Despite major changes in personnel and the ill-advised switch to a full-hour format, Twilight Zone (with "The" removed from its title) began its fourth season on a promising note. Written by series veteran Charles Beaumont, the premiere episode "In His Image" maintained the high standards that Rod Serling had established throughout the first three seasons, and the story--about a man (George Grizzard) who builds an exact robot replica of himself, with dire consequences--fit well into the hour-long format that Serling reluctantly went along with. Twilight Zone struggled with its expanded length, resulting in some episodes that lack the consistent punch of earlier half-hour episodes. Exhausted by three seasons of prodigious creativity, Serling and Buck Houghton vacated their roles as producers (with Serling's involvement limited to script feedback, writing nearly half of the season's episodes, and on-screen hosting), and TV veteran Herbert Hirschman became the new show-runner (departing mid-season, he was replaced by Bert Granet), promising not to tinker with the series' proven success. But Twilight Zone was inevitably becoming a shadow of its former self, and the involvement of proven TZ writers like Richard Matheson, Earl Hamner, Jr., and Beaumont could not entirely compensate for Serling's growing detachment.

Still, these 18 episodes include some fine examples of enduring quality, such as Matheson's "Death Ship," starring Jack Klugman and Ross Martin in a recurring nightmare scenario, and featuring the same spaceship model used in the 1956 sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet. Beaumont's "Miniature," starring Robert Duvall, was the only hour-long episode pulled from initial syndication (due to a plagiarism lawsuit that was ultimately dismissed), so its inclusion here (along with color scenes from its eventual syndication) is a welcome treat. Serling lampoons the medium of television with "The Bard" (with an early appearance by Burt Reynolds), and his teleplay for "On Thursday We Leave for Home" is the season's highlight, ranking among Twilight Zone's finest science-fiction episodes. It remained clear, however, that Twilight Zone was past its prime, and when the series was renewed for a fifth season in the spring of 1963, a return to its original half-hour format was a belated step in the right direction.

DVD recommendation

I would recommend this item to anyone. I have not had any problems with the merchandise that I have received so far. Everything has been perfect.

The Twiligh Zone Season 4 ( The definitive Edition )

Great gift idea, My Wife loved every episode.

Excellent Series

First time i saw this show was in 1983,and they showed it late at night.
I was amazed at this series,which seemed to realy make you think.....what if?You watch an episode with all its twists and turns and at the end you would be suprized by a fascinating ending.
I couldnt wait each week for each episode,and i then found out some of my friends were also watching it.I remember we just sat around talking one day about the episode To Serve Man.We just couldnt get over how well that particular episode was made.
The show ran for about a year then,but i didnt see it again till i started buying the episodes on DVD.That was in 2002.Its great they are putting out alot of series out on DVD nowdays so we dont have to wait such lenghts of time till we see them again.
Now this series was filmed in black and white,but i realy think that it adds to the mystique of the atmosphere surrounding each episode.
That eerie music is a sensation.
If you purchase this season then you cant go wrong with this masterpeice work from Rod Serling.
You cant go wrong with any season of this series!