Twighlight Zone Marathon

[WallStreet]

Sci Fi Channel is running a Twighlight Zone Marathon all day and night. They are showing some classic episodes, as well as rarely seen ones.
They just showed William Shatner with the Gremlin on the plane.
Considering the limited special effects, it was a very good series. It rested on the strength of the story, which you seldom see in today's TV and Movies.

 

[Dave2112]

One of my favorites was "Escape Clause", where a man makes a deal with the devil to become immortal, with the escape clause in place that he can end his immortality at any time by asking, and relinquishing his soul at only that time. Thinking the Devil a fool, he goes about stepping into traffic and other normally fatal endeavors with no harm.

He eventually gets into an arguement with his wife and shoves her down an elevator shaft. At his trial, he takes no part in his defense and even encourages the judge and jury to condemn him...he wants to give the electric chair a whirl, you see.

Thinking that the man must be insane due to these actions, the judge accepts the jury's verdict of guilty, but instead of the death penalty the man wished for...he's sentenced to life imprisonment.

So many classics.

Before living where I do now, I lived in the Binghamton area of NY, Rod Serling's homebase. There's even a wing named after him at SUNY Binghamton, and a small "museum" of sorts.

 

[maverick83]

Gotta agree

TV and movies these days...intellectually limited...I am a fan of the Twilight Zone. The episodes had...oh, what's that thing called...ummmm, oh yeah...a PLOT! I'm watching the marathon as I'm typing this.

 

[kurchatovium]

The Twilight Zone series was a classic. So many memorable moments; William Shatner with the airplane gremlin, Tele Sevalas with the doll, Burgess Merdith with his broken glasses, the kid wishing people into the cornfield, etc. I don't know of many series that had such good plots especially in the Sci-Fi genre. Outer Limits was the only other one I can think of that came close.

 

[Boomtown13]

In high school I had The Twilight Zone Companion, a big thick book describing each episode. I drafted up 5 pages of checklist for myself, a page for every season, and tried to catch every episode. Of course, the hour-long TZ's were next to impossible to find, but I saw almost all the others. Man, was I a big fan.

I think my favorite is "The Howling Man." A guy spends a night in a monastary where the monks claim to have Satan imprisoned. Brilliant little piece, that still inspires me to this day.

Serling was so ahead of his time. I especially love when his deadpan humor really comes across in certain openings or closings. Hell, I was such a fan I even watched Night Gallery for a spell. Boy, did those stink.

Boom

 

[Deleted member 2452]

but they pre-empted far scape!!!

and that's down right criminal!
i liked the episode with agnes morehead, where she's fighting the little spacemen. it turns out they are from earth, and she's a giant on another planet, lol.
steve

 

[milagros317]

favorite episode

I watched regularly when I was a child. The episodes mentioned above were all great. But my favorite episode was "To Serve Man." Who can forget the line "It's a cook book" ?

 

[WallStreet]

900th Post! Hoorah Hooray!

Kurchatovium-- "That's a good thing that you wished them into the cornfield Anthony. A REAL good thing".
I like when the guy gets drunk and starts singing. Anthony turns him into a jack-in-the-box. "You're a bad man! You're a VERY bad man!"
The best part about the "Talkie Tina" episode is the fact that Telly Savalas still has hair.
Boomtown13-- Question: How did Brother Jerome keep the Howling Man locked up? Answer: "With the Staff of Truth!"
The thing I never understood about the "Howling Man" episode was that after they guy released Satan, he then spent 20 years trying to catch him again. After he finally catches him he must go and find Brother Jerome, so he leaves the cleaning lady to watch Satan. Come on man! The fucking cleaning lady!
Alot of the rare Hour Long episodes were highlighted in the July 4th Marathon.

 

[kurchatovium]

Too bad Brother Jerome wasn't hooked up to the internet he could of just emailed him or maybe the guy could call collect and use 10-10-220. I suppose if the guy could at least find the Anthony kid he could have turned Satan into a Jack-in-the-Box. I think it would be hard for Satan to reek havoc and destruction on earth as a Jack-in-the-Box. I suppose if he could at least it would be funnier.🙂

 

[Boomtown13]

Kurch, Satan DOES reek havoc as a Jack-in-the-Box, and his favorite toy when he's in that guise is called "e. coli."

WallStreet, you didn't give me a chance to answer the trivia question. Though my answer would have been "that shepherd stick," so you would have got me anyway. Yes, the cleaning lady. I wasn't fond of that ending either. I kinda blocked it out until you reminded me.

Say, did you tape any of those hour-longs? I've only seen, I think, two or three of them. What lost treasures they would be.

- Boom "there's a man on the wing of this plane!" town

 

[MistressMia]

I'm a big TZ fan myself but I was only able to catch a few of those episodes during the marathon.

Does anyone remember a similar type show called "Tales from the Dark side"? Just curious. 🙂

 

[Raya]

Mia,

Tales was a good show also, filled the gap between T.Z. and outer limits.. Problem is there are too many shows like this.. I remember a show about little blue men.. concept was that each moment in time is being constructed, item by item, by these little blue men. It ended up being the explanation/reason for so many people losing their housekeys, etc when they were JUST right there! The little guys forgot to build the items into the moment.. Or things ending up where you had already looked for them being.. forgotten in one moment, remembered the next. Just cannot remember at this point if is was an Outer Limits, the NEW T.Z.(about 10 years ago they made some new ones) or Tales from the Darkside.. Any chance anyone else remembers this?

Tracy

 

[kurchatovium]

Yes Mia I remember "Tales from the Darkside" and also something called "Night Gallery". Of the two I prefered Night Gallery. I don't think they show either of these series anymore on TV. Maybe on the Sci-Fi channel they do.

 

[Dave2112]

Re: favorite episode

I watched regularly when I was a child. The episodes mentioned above were all great. But my favorite episode was "To Serve Man." Who can forget the line "It's a cook book" ?

I'm fairly sure that this was an Episode of the Original "Outer Limits", but still a great tale. Right up there with OL's "Eye of the Beholder".

Mia, I remember Tales from the Darkside, I used to watch it on USA network in the '80's...

..."A place that's just as real...but not as brightly lit..."

😀

 

[Boomtown13]

No, To Serve Man AND Eye of the Beholder were both Zones.

Darkside had some good episodes. It was George Romero's show, which is cool. He did Night, Dawn, and Day of the Dead, as well as my favorites Creepshow and Monkey Shines.

 

[Ayla ny]

how about Hitchcock Presents? couldn’t name a single episode but loved the show in my early teens. they were (a little, sometimes) more reality based. and what was the show with the Blob family sitting there watching TV in the intro? and the one with the hand reaching from the grave? it’s all so fuzzy now... lol

Boom, Monkey Shines? was there a spooky show out there that I missed?

I also remember a radio program when I was a kid that was just like the old radio shows were before television. it had mysteries and spooky stories. it was the coolest. like reading with your eyes closed.

 

[maverick83]

Does anyone remember a similar type show called "Tales from the Dark side"? Just curious. 🙂

Whoa! Thanks for the memory, Mia! I'd actually forgotten about that show. It was great! "We live in the sunlit world of what we believe to be reality" or something like that.😀

 

[Boomtown13]

And while we're nodding to all the Zone wanna-be's, I just have to remind you all of that very first "HBO Original Program," that Twilight Zone with boobs -- The Hitchhiker.

I was just a kid, but I caught every one of those. Some were actually okay.

And, Cavebear, Monkey Shines is a movie Romero directed. Nobody much likes it, but I do. George Romero created his share of lame movies, but Martin, Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow, Monkey Shines, and the Tales from the Darkside series still hold up.

Wasn't there another Twilight Zone type of show called "The Dark Room" or something like that? Anyone remember it?

 

[JoBelle]

Monkey Shines is a movie Romero directed. Nobody much likes it, but I do.

I've never really been one for the gory horror stuff, but I love psychological horror. Anything Jekyll and Hyde!! Even though this one had it's share of ick, I like it.

Monkey Shines
Money See
Monkey Do
No?

Joby