HOME |
RSS | 
The Twilight Zone was more than just a science fiction television show. It was theater that made you think, a showcase for Rod Serling’s vision for television, and it was a proving ground for talented but relatively unknown actors, like William Shatner.
The Twilight Zone featured some of Hollywood’s most famous faces… or at least faces that would eventually become famous. Looking back at the original series and seeing such star power, most of whom were just budding actors and actresses at the time, is actually quite interesting. Many of these celebrities may not be familiar to younger readers. However, others should certainly be easily recognizable. One such celeb was William Shatner (a man synonymous with sci-fi) who six years prior to “boldly going where no man had gone before” appeared as a newlywed obsessed with a small diner’s spooky fortune-telling machine.
Shatner, as we all know, went on to star in another classic Twilight Zone episode entitled Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, where he played a man slowly driven insane by a creature only he was able to see prancing about on the wing of his plane.
Read about more Twilight Zone actors who went on to stardom afterward, and other reasons that made The Twilight Zone a masterpiece. Link
Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the debut of The Twilight Zone. The first episode of Rod Serling’s classic horror/suspense television show aired on October 2, 1959. William Kates wrote for the AP about the origin of the series:
In a time on television when suburbia was idealized in popular shows such as “Ozzie and Harriet” and “Make Room for Daddy,” Serling offered a mixture of fantasy, science fiction, suspense, horror — and the show’s trademark macabre or unexpected twist.
Serling had already earned acclaim for his television writing (“Requiem for a Heavyweight,” “Patterns,”) but found himself fighting CBS to get “The Twilight Zone” on the air. Serling would have repeated conflicts with network censors throughout his career.
My favorite episode is “The Shelter.” What is yours?
Link via Alphecca | Image: CBS
UPDATE 10/2/09: Via GeekDad, free episodes online from CBS.
2nd UPDATE 10/2/09: io9 presents 6 Important Life Lessons from The Twilight Zone
