Fan of the Twilight Zone? Join me,
@RodSerlingFndtn
board member Paul Gallagher, for daily quotes & facts from TZ, Night Gallery, and Rod Serling's other works.
June 28, 1975: Rod Serling dies. He was only 50, but he left behind a body of work that in terms of both quantity and quality dwarfs that of many writers who lived much longer.
“There is just one thing I would like on my headstone — a line that reads only, ‘He left friends’.” ♥️
June 2, 1961: Twilight Zone's "The Obsolete Man" airs. A totalitarian state decides to execute a man who poses a grave threat to their "perfect" society: a librarian. But the tables soon turn.
Stars Burgess Meredith in the 3rd of his 4 TZ eps, and Fritz Weaver in the 2nd of two.
June 28, 1975: Rod Serling, 50, dies. 😔
"I just want them to remember me a hundred years from now. I don’t care that they’re not able to quote a single line that I’ve written. But just that they can say, 'Oh, he was a writer.' That’s sufficiently an honored position for me.”
June 28, 1975: Rod Serling dies.
"I just want them to remember me a hundred years from now. I don’t care that they’re not able to quote a single line that I’ve written. But just that they can say, 'Oh, he was a writer.' That’s sufficiently an honored position for me.”
March 4, 1960: A Twilight Zone classic, "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," airs. When the power goes out on Maple Street, fear and suspicion take over. Is it a meteorite? Visitors from outer space? Or something worse?
Written by Rod Serling. With Claude Akins & Jack Weston.
June 28, 1975: Rod Serling dies.
“There is just one thing I would like on my headstone — a line that reads only, ‘He left friends’.” ♥️
He was only 50, but he left behind a body of work that in terms of quantity and quality dwarfs that of many writers who lived much longer.
Burgess Meredith: "I suppose that shot was quite ornate for a weekly show. But Twilight Zone was shot at MGM, where they had those exterior sets all over the place. The only thing Twilight Zone's production people had to do for that scene was get a few books."
#S1E8
May 6, 1960: Twilight Zone's "A Stop at Willoughby" airs. A stressed-out businessman feels drawn to an idyllic train stop that keeps appearing on his daily commute.
Who can't relate to this one on some level? A bittersweet classic.
Written by Rod Serling. Stars James Daly.
Another year on Twitter/X. Today marks my 13th anniversary! 🥳 It all started on September 13, 2010.
I created this page just to fan over Night Gallery, but it soon became a tribute to all things Serling.
It's been a joy to see it grow since then. Glad you're all here! 🥂
September 15, 1961: Season 3 of The Twilight Zone opens with "Two." Two soldiers from opposing armies must learn to get along in a post-nuclear-war world where they appear to be the lone survivors.
Stars Charles Bronson and Elizabeth Montgomery.
November 17, 1961: Twilight Zone's "The Midnight Sun" airs. Earth slips its orbit, putting it on a collision course with the Sun and subjecting everyone to unbearable heat.
Written by Rod Serling. Stars Lois Nettleton & Betty Garde. Hard to believe it didn't debut in summertime!
November 20, 1959: Twilight Zone's "Time Enough at Last" airs. Rod Serling and Burgess Meredith (in the first of four TZ roles) bring us a reader's worst nightmare — and create a TV classic.
Meredith explains why it's "the one that haunts people":
May 26, 1961: Twilight Zone's "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" airs. On a snowy night, seven individuals climb off a bus and hole up in a diner — six humans and one alien. But which one?
Written by Rod Serling. Stars John Hoyt, Barney Phillips, and Jack Elam.
June 28, 1975: Rod Serling dies. He was 50.
"I just want them to remember me a hundred years from now. I don’t care that they’re not able to quote a single line that I’ve written. But just that they can say, 'Oh, he was a writer.' That’s sufficiently an honored position for me.”
November 18, 1960: Twilight Zone's "Nick of Time" airs. A couple in a diner finds a fortune-telling machine whose answers seem eerily accurate. One penny per question!
The 1st of
@WilliamShatner
's two iconic TZ roles. Written by Richard Matheson. On
@paramountplus
& DVD/Blu-ray.
“Rod Serling was one of the best writers we ever had — a brilliant, very complex guy. I think he had a lot of problems with the guys upstairs [at CBS] because he was a rebel *with* a cause. He went out there and did his stuff and had a lot of things to say.”
— Jonathan Winters
Richard Matheson: "The reason the script contained no dialogue was because then you'd know she wasn't from Earth."
#ZoneFacts
#S2E15
Matheson's famous Twilight Zone episode "The Invaders" stars the incomparable Agnes Moorehead.
Time for my annual disclaimer!
Once again, starting December 30, 8am EST, I'll be filling your timelines with posts marking
@Syfy
's New Year's Twilight Zone marathon. If you can't tune in, are watching
@handitvnetwork
's TZ-athon, or are making your own marathon via disc or
May 6, 1960: A true Twilight Zone classic, "A Stop at Willoughby" airs — a bittersweet tale about a stressed-out businessman drawn to an idyllic train stop he keeps seeing on his daily commute.
Stars James Daly, Jason Wingreen, Patricia Donahue, James Maloney and Howard Smith.
"All of man's little devices to stir up the air are no longer luxuries. They happen to be pitiful and panicky keys to survival."
#S3E10
Twilight Zone’s "The Midnight Sun" by Rod Serling
45 years ago today — June 28, 1975 — Rod Serling died. He was only 50, but he left behind a body of work that in size and quality dwarfed that of many authors who lived much longer.
“There is just one thing I would like on my headstone—a line that reads only, ‘He left friends’.”
"Next week on The Twilight Zone, we put you on a front porch — summer evening, tree-lined street, typical small town. And then we pull the rug out from under your feet, and we throw a nightmare at you."
— Serling's promo for "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street"
#S1E22
"There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices to be found only in the minds of men."
#TwilightZoneMarathon
#S1E22
"The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" by Rod Serling stars Claude Akins, Jack Weston, and Burt Metcalfe.
March 4, 1960: Twilight Zone's "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," airs. When the power goes out on Maple Street, fear and suspicion take over. Is it a meteorite? Aliens from outer space? Or something worse?
(Hint: My money's on "worse.")
Claude Akins and Jack Weston star.
Personal note: I haven’t been as active on here the last day or so — my mother had a stroke and is in the hospital. We’re hopeful for her recovery, of course, but we’d appreciate any well wishes or prayers.
Mom’s a TZ fan, btw. I look forward to watching with her again soon! ❤️
June 10, 1960: Twilight Zone's "The After Hours" airs. A woman's visit to a department store brings her to an unlisted floor — and a surprising discovery about her identity.
Written by Rod Serling. The first of two TZs starring Anne Francis (the other: Season 4's "Jess-Belle").
Happy New Year, everyone!
Saying it now because it just hit midnight here on the east coast of the U.S., but no matter where you are in the fifth dimension, I hope 2024 is a positive and healthy year for you. :)
"They're all dead. They must be. Everybody's dead except ... me."
#S1E8
Twilight Zone's "Time Enough at Last" by Rod Serling stars Burgess Meredith in the first of four episodes.
January 27, 1961: Twilight Zone's "The Invaders" airs. A farm woman must fend off two tiny beings who land a spaceship on her roof.
Agnes Moorehead stars in a Richard Matheson-penned Zone classic. Hard to quote, though, much as I enjoy it!
#S2E15
Anne Francis: "I get more fan mail related to the Twilight Zone than anything else I have done."
Seen here, of course, in Twilight Zone's "The After Hours" (the "mannequin" episode). She also starred in TZ's "Jess-Belle."
June 10, 1960: Twilight Zone's "The After Hours" airs. Visit a department store. Visit a floor that doesn't exist. Meet a saleswoman who's a mannequin. Just another day in the 5th dimension. 😲
Written by Rod Serling. The first of 2 TZs with Anne Francis (No. 2: "Jess-Belle").
Ready to ring in 2024 with The Twilight Zone marathon on Syfy? My latest blog post gives you the full schedule:
140 episodes! Only one of the half-hours (“The Mind and the Matter”) and most of Season 4 are missing.
Starts early! 8am EST on the 30th.
“I never enjoyed doing a show as much as I did ‘Two’.” — Elizabeth Montgomery, who co-starred with Charles Bronson in the Twilight Zone Season 3 opener
"It's my mistake, pal, to get married to a man whose big dream in life is to be Huckleberry Finn!"
#S1E30
Twilight Zone's "A Stop at Willoughby" by Rod Serling stars James Daly and Patricia Donahue.
Just hit midnight here on the east coast, so Happy New Year to all of my wonderful followers. Your messages of love and support over the last two weeks are greatly appreciated. ❤️
Here’s hoping 2023 will be a year of peace and happiness for all—in or out of the Twilight Zone. 🥂
The name on the gas-station sign in Twilight Zone's "Walking Distance" was a hat tip to the show's production manager, Ralph Nelson. TZ would do this kind of in-joke throughout the series.
#S1E5
“You can't vandalize what’s inside my mind. You can’t climb in and pencil out some beautiful language.”
— unfilmed line from an early draft of Twilight Zone’s “Time Enough at Last”
It was something Henry mutters to himself after he and Helen argue.
May 26, 1961: Twilight Zone's "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" airs. It's a snowy night, and we've got a diner full of people — and one alien. But who is it?
Rod Serling wrote what he called an "extraterrestrial who's who." Stars John Hoyt, Barney Phillips and Jack Elam.
“Even at midnight, it’s high noon, the hottest day in history, and you’re about to spend it ... in the Twilight Zone.”
#S3E10
Twilight Zone's "The Midnight Sun" by Rod Serling stars Lois Nettleton and Betty Garde.
"It would be premature to assume hostile intent on the part of these Kanamits."
When Twilight Zone's "To Serve Man" debuted on March 2, 1962, fans learned just how benign that "intent" truly was!
Stars Lloyd Bochner and Richard Kiel. Rod Serling adapted Damon Knight's story.
“A man, well, he'll walk right into Hell with both eyes open. But even the Devil can't fool a dog.”
Happy
#NationalDogDay
!
#S3E19
Twilight Zone's "The Hunt" by Earl Hamner, Jr. stars Arthur Hunnicut. And Rip. 🐶
"When I told you no man is held at the hermitage, I was being honest. What you saw is not a man. It is the Devil himself!"
#S2E5
Twilight Zone's "The Howling Man" by Charles Beaumont stars stars H.M. Wynant, John Carradine and Robin Hughes.
Today, btw, is the 8th anniversary of this page. Whether you're a new follower, or you've been here from the start, glad you're along for the ride! Hope you're enjoying my daily toast to all things Serling.
Personal note: I haven’t been as active on here the last day or so — my mother had a stroke and is in the hospital. We’re hopeful for her recovery, of course, but we’d appreciate any well wishes or prayers.
Mom’s a TZ fan, btw. I look forward to watching with her again soon! ❤️
March 2, 1962: Twilight Zone's "To Serve Man" airs. Don't worry about those aliens who just landed, folks. The Kanamits promise to end every problem we have. What's not to like?
Stars Lloyd Bochner, Richard Kiel and Susan Cummings. Rod Serling adapted Damon Knight’s short story.
January 22, 1960: Twilight Zone's "The Hitch-Hiker" airs. A woman on a cross-country car trip keeps seeing the same man trying to hitch a ride. "Going my way?"
Serling based this TZ classic on a radio play first performed by Orson Welles:
#S1E16
March 20, 1964: Twilight Zone's "The Masks" airs. A dying man offers his greedy heirs a deal: to get their inheritance, they must wear some special masks for one evening. Seems harmless, right?
Stars Robert Keith, Milton Selzer, Virginia Gregg, Brooke Hayward, and Alan Sues.
"I had seen an entire generation changed for the better by Rod Serling." — John Astin
Sure, he's best known as Gomez Addams, but the star of one Twilight Zone episode also starred in and directed several Night Gallery episodes. A toast to the 94-year-old legend on his birthday!
Good news, marathon fans! There's no schedule to share yet, but my source at Syfy has confirmed that there WILL be a Twilight Zone marathon for New Year's. I'm told it starts at 2:00 am EST on December 31 and runs through January 1. Stay tuned for more details!
April 24, 1964: Twilight Zone's "Stopover in a Quiet Town" debuts. A couple wakes up in a strange town, devoid of people and finds that everything is a prop. And where's that girlish laughter coming from?
Written by Earl Hamner, Jr. Stars Barry Nelson and Nancy Malone.
It may be hot on July 4th, but it looks like we'll have two Twilight Zone marathons to help us cool off: one on
@Syfy
and one on
@handitvnetwork
! (I say "looks like" simply b/c Syfy *has* cancelled planned 7/4 marathons in the past, but let's stay positive. :)
Syfy's is a
Okay, gang, the marathon is concluding with "The Parallel" and two more of the hour-long episodes from Season 4 (times are EST):
2:00am – I Dream of Genie
3:00am – No Time Like the Past
I'm going to bow out now, but I hope everyone's been enjoying themselves! A hearty welcome
"I thought that it would be terribly interesting to see the mother and father through the gauze screen. Because in a sense they're ethereal. So I said, 'Shoot through the mother and father, almost as if he were seeing ghosts'."
— Rod Serling on Twilight Zone's "Walking Distance"
June 28, 1975: Rod Serling dies.
"I just want them to remember me a hundred years from now. I don’t care that they’re not able to quote a single line that I’ve written. But just that they can say, 'Oh, he was a writer.' That’s sufficiently an honored position for me.”
And the 2023-2024
#TwilightZoneMarathon
gets underway on Syfy with “The Lonely”! It was the first episode filmed after the pilot episode (“Where is Everybody?”), but the seventh one to be broadcast.
March 20, 1964: Twilight Zone's "The Masks" airs. A dying man presents a deal to his greedy heirs: to get their inheritance, they must wear some special masks for one evening. What could go wrong?
Stars Robert Keith, Milton Selzer, Virginia Gregg, Brooke Hayward, and Alan Sues.
"I'm sure I'll be forgiven for this. The way things are. I know I'll be forgiven."
#S1E8
Twilight Zone’s "Time Enough at Last" by Rod Serling stars Burgess Meredith in the first of four TZ roles.
"Henry Corwin, normally unemployed, who once a year takes the lead role in the uniquely popular American institution, that of a department store Santa Claus, in a road-company version of The Night Before Christmas."
#S2E11
Twilight Zone's "Night of the Meek" stars Art Carney.
RIP, Richard Donner. Before directing 1978's "Superman," "Ladyhawke" and "Lethal Weapon," he helmed 6 Season 5 Twilight Zones:
•Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
•From Agnes—With Love
•Sounds and Silences
•The Jeopardy Room
•The Brain Center at Whipple’s
•Come Wander with Me
"You're not being rational, Miss Tyler. You know you can't expect to live any kind of a life among normal people."
#S2E6
Twilight Zone's "Eye of the Beholder"
Fans often notice how sweaty people are in Twilight Zone episodes. Well, the perspiration really flows in "The Midnight Sun."
In fact, it was shot in summer on a set with no A/C. Director Anton Leader even turned up the heat for certain scenes. 😓
#S3E10
#TwilightZoneMarathon
Happy birthday,
@AnneSerling
! 🥳
It’s a joy and an honor to work with you as a board member of the
@RodSerlingFndtn
to promote your father’s timeless legacy.
Happy
#IndependenceDay
to my fellow Americans! Yes, you can get your fifth-dimension fix with a
#TwilightZoneMarathon
today. 😀
@Syfy
has a one-day one of original TZ, while
@handitvnetwork
has a four-day one (July 4-July 7) with mostly original TZ and '80s TZs in the overnight
July 1, 1960: Twilight Zone ends Season 1 with “A World of His Own." A writer claims he can make his characters come alive by describing them on his tape recorder. His wife insists he's crazy. Or is he?
This Richard Matheson-penned episode marked Rod Serling's first on-screen
June 2, 1961: Twilight Zone's "The Obsolete Man" airs. A totalitarian state decides to execute a man who poses a grave threat to their "perfect" society: a librarian. But the tables soon turn.
Stars Burgess Meredith in the 3rd of his 4 TZ eps, and Fritz Weaver in the 2nd of two.
Today marks my 10th anniversary on Twitter. Yep, it all started on September 13, 2010. A *decade* of daily tweets. Imagine!
I created this page to fan over Night Gallery, but it soon became a tribute to all things Serling.
Glad you're all here. Hope you're enjoying yourselves!
"As a race, we are unaccustomed to charity. Brutality is a far more universal language than friendship."
#S3E24
#TwilightZoneMarathon
Twilight Zone's "To Serve Man" by Rod Serling stars Lloyd Bochner, Susan Cummings, and Richard Kiel.
December 11, 1959: Twilight Zone's "And When The Sky Was Opened" airs. Three astronauts return to Earth after testing an experimental rocket. Then things start getting weird.
Rod Taylor, Charles Aidman and Jim Hutton star in Rod Serling's adaptation of a Richard Matheson story.
"That alien has become one of my most famous roles, but it's not my favorite. I prefer the ones where I get to act, not the ones where I was hired to just walk around, looking big and scary."
— Richard Kiel on Twilight Zone's "To Serve Man"
#TwilightZoneMarathon
October 30, 1959: Twilight Zone's "Walking Distance" airs. A harried executive who visits his hometown after many years finds it unchanged — and winds up meeting himself as a boy, along with his late parents.
Stars Gig Young and Frank Overton.
October 13, 1961: Twilight Zone's "A Game of Pool" airs. A pool player gets his wish: to play the long-dead legend Fats Brown. The stakes: life or death.
Written by George Clayton Johnson, this classic episode stars Jack Klugman and — in a rare dramatic role — Jonathan Winters.
"Most writers, you go up to them and say you've got an idea, they reply, 'You do the acting, kid, and we'll do the writing.' Not Rod. You go up to him with a suggestion, he gets the pencil out and starts writing."
— Earl Holliman, star of Twilight Zone's "Where is Everybody?"
Elizabeth Allen, the thimble-selling sales lady in Twilight Zone’s “The After Hours,” poses with her mannequin double. That’s her on the right. No, the left. Er, wait ... 🤔
#TwilightZoneMarathon
"This is ridiculous. Can't you see that you made up all the details, and all that thing did was give back generalities?"
#ZoneQuotes
#S2E7
Twilight Zone's "Nick of Time," starring Patricia Breslin and William Shatner, can be watched on demand
@paramountplus
and on DVD/Blu-ray.
Robert Keith (father of Brian Keith) had been acting since 1924 when he played Jason Foster in "The Masks." It was, fittingly, his final role.
#TwilightZoneMarathon
"Oh, listen to me, son. No man ever, ever loved a boy any more than I love you."
#FathersDay
#FathersDay2023
#S5E1
Twilight Zone’s "In Praise of Pip" by Rod Serling stars Jack Klugman and Billy Mumy, both in their final TZ appearances.
"I looked out and the clouds looked like snow banks. I thought, 'What if I saw somebody skiing out there?' In thinking about it more intensely, [I realized] it would not make for a very scary story. So I put this THING on the wing."
—Richard Matheson on "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"
"We were always on the edge of getting cancelled."
— Buck Houghton, producer of Twilight Zone's first three seasons, on the show's less-than-stellar ratings
Talky Tina turns 60!
That’s right. On November 1, 1963, Twilight Zone's "Living Doll" first aired, in which a man's life is turned upside down when his stepdaughter's new doll adopts a homicidal dislike of him.
Stars Telly “Kojak” Savalas.
#TinaDoesntLoveYaBaby
😏
Happy New Year, everyone!
Saying it now because it just hit midnight here on the east coast of the U.S., but no matter where you are in the fifth dimension, I hope 2019 is a great year for you. :)
December 22, 1961: Twilight Zone's "Five Characters in Search of an Exit" airs. A clown, an Army major, a ballerina, a hobo, and a bagpiper find themselves in a mysterious cylindrical prison—with no idea where they are or how they got there.
The first TZ I ever saw! In rerun. 😋
"This is one of the out-of-the-way places, the unvisited places — bleak, wasted, dying."
Twilight Zone's "The Invaders" by Richard Matheson stars Agnes Moorehead.
#S2E15
Another year on Twitter. Today marks my 11th anniversary! It all started on September 13, 2010.
I created this page to fan over Night Gallery, but it soon became a tribute to all things Serling.
It's been so gratifying to see it grow since then. Glad you're all here!
To get a good, shaky shot of a nuclear blast, the "Time Enough at Last" bank vault was built on springs.
This was the first TV episode to show the effects of such a blast on a U.S. city.
#TwilightZoneMarathon
"You control, order and dictate, and my kind merely follow and obey. But something's gone wrong, hasn't it? I don't fit, do I?"
Twilight Zone's "The Obsolete Man" by Rod Serling stars Burgess Meredith in the third of his 4 TZ roles.
On demand on
@paramountplus
and disc.
#S2E29
"It's true we don't feel hunger or thirst. But pain is quite another thing. And a drop from 20 feet up down to this hard floor is a sensation I could do without."
Twilight Zone's "Five Characters in Search of an Exit" stars William Windom, Murray Matheson, and Susan Harrison.
"There's a man out there!"
First heard on October 11, 1963.
Celebrating 60 years of one of the most iconic Twilight Zone episodes: "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"!
My take on it:
A toast to Richard Matheson &
@WilliamShatner
for this piece of TV history!