The hugely popular live American television plays of the 1950s have become the stuff of legend. Combining elements of theater, radio, and filmmaking, they were produced at a moment when TV technology was advancing and making art accessible to a newly suburban postwar demographic. These astonishingly choreographed, brilliantly acted, and socially progressive “teleplays” constituted an artistic high for the medium, bringing Broadway-quality drama to homes across the country. The following award-winning programs—curated for PBS in the early 1980s as the series , with recollections from key cast and crew members—were conceived by such up-and-comers as Rod Serling and John Frankenheimer, and star the likes of Paul Newman, Mickey Rooney, Rod Steiger, Julie Harris, and Piper Laurie.

Set includes The live kinescope broadcasts of:
Marty (1953)
Patterns (1955)
No Time for Sergeants (1955)
A Wind from the South (1955)
Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956)
Bang the Drum Slowly (1956)
The Comedian (1957)
Days of Wine and Roses (1958)

EKSTRAMATERIALE:
- Commentaries by directors John Frankenheimer, Delbert Mann, Ralph Nelson, and Daniel Petrie
- nterviews with key cast and crew, including Frankenheimer, Andy Griffith, Julie Harris, Kim Hunter, Richard Kiley, Piper Laurie, Nancy Marchand, Jack Palance, Cliff Robertson, Mickey Rooney, Carol Serling, Rod Steiger, and Mel Torme
- A booklet featuring an essay by curator Ron Simon and his extensive liner notes on each program