The Series (5/5)

    I grew up as a golden age of TV junkie, and also being a fan of genre work, I quickly found my way to shows like The Twilight Zone, and original Star Trek (also, later classic Doctor Who). When I was in middle school in the early 1990's channels suddenly rebroadcasting the original run of the Outer Limits, probably due to the upcoming remake of the show that was getting ready to air. Being familiar with the Twilight Zone, I thought I'd have been prepared for it, but Outer Limits always felt quite a bit different.

    The show frequently used monsters in a way that Twilight Zone did not. Also, it did not rely on a shocking "twist" at the end, rather it just told a good solid story utilizing a genre framework, and like Twilight Zone it had access to some of the great sci-fi writers of the period, notably in Season 1 they had Psycho's Joseph Stefano running the show for almost the whole season, and thus writing a lot of episodes.

    The tone of the show at times feels more surreal, and at times it goes to more bizarre and outlandish places then you'd expect a network sci-fi show to go. Other times it gets more deep and philosophical in its sci-fi template which also work well for it. The Season 1 box set from Kino Lorber presents all 32 episodes from Outer Limits season 1 including classics like "The Zanti Misfits" , "The Sixth Finger", and "The Architects of Fear". These episodes that will please  long time fans, and introduce the show tonally to those coming in for the first time.

Audio/Video (4.5/5)

    Outer Limits S1 is presented by Kino Lorber in an amazing 1:33:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer. Contrast is very stable, detail is excellent, there is some minor damage from the source, but it is rare, and these episodes have never looked so good.

     Audio is handled by a DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono track in English. Everything here sounds fantastic, with no discernible issues.

Extras (5/5)

    There are 23 commentary tracks strewn about the 32 episodes featuring genre heavyweights like Tim Lucas, David J. Schow, and more commenting on many of the episodes (sometimes there are 2 commentaries per episode). There is also a 40 page booklet of liner notes from David Schow that is in depth and totally essential.

Overall

    The Outer Limits Season 1 is landmark sci-fi, and the Blu-ray from Kino Lorber looks and sounds amazing. The commentary tracks are in depth, and insightful are add much to this great collection. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.