The Outer
Limits was like the Twilight Zone, but generally focused more on science
fiction than the supernatural or strange. The show featured a now classic
opening and had a wide ranging impact on the sci-fi genre. Some of the
creatures on The Outer Limits appeared in Star Trek. James Cameron borrowed
from The Outer Limits when he created The Terminator. The original show lasted
two years from 1963-65, but an updated reboot ran from 1995-2002. In 1997, the
episode, The Zanti Misfits, ranked #98 on TV Guide’s list of 100 greatest
television episodes of all time.
Showing posts with label The Twilight Zone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Twilight Zone. Show all posts
Monday, November 4, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Sci-Fi History: The Twilight Zone (1959-64)
Rod Serling
created the first great Sci-Fi television series in 1959. The
anthology series ran for five seasons and depicted unusual, or strange events,
that generally ended with some sort of morality tale. Serling wrote or co-wrote
60% of the shows 156 episodes. On top of this, the guest stars featured either
establish Hollywood types such as Burgess Meredith or up and coming actors like
William Shatner, Robert Redford, and Robert Duvall. Two episodes, “To Serve
Man” and “It’s A Good Life” rated in the TV Guide’s Top 100 Episodes of All
Time. Several other episodes could have made the list. The show also featured a
creepy theme song which automatically alerted viewers they were leaving this
dimension. There were attempts to revive the series in 1985 and 2002.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Top 10 Twilight Zone Episodes
These are some of my faves. I guess I like the apocalyptic and time travel scenarios...
1. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Imagine being trapped in a tube at 20,000 feet with some creature determined to sabotage your flight. On top of this, no one believes your story. That is what makes this episode so effective. The claustrophobic environment, the helplessness, the knowledge that no one could help, and the monster itself. Having a young William Shatner, aka James T. Kirk, in the title role furthers the ambient fear.
2. Time Enough At Last: Burgess Meredith stars as a man that wants to be left alone with his books. He falls asleep in a bank vault as nuclear explosions signify the end of the world. Meredith awakens to find his dream has come true and then breaks his glasses.
3. Back There: Russell Johnson (the Professor from Gilligan’s Island) finds himself teleported back to the night Lincoln was shot. After some initial confusion, he desperately tries to alert the authorities and comes to the attention of John Wilkes Booth. In the end, Johnson can not change history on the macro level. However, he does manage to change the fortunes of a porter in his high society club after an encounter with the man’s ancestor. When he returns to 1961, the porter is now a rich club member.
4. The Dummy: Before Chucky, there was Willie. A ventriloquist (Cliff Robertson) believes his dummy (Willie) is alive and evil and locks it in a trunk. Why do wooden dummies scare people? Well, in the Twilight Zone, the evil Willie ends up switching places with the ventriloquist. The episode is made especially creepy by the mood lighting, shadows, and Willie’s cackling laughter.
5. The Howling Man: World War I devastated Europe. David Ellington (H.M. Bryant) is wandering through the postwar countryside and gets lost. He stops at a castle for help and collapses. The monks help Ellington who discovers they are holding a man captive. The man begs Ellington to help him escape, but Brother Jerome (John Carradine) warns that the captive is the Devil and if he is set loose, the world would suffer. Ellington does not believe Jerome and sets the Devil loose to launch World War II. Years later, Ellington tracks the Devil down and locks him up. It is his turn to warn his housekeeper to leave the man locked up, but she curiously removes the bar from the door.
6. The Midnight Sun: The world is ending. Earth is flinging itself toward the sun. Or is it? Just as it appears the world is going to be burned to a cinder, it appears that it is actually hurdling away from the sun. The Twilight Zone loved the apocalypse and this episode was prescient in that it predated the global cooling craze which was followed by the global warming craze.
7. The Masks: A dying millionaire makes his family wear masks to supposedly celebrate Mardi Gras. His real aim is to make them wear masks representing their horrid personalities. He forces them to keep the masks on until midnight or be disinherited. They acquiesce and when they remove them, they find that their faces have morphed into their masks.
8. The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms: Three national guardsmen from the present day end up in 1876 at the Little Big Horn. When their comrades search for the missing men, they find their names on a monument to the fallen.
9. A Stop at Willoughby: A poor, overworked, henpecked businessman wants to get away from the modern world. He sleeps on the train ride home from work and is transported to a pleasant turn of the century small town called Willoughby. The people are friendly and life is quiet. He longs for peace and rest. Eventually, he decides to stay in Willoughby rather than wake up. The townspeople embrace him and he goes off happily. His smiling body is found by the train conductor. The man jumped off the train in his sleep and was killed. Willoughby was the funeral home that took his body.
10. A Hundred Years Over the Rim: Another time travel episode…only this one has a happy ending! Cliff Robertson is a pioneer from 1847 and his son is sick with a high fever. So, he sets out searching for water and lands in the 1960s. While there, he procures the medicine that saves his son’s life. As a result of his time travel, the boy becomes a famous doctor.
1. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Imagine being trapped in a tube at 20,000 feet with some creature determined to sabotage your flight. On top of this, no one believes your story. That is what makes this episode so effective. The claustrophobic environment, the helplessness, the knowledge that no one could help, and the monster itself. Having a young William Shatner, aka James T. Kirk, in the title role furthers the ambient fear.
2. Time Enough At Last: Burgess Meredith stars as a man that wants to be left alone with his books. He falls asleep in a bank vault as nuclear explosions signify the end of the world. Meredith awakens to find his dream has come true and then breaks his glasses.
3. Back There: Russell Johnson (the Professor from Gilligan’s Island) finds himself teleported back to the night Lincoln was shot. After some initial confusion, he desperately tries to alert the authorities and comes to the attention of John Wilkes Booth. In the end, Johnson can not change history on the macro level. However, he does manage to change the fortunes of a porter in his high society club after an encounter with the man’s ancestor. When he returns to 1961, the porter is now a rich club member.
4. The Dummy: Before Chucky, there was Willie. A ventriloquist (Cliff Robertson) believes his dummy (Willie) is alive and evil and locks it in a trunk. Why do wooden dummies scare people? Well, in the Twilight Zone, the evil Willie ends up switching places with the ventriloquist. The episode is made especially creepy by the mood lighting, shadows, and Willie’s cackling laughter.
5. The Howling Man: World War I devastated Europe. David Ellington (H.M. Bryant) is wandering through the postwar countryside and gets lost. He stops at a castle for help and collapses. The monks help Ellington who discovers they are holding a man captive. The man begs Ellington to help him escape, but Brother Jerome (John Carradine) warns that the captive is the Devil and if he is set loose, the world would suffer. Ellington does not believe Jerome and sets the Devil loose to launch World War II. Years later, Ellington tracks the Devil down and locks him up. It is his turn to warn his housekeeper to leave the man locked up, but she curiously removes the bar from the door.
6. The Midnight Sun: The world is ending. Earth is flinging itself toward the sun. Or is it? Just as it appears the world is going to be burned to a cinder, it appears that it is actually hurdling away from the sun. The Twilight Zone loved the apocalypse and this episode was prescient in that it predated the global cooling craze which was followed by the global warming craze.
7. The Masks: A dying millionaire makes his family wear masks to supposedly celebrate Mardi Gras. His real aim is to make them wear masks representing their horrid personalities. He forces them to keep the masks on until midnight or be disinherited. They acquiesce and when they remove them, they find that their faces have morphed into their masks.
8. The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms: Three national guardsmen from the present day end up in 1876 at the Little Big Horn. When their comrades search for the missing men, they find their names on a monument to the fallen.
9. A Stop at Willoughby: A poor, overworked, henpecked businessman wants to get away from the modern world. He sleeps on the train ride home from work and is transported to a pleasant turn of the century small town called Willoughby. The people are friendly and life is quiet. He longs for peace and rest. Eventually, he decides to stay in Willoughby rather than wake up. The townspeople embrace him and he goes off happily. His smiling body is found by the train conductor. The man jumped off the train in his sleep and was killed. Willoughby was the funeral home that took his body.
10. A Hundred Years Over the Rim: Another time travel episode…only this one has a happy ending! Cliff Robertson is a pioneer from 1847 and his son is sick with a high fever. So, he sets out searching for water and lands in the 1960s. While there, he procures the medicine that saves his son’s life. As a result of his time travel, the boy becomes a famous doctor.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
The Greatest TV Episodes #11-20
11. Cheers: What is…Cliff Clavin? (1990): Cliff goes on Jeopardy. The categories are right up Cliff’s alley. He has an insurmountable lead by Final Jeopardy. For some reason, he wagers it all and does not know the Final Jeopardy answer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=botdmsQilnU
12. Seinfeld: The Soup Nazi (1995): NO SOUP FOR YOU!
13. The Ed Sullivan Show: The Beatles (1964): While Elvis provided a milestone for the fifties, the Beatles provided the sixties generation with their own moment. 73 million watched the four on Ed Sullivan. The teen girls in the crowd wet themselves and cried uncontrollably. They were hysterical. The Beatles did five songs that night and the television station made sure everyone knew John was married.
14. The Ed Sullivan Show: Elvis Presley (1956): This was the biggest cultural moment for the fifties generation. 83% of the country watched. Critics complained that Elvis was over stimulating teenagers. Like they needed the help!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6A3vLlVa3I
15. Star Trek: City on the Edge of Forever (1967): The best episode in Star Trek history. Kirk and Spock return to 1930 to find McCoy and prevent him from changing the future. They discover that to save the future and prevent the Nazis from winning World War II, that Kirk’s new love, Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), must die.
16. Twilight Zone: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (1963): A gremlin tears a plane apart in mid-air. Only a reformed mental patient sees it. He gets a gun and shoots the creature. The plane lands safely and he’s taken away in a straightjacket. However, the creature did exist as the plane's nacelle is ripped open from the outside.
17. 60 Minutes: Mike Wallace vs. Ayatollah Khomeini (1979): Mike Wallace calls Khomeini a lunatic. It does not get better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1fzFNsu15U
18. Frasier: Three Valentines (1999): The three stories center on Valentine’s Day. Niles prepares for a date at Frasier’s apartment and his anal retentive nature gets the best of him. It is one of the greatest moments in TV history (see link). Meanwhile, Frasier can’t figure out if he is on a date or not. Lastly, Martin and Daphne are bummed they don’t have a date on Valentine’s Day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTdD_dVyteA
19. X-Files: Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose (1995): Mulder and Scully investigate murders of fortune tellers. They are assisted by Clyde Bruckman, who knows how people are going to die. Peter Boyle guest stars as Bruckman who has a hard time living with his ability.
20. Battlestar Galactica: 33 (2005): The fleet is pursued endlessly by the Cylons for days. They have to jump to light speed every 33 minutes to avoid the Cylon attack fleet. So, the humans don’t get any sleep whatsoever. The episode is almost as intense as the first half hour of Saving Private Ryan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=botdmsQilnU
12. Seinfeld: The Soup Nazi (1995): NO SOUP FOR YOU!
13. The Ed Sullivan Show: The Beatles (1964): While Elvis provided a milestone for the fifties, the Beatles provided the sixties generation with their own moment. 73 million watched the four on Ed Sullivan. The teen girls in the crowd wet themselves and cried uncontrollably. They were hysterical. The Beatles did five songs that night and the television station made sure everyone knew John was married.
14. The Ed Sullivan Show: Elvis Presley (1956): This was the biggest cultural moment for the fifties generation. 83% of the country watched. Critics complained that Elvis was over stimulating teenagers. Like they needed the help!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6A3vLlVa3I
15. Star Trek: City on the Edge of Forever (1967): The best episode in Star Trek history. Kirk and Spock return to 1930 to find McCoy and prevent him from changing the future. They discover that to save the future and prevent the Nazis from winning World War II, that Kirk’s new love, Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), must die.
16. Twilight Zone: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (1963): A gremlin tears a plane apart in mid-air. Only a reformed mental patient sees it. He gets a gun and shoots the creature. The plane lands safely and he’s taken away in a straightjacket. However, the creature did exist as the plane's nacelle is ripped open from the outside.
17. 60 Minutes: Mike Wallace vs. Ayatollah Khomeini (1979): Mike Wallace calls Khomeini a lunatic. It does not get better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1fzFNsu15U
18. Frasier: Three Valentines (1999): The three stories center on Valentine’s Day. Niles prepares for a date at Frasier’s apartment and his anal retentive nature gets the best of him. It is one of the greatest moments in TV history (see link). Meanwhile, Frasier can’t figure out if he is on a date or not. Lastly, Martin and Daphne are bummed they don’t have a date on Valentine’s Day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTdD_dVyteA
19. X-Files: Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose (1995): Mulder and Scully investigate murders of fortune tellers. They are assisted by Clyde Bruckman, who knows how people are going to die. Peter Boyle guest stars as Bruckman who has a hard time living with his ability.
20. Battlestar Galactica: 33 (2005): The fleet is pursued endlessly by the Cylons for days. They have to jump to light speed every 33 minutes to avoid the Cylon attack fleet. So, the humans don’t get any sleep whatsoever. The episode is almost as intense as the first half hour of Saving Private Ryan.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Greatest TV Episodes #51-60
51. Magnum P.I.: Limbo (1987): This was originally supposed to be the series finale, but people wanted Magnum back. In the episode, he is shot and ends up in limbo. Magnum tries to communicate with his friends to stop his ex-wife’s murder.
52. The Dick Cavett Show: John and Yoko (1971& 1972): John talks candidly about a whole range of subjects in these classic interviews. He even calls people randomly to tell them he loves them. Footage later appears in Forest Gump.
http://www.openculture.com/2009/10/john_lennon_and_yoko_ono_on_the_dick_cavett_show.html
53. Star Trek Deep Space Nine: In the Pale Moonlight (1998): Sisko and Garak engineer the assassination of a Romulan senator to get the Romulans to enter into the war against the Dominion. Some point to this as the beginning of the end of Star Trek as producers move away from Roddenberry's utopian vision.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTgGtJ-PisA
54. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Body (2001): Buffy arrives home to find her mom dead. The Scoobies have to deal with natural death as opposed to demons and vampires.
55. Friends: The One with the Prom Video (1996): The friends watch Rachel and Monica’s prom video. The gang look ridiculous in their 80s fashions. At the end, Rachel learns about Ross’ feelings ending almost two years of Ross-Rachel crap and launching another decade of it.
56. Rockford Files: So Help Me God (1974): Once again, Rockford has to dodge those that would do him ill. The episode is famous for its lesson in civil liberties as an innocent man is railroaded.
57. Star Trek: TNG: Tapestry (1993): Picard takes a knife through the heart and dies. In the afterlife, he meets Q. The two travel back to Picard’s graduation and events that led to his artificial heart which killed him. Picard changes the past and ends up a lowly junior officer. Q allows him to return to the past to put things right.
58. I Love Lucy: Lucy meets Harpo Marx (1955): This episodes includes the now famous mirror routine.
59. Twilight Zone: Back There (1961): Four braniacs are discussing time travel. Peter Corrigan, played by Russell Johnson (aka The Professor from Gilligan’s Island), leaves for the night. After leaving his snooty club and friends, he finds himself in April, 1865. Corrigan tries to warn the police about Lincoln's impending assassination, but no one will listen. John Wilkes Booth himself later drugs Corrigan who awakes in time to hear news of the assassination. He could not change history; or could he? When he returns to 1961, the club’s waiter was now a millionaire.
60. X-Files- Duane Berry/Ascension (1994): Scully is abducted in one of the iconic pop culture moments of the decade.
52. The Dick Cavett Show: John and Yoko (1971& 1972): John talks candidly about a whole range of subjects in these classic interviews. He even calls people randomly to tell them he loves them. Footage later appears in Forest Gump.
http://www.openculture.com/2009/10/john_lennon_and_yoko_ono_on_the_dick_cavett_show.html
53. Star Trek Deep Space Nine: In the Pale Moonlight (1998): Sisko and Garak engineer the assassination of a Romulan senator to get the Romulans to enter into the war against the Dominion. Some point to this as the beginning of the end of Star Trek as producers move away from Roddenberry's utopian vision.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTgGtJ-PisA
54. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Body (2001): Buffy arrives home to find her mom dead. The Scoobies have to deal with natural death as opposed to demons and vampires.
55. Friends: The One with the Prom Video (1996): The friends watch Rachel and Monica’s prom video. The gang look ridiculous in their 80s fashions. At the end, Rachel learns about Ross’ feelings ending almost two years of Ross-Rachel crap and launching another decade of it.
56. Rockford Files: So Help Me God (1974): Once again, Rockford has to dodge those that would do him ill. The episode is famous for its lesson in civil liberties as an innocent man is railroaded.
57. Star Trek: TNG: Tapestry (1993): Picard takes a knife through the heart and dies. In the afterlife, he meets Q. The two travel back to Picard’s graduation and events that led to his artificial heart which killed him. Picard changes the past and ends up a lowly junior officer. Q allows him to return to the past to put things right.
58. I Love Lucy: Lucy meets Harpo Marx (1955): This episodes includes the now famous mirror routine.
59. Twilight Zone: Back There (1961): Four braniacs are discussing time travel. Peter Corrigan, played by Russell Johnson (aka The Professor from Gilligan’s Island), leaves for the night. After leaving his snooty club and friends, he finds himself in April, 1865. Corrigan tries to warn the police about Lincoln's impending assassination, but no one will listen. John Wilkes Booth himself later drugs Corrigan who awakes in time to hear news of the assassination. He could not change history; or could he? When he returns to 1961, the club’s waiter was now a millionaire.
60. X-Files- Duane Berry/Ascension (1994): Scully is abducted in one of the iconic pop culture moments of the decade.
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