AUDIO DRAMA
The Twilight Zone
Radio Dramas
4-CD collection - Vol. 2

Starring: Stacy Keach, Blair Underwood, Ed Begley Jr., Kim Fields & Chris McDonald
Falcon Picture Group
www.twilightzoneradio.com
RRP $27.99 (USA Only)
ISBN 1 59171 060 X
Available now


When a Naval destroyer picks up a signal from a ship that sank 20 years ago, a crewman is haunted by a strange memory buried at the bottom of the sea...

The 30-Fathom Grave is the eeriest story to be retold here. More a Tales of the Unexpected than a Twilight Zone episode - not that that's a complaint. The twist in the tale is easily explained away as a natural phenomenon and not some supernatural happening - unless you really want to believe that it is.

My only real gripe is that I wasn't really sure which character Blair Underwood was supposed to be playing. I couldn't tell if he was the captain of the ship or the man who starts to go mad. There seemed to be no clear main character.

Apart from that small complaint this is a great episode which slowly builds the tension to an exciting climax.

 

What if a genie granted your heart's desire? Is it possible to wish your way to happiness - or is the hidden price more than anyone can pay?...

The Man in the Bottle puts a new spin on the old 'Monkey's Paw' urban myth. When a genie appears and grants four wishes to a kind, and generous middle-aged couple the consequences soon become apparent. For every positive wish it seems there is a negative outcome.

This story breathes new life into a tired format - which is remarkable in itself - but the moralistic happy(?) ending is a little disappointing.

 

A young woman goes gift-shopping in a department store and is trapped on the ninth floor when the store closes - even though no such floor exists...

The After Hours is a rather bizarre tale which sees Kim Fields star as a woman concerned that she may be going out of her mind. The twist is rather unexpected and the way the plot unfolds is ingenious - Fields starts off as a rather stern shopper and slowly becomes meeker and meeker. Riveting stuff.

 

Every year Corwin plays Santa Claus for the kids in a department store. But this time there may be more presents in Santa's bag than even he can imagine...

Night of the Meek sees a shift in the story telling as we are introduced to a 'sweet' festive tale that sees an alcoholic with a kind heart do the whole Miracle on 42nd Street routine. No nasty twist in the tale, just a heart warming Christmas tale that rounds off this series perfectly.

 

All the episodes contained here are from original scripts by Rod Serling and these new recordings go to show how timeless these stories really are. As well as a fantastic supporting cast these stories have impressive sound effects and beautiful scores that help to set the mood.

This collection is hampered slightly by the annoying advertisements that keep interrupting each episode for the shows website and its official sponsors. This wouldn't be too bad if you could skip the track, but each story is on a separate disc which has only one track on it - so it is very difficult to take a break in the middle of listening to one of the episodes. The annoyance of the advertisements soon disappears as I found myself automatically tuning out when I got used to them.

This is a fantastic collection. Anyone with an interest in science fiction should get their hands on these recordings.

Pete Boomer

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£19.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
   
$27.99 (Amazon.com)

All prices correct at time of going to press.