PopHorror Let's Get Scared
One needn’t mince words about it: The Twilight Zone (read our retro review here) is one of the greatest sci-fi/fantasy/horror anthology series ever to grace people’s living rooms. In fact, the CBS show was so well done, it’s almost shocking that it originally only lasted 5 seasons. In any case, the series gave us a number of great stories. The stories ranged from being utterly absurd (“The Invaders”), heartfelt (“One for the Angels”) or just plain menacing (“Living Doll”).
The Host with the Most
As you can see in the clip above, Rod Serling was a master of the episodic introduction. In fact, it’s hard to imagine anyone surpassing him in terms of presence, style and overall coolness. As you can also see, he wasn’t afraid to present The Twilight Zone’s stories as tales to think about (it helped that many of them were). That wasn’t his only talent, though. Serling was also a screenwriter, playwright and television producer.
In fact, he wrote a good number of The Twilight Zone’s scripts. He used his talents to oppose censorship, racism and war, which made him even cooler. In fact, check out this closing narration from season 5’s “I Am the Night—Color Me Black”:
“A sickness known as hate. Not a virus, not a microbe, not a germ—but a sickness nonetheless, highly contagious, deadly in its effects. Don’t look for it in The Twilight Zone—look for it in a mirror. Look for it before the light goes out altogether.”
This episode was written by Serling, which only adds more emphasis to his words.
The Best Episodes?
Honestly, it’s almost impossible to pinpoint the best episode of The Twilight Zone. In fact, it’s hard to even come up with a top 10. Some really like “Time Enough at Last,” for example, as they identify with its book-savvy character, Henry Bemis (Burgess Meredith). “Eye of the Beholder” and “Number 12 Looks Just Like You” do a great job of addressing superficiality. “Nightmare At 20,000 Feet” is another fave, where William Shatner’s character sees something crawling around on the wing of a plane. Even the first episode could be considered landmark television, which isn’t the case with every series.
My own favorites are “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” and “Living Doll.” I read Serling’s “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” for English class in high school, and trust me, it was not just some boring assignment. The idea of neighbors being driven against each other over simple paranoia is palpable! As for “Living Doll,” you simply have to love Talky Tina, a twisted doll who would give Chucky, Annabelle, or Friday the 13th The Series‘ Vida a serious run for their money. On that note, it’s obvious that Rod Serling didn’t create a one-note show. You had scary monsters, social commentary and light-hearted moments.
In other words, it had many of the greatest sci-fi templates ready to rock. With the series being rebooted numerous times (most recently by Jordan Peele), it’s obvious that its legacy hasn’t been forgotten. Still, one doubts if anything can ever match the nuance and classiness of its original run. On top of that, the classic guitar theme everyone knows (composed by Marius Constant) remains iconic and huge in its own right. Coincidentally, here’s how you can play the main guitar part.
Stars Shine Bright in The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone often looks like a steady parade of stars. In addition to the names already mentioned, check out this partial list of people who’ve appeared: Bill Bixby, Charles Bronson, Carol Burnett, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Ron Howard, Martin Landau, Cloris Leachman, Elizabeth Montgomery, Billy Mumy, Julie Newmar, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, Elizabeth Montgomery, Billy Mumy, Julie Newmar, Barbara Nichols, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, Janice Rule, Jonathan Winters, Dick York, Buster Keaton and Agnes Moorehead.
Groundbreaking
While one might understandably criticize The Twilight Zone for not casting more minority actors, the season 1 episode, “The Big Tall Wish,” actually pushed boundaries. It had an all-black principal cast (Ivan Dixon, Steven Perry and Kim Hamilton), and the episode even won the 1961 Unity Award for Outstanding Contributions to Better Race Relations. In other words, The Twilight Zone and Rod Serling helped push boundaries and braved a certain degree of criticism. It was a trailblazing show while also being fun to watch. It could send a shiver up one’s spine and stimulate the brain. Plus, Rod Serling is the embodiment of cool.
What are your thoughts on The Twilight Zone? Let us know in the comments!
