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The Twilight Zone

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Plot

"You're traveling to another dimension...a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind...a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Your next stop: The Twilight Zone." Originally telecast on CBS from October 2, 1959, to September 18, 1964 (not counting a brief spate of network reruns in the summer of 1965), The Twilight Zone was one of the foremost filmed dramatic anthologies on TV and one of a precious few that specialized in fantasy and science fiction. Created by Rod Serling, whose previous TV writing credits included such classic live dramas as Patterns and Requiem for a Heavyweight, the series specialized in concise, economical playlets dealing with the offbeat andsupernatural, many of them with surprising and ironic climactic twists. Many of the individual episodes have stood the test of time as indisputable classics, among them "Eye of the Beholder," "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," "The Invaders," "It's a Good Life," "To Serve Man," "The Invaders," and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." Rod Serling served as the series' host and narrator, and also wrote most of the dramas. Other noteworthy contributors included Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, and, on one memorable occasion (the episode "I Sing the Body Electric"), Ray Bradbury.

A veritable constellation of guest stars brought the stories to life; among those making multiple appearances were Burgess Meredith, Jack Klugman, William Shatner, Martin Landau, Anne Francis, Bill Mumy, Ed Wynn, and Lee Marvin, while many more showed up for memorable single performances including Charles Bronson, Elizabeth Montgomery, Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, James Coburn, Mickey Rooney, and Dennis Hopper. The series' famous theme music (heard from the second season onward) was composed by Marius Constant with unforgettable incidental music provided by the likes of Bernard Herrmann and Jerry Goldsmith. Although the series' title has become a household word and many of its episodes are acknowledged masterpieces, Twilight Zone was never a huge ratings attraction during its network run. Indeed, after only three seasons, CBS decided to yank the show. It was saved at the last minute and brought back as a mid-season replacement, expanded from 30 to 60 minutes per week in the process. For its fifth and final season, Twilight Zone returned to its familiar half-hour format, still playing to appreciative but comparatively small audiences. It was not until the series went into off-network reruns that Twilight Zone truly built its fan following, which has increased many times over in the ensuing years. Twilight Zone was revived twice with new, full-color episodes, first as a CBS (and later syndicated) weekly in 1985, then on UPN in 2002. Rod Serling was not involved with these revivals, having passed away in 1975; the 1985 version had no host, though its narrators included Charles Aidman and Robin Ward, but the 2002 version was hosted by Forest Whitaker. In addition, a theatrical feature, Twilight Zone: The Movie, was released in 1983. ~ Rovi

Credit

Rod Serling - Executive Producer, Bernard Herrmann - Composer (Music Score), Marius Constant - Composer (Music Score), Bert Granet - Producer, Buck Houghton - Producer, William Froug - Producer

Episodes

The Twilight Zone: Season 01 (1959)
Even non-devotees of The Twilight Zone are able to distinguish the series' first-season episodes from the later installments. Instead of the familiar "dee-dee-dee-doo, dee-dee-dee-doo" theme music by Marius Constant, each season-one Twilight Zone was introduced with a more lugubrious, string-dominated theme by the great Bernard Herrmann, who also composed the incidental music for such classic first-season episodes as "The Lonely" and "Walking Distance." Also, series creator and host narrator Rod Serling does not appear on camera to deliver his opening and closing narration -- except for a delightful gag appearance at the end of the season's final episode, "A World of His Own." The series' two most frequent guest stars make their inaugural Twilight Zone appearances in the course of season one. Burgess Meredith is poignantly cast as a myopic bookworm who ends up a sole survivor of a nuclear holocaust in "Time Enough at Last," while Jack Klugman is seen as a luckless musician whose life is turned around by a remarkable near-death experience in "A Passage for Trumpet." Other notable actors appearing in this season's 36 episodes include Martin Landau, Fritz Weaver, Ed Wynn, David Wayne, Vera Miles, Ida Lupino, Anne Francis, and Roddy McDowall. Among the best and most memorable episodes of the first-season Twilight Zone crop are "Third From the Sun," "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," "People Are Alike All Over," and "A Stop at Willoughby." Lesser episodes, though still worthy of special mention, include the series opener "Where Is Everybody?," one of the few Zones with a "logical" rather than supernatural ending; "The Hitch-Hiker," a haunting adaptation of Lucille Fletcher's classic radio play; "The Mighty Casey," a baseball fantasy which had to be filmed twice so that Jack Warden could replace the original story by Paul Douglas, who fell ill during shooting and died shortly afterward; and "Mr. Bevis," which Rod Serling intended as the pilot for a series about a bumbling guardian angel. ~ Rovi
The Twilight Zone: Season 02 (1960)
Although The Twilight Zone suffered from anemic ratings and a certain degree of sponsor dissatisfaction during its first season on CBS, the network could not ignore the prestige value of a series created and largely written by Rod Serling -- nor could it ignore the millions of loyal fans who demanded that the series return for a second season...which, of course, it did. Due to budget cutbacks, only 29 episodes were produced for season two; six of these were economically shot on videotape, an experiment that proved esthetically unsatisfying and was not repeated. Even so, the six taped installments yielded at least one imperishable classic: The Christmas Fantasy "Night of the Meek" starring Art Carney as a drunken department-store Santa who experiences quite an epiphany on Christmas Eve. Twilight Zone's second season saw the introduction of the series' now-immortal "dee-dee-dee-doo, dee-dee-dee-doo" theme music composed by Marius Constant. Also, host Rod Serling began making on-camera appearances as he introduced the various playlets. A number of guest stars from season one make return appearances for season two, among them Burgess Meredith (seen twice this season), Inger Stevens, Dick York, Russell Johnson, and Fritz Weaver. Others make their first (but definitely not last!) Zone appearances during this season, including William Shatner, Bill Mumy, Jonathan Harris, and Cliff Robertson. And finally, a handful of celebrated performers show up for their only Twilight Zone gigs, notably Shelley Berman, Richard Haydn, Jack Carson, and Bob Cummings. Of the season's 29 episodes, at least three can be designated as imperishable classics: "The Howling Man," a grim gothic tale of demonic deception; "The Eye of the Beholder," in which a young woman designated as "hideously ugly" by a totalitarian government undergoes a grueling session of plastic surgery; and "The Invaders," starring Agnes Moorehead as a terrified farm woman who single-handedly fends off an army of tiny extraterrestrials. ~ Rovi
The Twilight Zone: Season 03 (1961)
Surviving several defecting sponsors and vacillating ratings, Twilight Zone manages to survive for a third season on CBS -- a season that many aficionados regard as the anthology series' best. With Rod Serling as narrator and frequent scriptwriter, season three offers 37 half-hour playlets, many of them regarded today as classics of the sci-fi fantasy genre. The best of the batch includes "It's a Good Life," starring Bill Mumy as a deceptively angelic-looking youngster who holds the power to destroy the world; "The Midnight Sun," a nightmarish scenario of solar energy run amok; "Once Upon a Time," a delightful time-travel comedy (largely shot in silent-movie fashion) starring Buster Keaton; "Kick the Can," with Ernest Truex as a senior-home resident who gets a new lease on life by reverting to the games of his childhood; "Little Girl Lost," a dizzying foray into The Fourth Dimension, brilliantly underlined by Bernard Herrmann's musical score; and the unforgettable "To Serve Man," the title of which also serves as the episode's grimly ironic punchline. Among the guest stars from previous seasons making return appearances are Jack Klugman, Larry Blyden, Cliff Robertson, and John Dehner. Prominent newcomers to the series include Jonathan Winters, Donald Pleasence, Elizabeth Montgomery, Charles Bronson, Joseph Schildkraut, Andy Devine, and Carol Burnett, the latter appearing in "One for the Angels," which was intended as the pilot for a spin-off comedy series (complete with laughtrack!) Twilight Zone's ever-growing legion fans were disheartened by CBS' decision to cancel the series at the end of season three; however, the property made a dramatic comeback the following season in a brand-new hour-long format. ~ Rovi
The Twilight Zone: Season 04 (1963)
Canceled by CBS at the end of its third season, the weekly, half-hour fantasy anthology The Twilight Zone was at the last minute revived for a fourth year on the air, though it would not return to CBS' prime time manifest until after a four-month hiatus. Also, the series was expanded from 30 to 60 minutes per week for season four in keeping with an industry-wide trend for hour-long programs (the better to attract more sponsors). Unfortunately, the added length did more harm than good for Twilight Zone, with several episodes that would have played just fine in the 30-minute format seeming attenuated and strained when expanded to twice that length. Wisely, when the series returned for its fifth season, Twilight Zone's original half-hour format was restored. Despite the above-mentioned artistic and esthetic problems inherent in the 60-minute Zone, a handful of the fourth-season installments can be ranked among the series' better efforts. These include "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville," a comic episode starring Julie Newmar as a curvaceous female Satan; "Jess-Belle," featuring Anne Francis as a mountain girl who will go to any lengths to win back her sweetheart (this episode is distinguished by an original ballad, which is heard at the finale in place of host Rod Serling's traditional narration); "Printer's Devil," in which Burgess Meredith makes his only villainous Twilight Zone appearance; "Death Ship," a Pirandellian nightmare starring another frequent Zone guest star, Jack Klugman; and "The Bard," a wild spoof of TV commercialism co-starring a young Burt Reynolds as a Marlon Brando wannabe. One of the best hour-long Twilight Zones is "Miniature," a bittersweet fantasy starring Robert Duvall. Due to a legal entanglement, this episode was long absent from the series' syndicated package but was reissued in the mid-1980s in a semi-colorized version. ~ Rovi
The Twilight Zone: Season 05 (1963)
Although CBS' decision to rescue Rod Serling's classic fantasy anthology The Twilight Zone from cancelation and bring the series back for a fourth season in January of 1963 enabled the property to be renewed in the fall of that year, everybody realized that expanding the half-hour series to a weekly sixty minutes was a mistake. Thus, Twilight Zone showed up for its fifth and final season in its familiar 30-minute format, much to the relief of its fans. Rod Serling of course is back for season five as both host/narrator and frequent scriptwriter; also making return appearances this season are such past Twilight Zone guest stars as Jack Klugman, Lee Marvin, Ed Wynn, Bill Mumy, Martin Landau, and William Shatner, the latter starring in what is regarded as the fifth season's best and most terrifying episode, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (more popularly known as "The Thing on the Wing"). Not all of the series' episodes during its terminal season are on the same leval as "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet;" in fact, there are arguably more misses than hits in the series' final 36 installments. That said, one cannot deny the excellence of such fifth-season efforts as "The Last Night of a Jockey," a solo tour de force for star Mickey Rooney; "Number Twelve Looks Just Like You," featuring both Richard Long and Suzy Parker in multiple roles; "From Agnes-With Love," a comic episode in which Wally Cox is tormented by an amorous computer; and "The Masks," directed by former Twilight Zone leading lady Ida Lupino, wherein four greedy relatives get their just desserts from their disillusioned wealthy benefactors. Until very recently, four of Twilight Zone's fifth-season episodes were withheld from the series' syndication package. Both "A Short Drink From a Certain Founain" and "Sounds and Silences" were removed for legal reasons, while "The Encounter" was withdrawn because of its (unintended) overtones of racism. The fourth "missing" Twilight Zone episode was "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," which was not actually filmed for the series but instead was adapted from an award-winning French short subject directed by Robert Enrico. (Both the edited Zone version and the original uncut short subject are currently available on the public-domain market.) ~ Rovi

The Twilight Zone

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Wikipedia on Answers.com:

The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)

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The Twilight Zone
TheTwilightZoneLogo.png
Original 1959 title card
Genre
Format Anthology series
Created by Rod Serling
Presented by Rod Serling
Composer(s) Bernard Herrmann (also season 1 theme)
Marius Constant (theme from episode 30 onwards, uncredited)
Jerry Goldsmith
Fred Steiner
Leith Stevens
Leonard Rosenman
Franz Waxman et al.
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 156 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Rod Serling
Producer(s) Buck Houghton (1959–62)
Herbert Hirschman (1963)
Bert Granet (1963–64)
William Froug (1963–64)
Cinematography George T. Clemens
Running time 25 min. (Seasons 1–3,5)
51 min. (Season 4)
Production company(s) Cayuga Productions
CBS Productions
Distributor CBS Television Distribution
Broadcast
Original channel CBS
Audio format Mono
Original run October 2, 1959 – June 19, 1964
Chronology
Followed by The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series)

The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising plot twist and usually ended with some sort of message. The series was also notable for featuring both established stars (e.g., Joan Blondell, Ann Blyth, Burgess Meredith, Ed Wynn) and younger actors who would later become famous (e.g., Robert Duvall, Mariette Hartley, Ron Howard, Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, William Shatner). Rod Serling served as executive producer and head writer; he wrote or co-wrote 92 of the show's 156 episodes. He was also the show's host, delivering on- or off-screen monologues at the beginning and end of each episode. During the first season, except for the season's final episode, Serling's narrations were off-camera voiceovers; he only appeared on-camera at the end of each show to promote the next episode (footage that was removed from syndicated versions but restored for DVD release, although some of these promotions exist today only in audio format).

The "twilight zone" itself is not presented as being a tangible plane, but rather a metaphor for the strange circumstances befalling the protagonists. Serling's opening and closing narrations usually summarized the episode's events in tones ranging from cryptic to pithy to eloquent to unsympathetic, encapsulating how and why the main character(s) had "entered the Twilight Zone". In 1997, the episodes "To Serve Man" and "It's a Good Life" were respectively ranked #11 and #31 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.[1] In 2002, The Twilight Zone was ranked No. 26 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.[2] And, in 2004 and 2007, the series was ranked 8 and 9 respectively, on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever.[3][4]

Contents

Series history

Development

By the late 1950s, Rod Serling was a regular name in television. His successful teleplays included Patterns (for Kraft Television Theater) and Requiem for a Heavyweight (for Playhouse 90), but constant changes and edits made by the networks and sponsors frustrated Serling. In Reqiuem for a Heavyweight, the line "Got a match?" had to be struck because the sponsor sold lighters; other programs had similar striking of words that might remind viewers of competitors to the sponsor, including one case in which the sponsor, Ford Motor Company, had the Chrysler Building removed from a picture of the New York City skyline.[5]

But according to comments in his 1957 anthology Patterns, Serling had been trying to delve into material more controversial than his works of the early 1950s. This led to Noon on Doomsday for the United States Steel Hour in 1956, a commentary by Serling on the total lack of repentance and defensiveness he saw in the Mississippi town where the murder of Emmett Till took place. His original script closely paralleled the Till case, then was moved out of the South and the victim changed to a Jewish pawnbroker, and eventually watered down to just a foreigner in an unnamed town. Despite bad reviews, activists sent a large number of letters and wires protesting the production.[6][7]

Serling thought that a science-fictional setting, with robots, aliens and other supernatural occurrences, would give him more freedom and less interference in expressing controversial ideas than more realistic settings.[8] "The Time Element" was Serling's 1957 pilot pitch for his show, a time travel adventure about a man who travels back to Honolulu in 1941 and unsuccessfully tries to warn everyone about the impending attack on Pearl Harbor. The script, however, was rejected and shelved for a year until Bert Granet discovered and produced it as an episode of Desilu Playhouse in 1958.[9] The show was a huge success and enabled Serling to finally begin production on his anthology series, The Twilight Zone.

Season 1 (1959–1960)

There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Twilight Zone.
—Rod Serling
Serling working on his script with a dictating machine, 1959

The Twilight Zone premiered the night of October 2, 1959 to rave reviews. "...Twilight Zone is about the only show on the air that I actually look forward to seeing. It's the one series that I will let interfere with other plans", said Terry Turner for the Chicago Daily News. Others agreed. Daily Variety ranked it with "the best that has ever been accomplished in half-hour filmed television" and the New York Herald Tribune found the show to be "certainly the best and most original anthology series of the year."

Even as the show proved popular to television's critics, it struggled to find a receptive audience of television viewers. CBS was banking on a rating of at least 21 or 22, but its initial numbers were much worse. The series' future was jeopardized when its third episode, "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" earned a 16.3 rating. The show attracted a large enough audience to survive a brief hiatus in November, during which it finally surpassed its competition on ABC and NBC and convinced its sponsors (General Foods and Kimberly-Clark) to stay on until the end of the season.

With one exception ("The Chaser"), the first season featured only scripts written by Rod Serling, Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson, a team that was eventually responsible for 127 of the show's 156 episodes. Additionally, with one exception ("A World of His Own"), Serling never appeared on camera except to announce the next episode, instead doing voice-over narrations. Many of the first season's episodes proved to be among the series' most celebrated, including "Time Enough at Last", "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street", "Walking Distance" and "The After Hours". The first season won Serling an unprecedented fourth Emmy for dramatic writing, a Producers Guild Award for Serling's creative partner Buck Houghton and the Hugo Award for best dramatic presentation.

Bernard Herrmann's original opening theme music lasted throughout the first season. For the final five episodes of the season, the show's original surrealist "pit and summit" opening montage and narration was replaced by a piece featuring a blinking eye and shorter narration, and a truncated version of Herrmann's theme.

(Note that some first-season episodes have only been available for decades in a version with a pasted-on second-season opening. These "re-themed" episodes were prepared for airing in the summer of 1961 as summer repeats; the producers wanted to have a consistent opening for the show every week. During the original 1959/60 run, Herrmann's theme was used in every first season episode.)

Season 2 (1960–1961)

You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead — your next stop, the Twilight Zone.
—Rod Serling
Rod Serling modeling an airplane with actress Inger Stevens, who appeared in "The Hitch-Hiker", 1960

The second season premiered on September 30, 1960 with "King Nine Will Not Return", Serling's fresh take on the pilot episode "Where Is Everybody?" based on a real-life 1958 news story of the discovery of a crashed World War II B-24 bomber in the Libyan desert. The familiarity of this first story stood in stark contrast to the novelty of the show's new packaging: Bernard Herrmann's stately original theme was replaced by Marius Constant's more jarring and dissonant (and now more-familiar) new guitar-and-bongo theme. The blinking eye was replaced by a more surreal introduction inspired by the new images in Serling's narration ("That's the signpost up ahead"), and Serling himself stepped in front of the cameras to present his opening narration, rather than being only a voice-over narrator (as in the first season).

A new sponsor, Colgate-Palmolive, replaced the previous year's Kimberly-Clark (as Liggett & Myers would succeed General Foods, in April 1961), and a new network executive, James Aubrey, took over CBS. "Jim Aubrey was a very, very difficult problem for the show", said associate producer Del Reisman. "He was particularly tough on The Twilight Zone because for its time it was a particularly costly half hour show....Aubrey was real tough on [the show's budget] even when it was a small number of dollars." In a push to keep the show's expenses down, Aubrey ordered that seven fewer episodes be produced than last season and that six of those being produced would be shot on videotape rather than film, a move Serling disliked, calling it "neither fish nor fowl".[citation needed]

The second season saw the production of many of the series' most acclaimed episodes, including "The Eye of the Beholder" and "The Invaders". The trio of Serling, Matheson and Beaumont began to admit new writers, and this season saw the television debut of George Clayton Johnson. Emmys were won by Serling (his fifth) for dramatic writing and by director of photography George T. Clemens and, for the second year in a row, the series won the Hugo Award for best dramatic presentation. It also earned the Unity Award for "Outstanding Contributions to Better Race Relations" and an Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Drama".

Season 3 (1961–1962)

You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Your next stop...the Twilight Zone.
—Rod Serling

In his third year as executive producer, host, narrator and primary writer for The Twilight Zone, Serling was beginning to feel exhausted. "I've never felt quite so drained of ideas as I do at this moment", said the 37-year old playwright at the time. In the first two seasons he contributed 48 scripts, or 73% of the show's total output. He contributed only 56% of the third season's output. "The show now seems to be feeding off itself", said a Variety reviewer of the season's second episode, who couldn't understand Serling's endless and exhaustive treatment of themes.[citation needed]

Despite his avowed weariness, Serling again managed to produce several teleplays that are widely regarded as classics, including "It's a Good Life", "To Serve Man", and "Five Characters in Search of an Exit". Scripts by Montgomery Pittman and Earl Hamner Jr. supplemented Matheson and Beaumont's output, and George Clayton Johnson submitted three teleplays that examined complex themes. The episode "I Sing the Body Electric" could boast, "Written by Ray Bradbury." By the end of the third season, the series had reached over 100 episodes.

The Twilight Zone received two Emmy nominations (for cinematography and art design), but was awarded neither. It again received the Hugo Award for "Best Dramatic Presentation", making it the only three-time recipient until it was tied by Doctor Who in 2008.

In spring 1962, The Twilight Zone was late in finding a sponsor for its fourth season and was replaced on CBS' fall schedule with a new hour-long situation comedy called Fair Exchange. In the confusion that followed this apparent cancellation, producer Buck Houghton left the series for a position at Four Star Productions. Serling meanwhile accepted a teaching post at Antioch College, his alma mater. Though the series was eventually renewed, Serling's contribution as executive producer decreased in its final seasons.

Season 4 (1963)

You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas; you've just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.[10]
—Rod Serling

In November 1962 CBS contracted Twilight Zone (now sans the The) as a mid-season January replacement for Fair Exchange, the very show that replaced it in the September 1962 schedule. In order to fill the Fair Exchange timeslot each episode had to be expanded to an hour, an idea which did not sit well with the production crew. "Ours is the perfect half-hour show... If we went to an hour, we'd have to fleshen our stories, soap opera style. Viewers could watch fifteen minutes without knowing whether they were in a Twilight Zone or Desilu Playhouse", Serling responded. Herbert Hirschman was hired to replace long-time producer Buck Houghton. One of Hirschman's first decisions was to direct a new opening sequence, this one illustrating a door, eye, window and other objects suspended in space. His second task was to find and produce quality scripts.

This season of Twilight Zone once again turned to the reliable trio of Serling, Matheson and Beaumont. However, Serling’s input was limited this season; he still provided the lion’s-share of the teleplays, but as executive producer he was virtually absent and as host, his artful narrations had to be shot back-to-back against a gray background during his infrequent trips to Los Angeles. Due to complications from a developing brain disease, Beaumont’s input also began to diminish significantly. Additional scripts were commissioned from Earl Hamner, Jr. and Reginald Rose to fill in the gap.

With five episodes left in the season, Hirschman received an offer to work on a new NBC series called Espionage and was replaced by Bert Granet, who had previously produced "The Time Element". Among Granet’s first assignments was "On Thursday We Leave for Home", which Serling considered the season's most effective episode. There was an Emmy nomination for cinematography, and a nomination for the Hugo Award. The show returned to its half-hour format for the fall schedule.

Season 5 (1963–1964)

Serling later claimed, "I was writing so much, I felt I had begun to lose my perspective on what was good and what was bad." By the end of this final season, he had contributed 92 scripts in five years. This season, the new alternate sponsors were American Tobacco and Procter & Gamble.

Beaumont was now out of the picture entirely, contributing scripts only through the ghostwriters Jerry Sohl and John Tomerlin, and after producing only 13 episodes, Bert Granet left and was replaced by William Froug—with whom Serling had worked on Playhouse 90.

Froug made a number of unpopular decisions; first by shelving several scripts purchased under Granet's term (including Matheson’s "The Doll", which was nominated for a Writer's Guild Award when finally produced in 1986 on Amazing Stories); secondly, Froug alienated George Clayton Johnson when he hired Richard deRoy to completely rewrite Johnson’s teleplay Tick of Time, eventually produced as "Ninety Years Without Slumbering". "It makes the plot trivial", complained Johnson of the resulting script, insisting he be given screen credit for the final version of the episode as "Johnson Smith". Tick of Time became Johnson’s final submission to The Twilight Zone.

Even under these conditions, several episodes were produced that are well remembered, including "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", "A Kind of a Stopwatch" and "Living Doll". Although this season received no Emmy recognition, episode number 142, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"—a 1962 French-produced short film which was modified slightly for broadcast—received the Academy Award for best short film in 1963.[11]

In late January 1964, CBS announced the show's cancellation. "For one reason or other, Jim Aubrey decided he was sick of the show... [H]e claimed that it was too far over budget and that the ratings weren't good enough", explained Froug. But Serling countered by telling the Daily Variety that he had "decided to cancel the network". ABC showed interest in bringing the show over to their network under the new name Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves, but Serling wasn't impressed. "The network executives seem to prefer weekly ghouls, and we have what appears to be a considerable difference in opinion. I don't mind my show being supernatural, but I don't want to be booked into a graveyard every week." Shortly afterwards Serling sold his 40% share in The Twilight Zone to CBS, leaving the show and indeed all projects involving the supernatural behind him until 1969, when Night Gallery debuted.

TV listings

Season Time Slot
1 (1959–1960) Friday at 10:00 pm
2 (1960–1961)
3 (1961–1962)
4 (1963) Thursday at 9:00 pm
5 (1963–1964) Friday at 9:30 pm

Music

Besides the legendary Bernard Herrmann and Jerry Goldsmith, other contributors to the music were Nathan Van Cleave, Leonard Rosenman, Fred Steiner, and Franz Waxman. The first season featured an orchestral title theme by Herrmann, who also wrote original scores for seven of the episodes, including the premiere, "Where Is Everybody?" The iconic guitar theme most associated with the show was written by the French avant-garde composer Marius Constant as part of a series of short cues commissioned by CBS as library music for the series. Used from season 2 onwards, the theme as aired was a splicing together of two of these library cues "Etrange 3 (Strange No. 3)" and "Milieu 2 (Middle No. 2)". Varèse Sarabande released several albums of music from the series, focusing on the episodes that received original scores.

Volume 1

  1. Main Title Theme – Marius Constant (:27)
  2. The Invaders – Jerry Goldsmith (12:57)
  3. Perchance To Dream – Nathan Van Cleave (9:52)
  4. Walking Distance – Bernard Herrmann (12:52)
  5. The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine – Franz Waxman (10:55)
  6. End Title Theme – Marius Constant (:42)

Volume 2

  1. Main Title Theme – Bernard Herrmann (1:11)
  2. Where Is Everybody? – Bernard Herrmann (11:19)
  3. 100 Yards Over The Rim – Fred Steiner (12:14)
  4. The Big Tall Wish – Jerry Goldsmith (11:52)
  5. A Stop At Willoughby – Nathan Scott (12:24)
  6. End Title Theme – Bernard Herrmann (1:05)

Volume 3

  1. Alternate Main Title Theme – Marius Constant (:38)
  2. Back There – Jerry Goldsmith (12:51)
  3. And When The Sky Was Opened – Leonard Rosenman (11:54)
  4. A World Of Difference – Nathan Van Cleave (11:48)
  5. The Lonely – Bernard Herrmann (11:09)
  6. Alternate End Title – Marius Constant (:54)

Volume 4

  1. Alternate Main Title – Bernard Herrmann (:28)
  2. Jazz Theme One – Jerry Goldsmith (9:12)
  3. Jazz Theme Two – Jerry Goldsmith (3:12)
  4. Jazz Theme Three – Rene Garriguenc (4:04)
  5. Nervous Man In A Four Dollar Room – Jerry Goldsmith (8:16)
  6. Elegy – Nathan Van Cleave (8:14)
  7. King Nine Will Not Return – Fred Steiner (11:11)
  8. Two – Nathan Van Cleave (12:09)
  9. Alternate End Title – Bernard Herrmann (:43)

Volume 5

  1. Alternate Main Title #2 – Bernard Herrmann (:29)
  2. I Sing The Body Electric – Nathan Van Cleave (11:41)
  3. The Passerby – Fred Steiner (12:58)
  4. The Trouble With Templeton – Jeff Alexander (11:46)
  5. Dust – Jerry Goldsmith (11:33)
  6. Alternate End Title #2 – Bernard Herrmann (1:07)

Many of the above were included on a four-disc set released by Silva America. Varese also released a two-disc set of re-recordings of Herrmann's seven scores for the series ("Where Is Everybody?," "Walking Distance," "The Lonely," "Eye Of The Beholder," "Little Girl Lost," "Living Doll" and "Ninety Years Without Slumbering"), conducted by Joel McNeely. Alongside this release, Bernard Herrmann's score for the episode "Walking Distance" received another re-recording accompanying a new recording of his score for François Truffaut's "Fahrenheit 451" performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, conducted by William Stromberg and released by Tribute Film Classics.

Radio

In 2002, producer Carl Amari licensed the rights to turn the TV series into a weekly radio drama series from CBS Enterprises and the Rod Serling Estate. The series features Stacy Keach in Rod Serling's role as narrator and each 40-minute audio drama includes a Hollywood celebrity in the starring role. Some of the stars include Jim Caviezel, Blair Underwood, Jason Alexander, Jane Seymour, Lou Diamond Phillips, Luke Perry, Michael York, Sean Astin, and Ernie Hudson. The episodes air nationally on hundreds of radio stations and Sirius/XM, and are available for download.[12]

Guest stars

Being an anthology series with no recurring characters, The Twilight Zone featured a wide array of guest stars for each episode. Martin Balsam, James Best, Jeanne Cooper, George Grizzard, Jack Klugman, Lee Marvin, Burgess Meredith, Martin Milner, Cliff Robertson, Telly Savalas, and William Shatner, among others, appeared in multiple episodes.

Many episodes feature early performances from actors who later became famous, such as Theodore Bikel, Bill Bixby, Lloyd Bochner, Morgan Brittany, Charles Bronson, Carol Burnett, Donna Douglas, Robert Duvall, Peter Falk, Constance Ford, Joan Hackett, Dennis Hopper, Ron Howard, Cloris Leachman, Jean Marsh, Elizabeth Montgomery, Billy Mumy, Julie Newmar, Barbara Nichols, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, Janice Rule, George Takei, Joyce Van Patten, Jack Warden, Jonathan Winters, and Dick York.

Other episodes feature performances by actors later in their careers, such as Dana Andrews, Joan Blondell, Ann Blyth, Art Carney, Jack Carson, Gladys Cooper, William Demarest, Andy Devine, Cedric Hardwicke, Josephine Hutchinson, Buster Keaton, Ida Lupino, Kevin McCarthy, Agnes Moorehead, Alan Napier, Franchot Tone, Mickey Rooney, and Ed Wynn.

Character actors who appeared (some more than once) include, John Anderson, John Dehner, Betty Garde, Sandra Gould, Nancy Kulp, Celia Lovsky, Nehemiah Persoff, Albert Salmi, Vito Scotti, Olan Soule, Harold J. Stone, and Estelle Winwood. The actor who appeared in the largest number of episodes (13) was Robert McCord, a character actor who has very few credits outside of his work on The Twilight Zone.


Syndication and DVD

Most episodes continue to be broadcast in syndication, and are available on DVD, and on Netflix streaming.

After the cancellation of the series, Serling sold his rights to CBS, unaware of what the future would hold in syndication, and the royalties he would have gained.[13]

Originally, there were five episodes not included in the syndication package. Three of those ("Miniatures", "Sounds and Silences", and "A Small Drink From a Certain Fountain") were involved in lawsuits for alleged plagiarism, and even after it was settled, it took two decades for the episodes to be added to syndication. The two other episodes (both from season five) have never been in syndication (although they are available on DVD): An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge—Academy Award-winning French short film, that contractually was aired twice; and “The Encounter,” which was pulled after one showing.[14]

Syfy channel

Episodes are broadcast nationally most weeknights in late-night slots on Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel) in the United States. And, every year on New Year's Eve/Day and the Fourth of July (except for 2010), Syfy airs a marathon of The Twilight Zone.

Syfy broadcasts are often re-cut to feature more commercials during the time slot. Since 2005 many of the acclaimed marathons have featured such cut episodes, at times leaving out major plot details.

DVD releases

The Twilight Zone was released on Region 1 DVD for the first time by Image Entertainment. The various releases include:

  • 43 volumes of 3 to 4 episodes each (released December 29, 1998 – June 12, 2001)
  • Five 9-disc Collection DVD sets (released December 3, 2002 – February 25, 2003)
  • Season sets: The Twilight Zone: The Definitive Collection (Seasons One through Five) (released December 28, 2004 – December 26, 2005)
  • The Twilight Zone: The Complete Definitive Collection (released October 3, 2006)

Compilations

  • Treasures of The Twilight Zone (3 episode compilation released November 24, 1997)
  • More Treasures of The Twilight Zone (3 episode compilation released November 24, 1998)
  • The Twilight Zone: 40th Anniversary Gift Pack (19 episode compilation released September 21, 1999)
  • The Twilight Zone Fan Favorites (19 episode compilation announced for October 26, 2010 release)[15][16]

Limited set

  • The Twilight Zone: Gold Collection, a 49 disc set of the entire series, released by V3 Media on December 2, 2002. Only 2,500 copies of this set were made.

Blu-ray Disc

  • Season 1 was released on Blu-ray 14 September 2010.[17][18]
  • Season 2 was released on Blu-ray 16 November 2010.[19]
  • Season 3 was released on Blu-ray 15 February 2011
  • Season 4 was released on Blu-ray 17 May 2011
  • Season 5 was released on Blu-ray 30 August 2011

UK Release

Freemantle Media released a box set for each season of The Twilight Zone on both DVD and Blu-ray over 2011 and early 2012. These sets received high praise and won an award from The Guardian for Best Special Features of 2011. These Blu-rays and DVDs are multi-region and so can be played around the world.

Online distribution

The iTunes (US) store began selling some episodes of the series in 2010, in both standard and high definitions.

In April 2011, all half-hour episodes (seasons 1–3 and 5) of the series became available on Netflix Instant Streaming.

Effects on popular culture

Futurama also started featuring its own version of The Twilight Zone, titled "The Scary Door", which emulates the style of the show, but drives the stories and surprise endings to ridiculous proportions

See also

References

  1. ^ "Special Collector's Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". TV Guide (June 28-July 4). 1997. 
  2. ^ TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows
  3. ^ TV Guide's 25 Top Cult Shows - TannerWorld Junction TannerWorld Junction: May 26, 2004
  4. ^ TV Guide Names the Top Cult Shows Ever - Today's News: Our Take TV Guide: June 29, 2007
  5. ^ Zicree, Marc Scott (1992). The Twilight Zone Companion. Hollywood: Silman-James Press. p. 14. 
  6. ^ Kates, William (March 27, 2008). "Uncensored: 'Twilight Zone' Creator's Script on Emmett Till Case". The Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/26/AR2008032603005.html. Retrieved February 3, 2012. 
  7. ^ Presenter: Jon Miller (March 30, 2008). "50 Years Later, Rod Serling's Play is Performed". Weekend Edition Sunday. National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89220390. Retrieved February 3, 2012. 
  8. ^ Zicree, Marc Scott. op. cit. p. 15
  9. ^ Zicree, Marc Scott. op. cit. p. 19
  10. ^ Serling used this introduction for both seasons 4 and 5
  11. ^ "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". Academy Awards Database. A.M.P.A.S.. 2011. http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1304917790377. Retrieved May 9, 2011. 
  12. ^ "The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas". http://www.twilightzoneradio.com. Retrieved 2010-01-17. 
  13. ^ Stanyard, Stewart T. (2007). Dimensions Behind the Twilight Zone ([Online-Ausg.] ed.). Toronto: ECW press. pp. 67. ISBN 1-55022-744-0. 
  14. ^ "Missing Episode". TV Tropes. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MissingEpisode. Retrieved 5 July 2011. 
  15. ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Twilight-Zone-fan-favorites/14009
  16. ^ http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/303025/image-press-release-the-twilight-zone-fan-favorites
  17. ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Twilight-Zone-Season-1-Blu-ray/13874
  18. ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Twilight-Zone-Season-1-Press-Release/13986
  19. ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Twilight-Zone-Season-2-Blu-ray/14184

Sources

  • Sander, Gordon F. Serling: The Rise and Twilight of Television's Last Angry Man. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.
  • Zicree, Marc Scott. The Twilight Zone Companion. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition).
  • Stanyard, Stewart T. Dimensions Behind The Twilight Zone. ECW Press, 2007.
  • DeVoe, Bill. (2008). Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-136-0
  • Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9703310-9-0

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