[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/twilight_zone_logo.jpg]]

->You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound and mind but of tropes. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Up ahead is a signpost that will lead you into your next destination -- your next stop, Website/TVTropes' official entry on ''"The Twilight Zone!"''

When Creator/RodSerling came up with ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'', he couldn't have known that he was creating a multimedia franchise that would endure for decades after his untimely death.

''The Twilight Zone'' maintains a prominent place in pop culture. The original series is the TropeCodifier for the GenreAnthology. Its title and theme music underwent MemeticMutation long before the term existed. Rod Serling's distinctive delivery as TheNarrator, and his on-screen hosting, have been spoofed and homaged countless times. The better-known {{Twist Ending}}s ("[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S1E8TimeEnoughAtLast Time Enough at Last]]", "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S2E6EyeOfTheBeholder The Eye of the Beholder]]", "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E24ToServeMan To Serve Man]]") have reached ItWasHisSled status. The stories and themes presented by Serling and his fellow creators have proven strong enough to support three revivals of the TV series, a movie, a radio adaptation, a pinball game, [[TheMerch merchandise]] such as action figures and prop reproductions, even a Disney theme park ride. It's been a huge influence on pretty much every anthology series that followed it, including its SpiritualSuccessor ''Series/NightGallery'', which was also hosted and largely written (but not creatively controlled) by Serling, though that series focused primarily on supernatural and horror tales, rather than the fantasy and science fiction featured in ''Twilight Zone''.

Here's a list of ''The Twilight Zone'''s various iterations, including the versions that have pages on Website/ThisVeryWiki.
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!!Works and creators associated with ''The Twilight Zone'' franchise (with Website/TVTropes articles):

[[folder:Television series]]
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959''. The show that started it all. It aired on Creator/{{CBS}} from 1959 to 1964.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985''. The first TV revival. It aired on CBS from 1985 to 1987, then was UnCancelled for a season of FirstRunSyndication in 1988-1989 so it would have enough episodes to run as a daily strip.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone2002''. The second TV revival, which ran during the 2002-2003 season on Creator/{{UPN}}.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone2019''. A 2019 revival aired on [[Creator/ParamountPlus CBS All Access]], executive produced and hosted by Creator/JordanPeele. Cancelled after its second season in 2020.
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[[folder:Feature films]]
* ''Film/TwilightZoneTheMovie''. The first revival in any medium. Released in 1983, it features remakes of original episodes directed by Creator/StevenSpielberg, Creator/JoeDante and Creator/GeorgeMiller, plus a new story written and directed by Creator/JohnLandis. Best remembered for three actors [[FatalMethodActing being killed]] during the filming of Landis' segment.
* ''Film/TowerOfTerror''. A MadeForTVMovie based on the Ride/DisneyThemeParks ride listed below. A DivorcedInstallment that never mentions its ''Twilight Zone'' connection.
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[[folder:Pinball]]
* ''Pinball/TwilightZone''. An acclaimed game that features plenty of {{Mythology Gag}}s based on the original series.
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[[folder:Rides]]
* ''Ride/TheTwilightZoneTowerOfTerror''. A popular attraction at several Ride/DisneyThemeParks.
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[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/TheTwilightZoneVR'' (2022): A Playstation 4 and Oculus Quest three-episodes-long, Virtual Reality adventure game developed by Pocket Money Games Ltd.
[[/folder]]
[[/index]]

[[folder:Short stories adapted into ''The Twilight Zone'' episodes]]
* "Literature/TheColdEquations". Filmed for the syndicated season of the 1980s series.
* "Literature/TheHowlingMan". Filmed for the original series.
* "Literature/ItsAGoodLife". Made into one of the original series' [[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E8ItsAGoodLife best-remembered episodes]], then remade for TheMovie. The UPN revival produced a sequel episode, "It's Still a Good Life", with Bill Mumy [[RoleReprise reprising his role]] as the protagonist Anthony Fremont.
* "Literature/LittleGirlLost". Made into one of the original series episodes and an inspiration for ''Film/{{Poltergeist|1982}}''.
* "Literature/AnOccurrenceAtOwlCreekBridge". Filmed as a French short film which was re-edited into an episode of the original series.
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[[folder:Creators involved with ''The Twilight Zone'']]
* Creator/RodSerling. Creator, host, and pre-eminent writer of the original series.
* Creator/RichardMatheson. Veteran sci-fi/horror writer who scripted sixteen original episodes, many of which were adapted from his own short stories.
* Creator/RayBradbury. A major influence on Serling, who gave him a ShoutOut in both "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S1E5WalkingDistance Walking Distance]]" and "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S1E30AStopAtWilloughby A Stop at Willoughby]]". He adapted his own story "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E35ISingTheBodyElectric I Sing the Body Electric]]" for the original series, and the 1980s series adapted his stories "The Burning Man" and "The Elevator".
* Creator/HarlanEllison. Writer and creative consultant for the 1980s series.
* Creator/GeorgeRRMartin. Wrote several episodes for the 1980s series.
* Creator/StephenKing. The 1980s series adapted his story "Gramma".
* Creator/RobertSilverberg. The 1980s series adapted his story "To See the Invisible Man".
* Creator/JMichaelStraczynski. Writer and story editor for the 1980s series.
* Creator/ForestWhitaker. Host of the 2002-2003 series.
* Creator/JordanPeele. Host and narrator of the 2019 revival.
* Creator/TheodoreSturgeon. The 1980s series adapted his stories "Yesterday Was Monday" and "A Saucer of Loneliness".
* See also UsefulNotes/TheTwilightZoneActors.
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[[folder:Tropes named after ''The Twilight Zone'' episodes]]
* ToServeMan
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!!Works in ''The Twilight Zone'' franchise (without their own pages):

[[folder:Feature films]]
* ''Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics'': A 1994 film co-produced by Rod Serling's widow Carol Serling, who found some old stories written by Rod in a trunk in the family's garage. Creator/JamesEarlJones was the host and narrator. The film had two segments:
** ''The Theatre'': A woman goes to the theater, but the screen shows events from her own life.
** ''Where the Dead Are'': Set a few years after UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, a doctor discovers his colleague has found a way to bring the dead back to life.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic books]]
* ''[[ComicBook/TheTwilightZoneDell The Twilight Zone (Dell)]]'' (1961-1962)
* ''[[ComicBook/TheTwilightZoneGoldKey The Twilight Zone (Gold Key)]]'' (1962-1982) - The Creator/GoldKeyComics version, which began when the original series was still on the air and continued into the early 1980s, was by far the longest running. An artistic rendition of Rod Serling introduced each story as he did on TV, becoming technically a PosthumousCharacter after Serling died in 1975, but the drawn Serling continued to "host" the comic book.
* ''[[ComicBook/TheTwilightZoneNOW The Twilight Zone (NOW)]]'' (1990-1993)
* ''[[ComicBook/TheTwilightZoneDynamite The Twilight Zone (Dynamite)]]'' (2013-2015) - The Creator/DynamiteComics series
** ''The Twilight Zone Special: Lost Tales'' (2014)
** ''The Twilight Zone: Shadow & Substance'' (2015)
** ''The Twilight Zone: 1959'' (2016)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
''The Twilight Zone'' has been the subject of many books. Some of the episodes have been adapted as short stories and novels by various authors (including Rod Serling himself). Anthologies of short stories adapted for the series have been published. ''The Twilight Zone Companion'', Marc Scott Zicree's 1982 history of the series, became a best seller and has been updated twice. A second history, Martin Grams, Jr.'s ''The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic'', appeared in 2008.
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[[folder:Magazines]]
Between 1981 and 1989, ''The Twilight Zone Magazine'' published new short fiction in the same ScienceFiction, {{Horror}} and UrbanFantasy genres as the show, including stories by prominent writers like Creator/StephenKing and Creator/HarlanEllison. It also covered contemporary SpeculativeFiction series and movies.
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[[folder:Radio]]
From 2002 to 2012, ''The Twilight Zone'' was a RadioDrama series. It adapted all of the original episodes, as well as unfilmed premises for the original series. It even created several original stories.
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[[folder:Tabletop games]]
The original series had a board game.
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[[folder:Theater]]
Anne Washburn's ''The Twilight Zone'' is a stage play that weaves adaptations of eight TOS episodes into a unified storyline.
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[[folder:Toys]]
Two toy companies, Sideshow and Bif Bang Pow!, have made action figures (and in Bif Bang Pow!'s case, other merchandise) based on the show.
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[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''The Twilight Zone'', an Anima/DOS graphic text adventure developed by Gigabit Systems, Inc., and released in 1988.
[[/folder]]
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