeners in the process, who apparently weren’t hip to the whole super-meta in-joke thing. Jesus, the What If? bit at the beginning wasn’t enough of a hint? Sheesh.  

Remember “The Forms of Things Unknown,” which was shot two different ways in order to create both an Outer Limits episode and a pilot for a projected series called The Unknown? My chat with DJS about “Tourist Attraction” was similarly intended to serve two distinct purposes. After the podcast version, it would be rearranged and remixed to serve as a straight Blu-ray audio commentary for…. 

Well, what, exactly? That, kids, remains to be seen. We got the idea from our colleague Tim Lucas, who was commissioned by a fan in 2021 to record an ala carte commentary track for “It Crawled Out of the Woodwork.” There were eleven Outer Limits that didn’t receive the commentary treatment in either the Kino Lorber or the Via Vision Blu-ray releases, which became ten after Lucas’ effort… and now, with the finished (but presently homeless) “Tourist Attraction,” there are nine. I suspect DJS and I (and others) won’t rest until EVERY episode has at least one commentary track attached to it. WHERE these tracks might appear is the real question. 

Full disclosure: DJS and I briefly entertained the idea of doing a limited series podcast in which we’d cover only the episodes that never got audio commentaries. I even mocked up a graphic for it: 

...an obvious riff on his book The Outer Limits at 50. The plan was to release new episodes on a monthly basis throughout 2019 (leading up to the show’s 55th anniversary). We obviously never got around to it, but…. hey, you never know. Next year is the show’s 60th anniversary, after all (watch your back, Victor!). 

Next time: Betritt die Nachtgalerie...

Bare Dem Bones!

In May 2020, David J. Schow was kind enough to appear on my podcast to discuss---- in deliriously delightful detail (try saying that fast three times)--- the storied history behind Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Magazine. DJS was represented many times in its pages, contributing both short stories and a multi-part overview of The Outer Limits (which he would later expand into The Outer Limits Companion). It was a great chat which, if you haven’t heard it before, can be found here:

You’ll need to carve out two-and-a-half hours to hear it all… but in truth, that’s nowhere near all of it. The raw, unedited conversation ran a bit over five hours, only half of which pertained to the subject at hand. But damn, there was so much other good stuff (including some Outer Limits crumbs)… so another two hours comprised my very next episode:

A few weeks later, Cimarron Street Books launched the first title in their David J. Schow Library, an ongoing campaign to bring all of his books back into print in definitive editions, augmented with new or relevant content. One of these titles, Seeing Red, was slated to appear (okay, reappear) in May 2021, and would include a transcript of our Twilight Zone Magazine conversation… titled, of all things, Between Light and Shadow!

Pretty cool, right? The idea that one could flip open a David J. Schow book and see not just my name, but an extended conversation between the two of us… it just blows my mind. It’s right there on my shelf, and yet I still don’t quite believe it sometimes. Get your own copy here.

Cimarron Street also publishes bare•bones, a quarterly mélange of deep-dive articles about books, films, television… plus R&D, a column by none other than DJS (a continuation of his legendary Raving & Drooling column for Fangoria). bare•bones seemed like the perfect home for a deep-dive article I’d been contemplating for quite a while, so I proposed it to them… and to my surprise and  delight, they went for it.

I Am Controlling Transmission: Collecting The Outer Limits on Home Video (with Apologies to Robert Duvall) was published in the spring 2021 issue of bare•bones (it actually streeted a couple of weeks before Seeing Red, so needless to say May 2021 was a good month for me; incidentally, Schow’s column in that particular issue is about Twilight Zone Magazine. See? Synergy, kids. Everything is connected).

My article covers the earliest VHS releases, the brilliant Via Vision Blu-ray release from 2020, and everything in between. But it isn’t just a dry checklist-type rundown---- it’s an autobiographical chronicle of my obsessive collecting (and recollecting) of the show. If you possess even a passing interest in the history of The Outer Limits on home video, I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy it. But hey, don’t take my word for it. Here’s an excerpt from the sole Amazon review of this particular issue:

For me, the standout feature of BARE-BONES #6 was Craig Beam's often-hilarious account of his passionate (but bittersweet) pursuit of THE OUTER LIMITS on home video. Spanning as many years and formats as it did, his obsessive journey is almost Homeric!

And before you ask--- no, I didn’t write that. And if you’re expecting me to explain the Robert Duvall name-drop in the article’s title… well, tough toenails, mate. You’ll have to shell out ten bucks and snag your own copy to find out.

Next Time: Alternate Timelines and Rubber Monsters Galore!

Who's Zoomin' Who?

On October 10, 2020, David J. Schow gathered the Outer Limits Commentary Crew for a no-holds-barred live discussion panel (for that year's Monsterama virtual convention; for the uninitiated, Monsterama is Atlanta, Georgia's only retro science fiction and horror convention) about our collective experiences working on the Blu-rays. It went a little something like this:

Caveat: for some reason my audio was mixed WAY lower than everyone else's (perhaps this was intentional...?), so you'll need to CRANK THAT SHIT UP if you want to hear my (relatively minor) contributions to the discussion. 

Clockwise from top left: Steve Mitchell, Tim Lucas, David J. Schow, Yours Truly, Dr. Reba Wissner, Gary Gerani. Note that I'm the lucky bastard who got to share the screen with the Monsterama logo.

Anthony Taylor, the brains (and beauty) behind Monsterama, is a great guy who deserves a lavishing of praise for facilitating this. DJS and I are hoping to get the band back together for a reunion chat of sorts, so... stay tuned. 

Next time: Bare Dem Bones!

Hey, Nice Package (UPDATE #2)

Top: 2022 reissue. Bottom: Original 2018 release.

Okay, this'll be quick. My copy of the 2022 reissue of The Outer Limits: Season 1 Blu-ray showed up today, a full five days AFTER Season 2 got here. Not really much to report--- it's the same deal as Season 2, with one interesting little twist (and when I say "little," I'm really saying "so profoundly insignificant that only crazy people like Yours Truly would even notice, much less care about").

No booklet. We knew this was happening. They've removed the corresponding blurb from the back of the slipcase.

Left: Original 2018 release. Right: 2022 reissue.

As with Season 2, episode blurbs grace the back of each Blu-ray case. I'll gripe about this a second time: anybody buying these doesn't need quickie TV-Guide-style plot descriptions. What would be super helpful would be denotations of who contributed audio commentaries for each episode. With the elimination of the booklet, the only way to find out is to load each disc up and look at the Extras menu. I know--- first world problem. Hey, maybe I should post a comprehensive list right here in this blog....

Top: Case #2. Bottom: Case #1.

That insignificant detail I mentioned pertains to the Blu-ray cases. The first case contains four discs (episodes 1-20), and the second case contains three (episodes 21-32). So while the second case is a true standard Blu-ray case, the first is a slightly wider version to accommodate that fourth disc (you basically have two hinged plastic disc holders inside instead of one). See? Insignificant.

The package is definitely slimmer than the original 2018 release, so it does score a point or two for demanding less shelf space. But the deletion of the booklet---- which was, in essence, a Junior Mint Cliff's Notes version of Schow's Outer Limits Companion--- is a deal breaker. Skip it and track down the 2018 version.

Next time: Who's Zoomin' Who? (no, for real this time)

Hey, Nice Package (UPDATE)

Top: 2022 reissue. Bottom: Original 2018 release.

My copy of Kino Lorber’s 2022 reissue of The Outer Limits: Season 2 Blu-ray has arrived, and I’ve given it the once-over. 

Happily, the “Soldier” audio is fine... sorry I doubted you, Kino (not that they would’ve released the defective discs into the wild a second time, but mistakes do happen...!) Not so happily, I can confirm that there is indeed no booklet. That wonderful sprawling essay by David J. Schow? Gone. That helpful episode guide? Gone. 

Left: Original 2018 release. Right: 2022 reissue.

The back of the outer slipcase is the same as the original edition, except for the new MGM logo (as well as the removal of the 20th Century Fox logo) and the removal of the blurb touting the booklet. The Season 2 reissue is extremely similar to the previous DVD edition---- it too was packed in a single standard case nestled inside a slipcase with no booklet. I’d forgotten that point---- for Season 2, only the Blu-ray came with a booklet (which was a bit of a slap in the face for the non-HD folks, eh?) 

The episodes are listed on the back of the case sleeve, with air dates and--- this is new--- quick blurbs describing the plots. It would’ve made more sense to identify who’s doing the audio commentary for each episode (which was done in the episode guide section of the MIA booklet)... as it stands, the members of the Commentary Crew are only listed on the back of the outer slipcase. You have to physically load up each disc and open the Extras menu to find out who’s behind the mic for each episode. 

While I do prefer the standard Blu-ray cases over those horrible, fragile Digipack things, this reissue is a disappointing downgrade from the original release. My advice? Skip it! 

Next time: Who's Zoomin' Who?

Hey, Nice Package.

After I posted yesterday's entry about the Via Vision Blu-rays from 2020, DJS reminded me that Kino Lorber released NEW editions of their 2018 Blu-rays (very recently, in fact... August 23rd of this year). Now wait, before you get excited---- there's NOTHING actually new to be found here, in fact.... these are actually a downgrade from the originals.

2022 editions.

The specs are identical: you're getting the same exact 11 discs (7 for season one and 4 for season two). Now, I'm assuming that the Season Two set has the corrected version of Disc 1--- in its original release, the episode "Soldier" had about eight minutes of badly distorted audio (go here for a video illustrating the issue). Kino did ultimately step up and offer replacement discs by mail... but man, I sincerely hope they don't repeat the 2018 debacle by slipping in some back stock of the affected discs. They wouldn't do that... right?

2018 editions.

Okay, there are two significant differences between the 2018 and 2022 versions. First and foremost, the discs are now housed in standard Blu-ray cases instead of those flappy 'n flimsy Digipack monstrosities. The pic above doesn't fully illustrate their horribleness, so here are my copies, splayed out in all their ugly glory:

The horror! THE HORROR!!

Those welcome standard Blu-ray cases are stuffed into what appear to be the same cardboard slipcases from 2018... well almost, but not quite. The MGM logo on the spine is different, and the product ID number below said logo is different (The 2018 editions are K21746 and K21748, respectively, while the 2022 editions are K25911 and K25912). This tells us that they didn't just swap out the Digipacks for standard disc cases... they did a whole new run of modified slipcases, apparently just to change those extremely small details (I haven't seen the backs of the new slipcases, so maybe there's some changes there too). This also means that the new editions are slimmer by almost 50%---- the combined 2018 editions are roughly the width of six standard cases, and the combined 2022 editions contain a total of three standard cases. So hey, I guess they take up less room, if nothing else.

But these are cosmetic matters. The REAL difference is the fact that the booklets, which included episode guides and essays by DJS himself, have been omitted. This is severely disappointing for several reasons, but one stings particularly badly for Yours Truly---- Schow name-dropped THIS VERY BLOG in both booklets (TWICE in the one for Season Two!). This seems to be a growing trend in Blu-ray releases from boutique labels: they'll pack in a limited edition booklet with the first run of a given title, then drop it for future pressings. So there is at least a precedent for this practice... but dammit, I don't have to like it.

When the separate season sets were released in 2018, there was some internet grousing about the lack of a Complete Series offering (which, as reported yesterday, Via Vision rectified rather spectacularly with their 2020 release Down Under). In that light, these new Kino editions are more than a bit perplexing. The *only* thing they would've needed to do differently is make a slightly larger slipcase (again, they were already making new slipcases anyway), and voila! A Complete Series set to appease the masses. But you know what? If all they were doing was chucking the Digipacks (which do cost more than standard cases), they could've forewent the slipcase entirely and put all 11 discs into a single case. CBS Home Video did this with their Twilight Zone Complete Series reissue in 2016, and that thing has 24 discs... in a single case!

I'm being a bit facetious here--- those cases are a goddamn NIGHTMARE (and presumably cost even less than standard cases; if they don't, they fucking should). But I do think that combining both seasons into a single release would've increased sales at least somewhat... but you know what? They could've kicked things up a notch higher. Or two. Or ten.

They could've licensed Via Vision's exclusive content, for starters (detailed yesterday); beyond that, they could've dragged the OLCC (Outer Limits Commentary Crew, not Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission) out of semi-retirement for some all new tracks. And I would LOVE the opportunity to put together a video supplement detailing the various home video releases over the years (I have some, ahem, experience creating Blu-ray documentary featurettes, which Kino knows better than anyone because I'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR THEM FOR THE PAST YEAR). Don't get me wrong, I love Kino Lorber... but they passed on a positively golden opportunity to improve on their previous effort and create a truly remarkable, all-encompassing definitive edition---- which I suspect a fair number of customers would have been happy to upgrade to. I mean, they do wanna make money, right?

I dunno, I guess they could still do it. These reissues may simply be an attempt to unload their remaining disc stock. Hey, a man can hope against logic, right?

* I can't stop thinking about the "Soldier" issue. I'm not sure I'll rest until I verify that the corrected disc is in fact the one in the 2022 reissue of Season Two. There's one sure way to find out, but... aw geez, should I...? 

Okay, it may be the Bloody Mary I had a bit earlier forcing my hand here, but I just pulled the trigger on both 2022 editions (because I'm both an obsessive completist and a fucking idiot, plus I'm now the unofficial custodian of the history of The Outer Limits on home video... which I'll explain in an upcoming entry). I'll report back when they arrive. Keep your fingers crossed, gang.

Via Positiva

On July 6, 2019, I had the honor of appearing on Victor Gamboa’s wonderful Outer Limits podcast, where he grilled me at length about my blogs, podcast, and Outer Limits Blu-ray commentaries. We had a great chat, which you can hear for yourself here. The conversation felt (to me, at least) like a kind of summation on that third item… the work was done, both season sets had been released, we’d been honored with a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award, and… that was it. Hashing it out with Victor seemed to place a nice marker at the end of eight years of exploring my beloved Outer Limits. It was time to rest.

Ha! cackles the universe. 

A mere six weeks later, DJS notified me that the Australian label Via Vision was planning their own Outer Limits Blu-ray release Down Under, licensing Kino’s supplements in the process. This presented an interesting opportunity to make the supplemental package even more robust (no mean feat, given the extensive treasure trove already extant). He had a couple of new pieces brewing, including The Unknown Unknown, a fascinating glimpse into a newly-discovered early draft of Joseph Stefano’s “The Forms of Things Unknown” teleplay that includes an actual monster (or bear, in Outer Limits parlance, which is referred to as, simply, The Form; you can read this version in From the Inner Mind to... the Outer Limits Scripts of Joseph Stefano, Volume 1, edited by Dave Rash for Gauntlet Press). 

But DJS wasn’t stopping there. He wanted to provide even more exclusive content in the form of... that’s right, kids: more audio commentaries, which would be grafted onto the existing Kino disc masters. We’d do a total of three: Film historian and audio commentator of renown Tim Lucas would provide a new track for “The Hundred Days of the Dragon” (to compliment Dr. Reba’s Wissner’s existing track), and DJS and I would join forces for “The Architects of Fear” and “The Man Who Was Never Born” (both of which already had tracks by Gary Gerani). Why didn’t we cover episodes that didn’t get commentaries the first time around? Valid question, that. As I recall, Lucas had already expressed a desire to explore “Hundred Days,” and... hell, he’s Tim Lucas, so he can basically call his own shots. And it goes without saying that both "Architects” and “Man/Born” are two of the greatest---- if not the greatest--- episodes of the entire series, so both were/are absolutely worthy of additional exploration. So that was the plan, to be executed over the following few months. 

So that was mid-August. About a month later (September 13, 2019), Kino took home another prestigious honor--- this time the coveted Saturn Award, which is presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, who had deemed the Outer Limits Blu-rays worthy of the Best DVD or Blu-ray Television Movie or Series Release (2018-2019) prize.  

Look at that thing! Gorgeous.  

So over the next couple of months DJS and I did some preliminary work on our new tracks for Via Vision, and I found myself increasingly doubtful that I could actually pull it off. See, he’s a natural at this kind of thing---- delivering what amounts to a casual lecture with nothing more than a sheaf of notes to periodically glance at--- but me? I need to script everything out in advance, pre-timed down to the second, without improvised comments and nothing off-the-cuff. It seemed daunting (if not downright impossible) to somehow marry our disparate approaches successfully, so he graciously agreed that we'd tackle the tracks separately--- he’d do “The Architects of Fear” and I’d take “The Man Who Was Never Born,” each of us armed with whatever notes the other had assembled thus far. And I’ve gotta say--- we made the right choice. Schow’s "Architects” track is nothing short of stellar, and my “Man/Born” effort.... well, it might be my best Outer Limits track of the eight I’ve done (or it is nine? Stay tuned). And Schow and I would get the chance to record together... but we’ll get into that in a couple of weeks. 

Via Vision’s Outer Limits release came out in June 2020, and it wasn’t split up in season chunks---- they gave us the whole enchilada in one Complete Series set, with a gorgeous glossy hard box holding it all together. As great as Kino’s efforts were, THIS stands as the ultimate home video presentation of the series. It's nothing short of spectacular. The moment I first held it in my hands, I was momentarily taken back to the earliest days of my Outer Limits fandom, when I was first amassing those beautiful VHS editions, then thrust forward in a heady rush through multiple unsatisfactory DVD editions, standard-def Hulu streams, and finally into the realm of high definition. With the Via Vision set, I felt a tingling and satisfying sense of completion (not that kind, ya perv). I remember how acquiring the Twilight Zone Blu-rays had felt like a cosmic reward of sorts, after decades of buying and rebuying the series. This was that all over again. I don't know what the future of home video looks like---- 4K is obviously a thing, and we're seeing some really great releases... but streaming continues to nip at physical media's heels, and it seems unlikely that classic television will ever make the leap to 4K. And if it never happens... well, this Via Vision set will do nicely. Better than nicely, actually. Honestly, it's better treatment than I ever thought I'd see The Outer Limits receive. It's been over two years, and I still gaze lovingly at it on a regular basis.

The Via Vision set is marked as Region B, but fear not, domestic cats: the discs play just fine in a standard Blu-ray player. However, the set is unfortunatetly out of print (which happens when highly-desirable items such as this are limited to 1500 copies). It appears there are still some DVD copies available, but the Blu-rays are sold out. I heard a vague rumor that Via Vision may do a second run at some point, but there’s nothing concrete as of this entry. I’ll try to report it here if/when it becomes official, just in case any of you wants/needs this exemplary collection in your possession (and trust me, if you’re reading this blog, you most definitely DO). 

Next time: Hey, Nice Package.