LTTP: The Twilight Zone (Original Series)

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Erudite

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I should be studying for a Chemistry midterm I have coming soon, but I can't help but think "just one more episode".

twilight-zone.jpg


I can't believe how well this show manages to hold up after 50+ years, barring some of the hokey stuff that goes on when some sort of action scene is suppose to be happening. I was born in the early 90s, so it can be difficult at times for me to watch old movies/TV shows that aren't colourized, yet I barely notice it with The Twilight Zone.

Just finished watching "Third From the Sun", and it amazes me how much breadth the show has in terms of plots. From stories make you think about issues in the real world (Alongside the aforementioned episode, "Judgment Night" comes to mind), to plots that just bear bizarre 'what if' moments (Walking Distance), the show hasn't disappointed so far by the resolve of each episode.

Why does everything that I usually have a passing interest in suddenly become much more interesting right before an exam.

While I still plan to watch them in order, any recommendations as to which episodes I should have my full attention on when I reach them?
 
Traced-Velocity said:
I should be studying for a Chemistry midterm I have coming soon, but I can't help but think "just one more episode".
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I know how you feel. I always get sucked in for just one more episode whenever there's a weekend marathon on cable. Never tire of the series. Good stuff.
 
betweenthewheels said:
I want the bluray releases, but they're so damn expensive
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I had no idea they were released on Blu-Ray. Might have to look into tha-

$79.99 for one season?! I'll wait for a sale. /steamattitude

Hootie said:
This is probably my favorite tv series...ever. My year revolves around the Twilight Zone marathon days, and I plan on buying the DVDs soon. Cant really say much more other than this shit is awesome
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I could definitely see myself putting it up there with my favourites like The Wire and Mad Men if the quality continues, though they're all there for completely different reasons.
 
This is probably my favorite tv series...ever. My year revolves around the Twilight Zone marathon days, and I plan on buying the DVDs soon. Cant really say much more other than this shit is awesome
 
The Twilight Zone is amazing. One of the best tv shows ever made, easily.

Seasons four and five are the weakest of the series. In season four, they decided to make the show a hour long. It didn't work in a hour long format. They went back to a half hour format for season five, but it wasn't that great either. It had some classics, but a lot of the episodes were retreads of ideas from the first three seasons.
 
I honestly though Season 4 was highly disappointing, and quite possibly be avoided. All tension and pacing is dispersed by making the episodes 1hour long.

The ones to pay attention to obviously are the classics ("Five Characters in Search of an Exit", "The Eye of the Beholder", "Nightmare at 20000 Feet", "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street", etc).
My favourite and often overlooked episode is "Shadowplay". The tale of a man being sentenced to the electric chair, but tries to convince everyone that he is merely a victim of a recurring dream.
 
B.K. said:
Seasons four and five are the weakest of the series. In season four, they decided to make the show a hour long. It didn't work in a hour long format. They went back to a half hour format for season five, but it wasn't that great either. It had some classics, but a lot of the episodes were retreads of ideas from the first three seasons.
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Hmm interesting, sounds like even TTZ falls down the same path a lot of other TV shows do wherein the first few seasons are great, then the quality begins to drop. Only thing I've seen that manages to hold it all the way through is The Wire so far, granted I don't have very many TV shows under my belt.

I'm sure it's not terrible, and I still look forward to seeing how they pan out nevertheless.
viewtifulsub said:
My favourite and often overlooked episode is "Shadowplay". The tale of a man being sentenced to the electric chair, but tries to convince everyone that he is merely a victim of a reincurring dream.
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I'm already intrigued... Must resist jumping ahead... Granted I guess the show can really be watched in any order, but I'm too lazy to keep track of which ones I've already watched if I were to jump from one episode to another at every recommendation

rpmurphy said:
How are the radio adaptations? Kinda interested in getting them in audio for road trips and such.
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Oh boy.. If the reception is decent enough here, they might make the 30-45 minute drive to work more bearable
 
I love The Twilight Zone to death, but after a while you really get the patterns down. But the best episodes still hold up today.

I was trying to find the Futurama "The Scary Door" that parodies the Twilight Zone endings really well, but can't locate it on YouTube.
 
Possibly my favorite show, ever. "Time Enough At Last" is probably the one episode that will always stay with me. "To Serve Man" is awesome, too. So many episodes that I want to praise right here but I'm afraid to ruin any of the plot-lines.
 
There were a few that really made me think. Five characters in search of an exit is really good. It had an ending that was WTF crazy but it works.
 
spiderman123 said:
The original TZ is obviously the best b/c it's SOOOO outrageous.

Especially nightmare at 20,000 feet high. CLASSIC
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A quick Wiki turns this up (didn't it for the spoiler sensitive) and I'll definitely be excited to finally reach that one.

[QUOTE=viewtifulsub]Any episode starring Burgess Meredith is usually a highlight in the series[/QUOTE]
Holy shit, that was him in that episode?! Mind blown, couldn't tell at all it was the same guy who said "You're gonna eat lightning, and you're gonna crap thunder!"
 
How are people only seeing this show as an adult? I bet you haven't seen I Love Lucy yet either.

But yea it's a great show. I'm waiting for the inevitable Blu-ray complete edition after season 5 comes out in august.
 
Traced-Velocity said:
Holy shit, that was him in that episode?! Mind blown, couldn't tell at all it was the same guy who said "You're gonna eat lightning, and you're gonna crap thunder!"
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He's the main character in Time Enough at Last, Mr. Dingle, the Strong, The Obsolete Man, and Printer's Devil.
 
vazel said:
How are people only seeing shows like this as an adult? I bet you haven't seen I Love Lucy yet either.

But yea it's a great show. I'm waiting for the inevitable Blu-ray complete edition after season 5 comes out in august.
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If only I were born some time earlier than the 90s.. At the very least maybe I'd have some people I could watch it with then; I tried watching an episode not too long ago with my girlfriend, she fell asleep. Doubt any of my buddies would fair any better if I tried.

water_wendi said:
Anthology tv is my favorite kind and Twilight Zone is the absolute pinnacle of not only the genre, but arguably all of television.

Also be sure to watch the 80s series. Some people curse that run but honestly its pretty damn good, imo. There are some standout episodes that are not to be missed.. A Small Talent for War, Toys of Caliban, Wordplay, Shatterday, Examination Day, and others im surely forgetting. There is another series that ran during the 2000s but i recommend you stay far, far away. i think i watched all the episodes and there wasnt a single one that was good.

If you like Twilight Zone be sure to check out Night Gallery. Its not as good as TZ (but then again nothing is) but there are some great episodes. Other series to look out for would be Tales from the Crypt, Ray Bradbury Theater, The Hitchhiker, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (original and 80s), The Outer Limits (original and 90s revival), Tales from the Darkside, and Monsters (some really bad episodes in TftD and Monsters but still 100x better than the 2000 TZ).
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I'll be sure to keep the other series you mentioned in mind if I crave more of the same sort by the end of watching the whole original TTZ series.

Maybe I will give the 80s series a shot as well for the sake of curiosity, or at the very least the episodes you've mentioned.
 
Anthology tv is my favorite kind and Twilight Zone is the absolute pinnacle of not only the genre, but arguably all of television.

Also be sure to watch the 80s series. Some people curse that run but honestly its pretty damn good, imo. There are some standout episodes that are not to be missed.. A Small Talent for War, Toys of Caliban, Wordplay, Shatterday, Examination Day, and others im surely forgetting. There is another series that ran during the 2000s but i recommend you stay far, far away. i think i watched all the episodes and there wasnt a single one that was good.

If you like Twilight Zone be sure to check out Night Gallery. Its not as good as TZ (but then again nothing is) but there are some great episodes. Other series to look out for would be Tales from the Crypt, Ray Bradbury Theater, The Hitchhiker, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (original and 80s), The Outer Limits (original and 90s revival), Tales from the Darkside, and Monsters (some really bad episodes in TftD and Monsters but still 100x better than the 2000 TZ).
 
water_wendi said:
If you like Twilight Zone be sure to check out Night Gallery. Its not as good as TZ (but then again nothing is) but there are some great episodes. Other series to look out for would be Tales from the Crypt, Ray Bradbury Theater, The Hitchhiker, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (original and 80s), The Outer Limits (original and 90s revival), Tales from the Darkside, and Monsters (some really bad episodes in TftD and Monsters but still 100x better than the 2000 TZ).
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And Amazing Stories.
 
vazel said:
How are people only seeing this show as an adult? I bet you haven't seen I Love Lucy yet either.

But yea it's a great show. I'm waiting for the inevitable Blu-ray complete edition after season 5 comes out in august.
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My mother got to watch the 11pm cable reruns in the early 90s as a kid. "The Invaders" (hermit woman being terrorised by aliens) was forever engraved on my mind.

Traced-Velocity said:
Holy shit, that was him in that episode?! Mind blown, couldn't tell at all it was the same guy who said "You're gonna eat lightning, and you're gonna crap thunder!"
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Twilight Zone features some very prominent celebrity appearances. William Shatner (as mentioned earlier), Charles Bronson, Robert Redford, Lee Marvin to name a few.
 
viewtifulsub said:
Any episode starring Burgess Meredith is usually a highlight in the series
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He was just so good and such a sympathetic character. I loved all his other episodes but that one is just so poignant. This thread is making me nostalgia so bad. Need to go re-watch the series.
 
Welcome to the best show ever.

Sure, you could nitpick it, but the show generally featured strong acting and 152 gripping tales seemingly plucked out of humanity's collective fears and dreams circa early 1960s. Not every episode was a winner, but most were.
 
i also <3 the Jack Klugman episodes.

Here are some movies to check out as well..

Twilight Zone: The Movie
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
The Vault of Horror (has the real Dr. Who in it ;).. "Just use your intelligence." Dont watch trailer.. massive spoilers for almost every story lol)
Dr Terror's House of Horrors
The House That Dripped Blood
Trilogy of Terror
Torture Garden (Burgess Meredith and Jack Palance make this imo. i love the wrap around story)
From Beyond the Grave
Asylum

edit:
AND CREEPSHOW!
 
I loved the episode where a husband builds a fallout shelter in his basement, while his neighbors laugh off the specter of nuclear war. Then one day, during the sons birthday party, the air raid sirens go off, and the radio begins reporting that nuclear war is imminent. The husband takes his family downstairs, and there's this tense exchange between his neighbors and him cuz they want in but he refuses. The neighbors eventually get mad, and force their way in, destroying the blast door and putting everyone in danger. As the episode ends, the radio announces it was a false alarm and everyone is left standing and looking embarrassed and ashamed at what they've done.

I only saw that episode once, but I still remember it.

Edit: Does anyone know the name of this ep? Id like to rewatch it.
 
And just to clarify, yes, the (almost) full series is currently available on Netflix (presumably why the thread was created). Go marathon the fuck out of it. Looks like it's just missing the fourth season.
 
All of the first season eps were written by Serling (most by far), Richard Matheson (awesome) and some other biggish genre dude.

The Serling eps are the best. His episodes usually feel like stage shows or plays, which is pretty awesome.
 
SpaceBridge said:
I loved the episode where a husband builds a fallout shelter in his basement, while his neighbors laugh off the specter of nuclear war. Then one day, during the sons birthday party, the air raid sirens go off, and the radio begins reporting that nuclear war is imminent. The husband takes his family downstairs, and there's this tense exchange between his neighbors and him cuz they want in but he refuses. The neighbors eventually get mad, and force their way in, destroying the blast door and putting everyone in danger. As the episode ends, the radio announces it was a false alarm and everyone is left standing and looking embarrassed and ashamed at what they've done.

I only saw that episode once, but I still remember it.

Edit: Does anyone know the name of this ep? Id like to rewatch it.
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The Shelter.

There is a remake/reimagining of this for the 80s series called Shelter Skelter which is pretty good and has its own twist.

edit:
Tron 2.0 said:
Twilight Zone: The Movie is pretty useless.

Joe Dante is the only one that does anything interesting with the material.
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The movies version of Nightmare at 20,000 is awesome.

edit2:
Zeliard said:
And just to clarify, yes, the (almost) full series is currently available on Netflix (presumably why the thread was created). Go marathon the fuck out of it. Looks like it's just missing the fourth season.
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That sucks because almost the entire series used to be available for free for years on CBS.com. Only the trailer remains.
 
SpaceBridge said:
I loved the episode where a husband builds a fallout shelter in his basement, while his neighbors laugh off the specter of nuclear war. Then one day, during the sons birthday party, the air raid sirens go off, and the radio begins reporting that nuclear war is imminent. The husband takes his family downstairs, and there's this tense exchange between his neighbors and him cuz they want in but he refuses. The neighbors eventually get mad, and force their way in, destroying the blast door and putting everyone in danger. As the episode ends, the radio announces it was a false alarm and everyone is left standing and looking embarrassed and ashamed at what they've done.

I only saw that episode once, but I still remember it.

Edit: Does anyone know the name of this ep? Id like to rewatch it.
Click to expand...

It was, simply enough, "The Shelter".
 
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