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The Twilight Zone was a science-fiction/fantasy/horror anthology series that ran on CBS from 1959-1964, for five seasons. There were two later rebootings of the show, but this thread will focus on the original Twilight Zone. The Twilight Zone was created and produced by Rod Serling, who also wrote a sizable chunk of the episodes. Other than Serling, many episodes were written by Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont, both excellent science-fiction writers in their own right. Rod Serling wanted a show that could focus on topics he found interesting and important, and thought that using a science-fiction format would be a way to spread his message without being directly confrontational. Much like Gene Roddenberry would do later with Star Trek, the show could discuss topics like war, racism and social injustice in a way that was palatable to the audience. The Twilight Zone was a half hour (22 minute) show for four of its seasons (1-3 and 5) and was an hour (45 minute show) for the 4th season, due to being a mid-season replacement for a canceled drama. All episodes were shot in black and white. Due to it being an anthology show, it had no regular "cast", other than Rod Serling, who would announce the premise and moral lesson of the show. Because it was an anthology show, the amount of actors in the Twilight Zone is remarkable. Many of the episodes featured well-known actors, going back to the silent film era, while many new talents were introduced to the world on The Twilight Zone, including child stars Ron Howard and Bill Mumy. For a Hollywood historian, the show has many fascinating bits of trivia! Stereotypically, each episode featured a clearly delineated way in which an aspect of the fantastic or supernatural would intrude into people's lives, and would be wrapped up in the final scene by a "twist" ending, which would reverse the viewer's expectations. Although this is often true, the show was not quite as gimmicky as it has been stereotyped to be. One of the biggest problems with The Twilight Zone is that most Americans (at least) are familiar with episodes through a process of osmosis, or through half-attentive late night viewings. Most people know how "Time Enough At Last" and "The Eye of the Beholder" end, even if those people have never seen the episodes, or don't even know they are Twilight Zone episodes. While today this might be seen as a sign of triteness, at the time these episodes came out, they were wildly original: original enough to implant themselves into our collective subconscious. The subtitle of this thread refers to the fact that after several decades of reruns, the show is remembered by many viewer as being somewhat corny and gimmicky (as well as having fairly limited special effects), rather than being a diverse and groundbreaking science-fiction show. There are several reasons to watch The Twilight Zone: as mentioned, it has a lot of Hollywood history, as well as being full of interesting insights into the United States of the late 50s/early 60s. The foremost reason I would recommend for watching it is the fact that it is incredibly diverse. From week to week, a Twilight Zone episode might go from slapstick comedy, to hard science-fiction, to magical realism. I can't think of another anthology show that has done exactly what the Twilight Zone has done.
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Oct 17, 2014 20:03
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| # ? May 3, 2024 09:49 |
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I watched the first season a while back and really liked it. I don't know why I stopped. Maybe I'll get back into it now. It's not perfect (too many episodes where something weird happens to astronauts or pilots) but it's not really like anything else I've seen. Btw all but season 4 are up on Netflix.
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Oct 17, 2014 21:58
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Alfred P. Pseudonym posted:I watched the first season a while back and really liked it. I don't know why I stopped. Maybe I'll get back into it now. It's not perfect (too many episodes where something weird happens to astronauts or pilots) but it's not really like anything else I've seen. Btw all but season 4 are up on Netflix. There are quite a few episodes based around "space exploration goes awry", and they are often a little bit predictable, but it was obviously a low-hanging fruit for television in 1959/1960. The second season had more humorous episodes, including more than a few that were a bit gimmicky. So it did change from season to season, and I am not sure if that was network interference or if Serling just got tired of doing serious science-fiction.
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Oct 17, 2014 22:35
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We've been watching some Twilight Zone at my place - picking ones that look interesting but aren't classics. I think the cultural touchstone TZs that people should be familiar with are: 1. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet 2. The Monsters are Due on Maple Street 3. Time Enough at Last 4. It's a Good Life 5. People Are Alike All Over 6. The Eye of the Beholder 7. Living Doll (the Talky Tina one) And "The After Hours" (mannequins) always made a big impression on me, although I don't know if it's a classic. But yeah, we've been catching up on lesser-known ones. - The Hitch-Hiker was probably great when it first aired but is wayyy too slow for a modern viewer, who will figure out what's going on within the first scene. Then you have to sit through 25 minutes of the lead character narrating her feelings in extremely purple prose. The hitchhiker himself is pretty creepy, though. - Perchance to Dream is not the most original idea but it's anchored really well by the lead, and by the detail of the dream sequences. - The Four of Us Are Dying, I really enjoyed. It's about a con man who can change his face to resemble other people. This is one that I wish had been longer - despite being played by different actors, the character of this nasty little schlub comes through really clearly. Plus I like the cheap tricks that he pulls. Other recommendations? I hate the schmaltzy heart-warming ones.
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Oct 22, 2014 18:39
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Switch out People Are Alike All Over and add Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up and To Serve Man and I think that's a pretty good primer. For schmaltzy ones, I really like Kick the Can. For overlooked ones, I absolutely love Midnight Sun.
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Oct 22, 2014 19:18
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How the hell did I forget To Serve Man? Yes, do that.
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Oct 22, 2014 20:11
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Is to serve man exactly the same as the Simpsons?
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Oct 23, 2014 05:47
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Helena Handbasket posted:
The Hitch-Hiker is interesting because it is the first Twilight Zone story that had a female lead. I have noticed that many of the Twilight Zone episodes that have a female lead (or leads, it is worthwhile to do the Bechdel Test on The Twilight Zone) are often the ones that focus more on suspense and psychological danger. The Hitch-Hiker, Mirror Image, The After Hours, Twenty Two...all Twilight Zone episodes centered around female protagonists, and all ones that manage to really accentuate the eerie.
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Oct 23, 2014 06:14
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In the 90s the Sci-fi channel would run marathons of the original, and I'd watch it for hours. A lot of it I didn't understand as a kid but things like the episode where the one family has a bomb shelter and the neighbors turn against the during a possible nuclear attack didn't resonate with me like it did for my parents, and they explained it to me that back then, people honestly thought that a world ending war was a serious possibility and the insanity on display in the episode was something millions of people worried about back then.
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Oct 23, 2014 07:38
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Worth noting is that Serling was quite good at turning his episodes into prose (or vice versa) and his short stories are really good. Here's a site with a ton of his Night Gallery stories: http://nightgallery.net/short-stories/
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Oct 23, 2014 08:00
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glowing-fish posted:The Hitch-Hiker is interesting because it is the first Twilight Zone story that had a female lead. I have noticed that many of the Twilight Zone episodes that have a female lead (or leads, it is worthwhile to do the Bechdel Test on The Twilight Zone) are often the ones that focus more on suspense and psychological danger. The Hitch-Hiker, Mirror Image, The After Hours, Twenty Two...all Twilight Zone episodes centered around female protagonists, and all ones that manage to really accentuate the eerie. Interesting, I didn't know that! I would categorize Nightmare as a Child as another psychological horror one with a female lead.
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Oct 23, 2014 20:33
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Helena Handbasket posted:1. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet You were already given a couple of good suggestions to add to this, but I just have to add one of my favorites, A Good Place to Visit. It's still one of my favorite endings of all time. Linked in case you haven't seen it and don't want the ending ruined. Also, The Obsolete Man is definitely another fan favorite. Everyone always talks about their favorite TZs though. What about your LEAST favorites? The Dummy is definitely on my list of TZ episodes I'm changing the channel if it's the one that comes on. pentyne posted:In the 90s the Sci-fi channel would run marathons of the original, and I'd watch it for hours. A lot of it I didn't understand as a kid but things like the episode where the one family has a bomb shelter and the neighbors turn against the during a possible nuclear attack didn't resonate with me like it did for my parents, and they explained it to me that back then, people honestly thought that a world ending war was a serious possibility and the insanity on display in the episode was something millions of people worried about back then. If we were attacked in such a way, people would act *at least* as badly as they did in The Shelter, if not worse. If anything, people are more selfish. JetsGuy fucked around with this message at 20:52 on Oct 23, 2014 |
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Oct 23, 2014 20:46
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pentyne posted:In the 90s the Sci-fi channel would run marathons of the original, and I'd watch it for hours. A lot of it I didn't understand as a kid but things like the episode where the one family has a bomb shelter and the neighbors turn against the during a possible nuclear attack didn't resonate with me like it did for my parents, and they explained it to me that back then, people honestly thought that a world ending war was a serious possibility and the insanity on display in the episode was something millions of people worried about back then. The Shelter is also interesting in that it is one of the few Twilight Zone episodes that really didn't have a fantastic element. It isn't really even a science-fiction story, everything in that story could have (and probably did, somewhere) happen.
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Oct 23, 2014 21:06
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Last night, I watched The Howling Man. It was super dope and this is the perfect time of year to watch it I think.
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Oct 24, 2014 01:30
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For anyone on the shelf, the Blu-Ray boxset is well worth it. The quality is absolutely outstanding on most of the episodes since they still had the original film lying around to transfer onto, and while sometimes that means you can see strings, that's actually kind of neat. Helps you get a feel for the artistry behind the scenes and how the producers knew the limitations of broadcast television at the time, and what that meant they could get away with. At the same time, quite a lot of the effects still hold up nicely even in hi-def. The commentaries are great fun, as are the included radio play versions and advertiser placards. Absolutely worth a buy for anyone who really digs the Zone.
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Oct 24, 2014 02:47
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An episode that doesn't get talked about much that I always loved is "Odyssey of Flight 33".
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Oct 24, 2014 03:04
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I also am not a huge fan of the schmaltzy heart-warming episodes, but the Christmas episode Night of the Meek is fantastic, and definitely a Christmastime staple. Least favorite episode is probably I Sing the Body Electric.
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Oct 26, 2014 06:09
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If you like the series, The Twilight Zone Companion is a pretty great book. It goes through each episode and gives a description and some background. Interesting information about some of the authors, changes that had to be made to some of the scripts or effects, etc.
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Oct 26, 2014 06:21
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StarkRavingMad posted:If you like the series, The Twilight Zone Companion is a pretty great book. It goes through each episode and gives a description and some background. Interesting information about some of the authors, changes that had to be made to some of the scripts or effects, etc. Seconding this. Last October, I watched every single Twilight Zone episode (oh to be working part-time again  ) in 31 days. The original series is still immensely watchable, but this companion will give you a completely new appreciation for the production and writing on the show. There are so many fantastic episodes and performances and it's really shame that only a handful are commonly recognized by your average tv viewer in 2014. The star power this show attracted, both behind and in front of the camera, is absolutely staggering. It's one of the few shows you could never replicate or continue on modern television. I'm extremely envious of anyone watching these episodes with new eyes.
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Oct 26, 2014 06:28
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OldSenileGuy posted:I also am not a huge fan of the schmaltzy heart-warming episodes, but the Christmas episode Night of the Meek is fantastic, and definitely a Christmastime staple. Night of the Meek was a big deal at the time, because it had Art Carney, who was in The Honeymooners. Art Carney would have been comparable to...Jerry Seinfeld was in the 1990s. Today, although he might be remembered, he isn't going to have quite the impact he had at the time.
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Oct 27, 2014 02:43
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Big Mean Jerk posted:There are so many fantastic episodes and performances and it's really shame that only a handful are commonly recognized by your average tv viewer in 2014. For a show that's over 50 years old, a handful seems really drat impressive. Even one would put them above 99% of shows from that era. One of my favorite episodes not mentioned so far is A Stop at Willoughby. My least favorites are the ones like Still Valley, the Civil War one where the guy spends like 15 minutes yelling at motionless soldier after motionless soldier, seemingly expecting each one to respond when the last dozen didn't. Twilight Zone main characters were unfathomably stupid.
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Oct 27, 2014 08:45
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JetsGuy posted:Everyone always talks about their favorite TZs though. What about your LEAST favorites? The Dummy is definitely on my list of TZ episodes I'm changing the channel if it's the one that comes on. "The Jungle" is so bad that I kind of love it. The premise is that an American guy is cursed by a witch doctor (yeah it was the 60s). He spends the entire episode being started by jungle noises and drum sounds, getting more and more freaked out. He loses his charm that's supposed to protect him against lion attacks. Then, at the end, he goes into his apartment and gets eaten by a goddamn lion.
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Nov 12, 2014 04:45
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Now that's a twist ending.
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Nov 12, 2014 13:46
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For straight up dialogue driven TZ nothing beats A Game Of Pool. There's nothing not to like. Jack Klugman and the great Jonathan Winters (in a convincingly dramatic role) chalk up and shoot some stick where the stakes have never been higher! It's my all time favoritest TZ that gets buried under the episodes that immediately come to mind in these lists. For straight up no (or next to none) dialogue, I'd go with Two and The Invaders. In addition to both episodes having little or no dialogue these two episodes share a commonality in that the lead female roles in each would be cast together years later for "Bewitched".
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Dec 9, 2014 13:00
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You know, I truly hate people who re-watch shows that were maybe good for their time, praising their merits compared to equal shows of modernity, like Star Trek. I do not feel Star Trek TOS holds the gently caress up AT ALL. The Twilight Zone, however, does. It's not about special effects, just practical, human stories with loving amazing actors of its day. There's hardly an episode without someone noteworthy in retrospect, either they were huge at that time or got big after guesting on Twilight Zone. Anyway, that's just me ranting, the show rules.
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Dec 10, 2014 04:32
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The Twilight Zone is one of my favorite shows - I have the entire series on DVD, and while some of the episodes are better than others, even the clunkers aren't too bad. The two I never get tired of are "A Stop At Willoughby" and "Walking Distance," especially "Walking Distance" - always seem to hit home with the themes of nostalgia and wanting to go back in time. I'm trying to get some friends into watching the show, but I'm not sure where to have them start (none of them are really into classic TV, but do love shows like Doctor Who) - any episodes in particular on Netflix that are good for pulling people in?
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Dec 13, 2014 04:35
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I've always had a bit of a soft spot for "one for the angels". I like the idea of the pitchman and death both trying to get away with stuff on technicalities.
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Dec 14, 2014 13:27
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bigtom posted:The Twilight Zone is one of my favorite shows - I have the entire series on DVD, and while some of the episodes are better than others, even the clunkers aren't too bad. The two I never get tired of are "A Stop At Willoughby" and "Walking Distance," especially "Walking Distance" - always seem to hit home with the themes of nostalgia and wanting to go back in time. people who I introduce to the show have enjoyed: One for the Angels Walking Distance Mirror Image
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Dec 16, 2014 13:57
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Aye Doc posted:people who I introduce to the show have enjoyed: For Comedy: "A Most Unusual Camera" For Horror: "Mirror Image" For Character Drama: "The After Hours" "Nightmare as a Child" For Topicality: "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" "Death's Head Revisited" For William Shatner: "Nick of Time"
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Dec 21, 2014 10:21
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One of my favourites that hasn't been parodied to death is "The Masks".
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Dec 21, 2014 15:04
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glowing-fish posted:For Comedy: "A Most Unusual Camera" The most topical episode now is "Number 12 Looks Just Like You" which is about a teenage girl who lives in a world where once you become an adult you're expected to undergo a process that makes you look beautiful and exactly like everyone else.
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Dec 21, 2014 17:45
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muscles like this? posted:The most topical episode now is "Number 12 Looks Just Like You" which is about a teenage girl who lives in a world where once you become an adult you're expected to undergo a process that makes you look beautiful and exactly like everyone else. That episode really pissed me off mainly because the girl didn't remember her past feelings after being transformed. Another one that is good, but overlooked is "Shadow Play". A convicted killer is set to be executed at midnight and tells everybody that if dies, they all die.
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Dec 21, 2014 17:54
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Weird Sandwich posted:One of my favourites that hasn't been parodied to death is "The Masks". Agreed. This was actually the very first episode I saw...many years ago. My dad was watching it and told me how he thought I'd enjoy the series. He was right. I think SyFy still does the New Year's Eve/Day and Fourth of July marathons.
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Dec 25, 2014 00:20
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I'm finally plugging my way through season 4 (this is where the iconic title sequence seems to have started), but the shift from 20 minute episodes to 40 is a little... different. Like, sure, some of the earlier episodes felt a little rushed, but it almost feels like 40 minutes is too long for the mystery. As in, you figure out what's going on quite quickly and as a result there's less of a "twist". Admittedly i'm only 5 episodes in and that might change. The thing that i love about marathoning the whole series is that i can see where a lot of modern sci-fi shows clearly got their origins/inspiration. Hell the latest episode i saw (Mute) was about a mute girl with telepathy involved in a house that inexplicably caught fire and ended up in a school where she basically was not happy. Granted the story went in a very different direction, but i can't help but feel King watched this, took the basic elements and reworked them to make Carrie.
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Dec 25, 2014 00:44
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