Hello there ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the first of my review threads. Please pay it forward and help me create more of them as tributes where we can appreciate the entertainment television and film industries have given us. Every bit of this is all about appreciation. I appreciate the Hip Forums community because they have always treated me with respect and that is why they deserve my time more than the odd fake forum using FREE PHPBB to bring us cheap values. The Twilight Zone October 2, 1959 I have chosen a 1959 CBS science fiction television anthology show called the Twilight Zone as my first series because it is fun. The cast is made up of already established film and television stars who (no doubt) could not wait for the honour of appearing in the line up and some may very well have even approached the producer of this gem to create a part for them. Presenter Rod Serling went on to co-write a screen play called Planet of the Apes in 1968 for 20th Century Fox Serling's original pilot for The Twilight Zone was "The Happy Place", which revolved around a society in which people were executed upon reaching the age of 60, being considered no longer useful. CBS executive William Self rejected the story, feeling it was too dark; Serling eventually relented and wrote "Where is Everybody?" as a more acceptable substitute. Unlike other episodes, which were filmed at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, "Where is Everybody?" was filmed at Universal Studios, using Courthouse Square as the episode's Oakwood town. The episode originally featured Westbrook Van Voorhis as narrator. When Voorhis was unavailable for later episodes, Serling re-recorded the narration himself for consistency. Serling notably changed the opening narration to place the Twilight Zone within the fifth dimension, among other alterations. Serling later adapted "Where is Everybody?" for a novelization titled Stories From the Twilight Zone. Serling allegedly[where?] grew dissatisfied with the lack of science fiction content and changed the story to include Ferris discovering a movie ticket in his pocket while on the stretcher. A variation on this plotline was used in the episode "King Nine Will Not Re+-turn". "I love anthology because it comprises of everyday individuals who we see tortured in a unique way and this in turn goes on to keep the acting at the most dramatic levels where scenery is often down toned just to make the individual's suffering stand out even more but the Twilight Zone went even further by creating new worlds. The concepts get wilder and wilder because science fiction is not confined to the rules of horror." ~ DrRainbow "Where Is Everybody?" October 2, 1959 Mike Ferris (Earl Holliman) finds himself alone in the small Oakwood town and without recollection about his name, where he is or who he is. Mike wanders through the town trying to find a living soul. The tension increases and Mike has a breakdown. "Where Is Everybody?" presents the audience with a fermi paradox. It is a phenomenon in which the probability of the existence in aliens (in this case higher intelligence) shoots up where the lack of evidence to the existence of aliens remains painstakingly static." ~ DrRainbow Earl Holliman was once in a 1956 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film called Forbidden Planet. "You won't be crying for your mummy much when you find yourself inside the twilight zone but you may call out for a shrink or two!" ~ DrRainbow
Every year I watch at least some of the Twilight Zone marathon on the SYFY Channel This year just a few episodes such as "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” with William Shatner, "The Bewitchin' Pool" about a couple of kids who dive into the family pool, only to discover a world beyond run by an old lady, "It's a Good Life" with Billy Mumy as Anthony Fremont, "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” About a group of passengers on a bus headed to Boston who are snowed-in at a roadside diner, and one of them is an Alien from a crashed saucer.
Nice post Doc. The Twilight Zone was absolutely one of my favourite TV programs back in the day! The up to day revivals of the program hasn’t really cut it for me. I also loved The Outer Limits
Remakes are daring because originals our the foundations of the concept (or roll in Christopher Reeves and Micheal Keaton's case) but the gems must be passed on.
The Twilight Zone influenced a generation or three... excellent series. I like your review. It has plenty of obscure facts and little oddities to make it interesting! Thank you for that! I have so many favorite episodes that I cannot point to one... Television then was a marvel for it's originality and ground breaking ideas. These days all we seem to get are superheroes and remakes of old classics which are never quite as good as the original.
Very nice Mr. Rainbow Although I watched Twilight in my younger days. I could never get hooked on it. I will say though it was a good show.
Have a look at this row of comments regarding remakes. I have never heard of a remake satisfying the audience of the original. This may be because the structure of the original piece is the foundation of the piece and the audience belong there. I do attempt to stick up for them but they offer no sense. They are merely adaptations and that makes them nothing to do with the original structure.
Rod Sterling was an intellectual, while Donald Duck is now claiming the election was stolen from him, and is about as intellectual as Americans get these days on mass media. IQs dropped noticeably with the introduction of both televangelism and the cellphone, and all the intellectualism in the world cannot hide the fact nobody's in charge around here, nobody has a clue as to what the fuck is going on, and all they care about is how good the actors and special effects look. Hulk Smash! Is about it today, and I'm working on how to make money off encouraging people to become even more stupid. Let them eat cake, if the want to be fat-headed.
