connoisseur series500 Posted March 7, 2004 Report Posted March 7, 2004 I recently picked up a complete DVD set of Twilight Zone television shows. There are 156 episodes in all. Rod Serling was a story-telling genius and many of these episodes strike me as morality plays. I haven't got my set yet, but I do recall many of the episodes. Tell us about some of your favorite episodes... Quote
Dan Gould Posted March 7, 2004 Report Posted March 7, 2004 When I was younger, the episode that struck me best was the one with the stranded bus at the diner, with the reports of aliens, which ends with the revelation of one guy having three arms and the cook having an extra eye in the center of his forehead. I think the suddeness of the ending is what really caught my attention. Since then I've seen most of the episodes, usually when a marathon is run on Sci-Fi (or before cable, in syndication). Too many great episodes to list, though. Speaking of Rod Serling, coming up on our Netflix list is one of his teleplays that I believe won an Emmy, Requiem For a Heavyweight. Saw it on PBS years ago, definitely want to see it again. Serling was a great storyteller as well as a unique on-screen talent. Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted March 7, 2004 Report Posted March 7, 2004 The one I remember - and it absolutely terrified me as a 10 year old, giving me nightmares for years - was the one about the chap on the plane who kept seeing an horrendous rag doll figure outside his window on the wing. Every time he called someone to look there was nothing to see. Everyone assumed he was losing it. He was eventually carted off having gone gagga. The final shot panned in on the wing which had been prised up. Still gives me the chills forty years later! Quote
Free For All Posted March 7, 2004 Report Posted March 7, 2004 Check out <www.thetzsite.com> Lots of TZ info and goodies. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted March 7, 2004 Report Posted March 7, 2004 I don't know if it's appropriate to call it the best television series of all time, but for the life of me, I can't think of any off hand that I've seen better. This is a tough series to discuss on a bulletin board; as Dan says, there are just too many great episodes. In person, we could trigger one memory after another and have a blast; this online thing is just too slow for this! Paul, I'd love to get this series. I had a few of the VHS ones, and the thing that struck me was how beautiful the filming was. It was almost like a live show in quality. Made most TV shows looked like canned crap. You'll see what I mean when you view it! It's so lifelike, you feel like you can reach right into the set... Quote
connoisseur series500 Posted March 7, 2004 Author Report Posted March 7, 2004 One of the most memorable episodes for me is where this guy somehow is able to go back in time and coexists with himself as a kid in a playground. The kid is busy having fun while the man meanders around in a melancholy mood; he tries to talk to the kid (himself) and counsel that "these are the best years of your life." Don't blow them, or some such thought. The kid doesn't pay him too much mind and is too busy enjoying himself. Forgot how it ended. Brilliant concept! Quote
JSngry Posted March 7, 2004 Report Posted March 7, 2004 Yeah, good stuff. Love it. The kind of thing that gives "middlebrow" a good name, I think. Quote
BruceH Posted March 7, 2004 Report Posted March 7, 2004 "To Serve Man"---This one blew my mind when I was a kid. Quote
neveronfriday Posted March 7, 2004 Report Posted March 7, 2004 (edited) I watched every part, I think. Didn't know there was a set. Why do you guys mention this kind of stuff? This board is going to be my ruin eventually. Cheers! [Edit: Found this on another board and wouldn't mind knowing if its true ... [...] After mentioning the Twilight Zone, I decided to check and see if the series was available on DVD yet. It is, but the way in which it is being released on DVD is downright bizarre. Like a lot of TV series issued on DVD, there are several DVDs that collect 3 or 4 episodes. What is bizarre is that the episodes in the Twilight Zone DVDs aren't sequential. So, for example, Twilight Zone Vol.15 includes Episodes 6, 39, 75 and 124. I cannot for the life of me think of a reason not to put the episodes in sequential order [...]. ] Edited March 7, 2004 by deus62 Quote
7/4 Posted March 7, 2004 Report Posted March 7, 2004 I had a few of the VHS ones, and the thing that struck me was how beautiful the filming was. It was almost like a live show in quality. Made most TV shows looked like canned crap. You'll see what I mean when you view it! It's so lifelike, you feel like you can reach right into the set... I wonder what they were recording it on. Were they already using video tape back then? Quote
RainyDay Posted March 7, 2004 Report Posted March 7, 2004 The one episode that sticks in my mind is the one about a power failure and a little boy who said he was from the third planet from the sun. Everyone was in a panic about an invasion from outer space and thought the kid was a space alien. This series aired during the cold war and civil right movement and it is filled with themes about fear of the "other." I was always the outsider everywhere I lived (there were never more than a couple of black kids in every public school I attended) so I really connected with what this show was about. Rod Serling was a brilliant writer and social critic. Quote
BruceH Posted March 7, 2004 Report Posted March 7, 2004 I believe the episode you're talking about is "The Monsters Are Coming To Maple Street"---one of my favorites, and one that holds up well today. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted March 8, 2004 Report Posted March 8, 2004 One problem I have with memory, is I'm sure some of the Zone episodes I remember may well have been Outer Limits episodes instead; I'm just not sure... Anyone remember the one about the diner with the little fortune teller boxes at the booths? Man... There was another one (and this is one that may have been an Outer Limits; I just don't know...I was pretty young back then!) in which a strange man offered someone something, I don't know, a million bucks or something, and all they had to do was push a button on a box. If they pushed the button, someone they didn't know and had never met would die. The guy finally gives in to temptation and pushes the button. Then he's informed that it's time for the next person to get the choice. And if they push the button, he's the one who dies... Quote
connoisseur series500 Posted March 8, 2004 Author Report Posted March 8, 2004 (edited) I don't know if it's appropriate to call it the best television series of all time, but for the life of me, I can't think of any off hand that I've seen better. This is a tough series to discuss on a bulletin board; as Dan says, there are just too many great episodes. In person, we could trigger one memory after another and have a blast; this online thing is just too slow for this! Paul, I'd love to get this series. I had a few of the VHS ones, and the thing that struck me was how beautiful the filming was. It was almost like a live show in quality. Made most TV shows looked like canned crap. You'll see what I mean when you view it! It's so lifelike, you feel like you can reach right into the set... Well stated, Moose. You and I are one on this. I think Serling put his heart and soul into this series. He wrote these shows during his creative prime and he hired terrific writers to pen some of the episodes. There's one story about a Japanese-American and American war vet reliving the horrors of Saipan in the man's attic. Won't spoil the end for you guys, but the Japanese landscaper reads the inscription of the souvenir samurai sword the American war vet had taken from the Japanese soldier he killed, and reads: "this sword will avenge thy death..." Cool stuff! The Japanese actor was the same who played the role of Mr. Sulu on Star Trek. Brilliantly acted. Edited March 8, 2004 by connoisseur series500 Quote
connoisseur series500 Posted March 8, 2004 Author Report Posted March 8, 2004 One problem I have with memory, is I'm sure some of the Zone episodes I remember may well have been Outer Limits episodes instead; I'm just not sure... Anyone remember the one about the diner with the little fortune teller boxes at the booths? Man... There was another one (and this is one that may have been an Outer Limits; I just don't know...I was pretty young back then!) in which a strange man offered someone something, I don't know, a million bucks or something, and all they had to do was push a button on a box. If they pushed the button, someone they didn't know and had never met would die. The guy finally gives in to temptation and pushes the button. Then he's informed that it's time for the next person to get the choice. And if they push the button, he's the one who dies... Tell you what, Moose, I'll be able to answer this for you once I view all the episodes. Should be getting them by Wednesday or Thursday. I might be able to catch a few episodes on Thursday but that's it as I'm leaving for Pittsburgh for a chess tournament on Friday and will be spending the weekend there. Rotten time to be receiving these fascinating DVDs... Another thing about the Twilight Zone was the quality of the actors. Many actors such as Robert Redford appeared before they became famous. Jack Klugman was in several as well as William Shatner and Ida Lupino. I'm sure there were many more. When Serling started the series, he had already been recognized as a first class television writer. He did have some success with "Requiem for a Heavyweight." Quote
rockefeller center Posted March 8, 2004 Report Posted March 8, 2004 conn, what's your source for this set? Quote
connoisseur series500 Posted March 8, 2004 Author Report Posted March 8, 2004 conn, what's your source for this set? Ebay. 49 DVD set usually goes for $350 range. Complete VHS runs between $150-200 (43 tapes). The other option is to buy them piecemeal. More expensive that way (and time consuming.) Rocky, I'm sending you a PM with more info. Quote
RainyDay Posted March 8, 2004 Report Posted March 8, 2004 I believe the episode you're talking about is "The Monsters Are Coming To Maple Street"---one of my favorites, and one that holds up well today. That's the one. Quote
connoisseur series500 Posted July 20, 2006 Author Report Posted July 20, 2006 Up for further comments. Quote
Stereojack Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 One of my favorites is "A Stop at Willoughby". An commuter who is tormented by his boss at work and his wife at home has a chance to get off the train and go back to a small town a hundred years ago. It stars James Daly, father of Tyne and Tim Daly. "The Invaders" with Agnes Moorehead as a woman fighting off an alien spaceship. Quote
connoisseur series500 Posted July 20, 2006 Author Report Posted July 20, 2006 One of my favorites is "A Stop at Willoughby". Great episode and one of my favs. too. Lot of autobiographical commentary on "Stop at Willoughby" Serling was overworked and stressed. I saw a few TZs last night. I really enjoyed "Dead Man's Shoes." A body is dumped in an alley. A homeless guy takes off the snazzy pair of shoes from the body, puts them on, and becomes transformed in such a way that he takes on characteristics of the dead man. He then goes out to avenge the murder. In the end, after taking out one of the gangmembers, he too is shot. With dying breath he says, "I'm gonna be back. I'm gonna keep coming back. I'm coming back till I get you, Johnny!" The body is dumped in the alley and another homeless person takes the shoes. Quote
connoisseur series500 Posted July 20, 2006 Author Report Posted July 20, 2006 And there was a beautiful story told in a tender way like "Walking Distance" or "Stop at Willoughby" or "Something in the Night." This one is called "Kick the Can" and deals with the elderly in an old folk's home. It's a beautiful story, and I won't spoil it by telling you what happens; but it shows Rod's tender side as in the above mentioned episodes. Amazing that he had such sensitivity for the elderly in their group homes back in 1962 like that. Actually, Rod didn't write the story. I forgot who did, but it is a beautiful episode. Quote
7/4 Posted July 20, 2006 Report Posted July 20, 2006 One of my favorites is "A Stop at Willoughby". Great episode and one of my favs. too. Lot of autobiographical commentary on "Stop at Willoughby" Serling was overworked and stressed. I saw a few TZs last night. I really enjoyed "Dead Man's Shoes." A body is dumped in an alley. A homeless guy takes off the snazzy pair of shoes from the body, puts them on, and becomes transformed in such a way that he takes on characteristics of the dead man. He then goes out to avenge the murder. In the end, after taking out one of the gangmembers, he too is shot. With dying breath he says, "I'm gonna be back. I'm gonna keep coming back. I'm coming back till I get you, Johnny!" The body is dumped in the alley and another homeless person takes the shoes. I remember that one. I'd like to get the box, but that's a lot of material to check out. I couldn't be bothered to watch any of the last marathon, but this was an amazing series. Too bad there isn't much tv like this now a days. Quote
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