The 21st Century revival of The Twilight Zone didn’t go the previous route of being on broadcast TV like when Rod Serling’s anthology TV series was brought back in the ’80s and Aughties. CBS made it a centerpiece of its CBS All Access streaming service. They brought in Jordan Peele who had freaked out viewers with Get Out and Us. People thought of him less as a comic actor and more of a man who can twist things around. He was perfect for the new host since he could be himself and not a Serling impersonator. The first season was a bit of sensation since Peele hosted, produced and contributed a script. People opened the App once a week to get the next of the 10 episodes in 2019. But things changed in the summer of 2020 when instead of once a week, CBS All Access put all 10 of the season two episodes online at the same time. The good news is that for folks who have bandwidth issues and can’t stream, you can duplicate the 10 episodes at once effect with the release of The Twilight Zone: Season Two on DVD.
The season starts out with “Meet In the Middle” that takes things to an extreme. Jimmi Simpson (Westworld) is zoning out on a first date when he hears a woman’s voice. But it’s not his waitress or his date or a previous date. The woman’s voice is coming from inside his head. He has somehow psychic bonded with a woman in a distant town. Is this a sign that the two are meant to be together since they bonded in such a strange way. “
Like the previous season, there is no uniform time for the episodes since streaming doesn’t require a timeslot or commercial breaks. So the mystery at the core of the episodes takes its own time to evolve. The episodes flow between a little over thirty minutes to around forty-five minutes. The 10 episodes don’t drag as they pull you into The Twilight Zone. “Downtime” has Morena Baccarin (Deadpool) as a hotel manager who gets thrown off when the world around her seem to be checking out. This episode was written by Jordan Peele. “The Who of You” has a down on is luck actor deciding to rob a bank to make ends meet. But during the hold up, he makes an extremely unconventional escape. Billy Porter (always guessed as a contestant on The Masked Singer) plays a man who might find out what’s happening to the actor who keeps slipping through various characters. “Ovation” has is about the darker side of singing competition shows. Making it darker is Paul F. Tompkins.
“Among the Untrodden” has a new girl show up at a boarding school only to really change the student body. “8” sends Joel McHale (The Soup) into outer space in search of an intergalactic squid. But is the squid more than a tentacles from beyond? “A Human Face” gets weird for Jenna Elfman (Dharma and Greg) and Christopher Meloni (Oz) as an alien take the form of their dead daughter. Can they deal with this much? “A Small Town” has a fix it guy working on a model of his town. Except he doesn’t realize that the miniature town has power over the real town. “Try, Try” sticks Topher Grace (That ’70s Show) into a time loop as he professes his love for a woman. What is causing this weirdness? “You Might Also Like” is about people wanting to order a mysterious egg that’s advertised on TV. But what is it? The episode is star studded with “It Girl” Gretchen Mol, Gil Bellows, Colleen Camp, Dona Dixon and Star Trek‘s George Takei. This is good that Takei is back in The Twilight Zone since his original episode from the time of Rod Serling featured a controversial Pearl Harbor storyline. There’s no bombings here.
Like the previous season, there is no uniform time for the episodes since streaming doesn’t require a timeslot or commercial breaks. So the mystery at the core of the episodes takes its own time to evolve. The episodes flow between a little over thirty minutes to around forty-five minutes. The 10 episodes don’t drag as they pull you into The Twilight Zone.
The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The image looks fine. The special effects in the episodes are top notch so the resolution doesn’t exposure their secrets. The audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and Dolby Digital Stereo. You can get swept up into The Twilight Zone with your home speakers. The episodes are subtitled.
Deleted and Extended Scenes are four of the episodes.
Gag Reel (4:12) starts off with a plea for someone to call action. Jordan Peele is not a one take wonder. It’s also a miracle that Joel McHale can remember his lines.
CBS DVD presents The Twilight Zone: Season Two. Starring: Joran Peele, Joel McHale, Billy Porter, Gretchen Mol and George Takei. Boxset Contents: 10 episodes on 3 DVDs. Released: January 12, 2021.
