The Ray Bradbury Theater: The Complete Series

I'd never seen this TV series but took a chance since Ray Bradbury wrote for Rod Serling and other notables. I enjoyed some of the episodes, for instance, the episode about the friendly planet ... you knew it was pure fantasy but delightful with a worthwhile message.But then other kinds of fantasy popped up in many of the stories. For one example, Bradbury obviously had a thing about the planet Mars, and portrayed humans traveling back and forth from Earth and living on Mars just the same as here on Earth.How many expensive voyages would it take to transport all of the materials and equipment to construct those roads, build those houses and large commercial buildings, manufacture those autos, run them, and perform all of the other functions done by heavy industry, even to generate that electricity? Who would pay for all of this, and what would be the purpose? If humans have destroyed one planet, they are apt to do the same on another.In addition to Mars' atmospheric pressure being far below earth's, the atmosphere is thin, 95% carbon dioxide, with traces totaling less than 0.4% of other gases, including oxygen; yet in these stories, humans as well as the Martians are able to somehow breathe freely.The Mars colonizers dress as we would in the spring or autumn somewhere in the mid- to southern US, but Mars is colder. The average surface emission temperature is minus 73 °F at the low point of the (extreme) daily range, which is comparable to Antarctica.Water on Mars is scarce.None of this is addressed in this series. Instead, on Bradbury's Mars, somehow the natives are able to understand English, read minds, and transform themselves into humans. The viewer is asked to accept all of this in addition to weak plots.There is an episode that normalizes fat-shaming and not a small number of negative gender stereotypes are sprinkled throughout the series. I would think (hope) that if Earthlings did ever become sophisticated enough to colonize other planets, they would also have evolved beyond judgmentalism and hatred based on "differences." This series doesn't offer much basis for optimism.Technically speaking, the video quality is uneven; the color is washed out in some of the episodes, but overall it is watchable; there was no skipping or pixelating in mine. The disks are piled 3 on top of each other in one case and 2 in the other case. There are no subtitles for the hearing-impaired.

The first half dozen episodes of THE RAY BRADBURY THEATER were made in Canada for the HBO network. After that, the program moved to USA (another cable outfit) for an additional four seasons. Most impressive are the number of actors who participated in this sci fi/fantasy series, from the most famous (Shatner, Goldblum, O'Toole and Nielson) to stars of yesteryear (Linden, Stapleton, Pollard and Culp).Scripts were reworked by the author himself, chosen from his archive of over 400 short stories. Twenty years earlier, Bradbury had written for ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, so he was already familiar with the challenges of the half-hour format. All 65 episodes of THE RAY BRADBURY THEATER are here for your discovery or re-enjoyment. They just don't make 'em like this anymore! ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS - Season Three  is hosted by the Master of Suspense himself. If you like Bradbury, you're gonna LOVE Hitchcock!.The following program list includes episode numbers, titles, season, original airdates and their most prominent actors.DISC 1:(_#3) The Crowd (S.1, 7/2/85) - David Hughes/Nick Mancuso/R.H. Thomson(_#1) Marionettes, Inc. (S.1, 5/21/85) - James Coco/Leslie Nielson(_#6) Banshee (S.1, 2/22/86) - Peter O'Toole/Michael Copeman/Jennifer Dale(_#2) The Playground (S.1, 6/4/85) - William Shatner/Steven Andrade(_#5) The Screaming Woman (S.1, 2/22/86) - Drew Barrymore/Mary Ann Coles(_#4) The Town Where No One Got Off - (S.1, 2/22/86) - Jeff Goldblum(#15) The Coffin (S.2, 5/7/88) - Dan O'Herlihy/Denholm Elliot/Clive Swift(#10) Gotcha! (S.2, 2/20/88) - Saul Rubinek/Michael Healy/James Kidnie(_#9) The Emissary (S.2, 2/13/88) - Helen Shaver/Eric Hebert(#11) The Man Upstairs (S.2, 3/5/88) - Féodor Atkine/Kate Hardie(#12) The Small Assassin (S.2, 4/9/88) - Cyril Cusack/Leigh Lawson(#14) On the Orient, North (S.2, 4/29/88) - Tim Holm/Ian Bannen(_#7) The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl (S.2, 1/23/88) - Robert Vaughn.DISC 2:(#16) Tyrannosaurus Rex (S.2, 5/14/88) - Cris Campion/Daniel Ceccaldi(#17) There Was an Old Woman (S.2, 5/21/88) - Roy Kinnear/Mary Morris(_#8) Skeleton (S.2, 2/6/88) - Eugene Levy/Diane D'Aquila/Peter Blais(#13) Punishment Without Crime (S.2, 4/16/88) - Donald Pleasence(#18) And So Died Riabouchinska (S.2, 5/28/88) - Alan Bates(#19) The Dwarf (S. 3, 7/7/89) - David Cameron/Megan Follows(#20) A Miracle of Rare Device (S.3, 7/14/98) - Pat Harrington Jr.(#21) The Lake (S.3, 7/21/89) - Jim Moriarty/Sylvia Rands/Tina Regtien(#26) The Haunting of the New (S.3, 9/15/89) - Suzannah York/Richard Comar(#27) To the Chicago Abyss (S.3, 9/22/89) - Harold Gould/Arne MacPherson(#29) The Veldt (S.3, 11/10/89) - Linda Kelsey/Malcolm Stewart/Damien Atkins(#30) Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms in Your Cellar! (S.3, 11/17/89) - Marc Reid(#23) The Pedestrian (S.3, 8/4/89) - David Ogden Stiers/Grant TillyDISC 3:(#22) The Wind (S.3, 7/28/89) - Michael Sarrazin/Ann Pacey/Ray Henwood(#24) A Sound of Thunder (S.3, 8/11/89) - John Bach/Kiel Martin/Michael McLeod(#.25) The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone (S.3, 8/18/89) - John Saxon/Alan Scarfe(#28) Hail and Farewell (S.3, 9/30/89) - Frank C. Turner/Christine MacInnis(#33) Touched With Fire (S.4, 8/3/90) - Eileen Brennan/Barry Morse/Joseph Shaw(#42) Here There Be Tygers (S.4, 11/30/90) - Timothy Bottoms/Peter J. Elliott(#36) Touch of Petulance (S.4, 10/12/90) - Eddie Albert/Jesse Collins(#34) The Black Ferris (S.4, 8/10/90) - Zachary Bennett/Nathaniel Moreau(#41) The Long Years (S.4, 11/16/90) - Robert Culp/George Touliatos/Jason Wolff(#39) Exorcism (S.4, 11/2/90) - Sally Kellerman/Jordan Singer/Bartley Bard(#31) Mars Is Heaven (S.4, 7/20/90) - Hal Linden/Paul Gross/Helen Moulder(#32) The Murderer (S.4, 7/27/90) - Bruce Weitz/Cedric Smith/Donna Akersten(#35) Usher II (S.4, 8/17/90) - Patrick Macnee/Desmond Kelly/Ian Mune/Alice Fraser.DISC 4:(#38) The Toynbee Convector (S.4, 10/26/90) - James Whitmore/Michael Hurst(#40) The Day It Rained Forever (S.4, 11/9/90) - Vincent Gardenia/Sheila Moore(#37) And the Moon Be Still As Bright (S.4, 10/19/90) - David Carradine(#43) The Earthmen (S.5, 1/3/92) - David Birney/Patricia Phillips/Ian Robison(#44) Zero Hour (S.5, 1/10/92) - Sally Kirkland/Kurtis Brown/Katharine Isabelle(#46) Colonel Stonesteel and the Desperate Empties (S.5, 1/24/92) - Harold Gould(#47) The Concrete Mixer (S.5, 1/31/92) - Harold Jerome/Ben Cross/John Gilbert(#45) The Jar (S.5, 1/17/92) - Paul Le Mat/Jennifer Dale/John Dee(#48) The Utterly Perfect Murder (S.5, 2/7/92) - Richard Kiley/Robert Clothier(#50) The Martian (S.5, 2/21/92) - John Vernon/Sheila Moore/Paul Clemens(#49) Let's Play Poison (S.5, 2/14/92) - Richard Benjamin/Shane Meier(#57) The Dead Man (S.6, 9/26/92) - Louise Fletcher/Peter McCauley/Frank Whitten(#52) The Happiness Machine (S.6, 7/17/92) - Elliott Gould/Mimi Kuzyk/Paul McIver.DISC 5:(#51) The Lonely One (S.6, 7/10/92) - Joanna Cassidy/Chic Littlewood(#56) The Long Rain (S.6, 9/19/92) - Marc Singer/Michael Hurst/Brian Sergent(#54) The Anthem Sprinters (S.6, 8/21/92) - Len Cariou/Karl Bradley/Maurice Keene(#63) Fee Fie Foe Fum (S.6, 10/28/92) - Jean Stapleton/Lucy Lawless/Robert Morelli(#60) Downwind From Gettsburg (S.6, 10/17/92) - Howard Hesseman/Robert Joy(#55) By the Numbers (S.6, 9/11/92) - Ray Sharkey/Geordie Johnson(#65) The Tombstone (S.6, 10/30/92) - Shelly Duvall/Desmond Kelly/Ron White(#53) Tomorrow's Child (S.6, 8/14/92) - Carol Kane/Michael Sarrazin/John Kerr(#59) Silent Towns (S.6, 10/10/92) - John Glover/Monica Parker(#61) Some Live Like Lazarus (S.6, 10/24/92) - Catherine Wolf/Leon Woods(#58) Sun and Shadow (S.6, 10/3/92) - Stuart Margolin/Gregory Sierra/John Bach(#64) Great Wide World Over There (S.6, 10/29/92) - Tyne Daly/Helen Moulder(#62) The Handler (S.6, 10/27/92) - Michael J. Pollard/Lee Grant/Henry Beckman

I really enjoyed this show as a kid but they put 13 episodes each on five dvds. This show was not improved at all on these dvds from the original 1980's release date. The outside of the 5 disc are not labeled just 5 different colors of the discs. My items were out of order so it got a bit confusing. The episodes are mostly out of order from the listing on the package so if you buy this you will have to search for them if you want a specific episode. Also most every DVD allows you to fast forward and rewind normally but if you are trying to go by chapters which appears on every DVD except this one. A chapter rewind or fast forward usually lets you go back or forward 3 to 5 minutes but these discs will only let you go back or forth a whole episode.These discs will make you feel at home if you really want to feel like you are watching this on a tv in the 1980's. No HD or any sound improvements that didn't exist in 1985. The discs ram 13 episodes each that originally aired on HBO and USA networks in the 80's without any extras/bloopers/ or behind the scenes footage. Each episode from the first two discs have an airtime of about 27 minutes, while the next three discs episodes are about 23 or 24 minutes each. The difference in length of episodes is because they originally aired on two different networks. You will also notice a lot of actors who stopped acting or died long before the year 2000 which is kind of depressing, but you also get to see Jeff Goldblum , Drew Barrymore, William Shatner who are still alive and kicking. If you are a fan of sci fi but mostly Ray Bradbury that's the only reason to buy this collection of discs. I'm a fan and also remember watching it with my family in the 80's way before the internet and cell phones stole our attention away.

I'm pleased i have this series in my extensive collection of film and tv fantasy/horror/sf but it's not exactly great. The picture quality is tacky, but i can live with that. The worst thing are the stories: a good 60% of them are crap, scarcely making any logical sense, and a few contain no element of fantasy. I defy anyone to explain what `Gotcha!' is supposed to be about, and `Fee Fie Fo Fum', `The Day it Rained Forever', `The Tombstone', `The Utterly Perfect Murder' etc etc etc are just as bad. There are a few gems - `The Long Rain', `Usher ll', `A Sound of Thunder' and `Silent Towns' are very good, but the mediocre yarns outweigh them.

these short films bring alive the much loved horror stories of Ray Bradbury, with the bonus that the screenplays were written by Ray Bradbury so the essence of the stories has been retained. I am rationing myself to one here and there, rather than sit through the whole lot, in part because of the rather long introduction which is clever but repetitive after the first disc has been viewed... but that's a small caveat. On the whole, well worth the money for any Bradbury fan to pay out.

Good quality sound and picture, also value for money.

What an amazing value for money dvd s Ray Bradbury 65 eposdes 26 hours for such a low price to me best sc fi writer ever highly recommend my favourite is the lake alex take care

The stories in Bradbury's collection will always hold your attention. I saw some episodes in the years they first appeared on television, but only a few, so I missed being able to view them all until now. This collection has an odd assortment of discs. They are not titled by the Volumes 1-5 as they appear on the screen. Each has a 5 number code to differentiate them, in ascending order, but not in a single sequence. They are also stacked together in one bundle! There is another oddity to them in the play sequence; the first two do not give you the option to select "Play All". The episodes are also titled underneath a picture box where you must select each episode in order to view it. Not until Vol. 3 do you have the option to select "Play All' and view the episodes continuously. It is with volumes 3-5 that the titles are listed vertically without a picture box. The quality of the stories matches the enjoyment I have had reading paperback copies of Bradbury's science fiction. With 13 episodes on each disc, there is a great variety of stories. Although they are not in the original sequence of the seasons played on television, they are within the same season. After receiving this collection I quickly checked each disc and created a spreadsheet to list the order of the stories on each volume. There is no list of the episodes on the case or inside the case, so if you like to know what is playing next, you may want to do the same list. Once I produce the sheet I lower the font to the smallest readable and print it to slide inside the back exterior of the case. The really impressive part of buying this set is the lower sale price I paid! Just under $23 made it worthwhile.