rodolphojuansanchez At some point, probably the 80s, Sci Fi Channel took out Harry Lubin's beautiful and dark orchestration replacing it with what seemed like a made for TV movie, with computer graphics and a lot of reverb. In my humble opinion, they completely missed the best part of the show. Lubin's haunting music and Newman's dead plan expression are what made the shows authentic and scary.

AaronCapenBanner This premiered the same year as "The Twilight Zone"(1959), and though not as good, and certainly not as well-remembered, I still found this an interesting and occasionally eerie series that revolved around Psychic or ESP more than anything else. Purportedly based on real incidents, this series presented ordinary people in extraordinary situations.If this series has any real weakness, it is that they are all pretty cookie cutter in style, since presenter John Newland directed all 97 episodes, a remarkable feat, but it makes this series entirely dependent on the script and actors, so if they were weak in any way, there was nothing to differentiate one episode from another.Otherwise, an engaging effort. Only the First season has gotten a proper DVD release, since the quality of restoration is glaring when compared to the public domain episodes out there(copyright was not renewed initially for some odd reason.)Let's hope seasons Two & Three get released soon; I know there is an audience out there waiting!

calvinnme Some have called this show a forerunner of "The Twilight Zone", but that is not exactly true. Each segment in this series was based on paranormal events or situations that defied logical explanation. In that sense, this show was much more similar in style to "The X-Files", except without the long story arcs. "The Twilight Zone" episodes, on the other hand, were pure fiction, often written to explore some current social issue that, due to the conventions of the times, would have been impossible to talk about in a straightforward manner without igniting a controversy. Also, this show ran in parallel with "The Twilight Zone" rather than preceding it, running for three seasons from 1959 until 1962.I first saw this series in the 1980's when it was running on the then-new "Nick at Nite", and I was fascinated by it. I have one of the old public domain packages that has about half of the total 97 episodes in it. The video and audio were passable, but you got what you paid for. The one episode that really sticks in my mind is "Father Image", which is from season two. This episode concerned a man whose father has left him some property, including an old boarded-up burlesque house. Nobody can understand why he never sold the place, until an accident causes the son to see images from his dead father's life that include his murder of a girl he was having an affair with and the disposal of her body in the burlesque house, which he closed shortly after the murder and left abandoned. The son finds the body, and would have some explaining to do to the police if it was not obvious that the girl had died years before the son was born. The episode dealt with the issue of children inheriting memories from their parents. I just mention this episode as an example of the interesting episodes that occurred in every season of the show.You'll notice lots of guest appearances by not-yet famous stars such as Elizabeth Montgomery, Charles Bronson, Jack Lord, Warren Beatty, and Pernell Roberts. I highly recommend it.

BrentCarleton This is a very worthy program that deserves revival, (preferably on DVD from 35 mm stock or original negatives). Comparisons with "The Twilight Zone" are really not terribly helpful inasmuch as they each have separate entertainment objectives."One Step Beyond" purports to dramatize actual psychic experiences. In this sense, its writers would have been working to depict (allegedly anyhow) first hand experiences with ESP etc.Irrespective of the truth of this, the show possesses a very singular, outre quality, quite unlike "TZ". Anyone seriously interested (academically or otherwise) in the paranormal would likely find this show of interest. A great deal of the oppressive mood of the episodes can be credited to Mr. Lubin's music, (some of which was released on LP--this is definately a record you should seek out)most especially the title theme.Mr. Newland made for an urbane and elegantly clad host, whose nebulous persona fit the mood of the episodes snugly. Not only was he personally interested in the paranormal, but he had a long stage, TV and film career already underway by 1959. Amongst other things, he was frequently featured on the excellent, "Loretta Young Show," and directed a film starring John Beale as a heart attack victim, (sorry the title escapes me at the moment). At all events, "Alcoa Presents One Step Beyond" merits reappraisal.