The Twilight Zone

"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."

I have been a life long fan of the Twilight Zone. This page is devoted to the classic fantasy TV programme and includes a biography of it's creator Rod Serling. There is also an episode guide with links to other sites devoted to the sci-fi anthology series.

Rod Serling - A Brief Biography

Rod Serling was born in Syracuse, New York, on December 25, 1924, and grew up in Binghamton, the son of a wholesale meat dealer. By his own account, he had no early literary ambitions, though from an early age, he and his older brother, Robert, immersed themselves in movies and in shows like Astounding Stories and Weird Tales.

Serling enlisted in the U.S. Army 11th Airborne Division paratroopers on the day he graduated from high school. After basic training he was sent into combat in the Philippines and was wounded by shrapnel. After the war, Serling enrolled at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. In 1949, whilst studying Language and Literature, Serling sold his first television script.

After graduation, Serling and his wife Carolyn moved to Cincinnati where he became a staff writer for WLW radio. His duties there involved writing dialogue for a folk duo and false testimonials for a patent medicine remedy. He soon moved to television and from 1951 to 1955, more than seventy of his television scripts were produced. During his first year freelancing, he earned just under $5,000 selling scripts to various anthology shows.

Serling was awarded he first of six Emmy awards in 1955 with the production of "Patterns." This brilliant play dramatised power struggles at the top of a major corporation. "Patterns" was simple, direct and tremendously powerful and the reaction to it was overwhelming. A year later the film version was released and he proceeded to write a handful of screenplays for 20th Century Fox. This wasn't a happy period as only a few of these scripts came to fruitiion. Serling went to work for MGM as a writer for Playhouse 90 and garnered both critical and public acclaim for his one-off drama productions.

In 1957 Serling shocked many of his fans when he left to create a science-fiction series he called The Twilight Zone. Each episode transported the viewer to a world filled with magic, horror and wonder. The Twilight Zone gathered together talented actors, excellent directors, imaginative writers and coupled it with high quality production values. It's as how that continues to fire the imagination of viewers nearly forty years later.

The programme was hugely successful and during its five year run attracted an average weekly audience of close to eighteen million people. 156 episodes of Twilight Zone were aired on CBS over the next five years. Ninety two of which were written by Serling. The show went on to be one of the most famous series in television history and achieved a permanent place in popular culture with its instantly recognizable theme tune and distinctive opening sequence. The series was hosted by Serling himself and featured guest appearances by personalities such as Burt Reynolds, William Shatner and Robert Redford The show became a launching pad for some of Hollywood's biggest stars.

When production of Twilight Zone ended in January 1964, Serling continued to write for film and television series. In 1970 he returned to telefantasy with another anthology series Rod Serling's Night Gallery. The show ran for two lacklustre series but Serling refused to have anything to do with the production end of the programme. Time and again the producers sacrificed quality for shock value and the series was finally cancelled in 1972. Around this time He resumed his academic career and returned to Antioch College as a professor.

Serling suffered a mild heart attack and underwent emergency surgery in May 1975. A month later he was re-admitted for a coronary bypass operation. Complications arose after ten hours of surgery, and he died on June 28, 1975 in Rochester, New York. In all he had lived fifty years, six months and three days.

Ten years after it's creator's death The Twilight Zone returned for a further three series. These episodes were lavishly produced in colour and boasted state of the art special effects. They were immensely enjoyable but in my opinion they lacked the atmosphere and sheer inventiveness of the original series. Here is list of all the episodes including the original series and revived programme.

The Twilight Zone Complete Episode List

First Season:

Where Is Everybody?, 10/2/59
One For The Angels, 10/9/59
Mr. Denton On Doomsday, 10/16/59
The Sixteen-Millimetre Shrine, 10/23/59
Walking Distance, 10/30/59
Escape Clause, 11/6/59
The Lonely, 11/13/59
Time Enough At Last, 11/20/59
Perchance To Dream, 11/27/59
Judgment Night, 12/4/59
And When The Sky Was Opened, 12/11/59
What You Need, 12/25/59
The Four Of Us Are Dying, 1/1/60
Third From The Sun, 1/8/60
I Shot An Arrow Into The Air, 1/15/60
The Hitch-Hiker, 1/22/60
The Fever, 1/29/60
The Last Flight, 2/5/60
The Purple Testament, 2/12/60
Elegy, 2/19/60
Mirror Image, 2/26/60
The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street, 3/4/60
A World Of Difference, 3/11/60
Long Live Walter Jameson, 3/18/60
People Are Alike All Over, 3/25/60
Execution, 4/1/60
The Big Tall Wish, 4/8/60
A Nice Place To Visit, 4/15/60
Nightmare As A Child, 4/29/60
A Stop At Willoughby, 5/6/60
The Chaser, 5/13/60
A Passage For Trumpet, 5/20/60
Mr. Bevis, 6/3/60
The After Hours, 6/10/60
The Mighty Casey, 6/17/60
A World Of His Own, 7/1/60

Second Season:

King Nine Will Not Return, 9/30/60
The Man In The Bottle, 10/7/60
Nervous Man In A Four Dollar Room, 10/14/60
A Thing About Machines, 10/28/60
The Howling Man, 11/4/60
The Eye Of The Beholder, 11/11/60
Nick Of Time, 11/18/60
The Lateness Of The Hour, 12/2/60
The Trouble With Templeton, 12/9/60
A Most Unusual Camera, 12/16/60
Night Of The Meek, 12/23/60
Dust, 1/6/61
Back There, 1/13/61
The Whole Truth, 1/20/61
The Invaders, 1/27/61
A Penny For Your Thoughts, 2/3/61
Twenty-Two, 2/10/61
The Odyssey Of Flight 33, 2/24/61
Mr. Dingle, The Strong, 3/3/61
Static, 3/10/61
The Prime Mover, 3/24/61
Long Distance Call, 3/31/61
A Hundred Yards Over The Rim, 4/7/61
The Rip Van Winkle Caper, 4/21/61
The Silence, 4/28/61
Shadow Play, 5/5/61
The Mind And The Matter, 5/12/61
Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up, 5/26/61
The Obsolete Man, 6/2/61

Third Season:

Two, 9/15/61
The Arrival, 9/22/61
The Shelter, 9/29/61
The Passersby, 10/6/61
A Game of Pool, 10/13/61
The Mirror, 10/20/61
The Grave, 10/27/61
It's A Good Life, 11/3/61
Deaths-Head Revisited, 11/10/61
The Midnight Sun, 11/17/61
Still Valley, 11/24/61
The Jungle, 12/1/61
Once Upon A Time, 12/15/61
Five Characters In Search Of An Exit, 12/22/61
A Quality Of Mercy, 12/29/61
Nothing In The Dark, 1/5/62
One More Pallbearer, 1/12/62
Dead Man's Shoes, 1/19/62
The Hunt, 1/26/62
Showdown With Rance McGrew, 2/2/62
Kick The Can, 2/9/62
A Piano In The House, 2/16/62
The Last Rites Of Jeff Myrtlebank, 2/23/62
To Serve Man, 3/2/62
The Fugitive, 3/9/62
Little Girl Lost, 3/16/62
Person Or Persons Unknown, 3/23/62
The Little People, 3/30/62
Four O'Clock, 4/6/62
Hocus-Pocus And Frisby, 4/13/62
The Trade-Ins, 4/20/62
The Gift, 4/27/62
The Dummy, 5/4/62
Young Man's Fancy, 5/11/62
I Sing The Body Electric, 5/18/62
Cavender Is Coming, 5/25/62
The Changing Of The Guard, 6/1/62

Fourth Season:

In His Image, 1/3/63
The Thirty-Fathom Grave, 1/10/63
Valley Of The Shadow, 1/17/63
He's Alive, 1/24/63
Mute, 1/31/63
Death Ship, 2/7/63
Jess-Belle, 2/14/63
Miniature, 2/21/63
Printer's Devil, 2/28/63
No Time Like The Past, 3/7/63
The Parallel, 3/14/63
I Dream Of Genie, 3/21/63
The New Exhibit, 4/4/63
Of Late I Think Of Cliffordville, 4/11/63
The Incredible World Of Horace Ford, 4/18/63
On Thursday We Leave For Home, 5/2/63
Passage On The Lady Anne, 5/9/63
The Bard, 5/23/63

Fifth Season:</H2>

In Praise Of Pip, 9/27/63
Steel, 10/4/63
Nightmare At 20,000 Feet, 10/11/63
A Kind Of Stopwatch, 10/18/63
The Last Night Of A Jockey, 10/25/63
Living Doll, 11/1/63
The Old Man In The Cave, 11/8/63
Uncle Simon, 11/15/63
Probe 7-Over And Out, 11/29/63
The 7th Is Made Up Of Phantoms, 12/6/63
A Short Drink From A Certain Fountain, 12/13/63
Ninety Years Without Slumbering, 12/20/63
Ring-A-Ding Girl, 12/27/63
You Drive, 1/3/64
The Long Morrow, 1/10/64
The Self-Improvement Of Salvadore Ross, 1/17/64
Number Twelve Looks Just Like You, 1/24/64
Black Leather Jackets, 1/31/64
Night Call, 2/7/64
From Agnes-With Love, 2/14/64
Spur Of The Moment, 2/21/64
An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge, 2/28/64
Queen Of The Nile, 3/6/64

What's In The Box, 3/13/64
The Masks, 3/20/64
I Am The Night-Color Me Black, 3/27/64
Sounds And Silences, 4/3/64
Caesar And Me, 4/10/64
The Jeopardy Room, 4/17/64
Stopover In A Quiet Town, 4/24/64
The Encounter, 5/1/64
Mr. Garrity And The Graves, 5/8/64
The Brain Center At Whipple's, 5/15/64
Come Wander With Me, 5/22/64
The Fear, 5/29/64
The Bewitchin' Pool, 6/19/64

THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE EPISODE LIST

FIRST SEASON: 1985-1986

SHATTERDAY
A LITTLE PEACE AND QUIET
WORDPLAY
DREAMS FOR SALE
CHAMELEON
HEALER
CHILDREN'S ZOO
KENTUCKY RYE
LITTLE BOY LOST
WISH BANK
NIGHTCRAWLERS
IF SHE DIES
YE GODS
EXAMINATION DAY
A MESSAGE FROM CHARITY
PALADIN OF THE LOST HOUR
TEACHER'S AIDE
PLAY TIME (ACT BREAK)
THE BURNING MAN
DEALER'S CHOICE
WONG'S LOST AND FOUND EMPORIUM
DEAD WOMAN'S SHOES
SHADOW MAN
THE UNCLE DEVIL SHOW
OPENING DAY
THE BEACON
ONE LIFE, FURNISHED IN EARLY POVERTY
HER PILGRIM SOUL
I OF NEWTON
NIGHT OF THE MEEK
THE STAR
BUT CAN SHE TYPE
STILL LIFE
THE LITTLE PEOPLE OF KELLANY WOODS
THE MISFORTUNE COOKIE
MONSTERS
SMALL TALENT FOR WAR
A MATTER OF MINUTES
THE ELEVATOR
TO SEE THE INVISIBLE MAN
TOOTH OR CONSEQUENCES
QUARANTINE
WELCOME TO WINFIELD
PERSONAL DEMONS
GRAMMA
COLD READING
THE LEPRECHAUN-ARTIST
DEAD RUN
PROFILE IN SILVER
BUTTON, BUTTON
RED SNOW
NEED TO KNOW
TAKE MY LIFE... PLEASE!
DEVIL'S ALPHABET
THE LIBRARY
SHADOW PLAY
GRACE NOTE
A DAY IN BEAUMONT
THE LAST DEFENDER OF CAMELOT

SECOND SEASON 1986-1987

THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING
A SAUCER OF LONELINESS
WHAT ARE FRIENDS FOR?
THE STORYTELLER
NIGHTSONG
AQUA VITA
THE AFTER HOURS
LOST AND FOUND
THE WORLD NEXT DOOR
THE TOYS OF CALIBAN
THE CONVICT'S PIANO
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED
THE CARD
THE JUNCTION
JOY RIDE
SHELTER SKELTER
PRIVATE CHANNEL
TIME AND TERESA GOLOWITZ
VOICES IN THE EARTH
SONG OF THE YOUNGER WORLD
THE GIRL I MARRIED

THIRD SEASON 1988-1989

THE CURIOUS CASE OF EDGAR WITHERSPOON
EXTRA INNINGS
THE CROSSING
THE HUNTERS
DREAM ME A LIFE
MEMORIES
THE HELLGRAMMITE METHOD
OUR SELENA IS DYING
THE CALL
THE TRANCE
ACTS OF TERROR
20/20 VISION
THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN
THE TRUNK
APPOINTMENT ON ROUTE 17
THE COLD EQUATIONS
STRANGER IN POSSUM MEADOW
STREET OF SHADOWS
SOMETHING IN THE WALLS
A GAME OF POOL
THE WALL
ROOM 2426
THE MIND OF SIMON FOSTER
CAT AND MOUSE
RENDEZVOUS IN A DARK PLACE
MANY, MANY MONKEYS
LOVE IS BLIND
CRAZY AS A SOUP SANDWICH
SPECIAL SERVICE
FATHER AND SON GAME

For further information on The Twilight Zone, including episode guides, production details and merchandise, check out these excellent sites.

Twilight Zone - Sci-Fi Channel

Twilight Zone - Goo Goo

Twilight Zone - John's Page