The Twilight Zone is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, supernatural drama, black comedy, and psychological thriller, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist, and usually with a moral. A popular and critical success, it introduced many Americans to common science fiction and fantasy tropes. The first series, shot entirely in black and white, ran on CBS for five seasons from 1959 to 1964.
Rodman Edward Serling was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen, and helped form television industry standards. He was known as the "angry young man" of Hollywood, clashing with television executives and sponsors over a wide range of issues, including censorship, racism, and war.
"Where Is Everybody?" is the first episode of the American anthology television series The Twilight Zone and was originally broadcast on 2 October 1959, on CBS. It is one of the most realistic Twilight Zone episodes, as it features no supernatural elements and is based on fairly straightforward extrapolation of science.
"The Lonely" is episode seven of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on November 13, 1959 on CBS.
"Time Enough at Last" is the eighth episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. The episode was adapted from a short story written by Lynn Venable. The short story appeared in the January 1953 edition of the science fiction magazine If: Worlds of Science Fiction about seven years before the television episode first aired.
"And When the Sky Was Opened" is episode eleven of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on December 11, 1959. It is an adaptation of the 1953 Richard Matheson short story "Disappearing Act."
"Nightmare as a Child" is episode 29 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on April 29, 1960 on CBS.
"King Nine Will Not Return" is the season two premiere episode, and 37th overall, of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on September 30, 1960 on CBS.
"Back There" is episode 49 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on January 13, 1961 on CBS, and was the 13th episode of the second season. It was written by series creator Rod Serling and was directed by David Orrick McDearmon. It involves time travel, and stars Russell Johnson, who had appeared in another time-travel episode the previous season.
"The Midnight Sun" is episode 75 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.
"To Serve Man" is the 24th episode of the third season of the anthology series The Twilight Zone, and the 89th overall. It originally aired on March 2, 1962, on CBS. Based on Damon Knight's 1950 short story of the same title, the episode was written by Rod Serling and directed by Richard L. Bare. It is considered one of the best episodes from the series, particularly for its final twist.
The Twilight Zone is an anthology television series which was constructed from September 27, 1985 to April 15, 1989. It is the first of three revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1959–64 television series, and like the original it featured a variety of speculative fiction, commonly containing characters from a seemingly normal world stumbling into paranormal circumstances. Unlike the original, however, most episodes contained multiple self-contained stories instead of just one. The voice-over narrations were still present, but were not a regular feature as they were in the original series; some episodes had only an opening narration, some had only a closing narration, and some had no narration at all. The multi-segment format liberated the series from the usual time constraints of episodic television, allowing stories ranging in length from 8-minutes to 40-minute mini-movies. The series ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication.
The Twilight Zone is an American science fiction horror anthology television series created and presented by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from October 2, 1959, to June 19, 1964. Each episode presents a stand-alone story in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described as entering "the Twilight Zone", often with a surprise ending and a moral. Although predominantly science-fiction, the show's paranormal and Kafkaesque events leaned the show towards fantasy and horror. The phrase "twilight zone", inspired by the series, is used to describe surreal experiences.
"What's in the Box" is episode 144 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on March 13, 1964 on CBS. In this episode, a man's television set displays his past, present, and future, revealing to him that he will kill his wife.
"Nothing in the Dark" is episode 81 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone, originally airing on January 5, 1962. This is one of two episodes that were filmed during season two but held over for broadcast until season three, the other being "The Grave".
"Dead Man's Shoes" is episode 83 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone, and is the 18th episode of the third season. It was written by past series contributor Charles Beaumont, and was originally aired on January 19, 1962 on CBS.
"The Gift" is episode 97 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.
"One More Pallbearer" is episode 82 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone, and was the 17th episode of the third season. The episode originally aired on January 12, 1962, was written by series creator/showrunner Rod Serling with a cast featuring Joseph Wiseman, Katherine Squire, Trevor Bardette and Gage Clarke.
Ronald Alan Masak was an American actor best known for playing the recurring role of Sheriff Mort Metzger of Cabot Cove in the CBS mystery series Murder, She Wrote starring Angela Lansbury, who predeceased him by only 9 days. He's also known for his other television roles and his performances in films including Ice Station Zebra (1968), Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), and Harper Valley PTA (1978).
The Twilight Zone is the second of three revivals of Rod Serling's original 1959–64 television series. It aired for one season on the UPN network, with actor Forest Whitaker assuming Serling's role as narrator and on-screen host. It premiered on September 18, 2002, and aired its final episode on May 21, 2003.
