Television Programs You Must Watch – Twilight Zone

Of all the shows they were ever on television, none will ever match the The Twilight Zone.  It was and is a remarkable innovate, must watch programme, which, at the time, was constantly discussed by viewers.

The Twilight Zone first aired in in 1959 with half hour shows, (basically 25 minutes because of commercials) and was a mixture of horror, science fiction,  thriller, mystery, usually with a twist ending. The Fourth season was one hour, but this was too much, for the shows were more short stories put to visual than novels, so returned to thirty minute episodes in the fifth and final season in 1964.

There have been movies, revivals, but nothing matches those first episodes.

There are 156 episodes of The Twilight Zone. In those ancient days, a ‘season’ was at least thirty weeks long, meaning at least thirty programmes.   The season would begin in mid-September and go to mid-May.

Reruns often occurred during the summer months, June, July and August.

Many of the episodes were written by Rod Serling, who created the programme and was the narrator.

One has to recognise, when watching the Twilight Zone, that most the ideas were new, this was the first time they were put to view. Many programmes over the decades, have taken bits and pieces of episodes to make other programmes.

Each episode stands alone, different cast, different setting, different ideas and times, because this was an ‘anthology’; where the writer, (Mr. Serling or another) would create a slightly ‘out of kilter’ world and populate it.

The show would begin with its eerie theme music, it’s opening dialogue;  spoken by Mr. Serling; the most quoted is that of the 2nd season:

You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s the signpost up ahead – your next stop, the Twilight Zone

The show would begin, either narrated by Rod Serling, or there would be some action before he began the narration, introducing the premise.

Sometimes the fear or beliefs came from within the characters,  who misinterpreted what they saw, sometimes the actions of one character had a profound effect on others.   Sometimes it was all fantasy, other times, as serious and common as daily life.

It a show one must see, not simply to grasp the term ‘Twilight Zone’, nor  Rod Serling’s style, but to enter the ‘world’ created, and catch the twists of fate.

As most of the endings are unexpected, one is not watching an ‘easy’ show.   It demands a certain level of focus and an appreciation of how imaginative the writers were.

It is a must see, and if you can, view all the episodes, for each is different.