User reviews

Television,during the late 1950's and early 1960's,for those who may not remember it,was in shades of gray with the majority of the weekly variety-musical show,and the situation family comedies that come to mind. Along during that decade of early television,the usual mystery-detective/crime drama series was all over the place,but the one thing that dominated television---the TV western,with "Gunsmoke" and "Wagon Train" ruling the ratings charts. During the year of 1959,most of the television shows that were on the airwaves at that time were westerns,with the usual drama or family situation comedy or children's show that was the order of the day.

In 1959,two astounding anthology series premiered that would change the face of television. One was "The Twilight Zone",which was hosted and narrated by Rod Serling whom also was responsible for writing some of the episodes. "The Twilight Zone" premiered in September of 1959 on CBS-TV. The other anthology series was the underrated and in its own right successful "One Step Beyond",which came in as a mid-season replacement,premiered on January 20,1959 on ABC-TV. Produced at the same time as "The Twilight Zone"(which was well-known and became very popular),the series "One Step Beyond" was a anthology series that fed the nation's growing interest in paranormal suspense in a different way. Hosted by John Newland,he had a much more stronger screen persona. Since the stories Newland introduced were supposedly true,his understated,scholarly approach was more appropriate,and there was no need for cleverly written lines and sardonic wit. The show really introduced audiences to the supernatural and unexplained phenomenon which was really unheard of for late-1950's TV.

The production values on "One Step Beyond" were certainly on par with the average half-hour show of that time,since some of the stories kept the audiences' attention on sheer focus and a superior track record of consistent quality. And since they're were no spaceships,prehistoric monsters,or aliens no lame effects were used here. Created by Merwin Gerard and Produced by Collier Young(whom would later on become one of the producers of "Ironside"),and John Newland,the series ran for three seasons on ABC-TV from January 20,1959 until July 4, 1961 and ran for a half-hour producing 96 episodes,all in classic black and white. Not only did John Newland introduced us to the episode that followed not to mention being a congenial host,the series also employed the talents of performers who invested their material with conviction and authenticity to spare,from long-established character actors to at the time rising stars who were making their mark on their careers,such as: Christopher Lee,George Grizzard,Torin Thatcher,William Shatner, Alfred Ryder,Suzanne Pleshette, Pernell Roberts, Ross Martin, Patrick O'Neal, Elizabeth Montgomery,Edward Binns,Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn,Donald Pleasence,Paul Richards,Dick York,Jack Lord,Louise Fletcher, Barbara Bain,Barbara Eden,Robert Loggia,Claude Akins,and even Warren Beatty. Even Cloris Leachman and Mike Connors and also Peter Graves were guest stars in this series. Writers like Don M. Mankiewicz,along with Charles Beaumont,Larry Marcus and Collier Young.

As for "based on actual events" aspect of the series,"based on actual claims" this was a series(one in these days is rarely seen) were based on something that actually or supposedly took place. Whether you believe these actually occurred or were the product of the supernatural or a more reasonable explanation,is beside the point. Best to judge for yourself. That they could happened,or that someone claimed as much,gives the series an extra shudder or chill factor that "Zone" can't duplicate. And just by watching these episodes were always recounted in intriguing and compelling manner. The was a grand series that nevertheless carved out its own niche as the best of the genre from the golden age of late 50's TV. It was a grand series that lasted for more than three seasons,ending on Independence Day of 1961 after more than 96 episodes.

The Twilight Zone ... The Outer Limits ... But wait. Lets go ... One Step Beyond. This series was, and remains, classic. The episodes, based at least in part on factual stories, shine. The stars? Great names, some caught early on in their careers, with lots of talent. The structural aspects of the various episodes themselves are very well done given the techniques and equipment available at the time. The host, John Newland, had a very benign style all his own. My own experience with this series is, perhaps, a bit different than some others. I understand when it ran originally, and that it was in rerun mode for sometime after that. Funny thing, child of the 60s that I am, and born in the 50s, I NEVER heard of it or saw an episode until March, 2007. History lesson: The 60s? There were TWO, count 'em ... two, primary networks. NBC and CBS. ABC, and One Step Beyond was an ABC program, was still an up and comer with out that many affiliate stations. The area I was raised in, well, we got two TV stations. Right ... NBC and CBS. It was past the mid-sixties, literally, before I knew there was anything else around. And then only because I moved into another section of the country. So One Step Beyond? Never heard of it till I saw it on DVD. And ya know what? I love it. Creepy, huh?

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.

There have been so many comparisons between this show and The Twilight Zone I may as well add my own two cents on the subject. These two shows were both hosted and created by men who had been active in live television. Rod Serling had been one of the top writers of the live so-called "golden age" of TV drama in the fifties, while John Newland had been a prominent actor on the small screen during the same period. Alcoa Presents (rerun as One Step Step Beyond, and best-remembered by this title) actually preceded the Zone by half a second, and ran for less than three full years. TZ has a bigger cult audience, but OSB (as I prefer to call it), has its admirers, of which I am one.

The Zone was liberal in tone, dark and moody in its photographic style. Its set designs, particularly its street scenes, were reminiscent of film noir. While the Zone's stories were all fiction, many adapted from short stories, OSB's producers claimed that its stories were all based on fact. The different styles of the two shows can be seen in the way their hosts presented themselves. Serling was dark, intense, urban and verbose. Newland was light, mild, laconic and somewhat effete. While Serling seemed like the sort of guy you'd see at the ballpark or at the fights, Newland was the kind of guy one might expect to turn up at the opera. Serling came off as very American in all respects, while Newland could almost pass as British.

OSB presented each episode as if it were the truth, only slightly dramatized. There was nothing on the surface to suggest that the show was in any way about the supernatural or ESP. The sets were unimaginative, prosaic, and often seemed flooded with light; as the overall visual style of the series was not that different from a commercial,--or an episode of the Loretta Young Show. What made the shows creepy were the acting, which was often excellent, and Harry Lubin's eerie, otherworldly music, which kicked in whenever something weird was happening. The actors tended to react to the strange goings-on realistically,--as it they were choking to death, had just seen a ghost, talked to a dead person or had witnessed a murder that had happened twenty years earlier--and the "startle reactions" on the faces of the players, plus Lubin's beyond the grave music, could send chills down one spine. This was a million miles from the often sentimental and didactic Zone, which seldom went for straight horror, straight sci-fi or straight anything unless there was a "meaning" (i.e. a point, a lesson), while the only lesson one learned from OSB was that "such things exist, such things happen". Chilling television, this was, and story-telling with a vengeance. "You want meaning?", Newland seemed to ask the viewer after each episode, "Go find it for yourself. My job is to give you the facts".

I am a connoisseur of "horror" movies/series, and have seen them all since the 1950s, but One Step Beyond remains the scariest of all the series. The only one that came close was Boris Karloffs'-Thriller! John Newlands' beginning monologue reels you in, to have you gripping the arms of your chair during the story, too scared out of your wits to even move, then having the story ending to Mr.Newlands epilogue to further heighten your anxiety of being too fearful to go to sleep!! Unlike..Twilight Zone, Hitchcock, Night Gallery,Tales from the Crypt, Outer Limits and X-Files which ALL have humorous episodes which discount their "scare-quotient", and leaves you disappointed....however "O.S.B."satisfies the most discriminating of "scary-movie" tastes !!! O.S.B never had one "hokey" episode that would tickle your funny bone and that is what makes for excellent scare tactics. I wish they had this series on DVD !!!

This is another one of my favorite unexplained phenomena shows and an honorable mention in favorite anthology shows. It's also another under the radar gem, it wasn't really overlooked but as time went on it's been forgotten

This show was really something else, it no doubt predated other unexplained phenomena shows like "Unsolved Mysteries" and "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction" another under the radar gem. Instead of telling some of the usual fictionalized horror, sci-fi, or fantasy tales that most anthologies would instead it was one that was based on real life cases of unexplained phenomena.

John Newland is a solid host as he has a more mater of fact like mannerism and some dry charisma, I really like how in his voice he treats the subject matter with respect and it's not some joke. Which I like because it respects the audience and their beliefs or disbeliefs in the subject, but also has a host that seems like their invested in what their doing where sometimes some hosts in certain TV shows sound like they want to be someplace else.

The episodes were done on a moderate to low budget, there really are no special effects which a good thing is because it didn't need them. We were always invested in the case being told, each was always something different, and each always had an ending you never really see coming. And at the end it really left you to decide for yourself if what happened really happened.

Though the show can be kind of a slow burn sometimes, which may put some people off, but I didn't mind, nor did I notice much as I was invested in the tale, and it always did lead to a pay off so I really don't complain much.

But I really like how each of them have a very eerie and forboding atmosphere, it's a place where you feel danger can come or reality could bend at any moment, which means you can't trust your own senses or even your grasp on reality, because once the supernatural enters you can just throw it all out the window.

Overall if you enjoy unexplained phenomena shows then this is a vintage classic worth stepping into. Remember the universe is a vast and infinite, anything is possible in the reality we inhabit.

Rating: 4 stars

When I think that The Twilight Zone and One Step Beyond were created and ran at the same time, it is hard to believe. Why? The production qualities of OSB seem "cheap", "noirish" and old-fashioned at first viewing. But that's the wrong way of looking at them. I think these are a plus to the mood and execution!

What makes this series in some ways superior to TTZ is that these are not fantastical concoctions of the mind, but derived from actual accounts from reality! The casting in these is wonderful, too. Many wonderful portrayals in these. Although in some cases, the acting styles may seem dated to some viewers. It is exactly these qualities which somehow make OSB even more interesting and believable to the viewer. Well...at least this viewer.

I am on a quest to find all of these episodes...I just bought the 10 DVD/40 episode compilation and cannot wait to fly through them!

Recommended to those of you, select few, who enjoy good drama, mystery and discovery, wherever and however you find it.

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!

From 1959 to 1961 John Newland brought you the show "One Step Beyond". This program came nine months before the Twilight Zone (the two shows cannot be compared) and no doubt inspired all the shows that have transpired since. This program dealt with paranormal / supernatural stories that were based on actual occurrences that can neither be explained nor disproven. On a limited budget, host and director John Newland would present to you (with skill and finesse) fine dramas that were expertly acted out and wonderfully written. This is a program that is not to be missed. Put aside your criticisms of the video quality of what was produced 60 years ago, and turn off the lights and get yourself some popcorn. Some episodes will make you think, while other episodes might make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. The music alone is eerie and haunting.

One Step Beyond has often been compared to The Twilight Zone, some even think it's better. I'm not a TZ fanatic who believes every episode is good but I don't think it's a patch on it. The emphasis is mainly on the deadpan telling of a story, with no character development and precious few characters. One yearned for a few larger than life personalities of the type that populated TZ.

Quite a few episodes, notably Doomsday and The Riddle, are so fusty I would have guessed, had I not known otherwise, that they were made c1935. We can make one direct comparison as both series have an episode about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Being British, to venture an opinion is doubtless a case of fools rushing in etc.. However, The Day the World Wept - the Lincoln Story is informative but stodgy. TZ's Back There is a far fetched time travel tale in which Lincoln doesn't even appear, but is far more gripping.

All that said, I hate to be completely negative, the following half dozen are very good and I'll watch them again before too long.

3 Emergency Only. Wise guy cynic has his fortune told and it proceeds to happen as forecast.

17 The Haunted U-Boat. Uncomplicated story, good performance from Werner Klemperer, practising for his diehard Nazi role in Judgement at Nuremburg.

19 The Captain's Guests. Good drama about a couple who move into a haunted house and the husband takes on the personality of the captain who built it.

36 Make Me Not a Witch. 12 year old girl has the gift, or curse, of being able to read minds.

58 The Lonely Room. Young man is too shy to speak to a woman he adores. Another episode with an approximate TZ equivalent: Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room, where the more courageous alter ego sorts out a bullying crime boss. Notice both have the word room in the title. Coincidence? Possibly. But as John Newland might have said, can you prove it?

84 Justice. Great mystery drama, Welsh churchgoer confesses to a murder but later denies it and produces an iron clad alibi.

Contrary to popular opinion.....this series was the scariest, next to Boris Karloff's.."Thriller"! The accompanying music along with John Newlands' melodramatic "matter-of-fact" voice, made for the some of the most "frightening" television watching for kids (like myself) growing up in the 50s & 60s. So much so, I slept with my parents after watching a few episodes. Rod Serlings' Twilight Zone was good...but not "scary"..even some episodes were down-right "funny" !!! Not one of "One Step Beyond's" had a humorous episode! And I suppose, that's why they don't show any re-runs today, because most people are "wimps" and can't handle the "real" scary stuff...like.. "Aliens", "The Thing", "Predator", The Hidden, Nite-Flyer and "PitchBlack" just to name a few.....I sure wish I could get my hands on that series.!!!!

As for the inexplicable "One Step Beyond"-"Twilight Zone" rivalry (if you can call it that), where do I begin? First of all and most important, they were both excellent shows, each in its own way. "Zone" is undoubtedly a popular and well-known classic, while "Beyond" is a lesser known near-classic with a relatively small but loyal following. Also, the latter was not based on fictional works, but dealt with strange events that were supposed to have actually happened.

Rod Serling was a better host than John Newland, but then he had a much stronger screen persona. Since the stories Newland introduced were supposedly true, his understated, scholarly approach was more appropriate, and there was no need for cleverly written lines and sardonic wit. They both served their respective shows well, and in the long run it matters not one iota who hosted what, or if there were no hosts at all. Each series was driven by the quality of their stories, and neither would have lasted longer than the standard thirteen episodes without an interesting tale to tell.

And since "Zone" was on twice as long as "Beyond", it obviously produced more episodes, and that's not always a good thing. Let's face it, there were quite a few poor stories that most of us avoid whenever they turn up (you know which ones they are). On the other hand, I have never seen a single episode of "Beyond" that wasn't interesting and entertaining. So the latter series actually had a better track record of consistent quality. Not bad for an also ran.

The production values on "Beyond" were certainly on a par with the average half hour show of that time, and since there were no spaceships or aliens, no lame effects were used. And it employed the talents of performers who invested their material with conviction and authenticity to spare, from long-established character actors to rising stars, such as: Christopher Lee, William Shatner, George Grizzard, Charles Bronson, Louise Fletcher, Patrick O'Neal, Robert Loggia, Suzanne Pleshette, Pernell Roberts, Patrick Macnee, Paul Richards, Edward Binns, Jack Lord, Ross Martin, Donald Pleasence, Elizabeth Montgomery, and even Warren Beatty.

As for the stories, there's too many to choose from, and limiting examples to only a couple was a tough call, but two of my favorite episodes are as follows:

In "Doomsday", the great Torin Thatcher appears as a 17th century lord who condemns a witch to death. She sets a curse upon him, his son dies, and so it will be with the lord's descendants, for generation after generation, that each head of the family will be predeceased by his eldest son and heir. Nearly 300 years later, the current head of the family (Thatcher again) is on his deathbed, and his eldest son is terrified, waiting for the curse to strike as it always has before. But then... It's a tragedy with a twist.

In "The Devil's Laughter", another great, underrated character actor, Alfred Ryder, plays John Marriott, an English murderer waiting to be hanged in 1895. The frightened man is eventually led up to the gallows, the noose is placed, and the lever is pulled. But the rope breaks. After being revived, Marriott is no longer afraid, and calmly goes to the gallows again. But the trap door won't spring. Finally, Marriott receives clemency and is set free. And then... The story is both grim and funny, and very well done.

As for the "based on actual events" aspect of the series, "based on actual claims" would be more accurate. I had heard about some of the claims elsewhere, and so they were indeed based on something which supposedly took place. Whether you believe these actually occurred, or were the product of the supernatural or a more reasonable explanation, is beside the point. That they could have happened, or that someone claimed as much, gives the series an extra shudder or chill that "Zone" can't duplicate. And episodes were always recounted in an intriguing and compelling manner.

Unfortunately, the last I saw of "One Step Beyond" was at least six or seven years ago on the Sci-Fi Chanel, where "Zone" episodes now reside ad infinitum. It's long past time to resurrect the former for another round or two, or three. It's also time to give this otherwise underappreciated series the respect it deserves. While admittedly not as great as the other show, "Beyond" nevertheless has carved out its own niche as the best of its particular genre.

I can only highly rate One Step Beyond. It is 25 mins oer episode of pure fascination and intrigue of true life paranormal activity experiences. Whether you believe in this kind of thing or not it certainly challenges what we call reality. I savour every episode. Please note the quality of the recording isn't top class but that doesn't takeaway from the story's. Well done Amazon Prime for bringing this show back. I was too young to have seen it the first time.

If you liked The Twilight Zone, you might enjoy this series a lot! Keeps the viewer at the edge of their seat.

This Would make a excellent remake, just a remarkable story. The acting is wonderful as well as the direction. I first saw this episode in 1995, and it has haunted me ever since. It has created a fascination with ww1 and I now collect ww1 artifacts. This story could easily be adapted in to a feature film or even a mini serious. It states at the end of the story that it is based on actual events. Its hard to believe that it has never been mentioned since. I am currently working on trying to track down actual historical data about the event. This is a powerful story, please keep in mind the time and,low budget this was filmed in. Wish me luck on my research. Scott

THERE HAS ALWAYS been a need to be scared. Whether it was the telling of ghost stories around the old campfire, reading poems or stories by Edgar Allen Poe, listening to an old time LIGHTS OUT Radio Show or screening Todd Browning's Dracula with Bela Lugosi; the result is all the same. We get scared, if just a tad.

SO TOO, TELEVISION has had its share of chiller thrillers. We still see reruns of THE TWILIGHT ZONE daily, here in Chicago. Other than that, we had THE OUTER LIMITS, THRILLER, ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS and Rod Serling's second entry in the category, NIGHT GALLERY.

SO, AS WE just discovered, ONE STEP BEYOND lasted a full three seasons. Series host/guide/narrator, John Newland, also Directed the episodes; being all 90 half hours. That would make Mr. Newland a most prolific Director.

BEING THE LATE 1950's to early '60's, there was a much stronger link and identification with sponsors. Hence, during ONE STEP BEYOND's three year run on ABC TV Network, the series was always called by the name : ALCOA PRESENTS: ONE STEP BEYOND.

NO REVIEW OF this series would be complete without the music. Written by Harry Lubin and Edited by Gilbert D. Marchant, it was haunting, highly memorable and thoroughly appropriate for the series. Whether it be the theme or any of the incidental, it was as responsible for the show's success as anything else.

The Waterford, MI gent pretty much nails it. Oddly, he mentions the one episode I have been itching to see (again) for about 30 years, the one with the glider (?) pilot...the concealed deception...and the glider returns...horrors! That's the episode that led me to recently buy the 50-episode DVD set for short money.

I live in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. I wouldn't have seen One Step Beyond were it not for WKBD Ch. 50. The station was part of our basic cable package for several years (and isn't any longer, sadly). God Bless Channel 50. Would never have seen "The Ghoul" w/o TV 50, either or Outer Limits, or all those "Creature Feature" flicks! (I'm 48, feel like 12 here). Those were The Days, IMO...

One Step Beyond was on at 11 p.m., and I missed way more episodes than I saw. I bought the "50 of the Best" DVD on E-Bay and have watched about 46 of them so far with my wife, but the episode I want - as I suspected when I received the 4 discs - isn't among them. That's okay. I'll find it eventually, though I'd like to avoid buy all three seasons separately to do it. Got to have them all. I love that show. It more than holds its own against Twilight Zone, yet the comparison truly is apples-oranges.

I'm a huge fan of "One Step Beyond". I've been watching it since the early 70's in syndicated reruns and own all 96 episodes on VHS. I can safely say, adjusting the rocks in my head of course, that "OSB" is easily televisions greatest supernatural series.

I don't want to knock "The Twilight Zone" because, while that show was not scary or nearly as eerie and atmospheric as "OSB", it certainly deserves it's place in television history. To say however that "OSB" was merely a "spook" show and that "TZ" was the trend-setter, well that is just as inaccurate as it is crazy. That's just looking at things through "TZ" colored glasses. Putting aside the fact that "OSB" premiered 10 months before "TZ" and putting aside the fact that when "TZ" finally started airing it was trounced in the ratings by "OSB" and putting aside the fact that Rod Serling called John Newland to meet him for lunch to explain that he was doing a show like Newland's and that it would be purely fiction and not a rip-off of Newland's already established hit, consider this, or better yet, think about the following.

Watch "OSB's" "The Vision" which aired 3/24/59 and then take a look at Serlings "The Purple Testament" which aired 2/12/60. Watch "OSB's" "The Devil's Laughter" which aired 3/31/59 and then watch Serlings "Execution" which aired 4/1/60. Or, in one of the more blatant "coincidences", take a look at "OSB's" "The Haunted U-Boat" which aired 5/12/59 and then watch Serlings "The Thirty-Fathom Grave" which aired 1/10/63. See what I am getting at folks? Seems that a lot of "TZ's" stories have a striking resemblence to episodes aired a lot earlier on "OSB". And these are just a few of many examples. Hmmm! Rod, where did those ideas come from afterall? Watch "OSB's" "The Burning Girl" and tell me that it isn't a dead-on, early version of Stephen Kings "Carrie"! Again, I don't mean to knock "The Twilight Zone" but my point is that "One Step Beyond" was much more then a "spook" show or some golden age TV fodder. It was truly the father of all supernatural television series that followed and the true trend-setter. And obviously, an inspiration to all the shows that followed, "TZ" included. Those who don't know about "OSB" simply aren't true television fans.

This "spook" show television sidebar, as "TZ" maniacs call it, boasted some great talents in lead roles. Some veterans and some soon to be stars. Cloris Leachman, Warren Beatty, Jack Lord, Christopher Lee, Elizabeth Montgomery, Donald Pleasence, Ross Martin, William Shatner, Robert Loggia, Mike Conners, and Charles Bronson, just to name a few. How about writers like Don M. Mankiewicz, Charles Beaumont(yes, the very same), Larry Marcus and Collier Young. Surely talent like this elevates this program from "spook" show status. There isn't a person I have come across that doesn't remember it. And the key is that this is a show who's episodes stay with you for a lifetime and that, to me, is one of the marks of excellence.

John Newland was not only the perfect host, but a very gifted and talented director. The use of light and shadows to create an intense feeling of unease, spookiness and a downright eerie feeling. The inventive close-ups and overhead shots. Quite simply, Newland and this show were quite ahead of it's time. Take a look at "Ordeal On Locust Street" and tell me straight faced that you don't see "The X-Files". Watch "The Hand" and tell me you don't feel like your watching a film noir. Just fantastic. Quite simply, there wasn't anything like it before and nothing like it since.

If your looking for a real, honest to goodness spooky half-hour, look no further then "One Step Beyond". Just goes to show that true commitment, love and doing something you believe in can produce something unique and magnificent.

Until episodes of this series started showing up on Youtube, I knew nothing of it. The original run pre-dated me and it apparently did not enjoy the syndicated rerun success of similar shows like Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock presents.

What sets OSB apart from the other's is it's claim that of dramatizing actual events. That theme worked a lot better in the days before the internet where instant research can be done with a handheld device.

Real events or not the acting and production is very good and in episodes I have watched so far, future stars such as Warren Beatty, William Shatner, Cloris Leachman and Susan Pleshette make appearances.

I am looking forward to watching more of them.