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Blast from the past

A great blog that I've been reading recently is A Thriller a day covering not the 1970s UK TV series (which I also enjoyed) but the early 1960s US series hosted by Boris Karloff. There was a vast amount of "word of mouth" about this, including comments by Stephen King in his non-fiction book Danse macabre but, for many years, it wasn't available on legitimate DVD, only bootlegs. As soon as I saw the announcement that the whole series was being released, with extras, I knew I had to have it. In case I give the wrong impression, let's admit that this is an old series with highly variable standards and some boring episodes. However, the good ones make it worthwhile. So far I've probably watched about a fifth of those with good reputations, and have really enjoyed them. While I didn't quite "get" the supposedly classic The cheaters - yes, it's a clever idea, well worked out, but it's neither chilling nor emotionally involving, as it has no sympathetic characters - I've been impressed by others like The hungry glass (featuring the wonderfully histrionic William Shatner) and Pigeons from hell (creepy in a way you just wouldn't see on today's TV). I'm delighted to read that Peter Enfantino and John Scoleri, authors of A Thriller a day, are planning to cover another of my favourites, The outer limits next.
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Jackem said…
I should have said that the DVD set is available as a Region 1 (US) version only. However, the price seems to have come down significantly since I bought it, so anyone prepared to fork out for it (and remember, it's not all good) may find a bargain price.
29 December 2010 at 19:07
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