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On the road home from the Civil War, a confederate soldier
meets a widow and together they learn that the road they are
travelling might not lead home at all...
The
Passersby is
very predictable and if you haven't worked out the ending
in the first 15 minutes then you are a little slow on the
uptake. However, that is the intention - you are supposed
to unearth what is happening fairly early on so that you can
appreciate the widow's predicament. The question of what has
happened to her is supposed to be the twist in the tail, but
it doesn't quite work as such.
The
acting is impeccable, the stock music is great and the overall
story is engaging but for some reason it doesn't gel as it
should.
Four
master thieves put themselves into suspended animation for
100 years after hiding a fortune in gold bars. But even in
the future, wealth is still beyond their reach...
The
Rip Van Winkle Caper is
a great little story which is extremely engaging. It includes
all your usual clichés when suspended animation pods
are used. It seems to be a sci-fi law that at least one of
the pods will malfunction leaving behind a skeleton. The relationship
between the four crooks is amusing (paying homage to the Ealing
Comedy's The Ladykillers) and the whole production
seems to be over before you know it. The only slight complaint
is that one of the villains is supposed to be British and
never, since Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, have I
heard such a ridiculous accent.
Apart
from that, this recording is very entertaining.
Political
fanatic Oliver Crangle has determined that at 4:00pm he'll
rid the world of all evil people by shrinking them to 2 ft
tall. But his plan may prove a little short-sighted...
Four
O'clock is
a great episode, but one that could quite easily have fallen
flat on its face. The guest star carries this episode (with
barely a look in from any other voice over artists. Thankfully
Stan Freberg is perfect in the role of the barking
mad fanatic who sees evil in everyone. If you don't work out
the ending by the time you are half way through the episode
then you have obviously not being paying attention to the
other stories in this collection.
A
well scripted and acted episode that doesn't come up short.
The
residents of a quiet street suspect an alien invasion is imminent
and that one of their own is a monster leading the attack...
The
Monsters are Due on Maple Street is
the best recording in this collection. Just what would happen
in a small town once fear and uncertainty is unleashed? The
answer, pure and simple, is anarchy. Citizens taking things
into their own hands and believing that one amongst them is
a monster from another planet. And why? Because the electrical
power in the street is down - as are all the engines to their
cars. Nothing mechanical seems to work - apart for one mans
car. Surely he is not human! Sounds crazy, but mass hysteria
as represented here is not a million light years away from
the sort of frenzy the British press is capable of whipping
up (remember the recent pedophile outings where a paediatrician
was attacked?)
A
fantastic conclusion to a wonderful series.
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 (although to be fair the ad breaks
are now recorded as amusing sketches which is a vast improvement
over the first two volumes). 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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