The original Twilight Zone remains a classic over 6 decades after it ended, enough to have 3 revivals, and this article will cover the first and best-regarded of those. Its creation was partially because of the 1983 TZ movie, so here’s a quick review:
The opening scene is one of my favorites of any movie I’ve ever seen. It was written and directed by John Landis, so he actually did contribute something good to the movie. He also did the first of the 4 segments/episodes, but even if it weren’t for the helicopter accident I think it’d probably just be another cliché “bigot gets a taste of his own medicine” story. Next comes Spielberg’s remake of “Kick the Can”, and since his heart really wasn’t in it after the accident I don’t think it’s a surprise his segment was pretty forgettable too. Things get better with the next segment, Joe Dante’s extremely Joe Dante remake of “It’s a Good Life.” I think the best segment, though, is the last: George Miller’s remake of “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.” Lithgow actually manages to out-ham Shatner and the connection between the two prompted a classic 3rd Rock From the Sun joke. Anyway, back to the show:
It was created in ’85, a time when there was a big gap in sci-fi TV, with Doctor Who in the middle of a Michael Grade-induced 18 month coma and no Star Trek shows and not much else competing for the nerd audience. Rod Serling had died a decade earlier, but the movie and the number of CBS execs who were fans of the original prompted the creation of the show. For its first season and most of its second, the show followed a format where it aired in hour-long installments with 2-3 segments of varying lengths, similar to Serling’s show Night Gallery, which I’ve never seen. Also, this is the only TZ version to have no on-camera host, having just a narrator instead(and not always even that). Charles Aidman, who appeared in two original TZ eps, narrated the first 2 seasons, with Robin Ward narrating the third and last season.
The show also had some then and eventual big names on the creative side of things. Harlan Ellison was there in the first season before leaving in a typical Ellisonian fit of pique midway through, although he returned for season 3. (Funny that season 3 narrator Robin Ward was on the cast of The Starlost.) Other writers for the show included GRRM and JMS, who are such nerd icons I need only mention their initials, and Farscape creator Rockne O’Bannon. However, the writer whose work I liked most on the show was Alan Brennert, who’s had a long career writing for TV, comics, and books but is probably best known for this show. BTW, I think he kinda looks like Stephen King:
The original show’s intro was a classic, but I think this show’s intro is one of the best of any show I’ve ever seen:
Every TZ incarnation is very of its time, and this is no exception, with the show’s first story showing the maximum amount of ’80s in its first minute after the intro:
The first season is my favorite, although it’s uneven as anthology shows are wont to be. 4 episodes stand out for me:
- “Dead Run”, a story that’s very of its time in that it’s a satire of the religious right of the time but still has plenty of relevance to today. It’s based on a short story of the same name by Greg Bear that was published in Omni. The funny thing is that Bear says he submitted it to The Twilight Zone Magazine but was rejected because they thought it wasn’t a Twilight Zone type story. (BTW, there was one story from the magazine adapted for the show: the Parke Godwin story “Influencing the Hell Out of Time and Teresa Golowitz”, which was adapted in season 2 as “Time and Teresa Golowitz.”)
- “Take My Life…Please!”, a story about a famous comedian played by Tim Thomerson, who’s best known as a B-movie actor but was also a stand-up comedian himself.
- “A Small Talent for War”, which has a fun twist on the cliché of aliens judging us for being violent. It’s only 8 minutes long, which is a big benefit of the show’s format. One problem I had with the most recent TZ revival was episodes being too long, which makes me wonder why they didn’t go the other way and do episodes that were too short for TV. Paramount+ did Short Treks, so why not Short Zones?
- “Quarantine”, which I pick with some reservations in that it has an anti-technology message I didn’t care for, but I think it depicts an interesting future world and has some cool early CGI. Also, along with “Welcome to Winnfield” it’s my favorite hour-long installment of the show.
I thought the second season wasn’t as good. My favorite story was easily “Shelter Skelter” which, like “Dead Run” is dated but still relevant in that it’s about nuclear war but also carries a message against toxic masculinity. The show was put on hiatus twice during the season before CBS canceled it, and during the period between hiatuses the show switched to a half-hour one-story format like most of the original show.
The show didn’t air during the 1987-88 season but was picked up in first-run syndication for a third season in 1988-89, airing in half-hour one-story format. (BTW, with Doctor Who season 25 and TNG season 2 the period from late November ’88 to early January ’89 is the only time all three franchises have been airing new episodes. Also, in late November MST3K debuted in Minnesota.) I didn’t think this season was that good overall either, but there were two eps I’d put up there with the best of the first two seasons:
- “Memories”, a story about a woman who believes in past lives and that the world would be better if people could remember theirs, only to awaken into a world where everyone can remember their past lives and it’s making them miserable.
- “Room 2426”, with original TZ veteran Dean Stockwell as a scientist imprisoned as by a tyrannical government. I think the twist ending is kinda cheesy but I like it anyway, and the ending narration has a turn of phrase that’s appropriate considering Quantum Leap debuted the next month.
The show aired its last episode on April 15, 1989, two days before my brother was born.
I think it wasn’t a great show and was uneven at its best(although that latter description could also apply to the original), but I thought it had some really good stories and was a worthy addition to the TZ franchise.