TV on Tape: The Twilight Zone Movie Review

Americans first entered The Twilight Zone on October 2, 1959. Nearly four decades later, this “wondrous land whose boundaries are that of the imagination” still haunts us. The series attracted the best writers (Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont) and a roster of stars (Burgess Meredith, Agnes Moorhead, Lee Marvin) and future stars (Robert Redford, Jack Klugman, William Shatner). The instantly recognizable theme music is the universal symbol of something eerie.

T he Twilight Zone was created by Rod Serling, the distinguished playwright who in the golden age of live television, set the standard of excellence with such scripts as “Patterns,” “Requiem for a Heavyweight,” and “The Comedian.” Mike Wallace was among those who thought his new series was a comedown: “For the time being and for the foreseeable future, you've given up on writing anything important for television, right?,” he asked during an interview at the time.

Anything important? Some of the most memorable The Twilight Zone episodes were morality plays that addressed such topics as racism, the folly of war, and the wages of sin. Some of the most enduring Zones are not the shockers, but such nostalgic reveries as “Kick the Can” (which Steven Spielberg remade in the ill-conceived feature film) and “Walking Distance,” in which harried businessman Gig Young yearns to return to “the parks and merry go rounds” of his youth. Both are available on video-cassette on “Volume 5.”

Still, when aficionados talk Twilight, they remember the episodes with the jolting O'Henry twists, such as “Time Enough at Last” (on “Volume 2"), in which bookworm Burgess Meredith chooses the wrong time to break his glasses; “Nightmare at 20,000 Ft.” ("Volume 3") starring William Shatner as a mentally unstable plane passenger who doesn't really see a monster on the wing, does he?; and “To Serve Man” ("Volume 17"), about the unappetizing double meaning of a visiting extraterrestrial's book.

There are, at present, more than 20 volumes of The Twilight Zone available on videocassette. Each contains two episodes, with the notable exception of “Treasures of the Twilight Zone” which contains six rare episodes, including the unnerving pilot, “Where is Everybody,” and two episodes not televised in more than two decades, “The Encounter” and the French short, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” which went on to win the Academy Award. The video also contains episode promos and an interview with Serling.

Well, we could go on like this for hours. Everybody has a favorite episode. Ours, unfortunately not yet available on video, is “Living Doll,” in which Telly Savalas is menaced by his stepdaughter's doll: “My name is Talky Tina, and I'm going to kill you!” Oh yes, and “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up.” And “The After Hours” with the mannequins who come to life….

1959–64/B Hugos ‘61, ‘62, ‘63: Dramatic Presentation. VHS, LV FXV, FOX, MOV