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For me autumn, and particularly the Halloween season, is a time of cool bracing daytimes spent raking brightly colored leaves under incredibly bright clear blue skies. Once that chore is out of the way, evenings are to be spent comfortably in front of the television with a big bowl of pop corn while being transported to places of imagination and wonder. One of my all time favorite series during this time of the year is ... well I’ll let WIKIPEDIA tell you about it.
“The Twilight Zone is a television anthology series created (and often written) by its narrator and host Rod Serling. Each episode (156 in the original series) is a self-contained fantasy, science fiction, or horror/terror story, often concluding with an eerie or unexpected twist. Although advertised as science fiction, the show rarely offered scientific explanations for its fantastic happenings and often, if not always, had a moral lesson that pertained to everyday life. The program followed in the tradition of earlier well written radio programs such as The Weird Circle and X Minus One. A popular and critical success, it introduced many Americans to serious science fiction and abstract ideas through television and also through a wide variety of Twilight Zone literature.
The success of this original series led to the creation of two revival series (a cult hit series that ran for several seasons on CBS and in syndication in the 1980s, and a short-lived UPN series that ran early in the new millennium), a feature film, a radio series, a comic book, a magazine and various other spinoffs that would span five decades.
Writers for The Twilight Zone included leading genre authorities such as Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Jerry Sohl, George Clayton Johnson, Earl Hamner Jr., Reginald Rose and Ray Bradbury. Many episodes also featured adaptations of classic stories by such writers as Ambrose Bierce, Lewis Padgett, Jerome Bixby and Damon Knight.”
By today’s standards “The Twilight Zone” is dated, with equally dated special effects. But for solid stories that will make you think after THE END, then I highly recommend renting the series on DVD.
“The Twilight Zone is a television anthology series created (and often written) by its narrator and host Rod Serling. Each episode (156 in the original series) is a self-contained fantasy, science fiction, or horror/terror story, often concluding with an eerie or unexpected twist. Although advertised as science fiction, the show rarely offered scientific explanations for its fantastic happenings and often, if not always, had a moral lesson that pertained to everyday life. The program followed in the tradition of earlier well written radio programs such as The Weird Circle and X Minus One. A popular and critical success, it introduced many Americans to serious science fiction and abstract ideas through television and also through a wide variety of Twilight Zone literature.
The success of this original series led to the creation of two revival series (a cult hit series that ran for several seasons on CBS and in syndication in the 1980s, and a short-lived UPN series that ran early in the new millennium), a feature film, a radio series, a comic book, a magazine and various other spinoffs that would span five decades.
Writers for The Twilight Zone included leading genre authorities such as Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Jerry Sohl, George Clayton Johnson, Earl Hamner Jr., Reginald Rose and Ray Bradbury. Many episodes also featured adaptations of classic stories by such writers as Ambrose Bierce, Lewis Padgett, Jerome Bixby and Damon Knight.”
By today’s standards “The Twilight Zone” is dated, with equally dated special effects. But for solid stories that will make you think after THE END, then I highly recommend renting the series on DVD.
Category All / All
Species Lion
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File Size 64.2 kB
Wow, does anyone not know what the Twilight Zone is? :D Just one of the best shows of television history.
In the 60's, there wasn't much in the way of science fiction airing on mainstream television. At least with a serious tone to it. (well, later on there was Star Trek, but that was less suspense and more drama).
Some of the episodes are even disturbing to this day. "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" always got to me.
In the 60's, there wasn't much in the way of science fiction airing on mainstream television. At least with a serious tone to it. (well, later on there was Star Trek, but that was less suspense and more drama).
Some of the episodes are even disturbing to this day. "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" always got to me.
Thank you, Foxystallion.
Rod Sterling had a unique cadence to his speaking voice and a way of summarizing the salient philosophical truths of a Twilight Zone episode. He was able to made the viewer do a mental "double-take" at the end to realize that the "truth" was something very personal and it was a part of each of us. Or at the very simplest, we came away from each TZ episode knowing that there's always another way of looking at what we take for granted.
I'm glad you could recongize it in my little story.
Rod Sterling had a unique cadence to his speaking voice and a way of summarizing the salient philosophical truths of a Twilight Zone episode. He was able to made the viewer do a mental "double-take" at the end to realize that the "truth" was something very personal and it was a part of each of us. Or at the very simplest, we came away from each TZ episode knowing that there's always another way of looking at what we take for granted.
I'm glad you could recongize it in my little story.
I think the secret of it's long life is that it relied primarily on solid stories written around relieveable characters that made us secretly wonder how each of us would fare in similar circumstances. It did not rely on special effects or glamour-puss Hollywood stars -- though many actors/actresses in TZ episodes did go on to being better known.
Heh, I thought I was the only one always wondering what I'd do in those situations. It's simplicity was indeed one of it's strong points. Media these days is far too obsessed with fancy effects and useless fluff without focusing on the actual content.
I often think I was born in the wrong time - a lot of my favorite things (especially music) are from before I was even born.
I often think I was born in the wrong time - a lot of my favorite things (especially music) are from before I was even born.
I could not stand the introductory music. There was something about it that just...that just well freaked me out. Oh and that floating eye...the floating eye just...no just no.
This was a nice little homage to the show and I must say it was unique and unexpected. And as it says...unexpected endings? What about if that little anthro boy smashed that little being in his hand? That would have been unexpected. Still I'm glad he didn't.
This was a nice little homage to the show and I must say it was unique and unexpected. And as it says...unexpected endings? What about if that little anthro boy smashed that little being in his hand? That would have been unexpected. Still I'm glad he didn't.
I think most people in this cynical distrustful age -would- expect that to be the outcome of the lionmorph "boy's" encounter with the odd little "thing". The old human reflex/reaction, "If it's different from what we know and understand, destroy it!"
Pity that that is not confined to the Twilight Zone.
:(
Pity that that is not confined to the Twilight Zone.
:(
Being the "Cat Dad" of seven cats I've observed that their response to something different is either cautious curiosity, or a fast retreat. Humans tend to see "different" as threatening and something to be overcome -- or destroyed. If we didn't have this quality we probably would still be cowering in our caves, cold, hungry and filled with fear. It's very difficult to negotiate a withdrawl of a sabertooth tiger.
:)
Oh, what would I do? Well I'll admit that I'm odd. For instance, to overcome a fear of spiders when I was younger, I allowed one to walk on the back of my hand. If I see a bug that is strolling where it might get stomped on, I'll usually scoop it up and put it in the grass or on a tree leaf.
So if I was confronted by a tiny multi-legged critter (who happened to be the ambassodor of the Galactic Federation) I am more likely going to be curious and protective. That latter comes from having a "pride mentality" a la' lions.
I don't feel threatened by the mere existance of differences. Or to put it as Spock might have, 'Infinite diversity in infinite combinations is what the universe is all about.' And if humankind is to be part of that universe then we had better change our thinking beyond that of barbarians.
:)
:)
Oh, what would I do? Well I'll admit that I'm odd. For instance, to overcome a fear of spiders when I was younger, I allowed one to walk on the back of my hand. If I see a bug that is strolling where it might get stomped on, I'll usually scoop it up and put it in the grass or on a tree leaf.
So if I was confronted by a tiny multi-legged critter (who happened to be the ambassodor of the Galactic Federation) I am more likely going to be curious and protective. That latter comes from having a "pride mentality" a la' lions.
I don't feel threatened by the mere existance of differences. Or to put it as Spock might have, 'Infinite diversity in infinite combinations is what the universe is all about.' And if humankind is to be part of that universe then we had better change our thinking beyond that of barbarians.
:)
One of the nice things about the Twilight Zone, or the TwiNIGHT Zone, format is that any artist/author can use it to pose serious philosophical/moral questions to their audience in the guise of entertainment.
:)
The Original Star Trek series and Next Generation used that format in a sci-fi genre to pose social and moral questions. Is being black on the right side of your face and white on the other "inferior" or "superior" to someone who is white on the right side and black on the other? And is that a serious enough difference to destroy an entire civilization for?
Furry art and writing -could- pose the same types of questions next generation when it has grown beyond it's Disneyesque roots.
:)
The Original Star Trek series and Next Generation used that format in a sci-fi genre to pose social and moral questions. Is being black on the right side of your face and white on the other "inferior" or "superior" to someone who is white on the right side and black on the other? And is that a serious enough difference to destroy an entire civilization for?
Furry art and writing -could- pose the same types of questions next generation when it has grown beyond it's Disneyesque roots.
There was a more recent incarnation of the Twilight Zone not too many years ago. The "bad" guys usually won in the stories but it made you think. My favorite was one where a human mining group found a planet rich in minerals. Alas, it also had a few intelligent aliens on the planet and human law would have forbidden mining it. (Kind of like the Prime Directive.) So, a couple of the more unsavory humans started killing off the aliens. Turns out the aliens were the equivalent of a Boy Scout troop out on a weekend camping trip. The show ends with a Babylon 5 style jump point opening over the planet as the alien authorities come to investigate the kids' automated distress call. The very last scene is a jump point opening over Earth and the same alien ship exiting it. You are left to wonder what happens then.
*claps his pawhands together with glee!* That’s excellent!!
I love stories that really make me think, or at least consider something new. New concepts, cause and effects, and maybe thinking a little more about the consequences of our actions. Twilight Zone and the incarnation you mention have been the great descendants of the old storyteller who entertained us around the campfire. He entertained us, but he also at the same time taught us some very important things through those stories.
Stories with morals or that illustrate the unpleasant consequences to immoral actions, like the scenario you described above, seem to make modern day storywriters uncomfortable.
I love stories that really make me think, or at least consider something new. New concepts, cause and effects, and maybe thinking a little more about the consequences of our actions. Twilight Zone and the incarnation you mention have been the great descendants of the old storyteller who entertained us around the campfire. He entertained us, but he also at the same time taught us some very important things through those stories.
Stories with morals or that illustrate the unpleasant consequences to immoral actions, like the scenario you described above, seem to make modern day storywriters uncomfortable.
I do not recall any. But generally speaking, I imagine there probably has been a number of stories or perhaps movies that dealt with this point.
As offered here, my little "episode" offers a gentle morality tale to hopefully teach that as big and powerful as a person might become, that very size and power conveys a responsibility towards those who are not so big or so powerful. A responsibility that has far-reaching consequences if it is ignored.
As offered here, my little "episode" offers a gentle morality tale to hopefully teach that as big and powerful as a person might become, that very size and power conveys a responsibility towards those who are not so big or so powerful. A responsibility that has far-reaching consequences if it is ignored.
Yes! Thank you for mentioning Agnes' name, Dineegla! That too was a memorable episode, completely absent of dialogue and with a twist at the end that yanked the audience's sympathies around. :)
Though I have not read in depth of Serling's life (I feel so cheated that he died so early in life) I can understand his wanting to remain in charge of his creative child. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, likewise established as much of an iron-clad control over his as he could. Or as one studio executive would have had it, the "guy with the ears" would have been gotten rid of at the very outset of the series.
:D
Most people who run a business dat to day do not have the vision of those who create it.
Though I have not read in depth of Serling's life (I feel so cheated that he died so early in life) I can understand his wanting to remain in charge of his creative child. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, likewise established as much of an iron-clad control over his as he could. Or as one studio executive would have had it, the "guy with the ears" would have been gotten rid of at the very outset of the series.
:D
Most people who run a business dat to day do not have the vision of those who create it.
well done.
The concept seems familiar, although I am not sure if Twilight Zone was ever aired, if completely, on german TV. Maybe they brought a couple episodes when they didn't know what to bring else, as it happens every now and then.
Serious stories, and some of them with a twist, is rarely seen on TV or silver screen anymore. seems like SFX are cheaper than writers who know what they do and directors/producers who appreciate it.
The concept seems familiar, although I am not sure if Twilight Zone was ever aired, if completely, on german TV. Maybe they brought a couple episodes when they didn't know what to bring else, as it happens every now and then.
Serious stories, and some of them with a twist, is rarely seen on TV or silver screen anymore. seems like SFX are cheaper than writers who know what they do and directors/producers who appreciate it.
I do not know how well certain stories with subtleties come across in other languages, or how culturally specific they are to begin with. Irony can come across as meaningless or stupidity to a foreign viewer’s mind. Sort of like Beethovan’s 9th Symphony being played on a guitar and bongo drums.
While there may be good story writers writing thoughtful and entertaining stories out there, their stories rarely come to light. The grim reality is that it costs a lot of money to turn a story into a film, or put on television. Movie and television studios are only going to produce stories when the stories contain the distinct possibility of financial success in order to pay the bills. In the case of television studios, it is the commercial sponsors who (pay the bills and) are looking for the largest possible returns on their financial investments. Hence, stories that generate the most ticket sales, or sponsor product purchases are the ones that make it to the screen.
Serious stories or stories with twists (that decision-makers believe audiences are too stupid to understand) never make it. It is a sort of socialism in entertainment brought on by cost. The different or intellectually challenging stories that only entertain a few are pushed aside for stories that appeal and entertain the greatest majority by dealing with subjects of the lowest common denominator.
While there may be good story writers writing thoughtful and entertaining stories out there, their stories rarely come to light. The grim reality is that it costs a lot of money to turn a story into a film, or put on television. Movie and television studios are only going to produce stories when the stories contain the distinct possibility of financial success in order to pay the bills. In the case of television studios, it is the commercial sponsors who (pay the bills and) are looking for the largest possible returns on their financial investments. Hence, stories that generate the most ticket sales, or sponsor product purchases are the ones that make it to the screen.
Serious stories or stories with twists (that decision-makers believe audiences are too stupid to understand) never make it. It is a sort of socialism in entertainment brought on by cost. The different or intellectually challenging stories that only entertain a few are pushed aside for stories that appeal and entertain the greatest majority by dealing with subjects of the lowest common denominator.
I tend to think that the different sizes of the television screen to that of the movie screen has an effect on a movie or series’ success.
With the smaller television screen I think there is always an inner feeling in the viewer of 'not seeing everything that is there' in the story which leaves us with a "hunger" for more episodes of the show. But when the show ventures out onto the vast area of the movie screen, like the first few Star Trek movies, we often find that there isn't enough story to visually interest us even with the "filler" of special effects.
On the other hand, good stories with sweeping visuals, like the opening scene of Star Wars, rarely impact us when squeezed down to fit the smaller television screen.
With the smaller television screen I think there is always an inner feeling in the viewer of 'not seeing everything that is there' in the story which leaves us with a "hunger" for more episodes of the show. But when the show ventures out onto the vast area of the movie screen, like the first few Star Trek movies, we often find that there isn't enough story to visually interest us even with the "filler" of special effects.
On the other hand, good stories with sweeping visuals, like the opening scene of Star Wars, rarely impact us when squeezed down to fit the smaller television screen.
Well put, Lionus.
also, there is a difference in how a story is told in novels, short stories, comics, cartoons/naimations, Tv movies, TV series, and silver screen movies. You can flip back some pages or go back a few panels when you missed something, but any movie filled with special effects should better be slapstick or will leave the viewer with nothing but snippets of action scenes.
fore example Jurassic Park 3 escaped be so much that I remembered nothing but three key scenes when I left the cinema!
also, there is a difference in how a story is told in novels, short stories, comics, cartoons/naimations, Tv movies, TV series, and silver screen movies. You can flip back some pages or go back a few panels when you missed something, but any movie filled with special effects should better be slapstick or will leave the viewer with nothing but snippets of action scenes.
fore example Jurassic Park 3 escaped be so much that I remembered nothing but three key scenes when I left the cinema!
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