Good evening...
I finished watching the first season of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955-1956), and my reaction is mostly positive. True, the half-hour format keeps most of the episodes from being as good as his movies; it's hard to develop characters I'll care about, and it's harder to build up as much suspense. But considering those limitations, a lot of the installments are quite good and a few are excellent.
On the other hand, the boxed set itself has a frustrating quirk. It's the spoilers. Selecting an episode from the menu leads to a submenu that displays various information, including a plot summary. That's standard. The trouble is, certain plot summaries not only give more information than they should, but a couple of them actually reveal the twist endings. There's no way to start watching the show without going through that page, so I had to do my best to ignore everything on the screen and just press Play.
I know this kind of stuff happens all the time, but come on, people: if you're designing a DVD set for Alfred friggin' Hitchcock, maybe you could find the slightest understanding of the works of the master and what makes them valuable. Maybe. Just maybe.
On the other hand, the boxed set itself has a frustrating quirk. It's the spoilers. Selecting an episode from the menu leads to a submenu that displays various information, including a plot summary. That's standard. The trouble is, certain plot summaries not only give more information than they should, but a couple of them actually reveal the twist endings. There's no way to start watching the show without going through that page, so I had to do my best to ignore everything on the screen and just press Play.
I know this kind of stuff happens all the time, but come on, people: if you're designing a DVD set for Alfred friggin' Hitchcock, maybe you could find the slightest understanding of the works of the master and what makes them valuable. Maybe. Just maybe.