The Twilight Zone
is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode (156 in the original series) is a mixture of self-contained fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist. A popular and critical success, it introduced many Americans to serious science fiction and abstract ideas through television and also through a wide variety of Twilight Zone literature. The program followed in the tradition of earlier radio programs such as The Weird Circle
and X Minus One
and the radio work of Serling's hero, dramatist Norman Corwin.
The success of the original series led to the creation of two revival series: a cult hit series that ran for several seasons on CBS and in syndication in the 1980s, and a short-lived UPN series that ran from 2002 to 2003. It would also lead to a feature film, a radio series, a comic book, a magazine and various other spin-offs that would span five decades.
Aside from Serling himself, who crafted nearly two-thirds of the series' total episodes, writers for The Twilight Zone
included leading genre authorities such as Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Jerry Sohl, George Clayton Johnson, Earl Hamner, Jr., Reginald Rose, Harlan Ellison and Ray Bradbury. Many episodes also featured adaptations of classic stories by such writers as Ambrose Bierce, Lewis Padgett, Jerome Bixby and Damon Knight.
Rod Serling coined the title himself, but only after the series aired did he discover that the "twilight zone" was a term applied by the US Air Force to the terminator, the imaginary border between "night" and "day" on a planetary body.
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THE TWILIGHT ZONE TICKETS
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Television history
"The Time Element" (1958)
CBS purchased a
teleplay in 1958 that writer
Rod Serling hoped to produce as the pilot of a weekly anthology series.
The Twilight Zone
episode "The Time Element" marked Serling's first entry in the field of science fiction.
Plot
The story is a
time travel fantasy of sorts, involving a man named Peter Jenson (
William Bendix) visiting a
psychoanalyst, Dr. Gillespie (
Martin Balsam), with complaints of a recurring dream in which he imagines waking up in
Honolulu just prior to the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor. "I wake up in a hotel room in Honolulu, and it's 1941, but I mean I really wake up and it's really 1941," he explains, concluding that these are not mere dreams; he actually
is
travelling through time. However, Dr. Gillespie insists that time travel is impossible given the nature of
temporal paradoxes. During his dream, taking advantage of the situation, he bets on all the winning horses, all the right teams and, eventually, tries unsuccessfully to warn others — the newspaper, the military, anyone — that the Japanese are planning a surprise attack on
Pearl Harbor. His warnings are seen as crazed ravings, and are either ignored or met with physical violence, as he is punched out by an engineer who works on the
USS Arizona
, after insisting that it will be sunk on December 7. Jenson's dream always ends as the Japanese bombers fly overhead on the morning of December 7, prompting him to yell out "I told you! Why wouldn't anybody listen to me?". Jenson finally discloses to Dr. Gillespie that he was actually in Honolulu on December 7, 1941. While on the couch, Jenson falls asleep once again, only this time, Japanese planes flying overhead shoot inside the windows of his room and he is killed. When the camera cuts back to the doctor's office, the couch Jenson was lying on is now empty, and Dr. Gillespie looks around, confused. Although Jenson had smoked earlier, the ashtray is empty. He looks in his appointment book and finds he had no appointments scheduled for this day. Gillespie goes to a bar and finds Jenson's picture on the wall. The bartender said that Jenson tended bar there, but was killed in Pearl Harbor.
Production
With this script, Serling drafted the fundamental elements that would distinguish the series still to come: a science-fiction/fantasy theme, opening and closing narration, and an ending with a twist. But what would prove popular with audiences and critics in 1959 did not meet network standards in 1957. "The Time Element" was purchased only to be shelved indefinitely, and talks of making
The Twilight Zone
a television series ended.
This is where things stood when
Bert Granet, the new producer for
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
, discovered "The Time Element" in CBS' vaults while searching for an original Serling script to add prestige to his show. "The Time Element" (introduced by
Desi Arnaz) debuted on
November 24,
1958, to an overwhelmingly delighted audience of television viewers and critics alike. "The humor and sincerity of Mr. Serling's dialogue made 'The Time Element' consistently entertaining," offered Jack Gould of
The New York Times
. Over six thousand letters of praise flooded Granet's offices. Convinced that a series based on such stories could succeed, CBS again began talks with Serling about the possibilities of producing
The Twilight Zone
. "
Where Is Everybody?" was accepted as the
pilot episode and the project was officially announced to the public in early 1959. "The Time Element" is rarely aired on television and it was only available in an Italian DVD box set titled "Ai confini della realtà — I tesori perduti" until it was shown as part of an all night sneak preview of the new cable channel
TVLand.
Original series (1959–1964)
Throughout the
1950s,
Rod Serling had established himself as one of the hottest names in television, equally famous for his success in writing televised drama as he was for criticizing the medium's limitations. His most vocal complaints concerned the censorship frequently practiced by sponsors and networks. "I was not permitted to have my Senators discuss any current or pressing problem," he said of his 1957 production
The Arena
, intended to be an involving look into contemporary politics. "To talk of tariff was to align oneself with the
Republicans; to talk of labor was to suggest control by the
Democrats. To say a single thing germane to the current political scene was absolutely prohibited."
Twilight Zone
s writers frequently used science fiction as a vehicle for social comment; networks and sponsors who had infamously censored all potentially "inflammatory" material from the then predominant
live dramas were ignorant of the methods developed by writers such as
Ray Bradbury for dealing with important issues through seemingly innocuous fantasy. Frequent themes include
nuclear war,
mass hysteria, and
McCarthyism, subjects that were strictly forbidden on more "serious" prime-time drama. Episodes such as "
The Shelter" or "
The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" offered specific commentary on current events. Other stories, such as "
The Masks" or "
The Howling Man," operated around a central
allegory,
parable, or
fable that reflected the characters' moral or philosophical choices.
Despite his esteem in the writing community, Serling found
The Twilight Zone
difficult to sell. Few critics felt that science fiction could transcend empty escapism and enter the realm of adult drama. In a
September 22,
1959, interview with Serling,
Mike Wallace asked a question illustrative of the times: "...[Y]ou're going to be, obviously, working so hard on
The Twilight Zone
that, in essence, for the time being and for the foreseeable future, you've given up on writing anything important for television, right?" While Serling's appearances on the show became one of its most distinctive features, with his clipped delivery still widely imitated today, he was reportedly nervous about it and had to be persuaded to appear on camera. Serling often steps into the middle of the action and the characters remain seemingly oblivious to him, but on one notable occasion they are aware he's there: In the episode "
A World of His Own," a writer with the power to alter his reality objects to Serling's unflattering narration, and promptly erases Serling from the show.
First revival (1985–1989)
It was Serling's decision to sell his share of the series back to the network that eventually allowed for a
Twilight Zone
revival. As an in-house production, CBS stood to earn more money producing
The Twilight Zone
than it could by purchasing a new series produced by an outside company. Even so, the network was slow to consider a revival, shooting down offers from the original production team of Rod Serling and
Buck Houghton and later from
American filmmaker
Francis Ford Coppola.
A new generation of writers and directors emerged from the teenagers who formed the core of
Twilight Zone's
original audience. First came
The Twilight Zone Companion
by Marc Scott Zicree, an in-depth look into the history of the series that won critical accolade, a 1983 nomination for the
American Book Award and a place on best-seller lists across the nation. Also encouraging were the new numbers from
Nielsen and the
box office alike.
Despite lukewarm response to
Twilight Zone: The Movie
, John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, and George Miller's theatrical homage to the original series, CBS gave the new
Twilight Zone
a
greenlight in 1984 under the supervision of Carla Singer, then Vice President of Drama Development. While the show didn't match the enduring popularity of the original, it did develop its own cult following and some episodes — including the love story "
Her Pilgrim Soul" and
J. Michael Straczynski's "
Dream Me A Life" — were widely acclaimed. In a tribute to the original series, the teaser at the beginning of the show has a brief wavy glimpse of Rod Serling.
Rod Serling's Lost Classics
(1994)
In the early 1990s,
Richard Matheson and Carol Serling produced an outline for a two-hour made-for-TV movie which would feature Matheson adaptations of three yet-unfilmed Rod Serling short stories. Outlines for such a production were rejected by CBS until early 1994, when Serling's widow discovered a complete shooting script ("Where the Dead Are") authored by her late husband while rummaging through their garage. Serling showed the forgotten script to producers Michael O'Hara and Laurence Horowitz, who were significantly impressed by it. "I had a pile of scripts, which I usually procrastinate about reading. But I read this one right away and, after 30 pages, called my partner and said, "I love it," recalled O'Hara. "This is pure imagination, a period piece, literate—some might say wordy. If Rod Serling's name weren't on it, it wouldn't have a chance at getting made."
Eager to capitalize on Serling's celebrity status as a writer, CBS packaged "Where the Dead Are" with Matheson's adaptation of "The Theatre," debuting as a two-hour feature on the night of
May 19,
1994, under the name
Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics
. The title represents a misnomer, as both stories were conceived long after
Twilight Zone's
cancellation. Written just months before Serling's death, "Where the Dead Are" starred
Patrick Bergin as a 19th century doctor who stumbles upon a
mad scientist's medical experiments with immortality. "The Theatre" starred
Amy Irving and
Gary Cole as a couple who visit a cineplex, only to discover that the feature presentation is their own lives.
James Earl Jones provided opening and closing narrations.
Critical response was mixed.
Gannett News Service described it as "taut and stylish, a reminder of what can happen when fine actors are given great words."
USA Today
was less impressed, even suggesting that Carol Serling "should have left these two unproduced mediocrities in the garage where she found them." Ultimately ratings proved insufficient to justify a proposed sequel featuring three Matheson-adapted scripts.
Second revival (2002–2003)
A second revival was attempted by
UPN in 2002, with narration provided by
Forest Whitaker and theme music by
Jonathan Davis (of the rock group
Korn). Two of Serling's own teleplays were recycled. Broadcast in an hour format with two half-hour stories, it was cancelled after one season. The critical and audience reaction to this revival was generally not very good, although reruns continue to air in syndication, and have aired on
myNetwork TV since summer 2008.
Other media
Film
Twilight Zone: The Movie
is a 1983 feature film produced by Steven Spielberg. It starred
Dan Aykroyd,
Albert Brooks,
Vic Morrow,
John Lithgow and
Scatman Crothers.
The film remade three classic episodes of the original series and included one original story.
John Landis directed the prologue and the first segment,
Steven Spielberg directed the second,
Joe Dante the third, and
George Miller directed the final segment.
The Landis-directed episode became notorious for the helicopter accident during filming which caused the deaths of Morrow and two child actors.
Critically-acclaimed actor
Leonardo DiCaprio is planning to make a new movie with
Warner Bros., as
The Twilight Zone
is his favorite TV series. However, unlike the first film, which was an anthology feature, it will be a big-budget, SFX-laden continuous story possibly based on classic episodes of the series such as "
The Eye of the Beholder", "
To Serve Man" or any of the 92 scripts written by Rod Serling, to which Warner Bros. owns the rights.
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Music
The original moody title theme for
The Twilight Zone
was composed by
Bernard Herrmann.
The well known
Twilight Zone
theme that began in the second season was written by avant garde composer
Marius Constant.
Other contributors to the music for the original television show are
Jerry Goldsmith,
Nathan Van Cleave,
Leonard Rosenman,
Fred Steiner, and
Franz Waxman.
Marty Manning released an album inspired by the series in 1961.
The music for
Twilight Zone: The Movie
was composed by
Jerry Goldsmith.
The theme for the 1985
The Twilight Zone
television series was performed by
The Grateful Dead.
Canadian rock band
Rush recorded "
The Twilight Zone" on their epic 1976 album
2112 and released it as a single.
Dutch rock band
Golden Earring's 1982 U.S. hit "
Twilight Zone" was inspired by the series. The first chords of the song's opening tune and the hypnotic bass-riff as well as the lyrics are modeled on the original tunes and texts of the series.
Many other musicians have written and performed music based on the
Twilight Zone
, including:
Average White Band,
John Cale, David Dubowski ("
To Serve Man"),
Iron Maiden,
Mekong Delta,
Dr. John,
John Fahey,
Michael Hurley,
Manhattan Transfer,
Van Morrison,
Raymond Scott,
Sly & Robbie,
2 Unlimited,
The Ventures, and
John Williams.
Radio
In 2002, episodes of the original
The Twilight Zone
were adapted for radio, with
Stacy Keach taking Serling's role as narrator.
Literature
Western Publishing published a
Twilight Zone
comic book, first under their
Dell Comics imprint for 4 issues, one in 1961 and 3 further issues in 1962, with the first two published as part of their long running
Four Color
anthology series as issue numbers 1173 and 1288, and then two further one shots numbered separately in Dell's unique fashion as 01-860-207 and 12-860-210 (numbered as 01-860-210 on the inside) respectively. Western then restarted the series under their
Gold Key imprint with a formal issue #1, which ran 92 issues from 1962 to 1979, with the final issue being published in 1982.
Several of the stories would be reprinted in their
Mystery Comics Digest
, which mentioned the title on the covers. A wide range of artists worked on the title, including Jack Sparling,
Reed Crandall,
Lee Elias,
George Evans,
Russ Jones,
Joe Orlando,
Jerry Robinson,
Mike Sekowsky,
Dan Spiegle,
Frank Thorne and
Alex Toth.
In 1990,
NOW Comics published a new comic series with using the title logo from the 1985 revival. The publisher made great efforts to sign established sci-fi/fantasy writers, including
Harlan Ellison, adapting his story "
Crazy as a Soup Sandwich."
Scripts
Beginning in 2001, Gauntlet Press began publishing collections of original scripts from
The Twilight Zone
by Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, and Rod Serling. A ten-volume signed, limited edition series of all 92 of Rod Serling's scripts, authorized by his wife, Carol Serling, began yearly publication in 2004. Many of the scripts contain handwritten edits by Serling himself and differ in significant ways from the aired versions; most volumes contain an alternate version of a selected script. The script for "Monsters Are Due On Maple Street" has been published into 7th grade reading books in the form of a play.
Graphic novels
In 2008, students at the
Savannah College of Art and Design have partnered with Walker & Co. to create graphic novels based on eight episodes of the series through 2009. The first four (based on "
Walking Distance", "
The After Hours", "
The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street", and "
The Odyssey of Flight 33") were released in December.
[6]
Theater
Live theater productions of the original episodes can be seen in Los Angeles and Seattle, where Theater Schmeater has continuously produced a late night series, "The Twilight Zone — Live" with permission of the Serling estate, since 1996.
In 2005 4 Letter Entertainment produced
Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up?
in Los Angeles.
Pinball game
In 1993,
Midway released a widebody
pinball game, Twilight Zone (based on the original TV series). After his
Addams Family pinball became the best selling pinball machine of all time, Midway gave designer
Pat Lawlor creative control over the game. The game uses
Golden Earring's 1982 hit song "
Twilight Zone" as its theme song. The game sold 15,235 units.
Video game
A
text adventure based
video game of The Twilight Zone for the
PC and
Amiga was also published in 1988 by Gigabit Systems Inc. The game has been panned by players for various problems.
[7] [8]
Drama
In November 2008,
Little Rock Christian Academy put on the first ever theatre adaptation of The Twilight Zone. The production contained the episodes "The After Hours", "The Shelter", "Five Character in Search of an Exit", "The Obsolete Man", "Midnight Sun", and "The Passersby".
Theme park attractions
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is a theme park attraction at the
Disney's Hollywood Studios in
Florida,
Disney's California Adventure in
California and
Walt Disney Studios Park in
Paris.
Tokyo DisneySea,
Japan also has a version, but it does not carry on the Twilight Zone theme, due to constraints in copyrights for the
Oriental Land Company, owner and operator of the Tokyo parks.
See also
- List of The Twilight Zone episodes
References
- DiCaprio Behind Another Twilight Zone
- DiCaprio eyes 'Twilight Zone' remake
- Leonardo DiCaprio eyes the 'Zone'
- DiCaprio eyeing Twilight Zone remake
- Leonardo DiCaprio eyeing 'Twilight Zone' remake
- Review: 'Twilight Zone' Graphic Novels
- Moby Games. Review of Twilight Zone game
- Abandonia. Twilight Zone game download