The Twilight Zone - General Discussion

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, BooksRule said:

So many of the twist endings can be so obvious (although I don't know if they were obvious back when the episodes were first shown. 

I wonder about that, too, watching this show :). It'd be fun to hear from those who remember watching these episodes when they originally aired, and what the general reaction was like.

On the note of Moorehead, I like how she and many other cast members from "Bewitched" were on this show, mainly because "Bewitched" is one of my mom's favorite series. It's a neat little connection of sorts between our shows, and it's fun to see the cast pre-"Bewitched". 

[legaleagle53]

13 hours ago, BooksRule said:

I've had the marathon on most of the afternoon (just as background), but noticed that they are airing 'The Invaders' right now.  That's always been one of my favorites, mainly because of the ending.  I think I also like it because it was one of my mom's favorites as well.  Agnes Morehead was so good in this one, especially having to act with no dialogue.  So many of the twist endings can be so obvious (although I don't know if they were obvious back when the episodes were first shown.  We viewers of today are used to the twists in shows, I guess), but I don't think I figured it out when I first saw it years ago.  

Indeed.  People who only know her as Endora would be suprised to learn that Agnes Moorehead really could act, as she most definitely shows here (in fact, she won an Emmy and a couple of Golden Globes during her long career, plus she earned a few Oscar nominations) -- and she was also quite beautiful when she was young.

Edited January 1, 2018 by legaleagle53

[raven]

Watching "Odyssey of Flight 33" right now.   I've always liked this one, everyone is so calm as they fly along ("heading to Idlewild") and animatronic dinos!

[Spartan Girl]

On December 26, 2017 at 0:39 PM, tennisgurl said:

Watched Night of the Meek for Christmas yesterday, and I still love it so much. Probably happiest ending in Twilight Zone history. 

Yeah I like the episodes that leave you more with warm fuzzy feelings instead of feeling unnerved. Like "In Praise of Pip" or the one where Ed Wynn lets Death take his own life to save a little girl.

[Cobb Salad]

Odyssey of Flight 33 is a favorite of mine as well.  I’m glad it was on at a good time for this marathon.  

Another one of my favorites, To Serve Man is on right now. 

[tennisgurl]

My favorite marathon of the year! I loved seeing the "big" episodes, but also ones like "I Sing the Body Electric" or "In Praise of Pip". Of course, "Its A Good Life" is just such a classic, and has such a creepy atmosphere that I still adore. 

[TVFan17]

I can never get enough of The Odyssey of Flight 33!  That has been one of my favorites since childhood.  I loved the idea of a plane somehow going back in time.  I loved that they saw a dinosaur because I was obsessed with dinosaurs in my youth.

The Midnight Sun is one that I love.

I love Nick of Time,  Stopover in a Quiet Town, Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up, Little Girl Lost, The Bewitchin' Pool, The After Hours, A Most Unusual Camera, The New Exhibit, Living Doll,  Mirror Image, The Hitchhiker, Five Characters in Search of an Exit, etc.  I know I am leaving out a lot of favorites.

Really, there are not many episodes that I dislike -- most of them I enjoy to some degree.   When I was much younger, the ones that I had no interest in were related to western/prairie settings, or military settings.  I had no interest in those specific themes, I suppose.   Now that I am older, I can appreciate those episodes so much more.

Edited January 2, 2018 by TVFan17
added in another title!

[Wordsworth]

But darnit doesn't William Shatner nail that performance?  That look on his face when he realizes the pilot is patronizing him.

[Wordsworth]

Quote

On the note of Moorehead, I like how she and many other cast members from "Bewitched" were on this show, mainly because "Bewitched" is one of my mom's favorite series. It's a neat little connection of sorts between our shows, and it's fun to see the cast pre-"Bewitched". 

Yes, Agnes, Elizabeth Montgomery ("Two"), Dick York ("A Penny For Your Thoughts"/"The Purple Testament") and David White ("A World of Difference"/"I Sing the Body Electric") all appeared on TZ.

 

I agree that it's fun to see actors before they hit big.

[BlancheDevoreaux]

Looks like Sci Fi is having a mini-marathon for Presidents Day!

As far as my favorite episodes go:
I Sing the Body Electric
Number 22 Looks Just Like You
A Stop in Willoughby
Nothing in the Dark (though this one always makes me cry a little bit)
Ring-a-ding Girl

[SlovakPrincess]

On January 1, 2018 at 11:06 PM, TVFan17 said:

I can never get enough of The Odyssey of Flight 33!  That has been one of my favorites since childhood.  I loved the idea of a plane somehow going back in time.  I loved that they saw a dinosaur because I was obsessed with dinosaurs in my youth.

 

This is a great episode, but it was one of the ones I find more terrifying -- the idea of possibly never being able to get home.  Also, being stuck on a plane that long, I'd go nuts.  At a certain point, I'd be tempted to be like "Screw it, let me off here with the T-Rexes, I can't take this stale cabin air anymore!"

[AntiBeeSpray]

Grew up on the re runs :). Still love trying my best to catch the marathons.

 

My faves:

 

To Serve Man -- very well played both in terms of acting and suspense

The Masks  -- same here and the masks and make up are incredible

Time Enough at Last -- the build up and the ending is heart breaking

The Obsolete Man -- this one is very relevant

The Eye of the Beholder -- so true

 

I think that it's timeless since it deals with so many different themes that still ring true.

Edited May 2, 2018 by AntiBeeSpray

[DrSpaceman]

Will the real martian please stand up is my favorite. 

There are some bad episodes though.  Jess-Belle comes to mind. 

The hour long episodes for the most part are not as good, IMO.  Mute is a good example.  The concept is good, but the story drags WAY too much

Edited May 24, 2018 by DrSpaceman

[EAG46]

I have a particular fondness for The Masks episode myself.  Maybe because it was the only one directed by a woman.  Anyhow, one thing I wondered on a recent re-watch:  Maybe the old man wasn't that great of a father?  Why else would his daughter turn out the way she did, marry the man she did, and raise the kids she did?   Granted, even the best parents can do everything right and still produce a rotten little turd of an offspring but what if her hypochondria was the only way Super Busy Businessman Dad paid attention to her?    

[Annber03]

Valid theory. There's clearly not any love lost between them, and the old man had a generally crabby demeanor about him that I don't think can purely be chalked up to typical "old man ranting at the world" stuff. I could totally see that family having a history of strained relationships in general. 

I like that episode, too. It's a good, eerie story. 

(Also, I did not realize until recently that the old man is played by Brian Keith's dad. Should've been obvious-they both had that kinda raspy quality to to their voices.)

[Cobb Salad]

Decades is showing a Twilight Zone marathon today!   It looks like it will be for today only.  It’s instead of the SyFy channel marathon.

[Vixenstud]

What?!  Not one mention of It's A Good Life with Billy Mumy? ("You're a bad man!  You're a very bad man!")

Other faves are:

A Most Unusual Camera

The Fever

Time Enough at Last

Living Doll

[txhorns79]

Quote

(Also, I did not realize until recently that the old man is played by Brian Keith's dad. Should've been obvious-they both had that kinda raspy quality to to their voices.)

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Brian Keith was a heavy smoker for much of his life.  My only point being that I think his raspy voice was due to smoking, not genetics.  For example, watch a clip of Lucille Ball from one of her movies in the 30s/40s, then find a clip of her from her tv show in the 70s.  You'll see what decades of smoking does to someone's voice.

For me, I thought The Midnight Sun was such a good episode.  The idea of living in the horror of being slowly baked alive, only to find out it was a fever dream, and you live in the opposite horror, slowly freezing to death.   

Edited April 14, 2019 by txhorns79

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Brian Keith was a heavy smoker for much of his life.  My only point being that I think his raspy voice was due to smoking, not genetics.  For example, watch of clip of Lucille Ball from one of her movies in the 30s/40s, then find a clip of her from her tv show in the 70s.  You'll see what decades of smoking does to someone's voice.

This is true, too, yeah. Good point. 

Quote

For me, I thought The Midnight Sun was such a good episode.  The idea of living in the horror of being slowly baked alive, only to find out it was a fever dream, and you live in the opposite horror, slowly freezing to death.   

Agreed. I love how realistic they make the unbearable heat, too, with the paintings melting and everyone looking visibly sweaty and everything. You feel deeply uncomfortable just watching it. 

[Twilight Man]

Still disappointed that SyFy doesn't show the marathon anymore.   My package does not include Decades.

[Cobb Salad]

5 hours ago, Twilight Man said:

Still disappointed that SyFy doesn't show the marathon anymore.   My package does not include Decades.

Yeah it seems Syfy only has a marathon for New Years now.  Same thing happened last year but I still had Decades.  I refuse to watch its replacement and no one else has picked up Decades in my area.  

[benteen]

Happy 60th birthday, Twilight Zone!

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/twilight-zone-episodes-coming-theaters-celebrate-60th-anniversary-1243073

https://wnbf.com/binghamton-to-celebrate-60th-anniversary-of-twilight-zone/

Edited October 2, 2019 by benteen

[VCRTracking]

Suddenly realized the reason TZ had so many country hillbilly-centric episodes is CBS at the time was deliberately courting that Southern demographic with shows like Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction and The Andy Griffith Show.

[merylinkid]

Was driving along these past two days and saw a sign "Willoughby next exit."   I heard a conductor say "Willoughby, next stop.   Next stop Willoughby."   That poor man.   He just wanted to breathe for a moment instead of "push, push, push."

[benteen]

Rod Serling's wife, Carol Serling, recently passed away at the age of 91.

Carol Serling

Edited January 14, 2020 by benteen

[merylinkid]

Since we are stuck inside trying to "flatten the curve" I started binge watching Twlight Zone on Netflix.   Last night I watched the Howling Man.    Considering everything right now, probably should have skipped this one.   Or else we all need to be on the look out.

[Annber03]

I'm not sure whether I should find it comforting or disturbing that "The Twilight Zone" feels more relevant than ever nowadays. 

[xaxat]

Cincinnati public radio has a new radio production of a "lost" comedy written by Rod Serling.

Quote

91.7 WVXU and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music joined forces, led by our Media Beat blogger John Kiesewetter, to coproduce and present the radio adaptation of O'Toole From Moscow, a Rod Serling comedy about confusion between Russians and the Cincinnati Reds at the height of the "Red Scare."

Quote

Rod Serling's "O'Toole From Moscow" aired only once, in a live one-hour television broadcast on "NBC Matinee Theatre" at 3 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12, 1955. It was not filmed or recorded. Chuck Connors – best known as TV's "The Rifleman" (1958-63) after a brief career with the Chicago Cubs (1951) – starred as the Russian security officer who ended up playing outfield for the Cincinnati Reds. The cast also included John Banner (later known as Sergeant Schultz on "Hogan's Heroes") and Baseball Hall of Fame manager Leo Durocher as the Reds manager.

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by xaxat

[VCRTracking]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 18, 2020 by VCRTracking

[MagnusHex]

Just watched the much-beloved classic episode, "The Invaders" for the first time. It's alright. I love the twist more than the actual episode. That slow-burn pacing, that atmospheric build-up, for a certain amount of years, I've been incapable of enjoying scenes like that, lacking the patience. I almost fell asleep during the first-half of the episode.

Plus, I've just seen way too many horror/slasher movies with similar scenes like that.

[VCRTracking]

 

 

[TudorQueen]

That may be the single best photo of Rod Serling I've ever seen! He's relaxed, happy, healthy and handsome - and clearly enjoying the time with his daughter.

Thanks for posting!

[SlovakPrincess]

Unpopular opinion alert:  I really really really don't like Time Enough at Last.  Usually characters in the Twilight Zone universe have something bad happen to them in kind of a karmic way or there's at least some kind of message.  What's the message here?  Was it that the guy was selfish for just wanting to read in peace after everyone else died?  

I mean, he's probably in shock, he did look for his wife (who didn't even like him anyway) and it's clear she's dead like everyone else ... and what the hell else is he supposed to do while he waits to die alone of radiation poisoning?  I just found this episode puzzling.  It didn't really have anything useful to say about human nature or even the threat of world annihilation.  But maybe I'm totally missing the point?  

[Madding crowd]

A lot of the episodes seem to be fatalistic and ironic where nothing you can do can change your fate. I am watching some of the NYE marathon and I actually feel kind of depressed after watching some of these. On the other hand I just watched the sweet one with Carol Burnett where her guardian angel comes to save her from her bumbling, poor life only to find she was very happy being bumbling and poor.

Edited January 2, 2022 by Madding crowd

[Dr.OO7]

I love the NYE/NYD marathon. 

In the "Exhibit" episode, I think Martin is the one who snapped and killed everyone. Does anyone disagree, out of curiosity?

[Annber03]

3 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

A lot of the episodes seem to be fatalistic and ironic where nothing you can do can change your fate. I am watching some of the NYE marathon and I actually feel kind of depressed after watching some of these. 

Yep. Either that, or they involve a nasty character getting their comeuppance. In the case of "Time Enough at Last", I think the main takeaway from that one was the general unfairness of life. He could only really find solace in his books, otherwise his life was pretty pathetic. And nobody else in the story seemed all that happy with their lot in life, either. And then the world ended, with nobody getting what they wanted. That, and the fact that nobody seemed to respect or appreciate Bemis' love of reading* could read as a commentary on anti-intellectualism, and how it's destroying people, figuratively and perhaps even literally. 

*Mind, I think Bemis' boss had a valid point about how he should focus on his work when he's doing his job, but even then, he still approved of Bemis' wife's cruel mockery of her husband's love of reading. 

But yeah, a lot of the episodes have some very bleak endings, that's for sure. 

Quote

 

On the other hand I just watched the sweet one with Carol Burnett where her guardian angel comes to save her from her bumbling, poor life only to find she was very happy being bumbling and poor.

 

Yeah, every so often they were able to have some lighter, happier stories. I like the one with Buster Keaton, that's a mix of the modern day and a silent movie. That one's fun. I also love the one with Dick York where he can hear everyone's thoughts, mainly because I get a kick out of how that story could basically be the plot of a "Bewitched" episode. All they'd need to do is add Samantha, Endora, Larry, and Gladys Kravitz :p. 

[Madding crowd]

Sounds like we are if the same mind! I have often thought the Bemis episode was about anti-intellectualism too as so many of these episodes have deeper meanings; still find some of them depressing when I’m in a certain mood.

[Snow Apple]

I watched "On Thursday we leave for home" this morning, and man, the ending always get to me. It was his own doing too, unlike the sad fates of some other episodes. 

I still love saying "Number 12 looks just like you" whenever the opportunity presents itself. Mostly when I watch TV. 😂

A lighthearted episode I like is the shop owner who found a genie in a bottle. Each wish has consequences, but in the end, he and his wife are happy being back to square one.
 

Edited January 2, 2022 by Snow Apple

[Annber03]

16 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

still find some of them depressing when I’m in a certain mood.

I just watched "Deaths-Head Revisited" earlier, and that's definitely one that'll hit you hard no matter what mood you're in when you watch it. The story just...lingers...even long after it ends, it's that intense and haunting. Even more so when you realize how personal it was for the cast in general:

Quote

The casting of this episode is notable for several reasons. One is that all of the leading cast were European-born: Beregi was Hungarian, Schildkraut was Austrian, Robert Boon (the taxi driver) was Dutch, Ben Wright (the doctor) was English, and Kaaren Verne (the hotel receptionist) was born in Germany. Nearly all of the main cast also had personal connections to the subject matter—as well as his noted work in The Diary of Anne Frank, Schildkraut (who was Jewish) lost many members of his extended family in the Holocaust, Verne had been forced to flee Germany to escape the Nazis, and both Boon and Ben Wright (the Doctor) had served with the Allied armed forces during World War II.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths-Head_Revisited

Contains one of Serling's best and most powerful opening and closing monologues, though, right up there with his closing monologue to "Monsters are Due on Maple Street":

Quote

Mr. Schmidt, recently arrived in a small Bavarian village which lies eight miles northwest of Munich... a picturesque, delightful little spot one-time known for its scenery, but more recently related to other events having to do with some of the less positive pursuits of man: human slaughter, torture, misery and anguish. Mr. Schmidt, as we will soon perceive, has a vested interest in the ruins of a concentration camp—for once, some seventeen years ago, his name was Gunther Lutze. He held the rank of a captain in the SS. He was a black-uniformed strutting animal whose function in life was to give pain, and like his colleagues of the time, he shared the one affliction most common amongst that breed known as Nazis... he walked the Earth without a heart. And now former SS Captain Lutze will revisit his old haunts, satisfied perhaps that all that is awaiting him in the ruins on the hill is an element of nostalgia. What he does not know, of course, is that a place like Dachau cannot exist only in Bavaria. By its nature, by its very nature, it must be one of the populated areas... of the Twilight Zone.

(I love those last two sentences in particular.)

Quote

There is an answer to the doctor's question. All the Dachaus must remain standing. The Dachaus, the Belsens, the Buchenwalds, the Auschwitzes – all of them. They must remain standing because they are a monument to a moment in time when some men decided to turn the Earth into a graveyard. Into it they shoveled all of their reason, their logic, their knowledge, but worst of all, their conscience. And the moment we forget this, the moment we cease to be haunted by its remembrance, then we become the gravediggers. Something to dwell on and to remember, not only in the Twilight Zone but wherever men walk God's Earth.

 

[LexieLily]

Why didn't I know there was a thread for this show? @Annber03 recommended it to me awhile back and now that I know there's a thread I want to dig up the comments I wrote and post them here. I recorded most of the marathon to watch at my own pace in my own time and I know I'll have comments about those, too. 

[Annber03]

Glad you found this thread - I was about to mention it to you, funny enough :D! 

And yes, look forward to more of your comments as you work through the show - it's nice to see this thread getting a bit active again, will be fun to have some more discussion here :). 

[Cobb Salad]

22 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I watched "On Thursday we leave for home" this morning, and man, the ending always get to me. It was his own doing too, unlike the sad fates of some other episodes. 

I still love saying "Number 12 looks just like you" whenever the opportunity presents itself. Mostly when I watch TV. 😂
 

I watched “On Thursday We Leave for Home” Sunday morning as well after not having seen it for a while.  IMO it’s one of the best of the one hour episodes - Miniature is another good one hour episode but I didn’t see it aired this time.   I don’t think the story would have been told effectively enough in a half hour format.  

“Number 12 Looks Just Like You” is a favorite of mine as well - I’d imagine if there was some real society like that they’d have more than 2 choices for women and one for men.  I can’t imagine walking around seeing the same face over and over again, plus the need to wear a name tag all the time, 😆.

A few other episodes I always look for during the marathon are “A World of Difference”, “A Stop at Willoughby”, “The Odyssey of Flight 33” and “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”.  I wasn’t disappointed this time.  

One clunker I watched was “Spur of the Moment”.  Really, if you have an opportunity to warn your past self you’re about to make a huge mistake don’t dress up and act like you’re going to kill someone.  

Edited January 3, 2022 by Cobb Salad

[Annber03]

1 hour ago, Cobb Salad said:

One clunker I watched was “Spur of the Moment”.  Really, if you have an opportunity to warn your past self you’re about to make a huge mistake don’t dress up and act like you’re going to kill someone.  

Heh, true, her look got her past self's attention...just not quite in the way she'd hoped. 

I do like that one, though, 'cause of the twist involving who Anne winds up with and how her choice affects her life. And the image of dark "future" Anne up on that hill, all in black, screaming and chasing past Anne down is legitimately freaky. 

[Snow Apple]

I agree about "Spur of the Moment." She lived through it so she should remember how scary the experience was. Why didn't she give a cheerful wave and call out a perky hello?

[LexieLily]

On 1/2/2022 at 1:26 AM, Dr.OO7 said:

I love the NYE/NYD marathon. 

In the "Exhibit" episode, I think Martin is the one who snapped and killed everyone. Does anyone disagree, out of curiosity?

I thought it was pretty straightforward that Martin had slowly gone mad over the years and ended up killing all of them: he killed Emma because she wanted to get rid of the figures and said that he needed psychiatric help, he killed Dave because he was going to keep asking about Emma and caught Martin in the lie about getting rid of the figures, and he killed Ferguson because he got a buyer for the figures and wanted to take them away. At the end when Martin was full on hysterical screaming at the figures, he went for the one that killed Ferguson first, not the one that killed Emma his wife. I just wanted to know what Martin did with Dave and Ferguson's bodies, and who eventually found them all.  

Side note: not sure what it says about me but I would totally go visit a Murderer's Row Wax Museum with tour guides. Hee.

[Dr.OO7]

45 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Side note: not sure what it says about me but I would totally go visit a Murderer's Row Wax Museum with tour guides. Hee.

The Madame Tussauds museum in London has a "scary" section, as does the one in New York. I can't speak for the others except that the ones in Las Vegas and Washington, DC don't.

46 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

thought it was pretty straightforward that Martin had slowly gone mad over the years and ended up killing all of them:

I thought so too, but this IS The Twilight Zone, so the idea of those statues coming to life and killing people isn't too far-fetched.

48 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

just wanted to know what Martin did with Dave and Ferguson's bodies, and who eventually found them all.  

He buried Dave in the same way he buried Emma and there was a Time Skip after he "confronted" the statues, so we'll never know about Ferguson.

[SlovakPrincess]

On 1/3/2022 at 6:56 PM, Snow Apple said:

I agree about "Spur of the Moment." She lived through it so she should remember how scary the experience was. Why didn't she give a cheerful wave and call out a perky hello?

So true!  Of course, she's bitter, alcoholic (probably shouldn't be riding a horse drunk all the time, lady!), and consumed with rage, so she's not exactly thinking clearly.  But I guess the moral of the story is she can't fix the past and she'll never catch up to her younger self to warn her, anyway, which is why she's screaming in anguish all the time.   I really feel sorry for Anne's mother, who's life is ruined by her husband's death and son in law's disastrous mismanagement of the family money ... things really sucked back when women had no financial independence!

 

An episode that rarely gets any love, but has become one of my favorites is a "A Piano in the House" - the player piano that makes a person reveal their true nature if you put just the right song on.  The acting is quite good and it's an interesting study of how we hide our true desires and feelings from society by putting up a protective facade.  

 

"Night of the Meek" and "A Passage for Trumpet" have their corny moments, but I still love them.  "One for the Angels" is another heartwarming one that I like.

"The Lateness of the Hour" isn't exactly a great episode, but it's super unsettling.  Something about the cheaper way it was filmed, on video, adds to the weird aura of it ("Twenty-Two" also has this effect).  

"The Big Tall Wish" is one I rewatched recently and really liked, thought it's sad.  

Edited January 9, 2022 by SlovakPrincess

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, SlovakPrincess said:

"The Lateness of the Hour" isn't exactly a great episode, but it's super unsettling.  Something about the cheaper way it was filmed, on video, adds to the weird aura of it ("Twenty-Two" also has this effect). 

That moment at the end, when the woman's getting her massage and the camera pans up to reveal who's giving her the massage and there's that jump scare type music, is very effectively creepy. 

(The bit at the beginning of the episode is kind of weird, though, 'cause the woman's moaning in satisfaction at getting a massage, but she's so over the top with it to where it sounds like she's moaning because of....other reasons :p.)

I like "One for the Angels", too. It's got a sweet ending. 

[CeeBeeGee]

On 1/1/2020 at 10:56 PM, merylinkid said:

Was driving along these past two days and saw a sign "Willoughby next exit."   I heard a conductor say "Willoughby, next stop.   Next stop Willoughby."   That poor man.   He just wanted to breathe for a moment instead of "push, push, push."

I absolutely love that episode. Probably my favorite TZ episode. Also the actor playing Gart William (main character) is the father of Tyne Daly.

[Annber03]

Was poking about online and came across this - a "Twilight Zone" fanvid set to Alanis Morissette's "Ironic". It's good stuff :D: