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The Twilight Zone watch online HD

Original title:The Twilight Zone
Category:TV Series / Fantasy / Horror / Mystery / Sci-Fi / Thriller
Actors:Rod Serling,Robert McCord,Jay Overholts
Duration:51min
Video type:TV Series

Rating 9.0: Votes 415

Short summary

Ordinary people find themselves in extraordinarily astounding situations, which they each try to solve in a remarkable manner.

The Twilight Zone is a place that exists at any moment of time, of space or of mind....but always when you least expect it. When you find yourself in this realm of unlimited possibility, be careful what you say or do. The right decisions may help you find your way back out....sometimes with greater happiness and wealth. The wrong decisions often lead to madness and death, or an eternity trapped in this dimension. Tread warily past the sign post ahead that says you've entered, The Twilight Zone

Trailers "The Twilight Zone "

Rod Serling wanted Richard Egan to do the narration because of his rich, deep voice. However, due to strict studio contracts of the time, Egan was unable to. Serling said, "It's Richard Egan or no one. It's Richard Egan, or I'll do the thing myself", which is exactly what happened.

Rod Serling invited viewers to submit a script. He was flooded with over fourteen thousand scripts, and he actually got around to reading five hundred of them. However, only two were any good, and he couldn't use them, because they didn't fit the format of the show.

Rod Serling made up the phrase "sixth dimension" to use in season one's opening narration. William Self of CBS asked him what was the fifth dimension (given that dimensions one through three are exemplified by a line, a plane, and a cube, respectively, and the fourth is time). Serling answered, "I don't know. Aren't there five?" He then changed the narration to "There is a fifth dimension".

Rod Serling thought he had come up with the term "The Twilight Zone" on his own (he liked the sound of it), but after the show aired, he found out that it is an actual term used by U.S. Air Force pilots when crossing the day and night sides above the world.

Almost all of the men in season one, introduced by Rod Serling's opening narration, were described as being thirty-six years old.

Rod Serling was ranked number one in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends". (August 1, 2005)

Сумеречная Зона: The Dummy (1962) is routinely voted the scariest series episode by critics.

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 six episodes was "camera-cut", as in live television, on a studio soundstage, using a total of four cameras. The requisite multicamera set-up of the videotape experiment pretty much precluded location shooting, severely limiting the potential scope of the storylines, and so the short-lived experiment was ultimately abandoned. The limitations of using videotape (e.g., it could not be edited as cleanly as film, and its visual quality was poorer) led the network to switch back to film for the rest of the series, despite the greater cost. The six videotaped episodes were titled: Сумеречная Зона: The Lateness of the Hour (1960); Сумеречная Зона: Static (1961); Сумеречная Зона: The Whole Truth (1961); Сумеречная Зона: The Night of the Meek (1960); Сумеречная Зона: Twenty Two (1961); and Сумеречная Зона: Long Distance Call (1961); and then transferred to film for broadcast, which saved the producers about five thousand dollars per episode.

The oft-parodied high-pitched guitar melody riff in the theme music was played by Howard A. Roberts.

Other than Rod Serling, Robert McCord was the only actor to appear in all five seasons. In second place are Jack Klugman, John Anderson, Jon Lormer and Vaughn Taylor, who each appeared in four seasons. Klugman and Taylor appeared in the first, third, fourth and fifth seasons, Anderson appeared in the first, second, fourth and fifth seasons and Lormer appeared in the each of the first four seasons.

Although the phrase "Submitted for your approval" from Rod Serling's opening narration has come to be closely identified with the show (and is often used by Serling impressionists), it is only heard in three episodes: Сумеречная Зона: Cavender Is Coming (1962), Сумеречная Зона: In Praise of Pip (1963), and Сумеречная Зона: A Kind of a Stopwatch (1963). At the end of the parallel as well.

All episodes in seasons one, two, three, and five were thirty minutes in length. Episodes in season four (airing from January to May 1963) were one hour in length, due to CBS' switching the show's available time-slot where only an hour could be taken.

A comic book version of this series, "hosted" by the artistic image of Rod Serling, ran until 1982, seven years after the real Serling had died.

In what is generally regarded by fans as the most hated episode of the series, Сумеречная Зона: Cavender Is Coming (1962), starred Jesse White and Carol Burnett in what was supposed to be a spin-off episode for a sitcom about a bumbling guardian angel. The episode was videotaped and had a laugh track.

Due to creator Rod Serling's excessive smoking, he was often seen with a cigarette during the introduction. Also, since one of the show's sponsors was the Liggett & Myers tobacco company, Serling served as an on-screen spokesman for their product, Chesterfield cigarettes, during his "tune in next week" spot at the end of each episode. The American Tobacco Company, a later sponsor, insisted that he always be seen with a cigarette, although Serling refused to plug their brand (Pall Mall) on-screen.

Ranked number eight in TV Guide's list of the "25 Top Cult Shows Ever". (May 30, 2004)

Of the three "The Twilight Zone" television series over the years, this is the only one which does not include Rod Serling's image during the opening credits. Of course, this is the only one of the series to have the opening voice-over performed by Serling.

This became a landmark television series. It was beloved by critics and the public as well. Rod Serling's follow-up series Night Gallery (1969), and other shows he did after that, never had the same impact.

Michael Jackson sampled Serling's narrations in his song "Threatened". He sampled from several episodes, but the two most noticeable ones are "It's a Good Life" and "In His Image".

On August 11, 2009 the U.S. Postal Service issued a pane of twenty 44-cent commemorative postage stamps honoring early U.S. television programs. A booklet with twenty picture post cards was also issued. On the stamp honoring this show, is a picture of its creator, host, and narrator Rod Serling. Other shows honored in the "Early TV Memories" issue were: The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952), Альфред Хичкок представляет (1955), The Dinah Shore Show (1951), Dragnet (1951), Toast of the Town (1948), The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950), Hopalong Cassidy (1952), The Honeymooners (1955), Puppet Playhouse (1947), I Love Lucy (1951), Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947), Lassie (1954), The Lone Ranger (1949), Perry Mason (1957), The Phil Silvers Show (1955), The Red Skelton Show (1951), Texaco Star Theatre Starring Milton Berle (1948), The Tonight Show (which began as Tonight! (1953)), and You Bet Your Life (1950).

Сумеречная Зона: The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street (1960) is very similar to "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding; right up to the scene where the towns people kill their neighbor.

Although "The Twilight Zone" wasn't the first TV show of its kind, it is the one by which most others are compared.

Amongst the many classic episodes are the following:

Сумеречная Зона: The Lonely (1959)
Сумеречная Зона: Perchance to Dream (1959)
Сумеречная Зона: The Purple Testament (1960)
Сумеречная Зона: Long Live Walter Jameson (1960)
Сумеречная Зона: The Howling Man (1960)
Сумеречная Зона: A Hundred Yards Over the Rim (1961)
Сумеречная Зона: Deaths-Head Revisited (1961)
Сумеречная Зона: In Praise of Pip (1963)
Сумеречная Зона: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (1963)
Сумеречная Зона: Living Doll (1963)

"The Twilight Zone" is sometimes compared with The Outer Limits (1963) and vice versa. However, the former show covers more in the way of Fantasy. The latter is pure Science Fiction.

Rod Serling was able to tap into the fears held by the public. This he achieved by covering various themes in "The Twilight Zone," like paranoia, bigotry, social and moral injustice etc.

On May 11, 2018, not long after Сумеречная зона (2019) was picked up for CBS All Access, CBS picked the following as the 10 most terrifying episodes of the original series.

Сумеречная Зона: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (1963)
Сумеречная Зона: Time Enough at Last (1959)
Сумеречная Зона: Living Doll (1963)
Сумеречная Зона: Eye of the Beholder (1960)
Сумеречная Зона: It's a Good Life (1961)
Сумеречная Зона: The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street (1960)
Сумеречная Зона: Twenty Two (1961)
Сумеречная Зона: Five Characters in Search of an Exit (1961)
Сумеречная Зона: The Masks (1964)
Сумеречная Зона: The Hitch-Hiker (1960)

User reviews

Author: Ishnsius

Wow! Where should I start? "The Twilight Zone" is arguably the greatest science fiction television show ever! Almost every single episode is a masterpiece of modern Sci-Fi. I feel "The Twilight Zone" is responsible for the way we view science fiction today...provocative, strangely eerie, and wildly entertaining. The shows creator and writer, Rod Sterling, was a master of creating a show that caused you to stop and think, re-examine reality, consider the impossible, check the closet before going to bed, and sleep with the lights on! I watched this program religiously as a child. Every Saturday night I had to bribe my little brother to stay up and watch "The Twilight Zone" with me because I was afraid to watch it alone. It came on at 11:00 p.m. By 10:45 my little brother was sound asleep with chocolate smeared around his mouth, and I would be alone, curled in a blanket, awaiting the next spine tingling episode. I was never disappointed. By the time it went off, I would usually be sitting there alone...in a comatose-like daze, staring at the static on the television screen, too afraid to turn it off because to do so would ensure that you met with some hideous fate similar to the one you just saw earlier. "The Twilight Zone" was also a spring board for many young and talented actors/actresses during its run from the late 50's well into the 60's.

Thanks to mail order companies, I have ordered and received every single episode of "The Twilight Zone"! It would be impossible for me to say which episode is my absolute favorite because I loved so many. But a couple do stick out in my mind. They are "Time Enough At Last" and "Eye Of The Beholder". If you've never watched this wonderful example of television at it's best, I plead with you to check it out. It can be found on the Sci-Fi channel as well as various other stations via cable T.V. There's no sex, no foul language, and no graphic violence. But you will find a solid plot, famous actors/actresses years before before they became famous, and a story with a very surprising twist at the end that will leave a smile on your face, or, a cringe as you wake up your someone else in the house to turn off the T.V.

Author: Alister

"The Twilight Zone" brought a complexity and maturity to television that had never existed before and probably hasn't been seen since. The stories were always ironic, briliant, and fascinating, and they often came with a moral lesson. Episodes like "A Kind of a Stopwatch", with Richard Erdmann, "Time Enough At Last", with Burgess Meredith, "Nightmare at 20,00 Feet", with William Shatner, and "Where is Everybody," with Earl Holliman, dove into concepts and situations no other show would have even touched. The entertainment brought on by "The Twilight Zone" was as vast as the Zone itself. Its principal writers, Sterling, Beaumont, and Matheson, were the best of their era. For sheer television entertainment, nothing compares to the brilliant, heavyweight stories of "The Twilight Zone." TO be frank, "The Twilight Zone" was the first show that didn't insult the viewer's intelligence.

Author: Taun

Rod Serling's distinctive approach gave "The Twilight Zone" a unique character that will always keep it among the best-remembered of all classic television shows. Not only that, but it set high goals for itself, and it took a lot of chances - and not chances in the phony, trivial sense in which a lot of more recent series "take chances" by resorting to unnecessarily provocative or indecent material that actually guarantees them attention and acclaim.

"The Twilight Zone" took chances by experimenting with many different kinds of stories and material, and by aiming to provide high-quality entertainment while simultaneously giving you something to think about. As a result, there were a few episodes that didn't quite click, and that seem odd or even dull. But when it worked - as it did a great deal of the time - no television show then or now was more imaginative.

In a short review, it would be impossible to list all of the memorable episodes, or even to cover the full range of the kinds of material that it used. There were chilling episodes like "To Serve Man", which is often remembered by those who saw it decades ago, and there were thought-provoking episodes like "In the Eye of the Beholder", which was also imaginatively filmed.

Many episodes relied primarily on a well-written and well-conceived story, while others, like "The Invaders", relied heavily on excellent acting performances (in that case, by Agnes Moorehead). There were occasional light-hearted episodes like "Once Upon a Time", which was also a nice showcase for the great Buster Keaton.

It's too bad that these anthology-style series went out of fashion, because a number of them were of high quality. This one, in particular, stands well above its subsequent imitators. The best science fiction, like the best of any genre or art form, appeals to the imagination, not to the senses, and imagination is what "The Twilight Zone" was all about.

Author: Fordregelv

This episode begins in the foyer of Mr Williams' personal and professional fatigue...This dilemma transcends the cumbersome nuisance of an encroaching mid-life crisis..It is far more fatal!!..Mr Williams is cannonaded by being under constant scrutiny at his high profile job, and this undue stress takes a toll on his physical health as well as his mental resolve...Pressure from all sides has made Williams acutely aware of his actual breaking point...This Twilight Zone episode brilliantly depicts how a man who has sophisticated Connecticut suburbia by the throat can be the well deserved recipient of self deprecating pity!!

As Williams is returning home from work one evening, he falls asleep and has a dream about a town called Wiloughby...In this dream the train stops at a town named Wiloughby, which is a quaint little town in the late 1800's...Wiloughby "Where a man can live his life full measure".. Wiloughby is a simplistic and serene utopia.. Small town America in the late 1800's?.. No flu shots, no air conditioning, no television, abhorrent racial intolerance and non-refrigerated food!!..yet for Williams, Wiloughby represents an innocence and happiness that is right out of a Currier and Ives painting!!

When Mr Williams arrives home, he tells his wife about his dream!!! Let's first meet the wife...She is a preoccupied virago who is consumed by material accoutrement as a way of flaunting accomplishment and success...Her brow beaten husband's accomplishment and success!! It is Chateaubriand every Friday at the Country Club and clothes from Peck and Peck just to brandish a badge of prestige, her avaricious nature is solely for the purpose of nurturing the shallow virtue of vanity!!

As the husband explores the conundrum of climbing the corporate ladder, the wife merely purports her husband's social isolation and emotional neglect and relegates it to indignant and precocious whining...She perceives the town he manufactured in a dream called Wiloughby, as an escapist panacea which serves as a subterfuge for averting the reality of executive level competition!!

Returning home once again, Mr Williams has a dream about Wiloughby and now he is determined to get off the train and visit Wiloughby should he have this dream ever again!!...Increased pressure from his job and a total lack of empathy from everyone around him intensify his desire to change his life!!...He gives his wife one final plea to support his mixed feelings about everything...This completely backfires and she makes it perfectly clear as she previously stated, that she wants no part of a man "who's big dream in life is to be Huckleberry Finn"...It is important to note that William's wife is not impervious to what he is saying, she understands fully of what he is saying and resolutely resists it!!

Now being pressured from all sides to the point whereby a head vice seems like a Tonka Toy...Mr Williams once again falls asleep on the train and decides to get off at Wiloughby (The manufactured town in his persistent dreams)...To Williams, he has now entered the citadel of respite and solace...To the real world Mr Williams has committed suicide...For now, Mr Williams is in the world he wants to be!!

This Twilight Zone episode illustrates how being raptured up in white collar slavery can often times lead to being trounced by recrimination!! As a result, it is easy to lose sight of what is truly important to you!! Now all of a sudden, the joy of heartfelt laughter, and human compassion seem like old relics!!...A mandated life of affluence can be the insidious assassin to happiness, as well as a ruthless vitiation to a tolerable perseverance!!

The Twilight Zone episode "Stop at Wiloughby" is loosely based on Rod Serling's life in terms of the pressure he faced while doing Twilight Zone!! It is very ironic that this episode premiered on CBS the day I was born!!...Rod Serling's articulation of the social climbing America is done up to perfection in this episode!! Carrying across an idea that is prolific and socially astute in nature is difficult enough on it's own right, but when you are continually interrupted every twelve minutes by commercials about bleach detergent, chocolates that taste homemade, and Mercury Convertibles, it is seemingly far more difficult or next to impossible...Rod Serling somehow finds a way to convey his message and flawlessly...This is my second favorite Twilight Zone Episode of all time...I love it, but then again I love a lot of them!!

Author: Ffrlel

There is probably no one who doesn't remember the Twilight Zone and have a favorite episode. I was 11 or 12 and so many of the episodes stick in my mind. Many friends and co-workers are similarly afflicted. When a group of us are discussing the woes of commuting, someone is sure to suggest that they get off at Willoughby. Stuck in a long line for whatever, with the beginning of the line no where in sight - someone might rant "It's a cookbook!". We laugh now but some episodes gave us cause for concern.

Did you ever notice how many 50's, 60's and even 70's tv shows are represented by the guest cast of TZ? Gilligan's Island, Bewitched, Star Trek, Lost In Space, Beverly Hillbillies, The Farmer's Daughter, Dobie Gillis, My Three Sons, Batman, Big Valley, The Bob Cummings Show, My Favorite Doll (or is that My Living Doll - Julie Newmar plays a robot), Honey West, Police Woman, The Odd Couple and who knows how many more!

What a series - serious actresses like Ida Lupino and Agnes Moorehead and clowns like Don Rickles. Big screen names like Mickey Rooney and Charles Bronson. Lost In Space is represented by Johnathan Harris, Billy Mumy (numerous appearances -and its a good thing you did,Anthony) and Angela Cartwright. Batman has Adam West, Julie Newmar and the great Burgess! You have a James Bond villain (Joseph Wiseman) and the first James Bond himself (for the really entrenched trivia fans - I'm not telling you who he is but it ain't Connery).

An earlier commenter put it best - this show bred most of today's horror, suspense and occult films.

Author: Browelali

I would assume that everyone knows "The Twilight Zone"'s theme song, and recognizes Rod Serling's monotone explanations of how the given character has just crossed over into the Twilight Zone. I'm not sure which episode is my favorite. There's "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet", in which William Shatner sees a monster tearing at an airplane wing, and there's also "Time Enough at Last", where Burgess Meredith plays a bookworm who gets enough time to read as much as he wants...or does he? Or, it might be another episode. But no matter. "The Twilight Zone" never ceases to impress me. Even the 1983 movie was pretty interesting, not something that many movies based on TV shows accomplish. You should try to see the show.

Author: Black_Hawk_Down

It is completely impossible to narrow down the best episodes of this classic TV series...everything about it (writing, acting, production values) is leaps and bounds above anything around today! That being said, since the Christmas season is approaching, Serling made two holiday episodes that are worth taking the time to watch all over again: "The Night of the Meek" with Art Carney and (my personal favorite) "The Changing of the Guard" with Donald Pleasance. Both are timeless classics, and show a very sentimental side to the Twilight Zone...Every year at the holiday season I like to sit back and take these episodes in; they get better and better with each repeated viewing! Merry Christmas & Enjoy!

Author: Ueledavi

The concept of 'The Twilight Zone' grabbed me immediately. Rather than a simple collection of supernatural tales designed to give us the willies, Rod Serling set out to utilise the often underrated medium of Science Fiction and Fantasy to put forward his social commentary on mankind. Serling's early straight drama scripts had been cut to shreds by the networks whose main concerns were keeping the sponsors happy and not offending potential viewers. This came at the price of quality entertainment and, despite the worthy targets of the scripts, it was more important for the bosses to ensure their funding was secure than it was to produce socially conscious programmes. However, by using a genre that was generally considered to hold little creative value, Serling managed to slip plenty of subversive social and political satire past the censors without them picking up on it. This was the sort of materiel that, in the 1950s, would never have made it to the screen unveiled. It exposed corruption in authority figures, it exposed the sort of weaknesses inherent in mankind that American networks are still so unwilling to portray in their country's citizens. By adding in a supernatural element Serling could suddenly comment on whatever he wanted. To the networks it was a sci-fi show, a bunch of far fetched stories about unusual people. In actuality, it was about all of us. Often the supernatural element figured far less heavily in the story than the social element. Serling's wonderfully melodramatic, wordy scripts focused squarely on his characters rather than just utilising them as two dimensional pawns overwhelmed by the story. People, their thoughts, choices, behavioural patterns and emotions were the story.

Just as compelling was the nature of the twilight zone itself. Although Serling offers us a long spiel at the beginning of each show describing the zone, it is purposefully vague so as to not erase the mystery. All we know is that entering the twilight zone causes things to take a turn for the unusual but in exactly what way is impossible to tell until you're in the thick of it. This is because the nature of the zone is so elusive. Sometimes it is a God like force which metes out justice or teaches characters a lesson. However, the zone's sense of justice is often distinctly skewed. Although corrupt, violent, generally unpleasant people get their comeuppance in the zone more often than not, being a good, honest, benevolent person is no guarantee that you won't end up with the rough end of the stick. This is what makes The Twilight Zone such a fascinating watch. You don't know what sort of mood the zone will be in from episode to episode. Sometimes it takes active control, rewarding the good and punishing the bad; sometimes it takes a step back after having set things in motion and simply observes the outcome; sometimes, in what often prove to be some of the best episodes, the zone unleashes its sick sense of humour on an unsuspecting innocent (the most notable example of this being 'Time Enough At Last'). It's even possible for the zone to contradict itself, such as the back to back episodes 'The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine' and 'Walking Distance', which offer two very different outcomes for characters who long to return to their pasts.

More than ably assisting Serling are several other regular writers, most notably Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson. These two writers turned in many of the very finest episodes of the series and proved to be more consistently reliable than Serling (although, to be fair to Serling, they did not contribute nearly as many scripts to the show as he did). Less inclined to lapse into broad, cartoonish comedy or over-sentimentality, Matheson and Beaumont turned in some of the most famous episodes ("Nightmare at 20,000 Feet") and some of the most undervalued ("Perchance to Dream"). Matheson was to be admired for his taut plotting, strong characterisation and convincing dialogue while Beaumont frequently came up with the most intriguing ("Miniature", "Passage on the Lady Anne") and plain horrific ("Long Live Walter Jameson", "Perchance to Dream", "The New Exhibits") concepts.

Of course, as is the case with virtually every anthology show, some episodes of The Twilight Zone were better than others while some were just downright awful (check out the likes of "The Mighty Casey", "The Whole Truth" or "Mr Dingle, The Strong" for just a few examples) but when it got it right, the result was frequently magical. These beautifully made stories in gorgeous, crisp black and white, continue to thrill, delight and disturb me with each viewing. Rod Serling's mysterious but lovable humanitarian host is a hard man to refuse and when he asks me to step into the twilight zone with him, I rarely refuse.

Author: Heraly

Whatever incantation, whatever form, whatever decade, this show has managed to intrigue and defy logic with its use of imaginary story lines and ideas, mixing a palate of intrigue and genius to allow the common viewer to become engrossed in the weirdest television has to offer. While the original series was cheesy at some points, this show was always different, always something to look forward to in regards to the eeriness it created. Rod Serling helped usher in a generation of paranoia and science fiction thanks to this groundbreaking show, and I'm thankful for this. I could only imagine what the world would be like if all we had were terrible dramas and average sitcoms filling the airwaves. This show will rank as one of the best in my book, no matter what people say.

Author: Dikus

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!!

Author: Clever

Featuring some of the most bizarre, eerie, and thought-provoking tales of the weird and supernatural that you're ever going to see, Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone", from the early 1960s, has had a phenomenal impact on redefining the genres of Horror and Science Fiction.

This brilliant, landmark TV series, that almost single-handedly changed the way we viewed things strange and extraordinary, has so rightly earned its high-ranking position in TV History thanks to its excellent production values, and its deft blend of credible human emotions mixed generously with incredible, awe-inspiring situations, which ranged from comic to tragic.

These intriguing half hour episodes were all filmed in b&w.

Author: Ranterl

How much do we really know about our next door neighbors? The pleasant facade they masquerade around becomes a stilted and decorative shield for them when their prevailing circumstances are totally cop aesthetic. What happens though, when adversity besieges, and the obligatory veneer is stripped away? The affable camaraderie of your friendly neighborhood kindred spirit, (otherwise known as your neighbor) becomes abruptly, and instantaneously obviated with these circumstances, and now, your neighbor is now a vulgar,venomous, vile, gut-wrenching, self-absorbed- for- survival- mode, monstrous parasite! This episode "The Shelter" is unequivocally,one of the best "Twilight Zone" segments out of the entire series! While it is compared to "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street", I felt that "The Shelter" was a great deal more compelling. The intensity of the characters' excoriation was extremely gripping with the episode. As opposed to "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street" where the people extracted a little too much exaggerated paranoia. The cast was very well put together, including Jack Albertson and Larry Gates. (Gates played a doctor, and was down in the basement in the "Twilight Zone's" "The Shelter", just like he was in the movie "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" ). "The Shelter" possesses a vitriolic contempt with which these threatened individuals harbored! This enmity is far more of a lethal arsenal than any defense weapon around. How much do we hate? What exactly is it that we are thoroughly willing to do just to stay alive? The desperation, the prejudice, the primal fears, and the scruple less non cooperation we capitulate to at the first sign of terror, becomes a grim scenario that is truly alarming!! This "Twilight Zone" segment "The Shelter" purveys an incredibly desperate acrimony which basically admonishes the entire human race. This false alarm for apocalyptic calamity with this "Twilight Zone" segment has encapsulated an aggregate character assassination for all of these New York suburban misanthropes who became victimized by this precariously macabre situation. You might want to look in the mirror and attempt to reaffirm the distinction between man and beast after watching this "Twilight Zone" episode. I did, and, quite frankly, such a situation that "The Shelter" brought before me, has made it very difficult for me to distinguish any comfortable dichotomy between human beings, and a bloodthirsty wolf pack!! This wry little epigram definitely put me in an frightfully horrid mood, particularly on a philosophical level! Rod Serling hones in on the rudimentary instincts of man, which are for better, or, for worse, Serling accomplishes this parody in a very successful manner too! What is the most significant aspect to Rod Serling's works is the esoteric element to them that transcends the importance of television ratings and popularity! This intriguing quality is one whereby the paradigms in which Rod Serling manifests were stunningly pertinent to the thought patterns of modern twentieth century America! I do not mean that these ideas were remotely similar to Eisenhower era conceptions, I mean that Serling pinpoints many U.S. cold war ideologies with an utterly succinct and identifiable accuracy! Rod Serling had attained such a creative stranglehold on television entertainment with "Twilight Zone" that it almost seemed as though programming approval from CBS President, William Paley, became relegated to the triviality of a tertiary concern! So many "Twilight Zone" segments were fabulous, and I feel that this episode of "Twilight Zone" entitled "The Shelter" was totally outstanding as well!!

Author: Samardenob

Almost nothing that I have ever seen on television is quite this depressing! That does not mean that I thought this episode of "Twilight Zone" was bad! It does mean, however, that this episode entitled "The Long Morrow" was very poignant! The two main stars in this "Twilight Zone" segment were Mariette Hartley and Robert Lansing. Mariette Hartley is an actress who evokes very heart felt expressions that harbor an asserted and clarified cogency! This is a quality of an actress (or actor) which is very believable! Robert Lansing has a subtle disposition which purveys an intense and dedicated conviction throughout this entire episode.The characters that Mariette Hartley and Robert Lansing play, winds up being a situation where they encounter each other through happenstance interaction in this "Twilight Zone" segment. Their intuitive nature dictates that they follow their auspicious urges and get to know each other better. They decide to have an absolutely wonderful evening together regardless of the fact that he (Robert Lansing)has been assigned to a space mission which commences the very next day. This mission will distance Robert Lansing's character from the world for 40 years! As a result,all kindred spirits, and emotional cohesiveness he has experienced with everybody, including Mariette Hartley, must be abandoned and reduced to a bittersweet memory! Turns out, because of a mechanical failure, that his venture into space results in the earth aging all but a few days, while he has aged over 40 years! So now, the end result is one whereby the caprice of a space time continuum has relegated a sorry soul of a man into a plight of unprecedented loneliness!! This emotionally insurmountable tedium which comprises 40 years of festering an affection for a potential loving soul mate, has abruptly resonated into a situation where he must sever all ties, and, bid farewell. Arctic desolation has become the savage assassin which has alienated a man from societal contact, this inevitably means he has no ability to act on any love interests either!! Returning from this journey, 99.999% of all men would call in their marker and claim their love for their woman, even though she is 26 and he is 70! Love in this case is not tough, it is utterly gruesome! The disheartening circumstances are such whereby this man must let the love of his pre-isolated world go. This is a selfless act for the benefit of her well being. Such a philosophical catastrophe ruthlessly demonstrates that this is a case where love truly means total sacrifice! Idealistically phrased, she says "it doesn't matter the way you are, nor the way I am". More eloquently and astutely put, he says "Oh!! it matters"!! While watching this "Twilight Zone" episode and being barraged with an unusually precarious paradigm, I noticed that Rod Serling wrote this segment. You have to generously indulge Serling to attain the total gist of what he was trying to say with this episode. I did, and I got extremely depressed. In this instance, I would say that depression is not entirely pejorative, rather, depression serves as a strengthening tool for fortifying my stamina as an individual! This "Twilight Zone" episode is outstanding, and is one of the best episodes that this series has ever manufactured! I put it up with the top ten "Twilight Zone" segments in all of this series' history!!

Author: Friert

*SPOILERS for some episodes* This TV Show is the Big Daddy of shows like 'The Outer Limits (both versions)', 'The Hunger', 'Night Visions', 'Nightmare Cafè' and has also spawned two re-adaptations, one in 1985 and another in 2002, two movies... yet a lot of people can only think of 'The Twilight Zone' as 'weird', especially a lot of people my age (I'm 21).

It's not just that; it's also a good way to do social commentary without having to change your script for some idiotic reasons (in one of his precedent scripts, he was forbidden to let a character commit suicide because one of the sponsors, an insurance company, said there were a lot of troubles with insurances in case of suicide - one of the most asinine reasons from a network for a rewrite EVER); this is evident in episodes like 'Maple Street'.

Others just speak about the hopes, dreams and let's not forget the FEARS and DESIRES of being human, as we watch a man with amnesia wander, scared and lost, through a town devoid of people, or a depressed drunkard gunslinger not wanting to do anymore what's a master of - but that has also thrown him into full-blown alcoholism and depression, or a hypochondriac, selfish to a fault man achieve immortality and then ending up getting 'Life Without Parole', or an aging, deluded actress achieving her dream of being back into her movies (literally), or a man taking a journey through the past and meeting himself as a kid, or Talky Tina, Chucky's grandmother ('I am Talky Tina, and I am going to kill you').

With a guest star cast which counts, among the many, Robert Redford, Charles Bronson, Earl Holliman, Dan Duryea, Dick York, Ed Wynn, Robert Duvall, Telly Savalas, Ida Lupino and many others, 'The Twilight Zone' will keep on being my 'next stop'.

Twilight Zone: 10/10.

Author: Goldenfang

QUITE POSSIBLY THE GREATEST SHOW IN HISTORY! THE STORIES ARE INCREDIBLE! THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF EPISODES. ONE OF THE BEST IN MY OPINION IS "TO SERVE MAN." THERE'S SO MANY MORE I COULD MENTION. THANK GOD FOR THE SCI-FI CHANNEL!

Author: Galubel

During a recent Scifi channel marathon (July 4th weekend, 2006), I caught a handful of episodes (not for the first time). I recognized that some of the concepts were used in other movies or shows. The movies didn't copy the TZ show but it appears TZ was the first time the concept had been presented. Twilight Zone was clearly ahead of its time.

Toys come to life when the humans are away. movie: Toy Story

Click watch to stop time. movie: Click

Plane flies through turbulence and back through time. movie: The Langoliers

Mannequins take turns going out as live people. movie: Mannequin

Guys in suspended animation to wake years later. movie: Forever Young

Robot as maid/caregiver: show: Outer Limits Episode movie: I, Robot

Author: Tygokasa

When I think of great television, only two programs come to mind, the original Star Trek and The Twilight Zone. Both are indicative of the greatness of their creators. While many TV series deal with the downside of mankind, these two ground-breaking series deal with the uplifting of mankind. How man can be better than he has become and how man can better understand himself and his world around him.

Roddenbury and Serling had an understanding of the greatness of man... hence the episodes in Star Trek such as the City on the Edge of Forever, Arena and many others. Twilight Zone had Kick the Can, Serling's poignant Santa Claus story with Art Carney (which always makes me cry) and even late in the series with The Long Morrow.

Writers and creators who wished for a better world and created it in their greatest achievements.

Author: lolike

There are so many tremendous Twilight Zone episodes. One previous writer talked about "In Praise of Pip". This episode struck a chord with me. I watched the episode years ago and may have seen it another time over the years, but I watched it again during a recent Twilight Zone marathon on TV last week. Now that I have children, I relate to that episode, well, emotionally. Pip, the son, is essentially "the only good" that the father(played by Jack Klugman)has in his life. Yet he is helpless to learn that his son is dieing in seemingly unheard of place that happens to be South Vietnam. I as a father can really feel this helplessness and sense of grief. But what really hits me is when the son appears at the amusement park. I have asked my son many many times if we are "best buddies". As far as I'm concerned when my little boy tells me that I'm his "best buddy" then nothing can beat that. But it was emotional to hear the father ask Pip that question. It shocked me as I didn't remember that part. And I realized I may have gotten the idea to ask my son this from the Twilight Zone - I don't know. In Praise of Pip shows the connection between a father and son that may very well touch anyone. It is timeless.

Author: Thabel

If it ever were asked, as to what is or was Television at its best, then the Twilight Zones, "In Praise of Pip" would be a prime example.

Completely void of superfluous harsh language or cheap sexual one-liners, the writing, acting and dialogue are some of the best this medium has offered.

The camera work even by today's standards, was timely and inventive. Never did the special effects try to compensate for content, as so much of today's productions are presenting.

This, and other episodes of the Twilight Zone, are examples of how well written teleplay's, with above board acting, do not require immature gimmicks to obtain an audiences attention or praise.

Author: Narim

In Joel Engel's biography of Gene Roddenberry (an indispensable tome for anyone interested in the main names of American television, and remarkably less worshipful than the Great Bird's official life story), he relates how Roddenberry boasted that he had brought more of himself to "Star Trek" than Rod Serling had to "The Twilight Zone." The fact is, though Roddenberry and Serling are among the few TV writers to be genuine household names, Roddenberry can't really have all the credit for "Star Trek" - but in spite of the involvement of the likes of Richard Matheson, Rod Serling WAS "The Twilight Zone," writing close to two-thirds of the series and narrating every show.

Say what you will about the UK offshoot of the Sci-Fi Channel, but they've done us a great service in their airing and reairing of most of the episodes (following its ragged treatment on terrestrial television). Of course there are some poor episodes - "Once Upon A Time" is painful, as are most of the videotaped episodes (shot to save money, but even Serling objected) - but when you've got more than 150 shows you're going to get a few; and Stephen King's fairly offhanded review of it in "Danse Macabre" (which seems to have influenced at least one comment here - though not a direct lift, too many aspects of it directly parallel King's words) is thrown into stark relief by his own attempts at writing for television - "Storm of the Century" was a three-parter that failed to compel me to return after the first part.

Like "The Simpsons," this is one of the very few series that richly deserves its endless repeats since it went off the air - accept no 1980s revival (or even a 2002 one), and the movie can be ignored as well; the monochrome episodes are the real deal. With the scope that only an anthology can give a series, the Twilight Zone encompassed comedy, horror, romance, mystery, the works - with the central character receiving his or her well-deserved comeuppance, or getting another chance, or getting a life-changing lesson. Even when you know what's coming in the renowned twist endings, the shows can be watched over and over; the heartbreaking romance between Jack Warden and a robot in "The Lonely" ("I must remember that. I must remember to keep that in mind."), the vile family who find that "The Masks" have changed their lives forever, Roddy McDowall's discovery that even on Mars "People Are Alike All Over," the "Nervous Man In A Four Dollar Room" who emerges victorious against himself...

In every aspect from storytelling to acting to music, you can see how this made Serling's name; even some overly theatrical dialogue can't ruin it. One of the few shows still airing in this country that's almost as old as "The Phil Silvers Show," long after Sci-Fi's dropped "Farscape," "The Dead Zone," "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World" and the rest, people will still be visiting... the Twilight Zone.

Author: Dyni

This is the series that started it all, ladies and gentlemen, and it will remain a hallmark for all time as THE sci-fi show with a moral to each story, often employing sardonic humour and wit. In this age of "show me dazzling computer effects, gore and blood, and sensationalism", it is a shame that the younger set seems "bored" by the thoughtful, insightful stories of the gold old "Twilight Zone". Consider this: without this first step none of the other productions that have followed in its wake would have been possible! The sci-fi product of today, for the most part, relies heavily on cosmetics and special effects leaving the storylines looking like limp soap opera drivel. As to the Twilight Zone? The list of writers who contributed to this incredible show looks like a who's who of the most famous and talented sci-fi /horror writers to ever grace the pages of fine literature! The list includes such greats as Ray Bradbury, Jerome Bixby, Henry Kuttner, Richard Matheson, Damon Knight to name just a few. The list of actors famous and unknown (at that time) is staggering! From Mickey Rooney to William Shatner and then some! Musical scores of great reknown Artists like Bernard Herrmann!! Franz Waxman!! These are the genuises behind classic films like Hitchock's "Psycho" and "The Bride of Frankenstein"!! This show will forever be the benchmark as the originator of the sci-fi genré for the television medium.

Author: Opimath

The original Twilight Zone is, without a doubt, the best anthology show ever. Far superior to the 1980's version and anthology shows that came after, this is a superior TV series.

Each of the stories had great dialogue, fantastic plots and really creepy endings. I won't go into detail about the stories because it would spoil it-but they were creepy and thought-provoking at the same time. Some of the plots were pure fantasy at the time but now in 2003, some of the plots may be close to reality...and that's the scary thing.

Throughout it's history, the show's guest stars read like a Who's Who of Cult TV. You had William Shatner from Star Trek (in an absolutely fantastic episode) and there were other stars as well such as the late Bill Bixby. It was fantastic.

(ALERT-MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD)

The best story for me ever was a creepy tale featuring Burgess Meredith (The Penguin from the Batman TV show). He is a bookworm in the episode and loves spending all his time reading. He is ridiculed for this. One day, he is in an underground library when there is a nuclear holocaust above. Now, he decides he will stay underground and read as much as he wants. Then, in a horrible accident, his glasses fall to the ground and are shattered. After finally having the opportunity to read to his heart's content, he has now been deprived of his one hobby forever. Creepy or what?

(END OF SPOILER)

All in all, perhaps the creepiest show ever. Definitely cult TV with a capital 'C.'

Author: Jockahougu

Rod Serling, the embodiment of "The Twilight Zone," said it best: "The Twilight Zone is a wondrous land of the very different. No luggage is required for the trip. All that is required is the imagination." (quote from "The Fifth Dimension" Twilight Zone fan site).

Though often imitated (modern "Outer Limits," Night Gallery, Tales from the Dark Side, etc.), the complex blend of sci-fi/horror/drama Serling created stands the test of time. No other anthology show has reached so deep into the collective unconscious to pull out the fears and dreams people have all over the world (and perhaps all over the universe...).

With most of the "classic" episodes being written by Serling, Beaumont, and Matheson, it is clear the writing for TZ was more focused and more creative than the typical TV anthology. Episodes like "Time Enough at Last," "Eye of the Beholder," "To Serve Man," and "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" are good enough to be considered art. Watch the TZ marathons on the Sci-Fi channel to see what I mean.

SPOILER

FAVORITE EPISODE: "To Serve Man" - While everyone knows the "It's a cookbook" line, I love that final scene when the man's on board the ship, about to get eaten, and the aliens send food down to fatten him up. He bravely refuses to eat at first, but tragically gobbles up the food out of hunger. Beautiful.

Author: Ginaun

I have read the declining comments by some of the reviewers, and I think what they wrote was degrading and utter crapola!!, What makes the Twilight Zone a classic is not only its great writing, great guest stars in early roles, but the show was made to be in black and white

It would not have the impact today in color, but I think Rod Serling was definitely the Jules Verne of his era, his was a definite visionary writer who deserves our eternal respect

Lets face it every show has some less than appealing episodes, but back then a show would not have survived without incredible viewer support and lets face it to throw stones at a man who died 27 years ago and who did something that none of us will ever do is beneath the lowest point of human contempt

Author: Kazigrel

The Twilight Zone is basically several fictional case studies in irony,horror and other human frailities. It is timeless. The Show is one of the best ever created. If anybody ever watched the biography of Rod Serling a friend in the paratroopers was killed in WW2 when a parachute with ammunition hit his friend in the head and he died. What was dropped to save them killed one. Very Ironic. This 30 minute anthology series was tops. I loved the "To Serve Man" one. It kind of makes you wonder if we ever do meet alien life how they would think of us, as equals or lower on the food chain. "He Lives" is another about the evil that men do living long beyond their grave. In this case it was Adolph Hitler. The man returning to the concentration camp years after being its commandant is excellent in the victims getting revenge tale. Every tale is filled with irony, whether it is horror or humor or anything else. The TZ works because of it. It was a great show.

Series cast summary:
	Rod Serling	-	Narrator / - 156 episodes, 1959-1964

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