The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by
Rod SerlingRodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
, which ran for five seasons on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting
paranormalParanormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
, 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.,
Ann BlythAnn Marie Blyth is an American actress and singer, often cast in Hollywood musicals, but also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in the 1945 film Mildred Pierce was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.-Life and career:Blyth was born in Mount Kisco,...
,
Ed WynnEd Wynn was a popular American comedian and actor noted for his Perfect Fool comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a dramatic actor....
,
Burgess MeredithOliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
) and younger actors who would later become famous (e.g.,
Robert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
,
Mariette HartleyMary Loretta "Mariette" Hartley is an American character actress.-Personal life:Hartley was born in Weston, Connecticut, the daughter of Mary Ickes “Polly” , a manager and saleswoman, and Paul Hembree Hartley, an account executive. Her maternal grandfather was psychologist John B...
,
Ron HowardRonald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
,
Robert RedfordCharles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
,
Burt ReynoldsBurton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
,
William ShatnerWilliam Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
). Rod Serling served as executive producer and
head writerA head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...
; 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 is an American anthology television series created by
Rod SerlingRodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
, which ran for five seasons on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting
paranormalParanormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
, 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.,
Ann BlythAnn Marie Blyth is an American actress and singer, often cast in Hollywood musicals, but also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in the 1945 film Mildred Pierce was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.-Life and career:Blyth was born in Mount Kisco,...
,
Ed WynnEd Wynn was a popular American comedian and actor noted for his Perfect Fool comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a dramatic actor....
,
Burgess MeredithOliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
) and younger actors who would later become famous (e.g.,
Robert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
,
Mariette HartleyMary Loretta "Mariette" Hartley is an American character actress.-Personal life:Hartley was born in Weston, Connecticut, the daughter of Mary Ickes “Polly” , a manager and saleswoman, and Paul Hembree Hartley, an account executive. Her maternal grandfather was psychologist John B...
,
Ron HowardRonald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
,
Robert RedfordCharles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
,
Burt ReynoldsBurton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
,
William ShatnerWilliam Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
). Rod Serling served as executive producer and
head writerA head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...
; 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
tangibleTangibility is the attribute of being easily detectable with the senses.In criminal law, one of the elements of an offense of larceny is that the stolen property must be tangible....
planeIn esoteric cosmology, a plane, other than the physical plane is conceived as a subtle state of consciousness that transcends the known physical universe....
, but rather a metaphor for the strange circumstances befalling the
protagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s. 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. In 2002,
The Twilight Zone was ranked No. 26 on
TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All TimeTV Guides 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time is TV Guides list of the 50 most entertaining and influential television series in American pop culture...
. And, in 2004 and 2007, the series was ranked 8 and 9 respectively, on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever.
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 HeavyweightRequiem for a Heavyweight was a teleplay written by Rod Serling and produced for the live television show Playhouse 90 on 11 October 1956. Six years later, it was adapted as a 1962 feature film starring Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney....
(for
Playhouse 90Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
), but constant
changes and editsthumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
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 CompanyFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, had the
Chrysler BuildingThe Chrysler Building is an Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at , it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State...
removed from a picture of the
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
skylineA skyline is the overall or partial view of a city's tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background. It can also be described as the artificial horizon that a city's overall structure creates. Skylines serve as a kind of fingerprint of a city, as...
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
MississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
town where the
murder of Emmett TillEmmett Louis "Bobo" Till was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till was from Chicago, Illinois visiting his relatives in the Mississippi Delta region when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married...
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.
Serling thought that a science fictional setting, with robots,
aliensExtraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
and other supernatural occurrences, would give him more freedom and less interference in expressing controversial ideas than more realistic settings."The Time Element" was Serling's 1957 pilot pitch for his show, a
time travelTime travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
adventure about a man who travels back to Honolulu in 1941 and unsuccessfully tries to warn everyone about the impending
attack on Pearl HarborThe attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
. The script, however, was rejected and shelved for a year until
Bert GranetBert Granet was a writer and television producer, including producing films such as The Locket for RKO Radio Pictures....
discovered and produced it as an episode of
Desilu PlayhouseDesilu Productions was a Los Angeles, California-based company jointly owned by actors Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, who were married to each other from 1940 to 1960....
in 1958.The show was a huge success and enabled Serling to finally begin production on his anthology series,
The Twilight Zone.
Season 1 (1959–1960)
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 NewsThe Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...
. Others agreed. Daily Variety
ranked it with "the best that has ever been accomplished in half-hour filmed television" and the New York Herald TribuneThe New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
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
ratingNielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
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"Mr. Denton on Doomsday" is the third episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. This is the first Twilight Zone episode to be rerun.-Plot summary:...
" 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
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and convinced its sponsors (General Foods and
Kimberly-ClarkKimberly-Clark Corporation is an American corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. Kimberly-Clark brand name products include "Kleenex" facial tissue, "Kotex" feminine hygiene products, "Cottonelle", Scott and Andrex toilet paper, Wypall utility wipes, "KimWipes"...
) to stay on until the end of the season.
With one exception ("
The Chaser"The Chaser" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:Roger Shackleforth is desperately in love with Leila. He visits an old professor looking for advice on how to win her. The professor, after some resistance, sells Roger a love potion cheaply...
"), the first season featured only scripts written by Rod Serling,
Charles BeaumontCharles Beaumont was a prolific American author of speculative fiction, including short stories in the horror and science fiction subgenres. He is remembered as a writer of classic Twilight Zone episodes, such as "The Howling Man", "Miniature", and "Printer's Devil", but also penned the...
and
Richard MathesonRichard Burton Matheson is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and I Am Legend, all of which have been...
, a team that was eventually responsible for 127 of the show's 156 episodes. Additionally, with one exception ("
A World of His Own"A World of His Own" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone, and is the last episode of the show's first season.-Synopsis:...
"), 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"Time Enough at Last" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It was adapted from a short story by Lyn Venable , which had been published in the January 1953 edition of the science fiction magazine If: Worlds of Science Fiction...
", "
The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. Originally aired when memories of the Second Red Scare were still fresh in the minds of viewers, the episode is often presented commercial-free as part of the Cable in the Classroom...
", "
Walking Distance"Walking Distance" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. The episode was listed as the ninth best episode in the history of The Twilight Zone by Time.-Plot summary:...
" and "
The After Hours"The After Hours" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:Marsha White, a woman browsing for a gift for her mother in a department store, decides on a gold thimble. She is taken by the elevator man to the 9th floor, a floor beyond that shown by the...
". The first season won Serling an unprecedented fourth Emmy for dramatic writing, a Producers Guild Award for Serling's creative partner
Buck HoughtonArchible Ernest "Buck" Houghton was an American television producer best known for producing the first three seasons of The Twilight Zone, as well as many other television programs from the 1950s through the 1990s...
and the
Hugo AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for best dramatic presentation.
Bernard Hermann'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 Hermann'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, Hermann's theme was used in every first season episode.)
Season 2 (1960–1961)
The second season premiered on September 30, 1960 with "
King Nine Will Not Return"King Nine Will Not Return" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:The World War II B-25 Mitchell bomber King Nine has crashed in the desert. Captain James Embry finds himself stranded, alone except for the wreckage and the mystery of what happened to...
", Serling's fresh take on the pilot episode "
Where Is Everybody?"Where Is Everybody?" is the first episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Plot summary:A man finds himself alone walking towards a diner. Inside he finds a jukebox playing loudly, and coffee hot on the stove, but no one else. He inquires for some breakfast, but no...
" 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 HerrmannBernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
'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-PalmoliveColgate-Palmolive Company is an American diversified multinational corporation focused on the production, distribution and provision of household, health care and personal products, such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products . Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of...
, replaced the previous year's
Kimberly-ClarkKimberly-Clark Corporation is an American corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. Kimberly-Clark brand name products include "Kleenex" facial tissue, "Kotex" feminine hygiene products, "Cottonelle", Scott and Andrex toilet paper, Wypall utility wipes, "KimWipes"...
(as Liggett & Myers would succeed
General FoodsGeneral Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the USA by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The name General Foods was adopted in 1929, after several corporate acquisitions...
, 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
videotapeA videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
rather than film, a move Serling disliked, calling it "neither fish nor fowl".
The second season saw the production of many of the series' most acclaimed episodes, including "
The Eye of the Beholder"The Eye of the Beholder" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:...
" and "
The Invaders"The Invaders" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:An old woman is apparently living alone in a very rustic cabin. She is dressed shabbily and there are no modern conveniences in evidence...
". The trio of Serling, Matheson and Beaumont began to admit new writers, and this season saw the television debut of
George Clayton JohnsonGeorge Clayton Johnson is an American science fiction writer most famous for co-writing the novel Logan's Run with William F. Nolan...
. Emmys were won by Serling (his fifth) for dramatic writing and by director of photography
George T. ClemensGeorge T. Clemens was a cinematographer who worked on such television shows as The Twilight Zone and Twelve O'Clock High. He won an Emmy Award in 1961 for his work on the former....
and, for the second year in a row, the series won the
Hugo AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
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)
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 VarietyVariety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
reviewer of the season's second episode, who couldn't understand Serling's endless and exhaustive treatment of themes.
Despite his avowed weariness, Serling again managed to produce several teleplays that are widely regarded as classics, including "
It's a Good Life"It's a Good Life" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It is based on a 1953 short story of the same name by Jerome Bixby.-Synopsis:...
", "
To Serve Man"To Serve Man" is an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone.The story is based on the short story "To Serve Man," written by Damon Knight...
", and "Five Characters in Search of an Exit". Scripts by
Montgomery PittmanMontgomery Pittman was a television writer, director, and actor. Pittman was born in Louisiana and raised in Oklahoma. He broke into acting in New York. He moved to California in 1949 and turned from acting to screenwriting. He wrote for such television series as 77 Sunset Strip and The Twilight...
and
Earl Hamner Jr.Earl Henry Hamner, Jr. is an American television writer and producer , best known for his work in the 1970s and 1980s on the long-running CBS series The Waltons and Falcon Crest...
supplemented Matheson and Beaumont's output, and George Clayton Johnson submitted three teleplays that examined complex themes. The episode "
I Sing the Body Electric"I Sing the Body Electric" is the 100th episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.The script was written by Ray Bradbury, and based on his short story of the same name, itself named after a Walt Whitman poem. Although Bradbury contributed several scripts to The Twilight...
" could boast, "Written by
Ray BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
." 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 AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for "Best Dramatic Presentation", making it the only three-time recipient until it was tied by Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
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 ProductionsFour Star Television, also called Four Star International, was an American television production company. Founded in 1952 as Four Star Productions by prominent Hollywood actors Dick Powell, David Niven, Ida Lupino, and Charles Boyer, the company produced many well-known shows of the early days of...
. Serling meanwhile accepted a teaching post at Antioch CollegeAntioch College is a private, independent liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was the founder and the flagship institution of the six-campus Antioch University system. Founded in 1852 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1853 with politician and...
, his alma mater. Though the series was eventually renewed, Serling's contribution as executive producer decreased in its final seasons.
Season 4 (1963)
In November 1962 CBS contracted Twilight Zone (now sans the The) as a mid-season January replacementIn American and Canadian television, a midseason replacement is a television series that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between January and May...
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 HirschmanHerbert Hirschman was a television producer and director. He produced such famous shows as Perry Mason and the fourth season of The Twilight Zone.-External links:...
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 RoseReginald Rose was an American film and television writer most widely known for his work in the early years of television drama. Rose's work is marked by its treatment of controversial social and political issues...
to fill in the gap.
With five episodes left in the season, Hirschman received an offer to work on a new NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
series called EspionageEspionage is a 1963 Associated TeleVision series, distributed outside the UK by ITC Entertainment and networked in the United States by NBC.-Synopsis:...
and was replaced by Bert GranetBert Granet was a writer and television producer, including producing films such as The Locket for RKO Radio Pictures....
, 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 AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
. 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 & GambleProcter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
.
Beaumont was now out of the picture entirely, contributing scripts only through the ghostwriters Jerry SohlGerald Allan Sohl Sr. was an American scriptwriter for The Twilight Zone , Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Outer Limits, Star Trek and other shows...
and John Tomerlin, and after producing only 13 episodes, Bert Granet left and was replaced by William FrougWilliam Froug is an Emmy award-winning American television writer and producer. His producing credits include the series The Twilight Zone, Gilligan's Island, and Bewitched. In addition he wrote teleplays for The Dick Powell Show, Charlie's Angels, and The New Twilight Zone...
—with whom Serling had worked on Playhouse 90Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
.
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"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" is a 1963 episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone, based on the short story of the same name by Richard Matheson.-Plot summary:...
", "A Kind of a Stopwatch" and "Living Doll"Living Doll" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:Little Christie's mother, Annabelle, buys her a new doll, trying to make up for her new stepfather's indifference. As they pull into the driveway, Annabelle instructs Christie to run upstairs with...
". Although this season received no Emmy recognition, episode number 142, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek BridgeAn Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a 1962 French short film based on the short story of the same name by Ambrose Bierce first published in the 1891 collection Tales of Soldiers and Civilians. It was directed by Robert Enrico and produced by Marcel Ichac and Paul de Roubaix with music by Henri...
"—a 1962 French-produced short film which was modified slightly for broadcast—received the Academy AwardAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for best short filmThis name for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film was introduced in 1974. For the three preceding years it was known as "Short Subjects, Live Action Films." The term "Short Subjects, Live Action Subjects" was used from 1957 until 1970. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate...
in 1963.
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". ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
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 GalleryNight Gallery is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, The Twilight Zone, served both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although...
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 HerrmannBernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
and Jerry GoldsmithJerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
, other contributors to the music were Nathan Van CleaveVan Cleave was a composer and orchestrator for film, television, and radio. He usually used "Van" as his first name.- Biography :...
, Leonard RosenmanLeonard Rosenman was an American film, television and concert composer.-Life and career:Leonard Rosenman was born in Brooklyn, New York. After service in the Pacific with the Army Air Forces in World War II, he earned a bachelor's degree in music from the University of California, Berkeley...
, Fred SteinerFred Steiner was an American composer, conductor, orchestrator, film historian and arranger for television, radio and film. Steiner wrote the theme music for The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, Perry Mason and The Bullwinkle Show...
, and Franz WaxmanFranz Waxman was a German-American composer, known for his bravura Carmen Fantasie for violin and orchestra, based on musical themes from the Bizet opera Carmen, and for his musical scores for films....
. The first season featured an orchestral title theme by Herrmann, who also wrote original scores for 7 of the episodes including the premier "Where Is Everybody?" The iconic guitar theme most associated with the show was written by the French avant-garde composer Marius ConstantMarius Constant was a Romanian-born French composer and conductor. Known primarily for his television soundtracks, his most widely heard score was the iconic Twilight Zone theme song....
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 SarabandeVarèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
released several albums of music from the series, focusing on the episodes that received original scores.
Volume 1
- Main Title Theme – Marius Constant (:27)
- The Invaders – Jerry Goldsmith (12:57)
- Perchance To Dream – Nathan Van Cleave (9:52)
- Walking Distance – Bernard Herrmann (12:52)
- The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine – Franz Waxman (10:55)
- End Title Theme – Marius Constant (:42)
Volume 2
- Main Title Theme – Bernard Herrmann (1:11)
- Where Is Everybody? – Bernard Herrmann (11:19)
- 100 Yards Over The Rim – Fred Steiner (12:14)
- The Big Tall Wish – Jerry Goldsmith (11:52)
- A Stop At Willoughby – Nathan Scott (12:24)
- End Title Theme – Bernard Herrmann (1:05)
Volume 3
- Alternate Main Title Theme – Marius Constant (:38)
- Back There – Jerry Goldsmith (12:51)
- And When The Sky Was Opened – Leonard Rosenman (11:54)
- A World Of Difference – Nathan Van Cleave (11:48)
- The Lonely – Bernard Herrmann (11:09)
- Alternate End Title – Marius Constant (:54)
Volume 4
- Alternate Main Title – Bernard Herrmann (:28)
- Jazz Theme One – Jerry Goldsmith (9:12)
- Jazz Theme Two – Jerry Goldsmith (3:12)
- Jazz Theme Three – Rene Garriguenc (4:04)
- Nervous Man In A Four Dollar Room – Jerry Goldsmith (8:16)
- Elegy – Nathan Van Cleave (8:14)
- King Nine Will Not Return – Fred Steiner (11:11)
- Two – Nathan Van Cleave (12:09)
- Alternate End Title – Bernard Herrmann (:43)
Volume 5
- Alternate Main Title #2 – Bernard Herrmann (:29)
- I Sing The Body Electric – Nathan Van Cleave (11:41)
- The Passerby – Fred Steiner (12:58)
- The Trouble With Templeton – Jeff Alexander (11:46)
- Dust – Jerry Goldsmith (11:33)
- 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-Biography:Joel McNeely was born in Madison, Wisconsin. Both of his parents were involved in music and theater, and as a child he played the piano, saxophone, bass, and flute...
. 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 OrchestraFounded in 1989, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra comprises 80 musicians, including graduates from such institutions as the Moscow Conservatory, Kiev Conservatory, and Saint Petersburg Conservatory. The orchestra is produced by Stas Namin, and conduced by Konstantin Krimets. It has recorded over 100...
, 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 KeachStacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical...
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 UnderwoodBlair Underwood is an American television and film actor. He is perhaps best known as headstrong attorney Jonathan Rollins from the NBC legal drama L.A. Law, a role he portrayed for seven years. He has gained critical acclaim throughout his career, receiving numerous Golden Globe Award...
, Jason AlexanderJay Scott Greenspan , better known by his professional name of Jason Alexander, is an American actor, writer, comedian, television director, producer, and singer. He is best known for his role as George Costanza on the television series Seinfeld, appearing in the sitcom from 1989 to 1998...
, Jane SeymourJane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
, Lou Diamond PhillipsLou Diamond Phillips is an American film, television, and stage actor and director. His breakthrough came when he starred in the film La Bamba. He earned a supporting actor Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in Stand and Deliver and a Tony Award nomination for his role in The King and I...
, Luke PerryLuke Perry is an American actor. Perry starred as Dylan McKay on the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role he played from 1990–95, and then from 1998–2000. Much publicity was garnered over the fact that even though he was playing a sixteen-year-old when 90210 began, Perry was actually in his...
, Michael YorkMichael York, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:York was born in Fulmer, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the son of Florence Edith May , a musician; and Joseph Gwynne Johnson, a Llandovery born Welsh ex-Royal Artillery British Army officer and executive with Marks and Spencer department stores...
, Sean AstinSean Astin is an American film actor, director, voice artist, and producer better known for his film roles as Mikey Walsh in The Goonies, the title character of Rudy, and Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In television, he appeared as Lynn McGill in the fifth season of 24...
, and Ernie HudsonErnest Lee "Ernie" Hudson is an American actor known for his roles as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters film series, Sergeant Albrecht in The Crow, and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's Oz.-Early life:...
. The episodes air nationally on hundreds of radio stations and Sirius/XM, and are available for download.
Guest stars
Being an anthology series, with no recurring characters, The Twilight Zone featured a wide array of guest stars for each episode. Martin BalsamMartin Henry Balsam was an American actor. He is known for his Oscar-winning role as "Arnold Burns" in A Thousand Clowns and his role as "Detective Milton Arbogast" in Psycho.- Early life :...
, James BestJames Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...
, Jeanne CooperWilma Jeanne Cooper , best known as Jeanne Cooper, is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Katherine Chancellor on the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless...
, George GrizzardGeorge Cooper Grizzard, Jr. was an American actor of film and stage. He appeared in more than 40 films, dozens of television programs and a number of Broadway plays.-Life and career:...
, Jack KlugmanJacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
, Lee MarvinLee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
, Burgess MeredithOliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
, Martin MilnerMartin Sam Milner is an American actor best known for his performances in two popular television series, Adam-12 and Route 66....
, Cliff RobertsonClifford Parker "Cliff" Robertson III was an American actor with a film and television career that spanned half of a century. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film PT 109, and won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the movie Charly...
, Telly SavalasAristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
, and William ShatnerWilliam Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
, among others, appeared in multiple episodes.
Many episodes feature early performances from actors who later became famous, such as Theodore BikelTheodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....
, Bill BixbyWilfred Bailey Everett “Bill” Bixby III was an American film and television actor, director, and frequent game show panelist.His career spanned over three decades; he appeared on stage, in motion pictures and TV series...
, Lloyd BochnerLloyd Wolfe Bochner was a Canadian actor, usually playing the role of suave, rich leading men.- Career :...
, Morgan BrittanyMorgan Brittany is an American film and television actress. She is possibly best known for her role in the 1980s primetime soap opera Dallas, where she portrayed Katherine Wentworth, the scheming younger half-sister of Pamela Ewing and Cliff Barnes.-Early career:Under her birth name, Brittany...
, Charles BronsonCharles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
, Carol BurnettCarol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
, Donna DouglasDonna Douglas is an American actress best known for her role as Elly May Clampett, in the long-running television series The Beverly Hillbillies.-Early life:...
, Robert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
, Peter FalkPeter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
, Constance FordConstance Ford was an American actress and model. She is best known for her long-running role as Ada Hobson on the daytime soap opera Another World.-Career:...
, Joan HackettJoan Ann Hackett was an American actress who appeared on stage, in films, and on television.- Early life :She was born in New York City of Irish and Italian extraction...
, Dennis HopperDennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
, Ron HowardRonald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
, Cloris LeachmanCloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
, Jean MarshJean Lyndsey Torren Marsh is an English actress, occasional screenwriter, and co-creator of the television series Upstairs, Downstairs and The House of Eliott....
, Elizabeth MontgomeryElizabeth Victoria Montgomery was an American film and television actress whose career spanned five decades. She is perhaps best remembered for her roles as Samantha Stephens in Bewitched, as Ellen Harrod in A Case of Rape and as Lizzie Borden in The Legend of Lizzie Borden.-Early life:Born in Los...
, Billy Mumy, Julie NewmarJulie Newmar is an American actress, dancer and singer. Her most famous role is Catwoman in the Batman television series.-Early life:...
, Barbara NicholsBarbara Nichols was an American actress who often played brassy comic roles in a number of films in the 1950s and 1960s.-Early life and Career:...
, Leonard NimoyLeonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
, Robert RedfordCharles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
, Burt ReynoldsBurton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
, Janice Rule-Early life and career:Born in Norwood, Ohio, her career included stage, screen and television work. Rule studied ballet and began dancing in Chicago nightclubs in her teens. She soon attracted attention in Hollywood and made her film debut in 1951...
, George TakeiGeorge Hosato Takei Altman is an American actor, author, social activist and former civil politician. He is best known for his role in the television series Star Trek and its film spinoffs, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the...
, Joyce Van PattenJoyce Benignia Van Patten is an American stage, film and television actress.-Personal life:Van Patten was born in New York City, the daughter of Josephine Rose , an Italian American magazine advertising executive, and Richard Byron Van Patten, a Dutch American interior decorator.She is the younger...
, Jack WardenJack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...
, Jonathan Winters-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
, and Dick YorkRichard Allen "Dick" York was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as the first Darrin Stephens on the ABC television fantasy sitcom Bewitched...
.
Other episodes feature performances by actors later in their careers, such as Dana AndrewsDana Andrews was an American film actor. He was one of Hollywood's major stars of the 1940s, and continued acting, though generally in less prestigious roles, into the 1980s.-Early life:...
, Joan BlondellRose Joan Blondell was an American actress who performed in movies and on television for five decades as Joan Blondell.After winning a beauty pageant, Blondell embarked upon a film career...
, Ann BlythAnn Marie Blyth is an American actress and singer, often cast in Hollywood musicals, but also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in the 1945 film Mildred Pierce was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.-Life and career:Blyth was born in Mount Kisco,...
, Art CarneyArthur William Matthew “Art” Carney was an American actor in film, stage, television and radio. He is best known for playing Ed Norton, opposite Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden in the situation comedy The Honeymooners....
, Jack CarsonJohn Elmer "Jack" Carson was a Canadian-born U.S.-based film actor.Jack Carson was one of the most popular character actors during the 'golden age of Hollywood', with a film career spanning the 1930s, '40s and '50s...
, Gladys CooperDame Gladys Constance Cooper, DBE was an English actress whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television....
, William DemarestCarl William Demarest was an American character actor. He frequently played crusty but good-hearted roles.-Early life and career:...
, Andy DevineAndrew Vabre "Andy" Devine was an American character actor and comic cowboy sidekick known for his distinctive raspy voice.-Early life:...
, Cedric HardwickeSir Cedric Webster Hardwicke was a noted English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly fifty years...
, Josephine HutchinsonJosephine Hutchinson was an American actress.She was born in Seattle, Washington. Her mother, Leona Roberts, was an actress best-known for her role as "Mrs. Meade" in Gone with the Wind. Through her mother's connections, Hutchinson made her film debut at the age of thirteen in The Little Princess,...
, Buster KeatonJoseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
, Ida LupinoIda Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
, Kevin McCarthy-Politicians:*Kevin McCarthy , United States Representative from California's 22nd congressional district*Kevin McCarthy , member of the Iowa House of Representatives...
, Agnes MooreheadAgnes Robertson Moorehead was an American actress. Although she began with the Mercury Theatre, appeared in more than seventy films beginning with Citizen Kane and on dozens of television shows during a career that spanned more than thirty years, Moorehead is most widely known to modern audiences...
, Alan NapierAlan William Napier-Clavering was an English actor, best known for portraying Alfred Pennyworth in the 1960s live-action Batman television series.-Early life and career:...
, Franchot ToneFranchot Tone was an American stage, film, and television actor, star of Mutiny on the Bounty and many other films through the 1960s...
, Mickey RooneyMickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
, and Ed WynnEd Wynn was a popular American comedian and actor noted for his Perfect Fool comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a dramatic actor....
.
Character actors who appeared (some more than once) include, John Anderson-Biography:Born in Clayton, John Anderson grew up in Quincy and Adams County, Illinois.Prior to a prolific acting career, Anderson served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II where he met artist Orazio Fumagalli who became one of his best lifelong friends.He was known for several...
John DehnerJohn Dehner was an American actor in radio, television, and films, playing countless roles, often as a droll villain. Between 1941 and 1988, he appeared in over 260 films and television programs. Prior to acting, Dehner had worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios, and later became a radio...
, Betty GardeKatharine Elizabeth "Betty" Garde was an American stage, radio, film, and television actress. She played Aunt Eller in the original Broadway production of Oklahoma!, but her long acting career also included film, radio, and television.The 5'10" Garde had a major role in the 1950 movie Caged as a...
, Sandra GouldSandra Gould was an American actress, who appeared mainly in television. Among her many credits was a regular role on the sitcom Bewitched as the second Gladys Kravitz....
, Nancy KulpNancy Jane Kulp was an American character actress best known as Miss Jane Hathaway on the popular television series The Beverly Hillbillies.-Early life:...
, Celia LovskyCelia Lovsky was an Austrian American actress. She was born Cäcilie Lvovsky in Vienna, daughter of Bretislav Lvovsky , a minor Czech opera composer...
, Nehemiah PersoffNehemiah Persoff is an American film and television character actor. He was born in Jerusalem, Palestine Mandate.Born in what is now part of Israel, Persoff emigrated with his family to the United States in 1929...
, Albert SalmiAlbert Salmi was an American actor.-Biography:Albert Salmi was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Finnish immigrant parents, and following a stint in the Army, took up acting as a career, studying Method acting with Lee Strasberg. In 1955, Salmi starred in Bus Stop on Broadway...
, Vito ScottiVito Scotti was a veteran character actor who played many roles, primarily from the late-1940s to the mid-1990s. He was known as a man of a thousand faces, for his ability to assume so many divergent roles in more than 200 screen roles, in a nearly 50 year career. He was known for his resourceful...
, Olan SouleOlan Soule was an American character actor with hundreds of credits in films, radio, commercials, television and animation.-Early life:...
, Harold J. StoneHarold J. Stone was an American film and television character actor.Born Harold Hochstein to a Jewish acting family, he began his career on Broadway in 1939 and appeared in five plays in the next six years, including One Touch of Venus and Stalag 17, following which he made his motion picture...
, and Estelle WinwoodEstelle Winwood was an English stage and film actress who moved to the United States in mid-career and became celebrated for her longevity.-Early life and early career:...
. 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.
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"The Encounter" is an episode of the American television series The Twilight Zone. First broadcast May 1, 1964, its racial overtones caused it to be withheld from syndication in the US.-Synopsis:...
,” which was pulled after one showing.
Syfy channel
Episodes are broadcast nationally most weeknights in late-night slots on SyfySyfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
(formerly Sci-Fi Channel) in the United States. And, every year on New Year's Eve/DayNew Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
and the Fourth of JulyIndependence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
(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 EntertainmentImage Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
. 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)
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.
- Season 2 was released on Blu-ray 16 November 2010.
- 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
Online distribution
The U.S. iTunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
store began selling some episodes of the Twilight Zone in 2010, in both high definitionHigh-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
and standard definition.
In April 2011, all half-hour episodes of the Twilight Zone became available on Netflix Instant Streaming.
Effects on popular culture
- 1964: The surf rock band The Ventures
The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...
recorded a version of the Twilight Zone theme song on the 1964 album The Ventures in SpaceThe Ventures in Space is an album by the guitar-based instrumental group The Ventures. It is notable for pioneering the space surf variant of surf rock. Information on the slip cover states that all the unique, unworldly sounds featured in the album's tracks were made with musical instruments,...
- 1976: The rock group Rush
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
released a track called "The Twilight Zone"The Twilight Zone" is the third track on Rush's album 2112. It was released in 1976. As with most Rush songs, the lyrics are written by Neil Peart. It is based on two episodes of The Twilight Zone, the first stanza of the song being based on the episode "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?",...
" on the album, 21122112 is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1976.The album features an eponymous seven-part suite written by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, with lyrics written by Neil Peart telling a dystopian story set in the year 2112. The album is sometimes described as a concept album...
- 1979: The Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer is an American vocal music group. There have been two manifestations of the group, with Tim Hauser being the only person to be part of both...
sampled the theme, including the spoken intro, in the song "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone"
- 1981: The heavy metal band Iron Maiden included a track called "Twilight Zone
"Twilight Zone" was the fourth single by Iron Maiden, released on 2 March 1981. The song was also released in the United States as part of the album Killers, but was not included in the British release until the album was re-released in 1998....
" on the album, KillersKillers is the second album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 2 February 1981 in the UK, and 6 June 1981 in the US. The album was their first with guitarist Adrian Smith and their last with vocalist Paul Di'Anno, who was sacked after problems with his stage performance arose due...
- 1983: The rock group Golden Earring
Golden Earring are a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as the Golden Earrings . They had international chart success with the songs "Radar Love" in 1973, "Twilight Zone" in 1982, and "When the Lady Smiles" in 1984. In their home country, they had over 40 hits and made over 30 gold and...
released a hit single called "Twilight Zone"
- Beginning in 1990: The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
has spoofed and even directly remade several Twilight Zone episodes for its Halloween specials, including "It's a Good Life", "A Kind of Stopwatch", "Living Doll", "Little Girl Lost", "To Serve Man", and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"
- Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
also started featuring its own version of The Twilight Zone, entitled "The Scary Door", which emulates the style of the show, but drives the stories and surprise endings to ridiculous proportions
- 1993: Bally released a popular Twilight Zone pinball machine
- 1994: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, more commonly known as Tower of Terror, is a drop tower thrill ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios , Disney California Adventure Park, Tokyo DisneySea and Walt Disney Studios Park . It is based upon the television show The Twilight Zone...
, an accelerated free-fall ride, opened in Disney's Hollywood StudiosDisney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
park
- 2004: A replica was built in the California Adventure
- 2006: at Tokyo DisneySea (sans the Twilight Zone theme)
- 2008: in Disneyland Paris
- 1996: Jonathan Larson
Jonathan Larson was an American composer and playwright noted for the serious social issues of multiculturalism, addiction, and homophobia explored in his work. Typical examples of his use of these themes are found in his works, Rent and tick, tick... BOOM!...
, in his musical RentRent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
, put The Twilight Zone in the lyric of "What You Own," where it says, "You're living in America/ Where it's like The Twilight Zone"
- 2009: Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....
released a Christmas tree ornament commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Twilight Zone debut on CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, featuring a 1960s-era television with the Twilight Zone season-five opening elements on the screen—upon pushing a button, the ornament plays the season-five closing theme (minus Rod SerlingRodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
's voice over)
See also
- The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
- The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series)
- The Twilight Zone (2002 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is a 2002 revival of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1950/60s television series, The Twilight Zone. It aired for one season on the UPN network, with actor Forest Whitaker assuming Serling's role as narrator and on-screen host....
- List of The Twilight Zone episodes
- Night Gallery
Night Gallery is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, The Twilight Zone, served both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although...
- Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
Sources
- Sander, Gordon F. Serling: The Rise and Twilight of Television's Last Angry Man. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.
- Zicree, Marc Scott
Marc Scott Zicree is an American science fiction author, television writer, and screenwriter. He is also the author of "The Twilight Zone Companion", a detailed history of Rod Serling's series The Twilight Zone...
. 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 978-1593931360
- Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0970331090
External links