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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 16, 2019 20:19:26 GMT -5
In which we shall look at the episodes of Rod Serling's classic televison show, The Twilight Zone.
Oddly, for a show that ended almost three and a half years before I was born, I don't remember a time without The Twilight Zone. My Dad was a closet science fiction fan. Which isn't to say he hid any interest in SF. It was more that it was selective and rather mainstream. He loved Jules Verne and I remember watching 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea whenever it came on TV. And he loved the Twilight Zone (also the Outer Limits, but it seldom showed up in re-runs). If the Twilight Zone came on in re-runs we would be watching. I also remember him watch Night Gallery, the rebooted Twilight Zone of the 80s, The Darkrooom (short-lived show hosted by James Coburn), and others I'm sure I'm blanking on.
The Twilight Zone was the brainchild of writer Rod Serling who had become extremely successful working on tele-plays...reaching his peak with Requiem for a Heavyweight. However, the censorship of the era (along with commercial concerns) continually watered down Serling's writing. This came to a head with his teleplay entitled "Noon on Doomsday" for The United States Steel Hour. The story was Serling's response to the lynching of Emmett Till in Mississippi and his story closely paralleled the Till case. Under pressure the story was moved out of the South and the victim became a Jewish pawnbroker and was eventually watered down to an generic foreigner in an unnamed town. Serling hoped that a science fiction setting would meet with less resistance than a realistic setting to tell stories with more mature and controversial themes.
Serling shopped the series and was able to sell it to CBS. The series premiered on October 2, 1959. The series was critically acclaimed but was not a great ratings success. It did, however, manage to build enough audience to beat its competition on ABC and NBC ensuring its survival.
So now let's enter...The Twilight Zone.
The first season intro.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 16, 2019 21:08:11 GMT -5
Twilight Zone Season 1 Episode 1 - Where Is Everybody? - Written by Rod Serling. Directed by Robert Stevens. Starring Earl Holliman and James Gregory. Opening Narration: "The place is here. The time is now, and the journey into the shadows that we are about to watch, could be our journey."  Synopsis: Mike Ferris finds himself wandering alone along a country road just outside the small town of Oakwood. His first stop is a roadside cafe with the jukebox playing and coffee on the stove. But nobody answers Ferris' beckoning call for service. As he enters town he finds indications of life...but nobody is ever actually there. In the town jail he hears a door close as he's inspecting a cell and leaves in a panic. Outside the town theater he he sees the movie poster for "Battle Hymn" and remembers he's a member of the Air Force. Inside, the film is running. He looks into the projection room, but nobody is there. All the time he feels he's being watched. In a panic he runs into the street and continuously pounds a crossing button. Mike Ferris then wakes up.  Thoughts: This is largely a one-man show. Holliman spends the first 19 of the 24 minutes of the episode (pre-end narration and closing credits) alone on screen talking to himself and panicking alone. While I've seen some criticism of this part of the episode it is usually with him continually talking to himself, not with the performance itself. Obviously the medium calls for dialogue even if it's singular dialogue rather than the internal narration we might get from the written word. For me, the let-down is in the reveal. {Spoiler}People had been and have since been in isolation much longer than Ferris without cracking. It just wasn't nearly a long enough time to ring true. Not by any means the best show of the series, it's still a good start. And it did the job. It sold the series to the network.  Trivia: Holliman, while by no means a big name at the time, had played Cook in Forbidden Planet and Bob Dace in the film Giant. Tony Curtis was originally offered the part but wanted too much money. The town square set was later used in Back to the Future. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 16, 2019 22:36:05 GMT -5
The name of the show has entered our pop culture lexicon as being synonymous with anything weird.
And, of course, Rod Serling's narration and the opening have likewise entered into the cultural lexicon.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 17, 2019 15:32:34 GMT -5
One for the Angels - season 1, episode 2. Written by Rod Serling. Directed by Robert Parrish. Starring Ed Wynn and Murray Hamilton Opening Narration: "Street scene: Summer. The present. Man on a sidewalk named Lou Bookman, age sixtyish. Occupation: pitchman. Lou Bookman, a fixture of the summer, a rather minor component to a hot July, a nondescript, commonplace little man whose life is a treadmill built out of sidewalks. And in just a moment, Lou Bookman will have to concern himself with survival – because as of three o'clock this hot July afternoon, he'll be stalked by Mr. Death."  Summary: Lou Bookman is an aging pitchman. See sells toys and notions and cheap stuff on the streetcorners of the city. He lives alone in small room and his social life seems to revolve around the neighborhood children. Lou returns home one summer day and there is a strange gentleman in his room. Through trial and error we find that it is Death...and he'll be coming for Lou at midnight. However, Lou makes a deal to not be taken until he fulfills his life's ambition...A Pitch For the Angels. Whereupon Lou promptly retires from pitching. Death, however, must have its due...and with Lou not an option he determines to take a little girl from Lou's building whose toy Lou had earlier fixed. When the little girl is hit by a truck Lou tries to break the deal and go, but a bargain is a bargain...and Death will have his at midnight. When Death comes at midnight Lou makes the pitch of a lifetime. His pitch for the angels.  Thoughts: A lot of people see this as a "sweet" episode. And I can kind of get that. Wynn is his usual Grandfatherly self. Death isn't terrifying...he's just doing his job. Ultimately the little girl lives. But it need never have gotten to that point. The little girl and the family could have been spared a lot of pain if Lou had done the right thing in the first place. The themes of the inevitability of death and the cheating of death aren't new. And this doesn't break a lot of ground. Wynn is always enjoyable, though I'm not convinced he's right for this part. His pitch to Death simply isn't that great a sell...and Wynn feels like he should be the type to struggle and never be able to make that great pitch. Murray Hamilton, who I know best as the mayor from Jaws, is quite good as Death. This isn't a cuddly death nor an overtly scary death. He's a bureaucrat just doing a thankless job that is a required part of the universe. Far from the sad, unfulfilled life that he may have thought he had, it's clear that Lou will be missed and that he had an effect on the children of the neighborhood...which is a decent legacy. Trivia: One of the toys that Lou sells in the episode is a small Robby the Robot. 
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Post by badwolf on Apr 17, 2019 19:52:35 GMT -5
I found it rather ridiculous that Mr. Death was taken in by Bookman's spiel, but I know I'm overthinking something that's just meant to be, as you say, a "sweet" story.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 17, 2019 21:02:18 GMT -5
I found it rather ridiculous that Mr. Death was taken in by Bookman's spiel, but I know I'm overthinking something that's just meant to be, as you say, a "sweet" story. Absolutely agree. Wynn was likable enough but couldn’t carry off that pitch. You can reconcile it by Death allowing himself to be sold which gave Bookman his desire and allowed him to go as he should instead of the little girl. In which case he’s a pretty cool Death. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 18, 2019 19:37:21 GMT -5
Mr. Denton on Doomsday - Season One Episode Three. Written by Rod Serling. Directed by Allen Reisner. Starring Dan Duryea, Martin Landau, Doug McClure. Opening Narration: "Portrait of a town drunk named Al Denton. This is a man who's begun his dying early—a long, agonizing route through a maze of bottles. Al Denton, who would probably give an arm or a leg or a part of his soul to have another chance, to be able to rise up and shake the dirt from his body and the bad dreams that infest his consciousness. In the parlance of the times, this is a peddler, a rather fanciful-looking little man in a black frock coat. And this is the third principal character of our story. (A revolver mysteriously appears on the ground next to Denton) Its function: perhaps to give Mr. Al Denton his second chance."  Synopsis: Al Denton (Dan Duryea) is the town drunk and we start with him being harassed by Hotaling (Martin Landau) and his gang. They make Denton sing for a drink and generally make the rummy miserable. Until the Peddler Henry Fate happens along and Denton finds himself in possession of a gun. Denton inadvertently takes down Hotaling and starts to clean up...knowing that he'll be faced with more gunslingers. Denton had been the fastest gun around, but climbed into a bottle when he killed a kid who wanted to face him down. Pete Grant (Doug McClure), the rising fast gun and his gang come to town to challenge Denton. The Peddler offers a potion to make Denton fast. And in the showdown, both Denton and Grant are drinking from very similar bottles before they draw.  Thoughts: While the story seems hoary now, I'm having a hard time finding an earlier version...at least on film and TV. The cost of fame and redemption from the past are on full display here. Fate has a hand in allowing Denton to redeem himself and move on without constant danger while also allowing Grant to not have to face his inevitable fate. While I don't really find a precedent the Fastest Gun being haunted by the kid he killed comes up again hilariously with Gene Wilder's character in Blazing Saddles. Landau would, of course, go on to much greater fame in Mission Impossible and Space 1999, ultimately winning an Oscar for portraying Bela Lugosi. This was a fairly early appearance by Doug McClure, who may be, at this point, best know as half of the inspiration for The Simpsons character Troy McClure.
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Post by dbutler69 on Apr 19, 2019 8:31:35 GMT -5
I saw these episodes about a year ago. I liked #1 but agree that the ending is a bit of a letdown. I'll acknowledge the flaws in #2 but I still enjoyed it. I liked how he tricked death, though as badwolf points out it's a bit of a stretch that Death would be taken in so easily. I also enjoyed #3. I'm a little vague on the ending now, but I think it was a nice little twist, if I remember correctly.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 19, 2019 11:33:39 GMT -5
I saw these episodes about a year ago. I liked #1 but agree that the ending is a bit of a letdown. I'll acknowledge the flaws in #2 but I still enjoyed it. I liked how he tricked death, though as badwolf points out it's a bit of a stretch that Death would be taken in so easily. I also enjoyed #3. I'm a little vague on the ending now, but I think it was a nice little twist, if I remember correctly. {Spoiler}The final shootout in Episode 3 has both Denton and Grant drinking Fate's fast-draw potion and then simultaneously shooting each others guns from their hands. The town doctor declares that neither will be able to shoot with those hands again. So Denton can move on with his life with his head high and not looking over his shoulder and young Grant doesn't have to look forward to the inevitable fate of the gunfighter. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 20, 2019 12:45:45 GMT -5
The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine. Season 1 Episode 4. Written by Rod Serling. Directed by Mitchell Leisen. Starring Ida Lupino and Martin Balsam. Opening Narration: "Picture of a woman looking at a picture. Movie great of another time, once-brilliant star in a firmament no longer a part of the sky, eclipsed by the movement of earth and time. Barbara Jean Trenton, whose world is a projection room, whose dreams are made out of celluloid. Barbara Jean Trenton, struck down by hit-and-run years and lying on the unhappy pavement, trying desperately to get the license number of fleeting fame."  Synopsis: Barbara Trenton (Lupino) is an aging film star whose career has stalled and who spends most of her time watching 16 millimeter prints of her old films in her home. She appears to have limited contact with anyone outside of Danny Weiss, her agent (Balsam), and her housekeeper. Weiss gets her a meeting with her old studio head about a part. But the part is for a mother and Barbie burns her bridges rather than take a small role of an older woman and retreats to her dark room and her old films. Danny makes another attempt to bring her out of her shell by having her old leading man visit. But he's no longer the young man from the screen, but an elderly gentleman who runs a string of grocery stores. Ultimately Barbie can no longer live in the present and retreats completely into her celluloid past.  Thoughts: Apparently Serling disliked the episode saying it was one of his least favorite. And the venom was directed at his own writing. Certainly both Lupino and Balsam give very good performances. But the plot is warmed over Sunset Boulevard with a Twilight Zone twist that is telegraphed from very early on. It's interesting to see Lupino as a star beyond her prime. She was only 41 at the time and just as beautiful and vibrant as when she starred in High Sierra 18 years earlier. Balsam is, as always, a delight. It is, however, a fairly weak episode and that falls largely on Serling's story. 
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 20, 2019 14:11:35 GMT -5
1959 Mike Wallace interview with Rod Serling. From the context is seems this occurred before Twilight Zone premiered but it definitely talks about what Serling was thinking about it at the time. Serling certainly seems to underestimate what he would be able to accomplish in a 30-minute show as opposed to the type of work he had previously been doing in say...Playhouse 90. Interesting piece.
The other thing that strikes me is that Serling reached far more people over a far greater period of time with the Twilight Zone than he did with what he surely considered more prestige work such as Requiem for a Heavyweight or Patterns.
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Post by badwolf on Apr 20, 2019 17:35:39 GMT -5
It's interesting that he tells Mike that TZ wasn't going to deal in social issues, when it did that quite a lot in fact.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 20, 2019 18:45:20 GMT -5
It's interesting that he tells Mike that TZ wasn't going to deal in social issues, when it did that quite a lot in fact. I think he may have been purposefully fudging for the network and the sponsors. Everything I read indicates that one of the purposes of going to a fantasy/SF format was to distance the heat he would get over dealing with social issues in a contemporary setting. It’s too controversial to deal with discrimination in the South in 1959. But change the setting to a fantasy or SF setting and it’s suddenly much less controversial. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Apr 20, 2019 19:54:46 GMT -5
They used that plot as a Columbo episode, too... I don't remember which, but I think it was an early one.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 22, 2019 22:41:54 GMT -5
Walking Distance - Season One Episode Five. Writer - Rod Serling. Director - Robert Stevens. Starring - Gig Young, Ronnie Howard, Frank Overton.  Opening Narration: "Martin Sloan, age thirty-six. Occupation: vice-president, ad agency, in charge of media. This is not just a Sunday drive for Martin Sloan. He perhaps doesn't know it at the time, but it's an exodus. Somewhere up the road he's looking for sanity. And somewhere up the road, he'll find something else." Synopsis: Martin Sloan drives into a gas station near his old home town stressed out and acting the ass. He decides that town is walking distance. He walks into the soda shop and talks to the guy behind the fountain about growing up there and marvels that a three scoop soda is still the same price. He walks down the street naming the houses where people used to live. He runs into a little boy playing marbles (Ron Howard in a very early role) and he finds out his house is still called by his last name. Honestly anything more gets deep into spoiler territory. In the end Martin learns that even if you can go home again...you probably shouldn't.  Thoughts and Trivia: This is the first episode that is generally considered classic Twilight Zone. This is generally viewed as Rod Serling's most personal television script. It came about as he was remembering the town he grew up in and built the story around the themes of not being able to go home again and the danger of nostalgia. The ending is particularly effective and points again to the dangers of living in the past. Gig Young is super effective in the lead as is Frank Overton. Ronnie Howard sparkles. If there is anything bad to say about the episode it's that Martin Sloan makes some really bad decisions. Now I'll allow that he's in a very bad position. But still...keep your head man. 
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