A Critical History of Television's the Twilight Zone, 1959-1964

289 Pages·2008·8.987 MB·English

by  Don Presnell, Marty McGee

A Critical History
of Television’s
The Twilight Zone,
1959–1964

A Critical History
of Television’s
The Twilight Zone,
1959–19 64
Don Presnell and Marty McGee
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
The present work is a reprint of the library bound edition of
A Critical History of Television’s TheTwilight Zone, 1959–
1964,first published in 1998 by McFarland.
To Martha: my wife, best friend,
research assistant, and proofreader—D.P.
To the three ladies in my life:
Caitlin, Olivia, and Cassie—M.M.
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
Presnell, Don, ¡966–
A critical history of television’s The Twilight Zone,
¡959–¡964 / Don Presnell and Marty McGee.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-3886-0
softcover : 50# alkaline paper
1. Twilight zone (Television program) I. McGee, Marty,
¡97¡– II. Title.
PN¡992.77.T87P74 2008
79¡.45'72—dc2¡ 98-36576
British Library cataloguing data are available
©¡998 Don Presnell and Marty McGee. All rights reserved
No part ofthis book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means,electronic or mechanical,including photocopying
or recording,or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
On the cover: Rod Serling, host of The Twilight Zone (CBS/Photofest);
image of television set ©2008 Photodisc
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company,Inc.,Publishers
Box 6¡¡,Je›erson,North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
CCCCOOOONNNNTTTTEEEENNNNTTTTSSSS
Preface ¡
Introduction 5
Part I • History 9
Part II • The Episodes 29
Season One 31
Season Two 70
Season Three 99
Season Four 138
Season Five 159
Appendices
1. Chronological List of Episodes 197
2. Writer Biographies 200
3. Principal Writers and Their Twilight Zone Credits 213
4. Directors and Their Twilight Zone Credits 218
5. Principal Actors and Their Twilight Zone Credits 222
6. Close… But No Zone: Stories Never Filmed 232
7. Rod Serling’s Lost Episodes 239
8. Genres, Themes, and Plot Devices 242
Notes 253
Bibliography 26¡
Index 267
v

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For such a popular and well-remembered series, The Twilight Zone has
generated a surprisingly small number of critical commentaries and episode
guides. The earliest source of valuable information about the show was Rod
Serling’s The Twilight ZoneMagazine(¡98¡–¡989), an excellent magazine that
contained articles discussing various aspects of the show: interviews with writ-
ers, actors, and directors who worked on The Twilight Zone; original short sto-
ries that served as the basis for particular episodes, as well as original new
fiction by up-and-coming or established writers (Stephen King made a few
appearances); and, best of all, regular reprints of original Twilight Zone tele-
plays.
The first full-length biography of TZ creator Rod Serling, who died in
¡975, was not written until ¡4 years later. Joel Engel’s Rod Serling:The Dreams
and Nightmares ofLife in the Twilight Zone(Chicago: Contemporary, ¡989) is
an important book, packed with information about Serling and The Twilight
Zone. Despite his necessary focus on Rod Serling’s entire life (before, during,
and after the show’s original run), Engel still manages to discuss The Twilight
Zoneat great length. Unfortunately, sources are only scantily documented, and
the book is not even indexed.
Another Serling biography appeared in ¡992, Gordon F. Sander’s Serling:
The Rise and Twilight ofTelevision’s Last Angry Man(paperback edition, New
York: Plume-Penguin, ¡994). Sander’s work is more concise and direct but has
considerably less discussion of The Twilight Zone. Nevertheless, it too is an
important work.
Visions from The Twilight Zone,by Arlen Schumer, is a handsome book
devoted to classic images and stills from the series; its sole focus is an aes-
thetic appreciation of the show’s striking black-and-white cinematography
and tableaux, though it does contain two good essays by J. Hoberman and
Carol Serling.
A must for Twilight Zone fans is The Twilight Zone: The Original Stories
(New York: MJF Books, ¡985), which collects all of the original short sto-
ries—except for John Collier’s “The Chaser,” which presented permissions
problems—that Rod Serling bought and commissioned to be adapted for Twi-
light Zoneepisodes. The book includes an introduction by TZwriter Richard
1
2 Preface
Matheson, as well as eight of his original stories that became classic episodes.
Several tales by TZregular Charles Beaumont are also included among the 30
collected stories, in addition to Lynn Venable’s “Time Enough at Last” and
Damon Knight’s “To Serve Man,” both of which would number among the
series’ most unforgettable episodes.
The most recent work on The Twilight Zoneis Peter Wolfe’s In the Zone:
The Twilight World of Rod Serling (Popular Press, ¡997). In the Zone is well
written and avoids the droning, arcane tone of much academic writing. Since
Wolfe is an English professor, his focus is of course literary, and he makes a
thorough and compelling analysis of the show that reminds us of one reason
The Twilight Zone was so successful: the writing, which was always Serling’s
first concern. As Serling himself said, “Scripts were written with an eye towards
the literacy of the actor and the intelligence of the audience.”1* Though not
intended as a reference or companion book, In the Zone makes an accessible,
entertaining, and interesting read.
Into the Twilight Zone:The Rod Serling Programme Guide (London: Vir-
gin, ¡995), by Jean-Marc and Randy Lo‡cier, is a thumbnail episode guide
to all of Rod Serling’s film and television output, including The Twilight Zone,
The Loner, and Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, as well as later television reincar-
nations of The Twilight Zone. It contains minimal information, but is useful
as a quick-reference guide for episode titles and airdates.
The most important work thus far is indisputably Marc Scott Zicree’s The
Twilight Zone Companion. The first edition of this invaluable work was released
in ¡982 (New York: Bantam); the second edition, only slightly updated, was
reprinted by a di›erent publisher (Los Angeles: Silman-James Press) in ¡992.
Zicree was involved with Rod Serling’sThe Twilight Zone Magazineand had
access to virtually all materials and information regarding the show. He also
conducted interviews with many people, apart from Rod Serling, who were
responsible for creating The Twilight Zone: producer Buck Houghton, writ-
ers Richard Matheson and George Clayton Johnson, and many others. His
book contains plenty of behind-the-scenes commentary and fairly detailed
information regarding the show’s history and all ¡56 episodes. An especially
nice feature is Zicree’s transcription of all Serling’s voice-over prologues and
epilogues.
Zicree’s Companion, however, can be slightly puzzling for the reader. For
example, after reading about “The Grave,” which was originally shown on
October 27, ¡96¡, we are presented with the next entry, “Nothing in the Dark,”
which was aired January 5, ¡962. No reason for the three-month gap between
these episodes is given; during the original series run, eight other episodes
aired in succession between “The Grave” and “Nothing in the Dark.” Thus,
even though dates are given, Zicree’s work provides no sense of the show’s
*References in the text are to the Notes beginning on page 253.
Preface 3
original airdate continuity. Zicree’s approach is perhaps intended to be a
chronological narrative history of the show, with episodes discussed in the
order they were produced; if this is the case, however, an explanation would
have made the approach more meaningful. At any rate, no explanation is pro-
vided.
The Twilight Zone Companion, then, retains a monographic feel, a quality
that seems to be at odds with a “companion” book. Also, its research value
is diminished by a less-than-thorough index and some erroneous episode
airdates, and critical discussion for several episodes is either negligible or
entirely absent. Nevertheless, the importance of Zicree’s book cannot be over-
stated.
The book you are now reading is a labor of love for both of us. After many
discussions of The Twilight Zone, we are both convinced that it is the best tele-
vision series that has ever been aired. We have worked to make our book as
comprehensive and complete as possible; it is a reference work that covers the
show exhaustively. First, you will find a detailed history of The Twilight Zone,
from its conception through ¡964, the year of its fifth and final season. Ser-
ling’s post–Twilight Zone work is briefly explored, as are the Twilight Zone
television revivals of the mid–¡980s and the ¡983 theatrical release, Twilight
Zone—The Movie. We focus almost exclusively on the original series since that
is what we know and love best. To analyze the “new” Twilight Zone episodes
from the ¡980s—or, for that matter, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, Serling’s less
successful series from the ¡970s—would be spreading ourselves thin. (We do,
however, include to some extent Twilight Zone—The Movie [¡983], as three
of those segments are remakes of original, and far superior, TZepisodes. Our
entry for “Kick the Can” [02-09-62], for instance, includes plot synopses and
discussions of both the original episode and the theatrical remake.)
After the history comes a complete episode guide. We include the title,
original airdate, and the most complete cast and credits ever published for
each episode. Entries also include plot synopses and extensive notes, com-
mentary and discussion. Where applicable, we discuss episodes and how they
bring to life their original source materials (short stories, radio plays, anec-
dotes, and original teleplays). Take for example the pilot episode, “Where Is
Everybody?” (¡0-02-59). First we consider Serling’s original teleplay. What
choices were made in bringing the script to life on the screen? Were the choices
successful? How and why, or why not? Next we consider the short story Ser-
ling adapted from the episode and included in his story collection Stories from
The Twilight Zone. As our discussion demonstrates, Serling made at least one
significant change to the plot. These kinds of considerations are always excit-
ing for fans of any show, and in the case of The Twilight Zone, have not been
addressed at length until now.
At the end of our book, we include several detailed appendices, includ-
ing a list of all the episodes in chronological (airdate) order; information on