"The Twilight Zone" (1959) TV series 1959-1964

Creator:

Rod Serling

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

2 October 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Rod Serling's seminal anthology series focused on ordinary folks who suddenly found themselves in extraordinary, usually supernatural, situations. The stories would typically end with an ironic twist that would see the guilty punished.

Plot Keywords:

Anthology | Moral | Cult Favorite | Surrealism | Supernatural Power

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 23	5:00 AM	SYFY	The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank	#3.23
Mon. Nov. 23	5:30 AM	SYFY	Shadow Play	#2.26

Cast

Rod Serling

...

Narrator / ... (156 episodes, 1959-1964)

Also Known As:

The Twilight Zone: The Original Series (Australia)
Twilight Zone (USA) (new title)

Runtime:

51 min (18 episodes) (season 4) | 25 min (138 episodes) (season 1-3 and season 5)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:TV-PG | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes) | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Cayuga Productions

Trivia:

Due to budgetary constraints in its second season, the network decided to cut costs by shooting some episodes on videotape rather than film. Because videotape was a relatively primitive medium in the early 1960s, the editing of tape was next to impossible. Thus, each of the 6 episodes was "camera-cut" as in live TV, on a studio sound stage, using a total of four cameras. The requisite multicamera setup of the videotape experiment, pretty much precluded location shooting, severely limiting the potential scope of the story-lines, and so, the short-lived experiment was ultimately abandoned. The 6 videotaped episodes were titled: "The Twilight Zone: The Lateness of the Hour (#2.8)" (1960); "The Twilight Zone: Static (#2.20)" (1961); "The Twilight Zone: The Whole Truth (#2.14)" (1961); "The Twilight Zone: The Night of the Meek (#2.11)" (1960); "The Twilight Zone: Twenty Two (#2.17)" (1961); "The Twilight Zone: Long Distance Call (#2.22)" (1961).

Quotes:

[Opening narration (season 1)]
Narrator: There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Mike Wallace Interview: Rod Serling" (1959)

Soundtrack:

Twilight Zone Theme

Spur of the Moment

Imagine you are an unsuspecting daughter of prominent New England wealth, and suddenly you are upended by a malignant premonition!! This woman is an enigmatic phantom who has been disillusioned by consequences, she winds up resorting to dipsomanical forms of entertainment, this means that her only form of emotional consolation comes from a bottle of cognac, apathy is suffocating her, and she is afflicted by her own personal failure!! The abrupt revelation that mendacity is your stilted panacea, and reality is her bitter cynicism, necessitates a formidable trepidation which you are unable to cope with!! This is a dreadfully candid scenario with definable features!! You are unfamiliar with this nightmarish figure, but she has an acute resemblance to you, she is warning you about yourself, and you have become terrified!!

This Twilight Zone episode deals with devastating disappointments which emanated from personal neglect and wanton selfishness!! You (Ann Henderson) were mirrored by the fallen angel of darkness, otherwise known as you at age 43!! You were suppose to marry Mr Right, and as a result of your adolescent instinct being one of your downfalls, you wound up marrying your childhood sweetheart, he was definitely Mr Wrong!! ..The only constant in your life is alcohol, and your stupors of disenchantment result in blaming your father for everything, hence, you are stalemated by non-productiveness, and you have become misanthropic by default.. These irrational logic patterns of yours are indicative of a banal, run of the mill, alcoholic's proverbial cop out!! Your father's estate has been run into ruin, and your prevailing domestic enmity is a crippling force to your very existence!! At the ripe old age of 18, your desolate future accosted you, and you had no way of fighting back...You were victimized by a lethargic attrition, disheveled by circumstances, and though you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, your incredible lack of discipline and discriminating judgment has caused you to be permanently bankrupt!! Bottom line, you had a dual with adversity and adversity won!! Everything in your life has gone wrong, and now you are isolated and despondent!! This comprises the callous vilification of your miserably pathetic plight...Without question!! It is definitely time for you to reap what you've sown!!

This was my favorite Twilight Zone episode of all time!! It depicts the realistic tragedy of deteriorating wealth decimating an entire family!! Rod Serling illustrates how lives can easily be destroyed by making the wrong decisions!! Films like "Dracula" and "Wolfman" are indeed supernatural sensationalism, and the real horror story which receives the certificate of authenticity is Ann Henderson's life!! Yes, the monster that will destroy you is your future!! While Ann owned a racing horse on the verge of bank foreclosure, by no means, may she ride off into the sunset!! This episode has a very poignant and compelling dialog which addresses the upheaval of pecuniary dissemination!! The trend of domestic disaster in this case is resoundingly irreversible!! In 1964, television's perception of the well to do insinuated that they were omnipotent.. The reality of affluence is that once it is passed down to the heirs (Otherwise known as the overgrown adolescents) it is reduced to nothing in record time!! The Twilight Zone segment "Spur of the Moment" does a tremendous job of displaying such an unfortunately realistic situation!! It was made during the last season of the series!! This was a fantastic idea for a Twilight Zone segment, as I stated before, this is my favorite Twilight Zone episode out of the entire series!!