The Twilight Zone

I'm kinda surprised there wasn't a thread for this after a quick search. Just got to viewing some episodes of the 1959 TV series. I've always been interested in stuff like this and have been wanting to do an Archive Binge on it for a while. And, in my case, the best thing, the very best thing of all, is there's time now. There's all the time I need and all the time I want. Time, time, time... There's time enough at last...

I am really, really enjoying this. Anyone else here like a bit of Rod Serling?

-Be careful, you may suddenly lose your internet connection or something.-

Kismet, dude. I just read Maureen Dowd's latest piece, and her thesis is that everyone in Hollowood today is stealing their ideas from Serling. You can read it here.

Me, I swing back and forth. On one day I'll think the characters are too broadly painted, the situations are too simple, the tropes are creaky even for 1960, and there'll be a twist at the end so everything makes sense (or stops making sense). On another day I'll marvel at how much subversion Serling was able to slip past the suits at CBS, at how an episode can make you think even if you don't want to, and at how bad most of today's programming looks next to TZ.

Yeah, the Twilight Zone can be pretty hit or miss. For me, when they're bad they're just mediocre bad, but when they're good they're amazing.

Yeah, sounds about right.

My feelings too. In the worst episodes you get the premise in the first 5 minutes, but the main character apparently does not, so they then proceed to beat it to death with repitition until the resolution (much like you're average Saturday Nighr Live sketch). The show often seemed to suffer from script-stretching. But, as you say, they best episodes were Science Fiction gold.

The weird thing about The Twilight Zone is that the episodes are either great, mediocre, or So Bad, It's Good. The mediocre and So Bad, It's Good episodes are mostly concentrated in the first and last seasons.

Part of the reason Serling was able to get so much of his progressivism into the show was because it was sci-fi/fantasy, and censors are always way more lax about stuff like that.

When I watch that show, it often makes me wish Serling was alive and writing today, because all these years later some people have still failed to get the messages he tried to send.

I just want a host like Serling again, at least. The opening narration and ending narration are iconic to the series, and for good reason. Watching a TZ episode is like having Serling invite you over to his house to watch the episode with him (and ironically try to sell you a cigarette sometimes). The presentation was top-notch and quite unique. I'm kinda surprised no one's tried that format in a while.

Well the last incarnation of TTZ had Forrest Whitaker trying at the Serling thing, it's just that he sucked and the show also sucked, from what little of it I saw, anyway.

Actually I didn't mind the Forrest Whitaker series,oh yeah it was definitely pretty bad most of the time,but it did have some decent episodes (Like the depressed Death episode,or the writer episode). Still liked it better than the '80s attempt

But really the '59 series was impeccable and still is in most cases. And I take offense at those who dare find fault with any of the first season episodes. If anything the show only went downhill becuase Buck Houghton stopped producing after Season 3.

My favorite episodes being "Time Enough At Last" which everyone knows about, "And When the Sky Opened", "The Hitchiker", "A World Of His Own",and "Nervous Man In A Four Dollar Room"

The best theme I find was not the cliche "Main Theme" everyone knows about,but Bernard Hermann's original theme

My favorites from the first show have to be Pitch For The Angels (definitely), The Obsolete Man, the original A Game Of Pool, Nothing In The Dark, The Jeopardy Room, What's In The Box (mostly because seeing Sterling Halloway so malevolent is bone-chillingly good), Penny For Your Thoughts, and a whole host of others.

My favorite from the 85 show is definitely I of Newton. But in addition to that, there's Dealer's Choice, Wong's Lost and Found, etc. There are a ton of these that I think are great and contemplative but just aren't my favorites.

I occasionally like the more sadistic ones, but the ones I enjoy most of that type are the "you made your bed, now lie in it" ones, like On Thursday We Are Going Home, The Card, etc. Also, gotta love the "for humor" ones, like Cavender is Coming and, again, I of Newton.

There's also one with a simpleton who suddenly finds out he has an amazing mental ability, who then gets exploited by his greedy friend and loses it at the worst possible moment (or does he?) that I enjoyed but can't remember the name of, and another with a guy who suddenly gets superpowers of some kind (and in the end it turns out it was an alien or something in a diner messing with humanity who gave them to him).

I also like Owl Creek Bridge, but that's because I love the story it's based off of.

As for the newest version. Well, I liked It's Still A Good Life, better than I liked the original anyways, even though by all means it's a lot crueler in the end, and One Night Of Mercy and Another Life. Mr. Motivation was generally conventional but still nice and fun.

edited 6th Oct '11 5:10:11 PM by KnownUnknown

Portrait of a troper who wanted to discuss the Twilight Zone, so he resurrected the topic with necromancy...

Sci Fi's annual marathon is upon us. Caught the tail end of one of my favorites: the episode with the panicked neighbors demanding to get inside one's bomb shelter.

Woah, I didn't know there was a marathon tonight.

Every New Years.

They show the good ones?

They show the good ones?

@11: Those would be "The Prime Mover" and "Mr. Dingle, the Strong", respectively.

I just checked out The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street/Are On Maple Street, and It's Still A Good Life. Those were two of the only episodes I remember from childhood because of how creepy they were. Them and the one about the man trying to get to Willoughby. I plan to watch some of this soon.

Fascinating content, really.

And Rod Serling is a gifted speaker, jesus.

For its 60th anniversary, The Twilight Zone will have a one-night theatrical presentation on November 14 of six episodes, along with the documentary "Remembering Rod Serling".

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/twilight-zone-episodes-coming-theaters-celebrate-60th-anniversary-1243073

The epispdes are

• Walking Distance
• Time Enough at Last
• The Invaders
• The Monsters are Due on Maple Street
• The Eye of the Beholder
• To Serve Man

That's a pretty good selection of the top episodes. The only others I might consider would be "A Nice Place to Visit", "A Game of Pool", or "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet".

I just watched "Nightmare at 30,000 Ft."

It kept my attention. I think I understand the "moral" but not The Reveal

So moral: don't let fear take control?

Not sure I understand what was going on with the ex-pilot though.

(The discussion for the 2019 reboot is over here)