Finally, both seasons of Steven Spielberg’s ambitious Amazing Stories series from the mid-eighties are available on DVD in this eight-disc set. All forty-five episodes of the show are here, in their full frame 4:3 glory.

The tales told vary in quality as can be expected from an anthology series, but always centred on events that were, by and large, well… amazing. For instance, there are two episodes directed by Spielberg himself. Ghost Train, which is a cautionary tale about building your house where a railway track once ran, and The Mission, starring Kevin Costner and Kiefer Sutherland which has a Memphis Belle-style storyline, with a whimsical twist which seems at odds with the seriousness of the situation.

Other episodes of note are the absolutely great Mummy Daddy where a horror film actor, in full Mummy makeup, is trying to make his way to the maternity unit where his wife is giving birth and is mistaken for an actual Mummy. But of course, there IS a real Mummy on the loose as well. Clint Eastwood directs a sensitive love story in Vanessa in the Garden, while Mark Hamill learns the value of keeping your childhood treasures in Gather Ye Acorns. Go to the Head of the Class directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Christopher Lloyd is a standout horror episode, as is the bleak, black and white No Day at the Beach set during WWII.

With the majority of the stories coming from the imagination of Spielberg himself, fleshed out by Mick Garris, a soaring opening and closing theme by John Williams and the astounding array of directorial talent it’s disappointing that this Region 4 edition from Umbrella is a bare bones release. The only extras are a handful of inconsequential deleted scenes. A retrospective documentary would’ve been welcome. But with a series like this, the episodes largely speak for themselves.