Im thinking of reading so if anyone has any recommendations I would love to see them

I've been going through a lot of episodes of the various revival series (1985, 2003, and 2019) and I noticed a subtle but significant way that the "formula" of the opening/closing narration has evolved over the years.

The original Twilight Zone was short on time, only 20-22 minutes per episode, and it seems that Rod Serling didn't want to waste any minute that could be used to captivate the audience's attention. So in the 1960s series, Serling's opening narration would set the stage to explicitly tell the audience who the characters are, what they are doing and what their motivations are going to be. In the episode "It's a Good Life", he took out a whole world map to explain the situation of Peakseville, Ohio.

This meant that as soon as the characters start speaking, we skip over any setup or character introduction, and jump straight into twist/spooks/etc. By the time the show had a longer time slot in season 4, the opening narration was so iconic that he still used it even when it wasn't necessary.

But in the later incarnations of the show, it seems that later writers shifted to using more efficiently-written dialogue. That is, the characters' motivations and background are subtly interwoven into their conversations and visual cues, rather than being spelled out explicitly.

This is, arguably, a superior way of writing a story (and reflects the differences between "Golden Age" and "Silver Age" of Hollywood). But for the Twilight Zone, this approach rendered the opening and closing narrations completely superfluous. In the 1985 revival, Robin Ward would just pop in for a few philosophical sentences while the end credits roll, and many episodes just dropped the opening narration entirely.

Personally, I don't mind stories being written with efficiency in mind, but I feel like part of the original charm of the 1960s show got lost in the process. What do you think?

"Meet [first name] [last name]. Age [age]..."

Anthology shows are my favorite kind of TV show. Yes, I've enjoyed Hannah Montana (sitcom), CHiPs (cop show), and Magnum P.I. (action drama), but there's nothing like a good anthology show. Anthologies seem more creative, and the characters seem much more realistic.

I wish that there were more anthology shows, but I can understand why there aren't. Anthologies require so many more settings, characters, actors, etc. In contrast, sitcoms are relatively cheap and easy to make. The main cast is constant from episode to episode, the same few sets are used most of the time, and outdoor scenes (which aren't as easily controlled as indoor scenes) are the exception rather than the rule.

I like the series but how do other fans feel about it? I mostly listen to the show while I'm at work so it keeps me going

Hello,

Obviously most people on this sub are familiar with the original 1960s Twilight Zone. I've also seen quite a few people speak fondly of the 1980s Twilight Zone as well, with some episodes up on par with Rod Serling's original writing. And due to its recency, I also see a notable number of people are fans of the 2019 continuation with Jordan Peele. But I have not yet seen anyone mention a single episode from the 2003 continuation. Was it just so bad (considering it only lasted one season) that people have generally forgotten about it? Or is there any episode from that running that you have positive memories with?

A nice find I picked up at the back of a local bookstore the other week. An official novelization of TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE. Written by literary legend Robert Bloch, it also features some interesting black-and-white images of the film.

One thing I always found kind of amusing about that episode is that most of the people on the V9 Gamma colony are technically Millennials or Gen Z, born after 1991. And Captain Benteen himself was born in 1976 (since he was 15 when the colony was founded). But since it's impossible to accurately predict cultural trends, people still talk colloquially as if it's the 1960s. So I sometimes imagine what it would be like if the dialogue was written differently to better match the cultural trends of the 2020s.

It's not bad, but I think it's the least Twilight Zoney episode I've come across. Nothing really happens for much of the episode except for all the older passengers wanting Alan and Eileen to get off the ship and Alan constantly proving to be a terrible husband to Eileen. I started getting interested when Eileen disappeared because I thought the episode was implying that she jumped overboard, but I apparently just thought wrong. Nothing really came from her disappearance except Alan becoming panicked and then despondent. When Alan did find her after just a few hours, he did a complete 180 and actually started loving and treating her properly. I'm not sure where that came from because, up until that point, the episode painted Alan as an inattentive and unloving husband. How could the few hours his wife was gone have had such a profound impact on him when he had been married to her for over six years? At least the intimacy between the two was rekindled. I found that part to be sweet and nice. I personally found the ending of the episode to be unsatisfying, however. I still don't understand what any of it was supposed to mean, and it just left me with so many questions. What are your thoughts?

Hi All.

Avid lover of the original Twilight Zone series.

I saw a recent post about the 80’s series episode, “A Little Peace and Quiet” so I decided to give it a watch. Absolutely loved it, so I was hoping folks could give recommendations for any other great episodes from this series to watch. Maybe episodes to avoid as well?

Thanks!!

One of the times I enjoy about this show is the furnishings and clothing of the time period. Does anyone else like looking at the furniture and styles of dress in this show?

Mine is Robert Redford. Every time I watch this episode I fall more in love with him 😍

Not only are there nods to Rod Sterling‘s works, but it also has episodes that are modern day real fears just like Rod Serling were when it came to social issues like “Not All Men” there are women that are deathly afraid that men are crazy and “Replay”, which is a great racism narrative. All very real fears.

“A traveler” is in my top 10 Twilight Zone episodes and the team is I feel like a different aspect of a “Nice place to visit” that episode isn’t wheel other worldly it just shows that that kid eventually gets all the power in the free world.

“BlurryMan” great episode great telling of how you actually get into the twilight zone making it blur lines that this twilight zone can’t happen to you and I feel like it was great and well done.

Long story short I get that he’s not Rod Serling and it doesn’t have all the nostalgic episodes that we all love and remember, but this is one of the greatest adaptations of the Twilight Zone it’s which and I feel like he should’ve kept going because it’s a great continuation of spirit that we are all looking for. I don’t think that “The Twilight Zone” is limited to one series in the 1950s. Sure it’s all different, but I love “The Twilight Zone” and I don’t want it to end.

Just started 8:30 EST and think it runs for 24 hrs.

That is, an episode that seems brilliant and interesting on the first watch, but makes less sense the more you stop to think about it.

For me the biggest case of this was the episode "I shot an Arrow in the Air". It pulls off a great twist of being "Earth all along", but even as a kid I had trouble taking the episode seriously after the twist was revealed. If they landed on a planet with breathable atmosphere, then they would have to assume they aren't anywhere near our Solar System. But how could they not realize that they traveled too short a distance for that to be possible? The difference between those two scenarios are orders of magnitude of time and space.

In re-watching some episodes, I have noticed other cases where Rod Sterling seems to make big mistakes in astrophysics. For example, "The Midnight Sun" says there is eternal daytime due to Earth going closer to the Sun, except that's not how day-night cycles work (Mercury has a night side to its planet, and if Earth was that close to the Sun then everyone would already be dead).

Also "Third from the Sun" says their alien planet is 11 million miles from Earth, which would mean they would have to be in our Solar System because that's 1/10th the distance between Earth and Mars.

I grew up with this series and there are some classic episodes that stick with me (A Small Talent for War, Examination Day) but one episode I think is perfect is Take My Life, Please with Tim Thomerson. To call it f'ed up is an understatement. Anyone else think anything about this one? Any other of your favorites from this run?

Anyone planning to go?

I don't quite understand the ending of this episode, can someone explain it to me?

Episode starts in a ran down town in the near future. They’ve been hit with famine and have a council system dedicated to rationing out food to the few towns people left. Then, they suddenly get invaded by 3 futuristic land pirates heavily armed and traveling in a mad max post apocalyptic Jeep. Leader is a psychopathic tyrant. Playing the townspeople against each other. Instigating. Ring a bell?

Did anyone else catch Baby Reindeer on Netflix? They used the song Come Wander with Me in one of the episodes. I never imagined hearing that song outside of the show.

For me it’s the hitchhiker and the encounter (it sucks that it was never aired but watch it if you can it’s amazing!). I loveeee both episodes and I feel like I rarely hear anyone say it’s their favorite episode.