Lets go One Step Beyond

One of the more interesting things that I spent time watching this week was the old ABC television show, One Step Beyond that I picked up as a 4 disk set released by Mill Creek Entertainment titled  The Very Best of One Step Beyond. This set is the perfect intro to the show, containing 50 episodes and it can be found in the $5.00 bargain bin at Wal-Mart. While I had a ton of time, I only watched a handful of episodes. The following with be a quick synopsis of the episodes I have seen already and will help as a primer for anyone interested in this unique series. In time, I look to add a few more episodes every week as I wade my way through the DVDs. So far, I have found the stories interesting with a great combination of reality and supernatural elements. While the quality of this selection isn’t the greatest, for $5.00, it is what it is.

Season 1, Episode 2: Night of April 14th

(Original Air Date—27 January 1959) The story surrounds a young Englishwoman is suddenly wracked by dreams of drowning in the ocean. She is stunned when her fiancée tells her that he has prepared a surprise honeymoon trip for them--they are sailing to New York on the passenger liner Titanic and her nightmares come true. The episode is the first one on this DVD collection and provides a great primer to the series with a interesting script and some facts that make it totally worth watching.

Season 1, Episode 4: The Dark Room

(Original Air Date—10 February 1959) A female photojournalist on assignment in France takes an apartment and begins to work with a somewhat mysterious male model. Things come to a head when she has a brush with the supernatural that could well mean her death. This episode was extremely captivating and amazingly still relevant today 50-years later.

Season 1, Episode 7: The Dream

(Original Air Date—3 March 1959) In 1940, a fearful Britain awaits invasion by Nazi forces. A husband and his wife, separated by their wartime assignments, suddenly dream that each is in danger, and both try frantically to see if their dream has come true.

Season 1, Episode 12: The Return of Mitchell Campion

(Original Air Date—7 April 1959) A man visiting a small Mediterranean island is stunned when all of the island's residents recognize him and insist that he is an island resident who has returned after many years, even though he knows he has never been there before. This is another interesting and believable episode that touches on a subject that remains controversial.

Season 1, Episode 15: The Aerialist

(Original Air Date—28 April 1959) An argument between two trapeze artists results in an accident in which one is paralyzed. The other is torn by guilt and depression, until supernatural forces began to change his world. Why are there always problems when working without a net? I don’t know, I do know it is something I won’t do.