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Post by berkley on Jul 16, 2014 17:52:06 GMT -5
You can see "Patterns", the tv drama that first made Serling's name as a writer, on youtube. I watched it a year or two ago - well worth the time.
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Post by MDG on Jul 16, 2014 19:24:50 GMT -5
I go back and forth on TZ. some very good stuff, others just feel like they're just going through the motions 'til the "shock" ending.
Phillip Jose Farmer wrote how he was at a party with a bunch of SF writers in the early 60s, all complaining about how they had stories ripped off by Serling.
Favorite episode: The Howling Man.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 17, 2014 0:25:08 GMT -5
Lots of great episodes already listed! My favorite is the hunt, the one about the old guy who wouldn't go to heaven without his dog. It was funny, touching and altogether smile-inducing! I watched this today! And I have seen it. I remembered it as soon as it started. I don't why I didn't recognize it from your description because that's exactly what happens. I guess the visual clues, the specific actor playing the old guy, the dog, triggered the memory. It has been a long time since I saw it.
Great episode!
And since I'm making my way through Season Three, "To Serve Man" is coming up soon! I haven't seen it in a looong time!
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Post by Jasoomian on Jul 17, 2014 3:33:58 GMT -5
I always think I've seen them all but I'm sure there are a few I've missed. The ones listed on this thread are among the best of course... "Syfy" usually plays the best ones in their marathons. But whereas the old "Sci-Fi Channel" marathons ran uncut episodes and then later at least a few uncut episodes during prime time; they now just show them heavily cut like every other, so I'd stick with Netflix. Netflix has the episodes remastered from the original film into HD and they look just beautiful. The season with hourlong episodes was shot on video and so couldn't be remastered in HD.
How about the one where the hideous woman has plastic surgery so she won't look so ugly any more...?
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 17, 2014 11:40:40 GMT -5
How about the one where the hideous woman has plastic surgery so she won't look so ugly any more...? That's Elly Mae Clampett!
I just saw another really good one. "Kick the Can," where the seniors find eternal youth by playing children's games. The ringleader is Ernest Truex. He's a repeat offender that I forgot about. He's the peddler in the episode where he sells random items from his stash and it's always what you need. (I think the episode is called "What You Need.")
Both of Ernest Truex's episodes are really good ones.
Truex was a comedic actor in the early 1930s. He made a horror/comedy called "Whistling in the Dark" with Una Merkel that has some very suggestive dialogue! (Pre-Code Hollywood! Yay!)
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jul 17, 2014 15:39:52 GMT -5
I love the Twilight Zone. It was one of the programs I watched in syndication in the 90's as a kid. For some reason that show along with Star Trek and Unsolved Mysteries was fascinating for me. The idea of the moral dilemma that plagued most of the characters in each episode of Twilight Zone was cool. And you always had something different. A lot of substance was detailed in just a half hour. Those kind of aspects to storytelling last forever and can cover up things like dated effects. Everything was merely about the strange narratives with that show and it usually left the audience to draw their conclusions to the story after the show ended. Some of my favorite episodes were:
The Odyssey of Flight 33
A Hundred Yards Over the Rim
The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street
To Serve Man
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Post by DubipR on Jul 17, 2014 16:14:00 GMT -5
Wow, there's tons of good Twilight Zone episodes. One of my all time favorites.... The Dummy
This one scared the bejesus out of me as a kid, and it still creeps me out. Cliff Robertson was so good in this episode.
Others that I like:
'Five Characters in Search of an Exit'- Its an interesting episode of what exactly is going on and the payoff is so left field, its great 'The Invaders'- Agnes Moorehead is so good in this one, with little to no dialogue...a great study in shadow and fear 'Mirror Image'- Vera Miles and Martin Milner... very eerie stuff 'Twenty-two' a great adaptation an E.F. Benson short with Barbara Nichols 'Nick of Time'- While others like Shatner's iconic Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, I prefer his other episode. To this day, I want that devil headed fortune telling machine.
Oh, I can list pretty much all of the episodes as they're all brilliant. I'll go with those for now
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Post by dupersuper on Jul 17, 2014 22:37:47 GMT -5
I remember sleep-overs as kids my friends and I in sleeping bags telling each other about Twilight Zone reruns we'd seen like telling ghost stories around a campfire. Good times...
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Post by MDG on Jul 18, 2014 10:55:54 GMT -5
'Five Characters in Search of an Exit'- Its an interesting episode of what exactly is going on and the payoff is so left field, its great
I like the others you listed, especially The Invaders, but Five Characters always seemed to me a prime example of the "killing time for a half-hour" episode. Just a lead up to a twist ending. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Jul 18, 2014 11:15:35 GMT -5
The Twilight Zone always had budget problems.Constantly as they filmed the season they would be over-budget and would have to come up with ways to create 4,5 or 6 shows that would cost practically nothing. Five Characters In Search For An Exit is a great example of a money saving show and seen in that light is even more clever
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Post by DubipR on Jul 18, 2014 12:13:17 GMT -5
What was great about the Twlight Zone is the diversity of the stories. It wasn't all modern day. I loved they showcased some stuff in the future, the old west, war. Some of the western stories, like The Grave or Mr. Denton on Doomsday, are appealing but overall can be a bit droll. The war ones are good, like The Purple Testament and King Nine Will Not Return or A Quality of Mercy, are fun.
Are there any episodes that you find just blah or didn't care for it?
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Post by Pharozonk on Jul 18, 2014 12:17:13 GMT -5
Are there any episodes that you find just blah or didn't care for it?
I've never cared for that episode where the lady gets plastic surgery because she thinks that she's ugly. I know it's iconic, but I never got the appeal. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 18, 2014 15:17:34 GMT -5
I just saw "A Piano in the House." This is the one where the sadistic theater critic buys a player piano for his wife and it's a magic piano where the music makes people reveal their hidden natures.
It's a pretty good one. I do remember this episode, especially the chubby woman who thinks she's a snowflake.
I had forgotten that the wife is played by Joan Hackett. She's great. Nice to see her here. I'll have to keep my eyes open for "Will Penney" because I haven't seen it for a while.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 18, 2014 15:20:32 GMT -5
What was great about the Twlight Zone is the diversity of the stories. It wasn't all modern day. I loved they showcased some stuff in the future, the old west, war. Some of the western stories, like The Grave or Mr. Denton on Doomsday, are appealing but overall can be a bit droll. The war ones are good, like The Purple Testament and King Nine Will Not Return or A Quality of Mercy, are fun.
Are there any episodes that you find just blah or didn't care for it?
There are a few episodes I'm not too keen on. I didn't like "One More Pallbearer" very much. I find "A Quality of Mercy" to be boring, despite the presence of Dean Stockwell and Leonard Nimoy. As I go through Season Three, I'll be popping in and commenting. |
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Post by Jesse on Jul 18, 2014 15:20:57 GMT -5
Has anyone read the current Dynamite series?
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