The Good

This is one of those shows that really showed what TV could be in the 1980s.

The Bad

The only extras are 20 minutes of deleted scenes!

I had forgotten just how good Amazing Stories was. All it took was for me to settle into the first few minutes of this Steven Spielberg produced show (and the "Ghost Train" episode, which he also directed) and all of the magic of those bygone years from the 1980s came back. The feel of this show very much recalled the Twilight Zone movie. All of the 24 episodes contain an innocent, wondrous quality that moves from show to show.

With 24 episodes there are bound to be some clunkers but overall, Amazing Stories: The Complete First Season does a good job of making the unbelievable seem believable. My favorite episodes were "Ghost Train," "Remote Control Man," "Fine Tuning" and "The Doll." I could individually describe each episode but when one understands that this show is based on amazing things happening in ordinary lives, the cozy feelings of a lazy Saturday or Sunday can't help but bring up memories for all who have seen this show.

Features

Over 20 Minutes of Deleted Scenes

They have these for the following episodes: "The Main Attraction," "Guilt Trip," "Remote Control Man," "Vanessa In the Garden," "Gather Ye Acorns," "Boo!" and a bunch of others. These are fairly straight forward and only broken up as far as each episode is concerned. Without having to hear why they were excised, my guess is that since this show was for TV, the editing decisions probably had something to do with time purposes.

Video

Full Frame - 1.33:1. Considering all of the talent behind this show, I had sort of forgotten how pedestrian Amazing Stories looked. Not that this show needed to have any crazy camera angles or interesting editing techniques, because this was one of those rare examples where the subject matter was actually the star. In this way it very much recalled Rod Serling's earlier series.

Audio

English. Dolby Digital 5.1. Subtitled in English and Spanish. The light, even tone of this show is pretty interesting considering that, for the most part, there were so many different directors. With people like Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds at the helm, it would be very easy to see each show having a new look. That isn't the case as this show seems pretty uniform with an audio track that underscores the on-screen action and doesn't get in the way.

Package

This packaging is really nice because it takes on a bookish quality. There is a hardcover outer portion that looks like something one might find in Egypt. Various stars from the shows are shown across the bottom portion of this box. The back cover gives us more pictures from the show, a description of Amazing Stories, a Special Features listing and technical specs. This outer covering opens up like a book and gives us a piece of packaging that contains four discs. On the walls of the outer covering are listings and descriptions for all 24 episodes.

Final Word

Running for only two seasons, I find it odd that Amazing Stories didn't last longer. Who knows, maybe Spielberg missed the glory that comes with feature filmmaking? Whatever the case this show is actually the anti-Twilight Zone. While some episodes end in a sort of ambiguous, open ended way, for the most part this show resides in an area where dreams, ideas and hope for the human spirit is allowed to soar. That is what makes this show so special and that's why I think if you were a fan you should own it, and if you don't know what it is you should certainly check out Amazing Stories: The Complete First Season.

Amazing Stories was released .