Thanks to the movie and later, the TV Series The Twilight Zone was re-born for me as a teenager in the 80s. A decade on I discovered the original series thanks to late night Chanel 4 screenings but the broadcasts were sporadic at best. The Americans have had this DVD set since 2004 and finally it has arrived on our shores.
The original The Twilight Zone was first aired in 1959 and was the brain child of the amazing Rod Serling. Serling became a TV writing star in the early 50s with challenging scripts dealing with harder issues than had previously been seen. He was viewed as an angry young man wanting to shake up the networks from a past of prejudice and sexism. By 1959 Serling was a multi-Emmy winning writer but he was frustrated with editorial interference in his work so decided to write an entire series himself.
Premiering on American network CBS, The Twilight Zone became an instant critical hit as writers waxed lyrically about the series’ originality. The audience figures were not as expected and the series took a while to achieve the viewing figures that the sponsors had anticipated. The first season had 36 episodes with all bar one written by the team of Rod Serling, Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson.
The Twilight Zone is a series of 25 minute episodes that deal with fantastical events occurring to random people. There is no set topic or specific genre the show sticks to religiously. Serling’s concept was to move freely from one genre to the next keeping the audience engaged. The constant is, of course, the concept of the fifth dimension that is The Twilight Zone where the unimaginable becomes reality for those involved.
Made up of 36 episodes the first season contains classics such as Walking Distance, Time Enough at Last and the super eerie The After Hours. The show begins with the episode, Where is Everybody as a man roams around a deserted town trying to comprehend where and who he is. Ultimately we discover that he is a soldier undergoing extreme deprivation training. The military chiefs simply dismiss the heath fears involved echoing the need to win the cold war.
Walking Distance stars Gig Young as a man who finds himself outside the town he grew up. As he awaits his car being fixed he decides to walk into town for the first time since leaving years ago for New York. Entering the old drug store he begins to realize that he has stepped back in time and decides to find himself and attempt to change the life that he has grown to despise. Ultimately he’s told by his father that it’s up to him to change his life as it is then. Finally he leaves and you have the sad feeling that nothing will change.
Time Enough at Last is the now legendary episode starring Burges Meredith as the book obsessed bank clerk who has no time to read. After emerging from the bank vault after a nuclear disaster he finds himself as the only man left alive. As he walks around the ruins he finds nothing of worth left until he stumbles upon the remains of the public library. Naturally the ending cannot be that simple and the twist will bring tears to the eyes.
The cold war is given another outing in The Monsters are Due on Maple Street as a possible flying saucer brings fear to a suburban street. People begin to turn on each other with frightening ferocity as the mood of terror and suspicion that existed in America at the time is exploited to maximum effect. The outcome is ultimately brilliant with humanity captured at its worst. Episode 34 of the 36 is the utterly terrifying The After Hours. A woman looking to purchase a gold thimble at a department store is taken to the scary ninth floor. The floor itself is totally empty except for unused counters and one gorgeous but spooky assistant. Luckily her display case has one item within which just happens to be a gold thimble. The episode has a wondrous eerie quality that will stay with you for days afterwards. The general premise of the episode is undoubtedly the genesis for the terrible 80s romantic comedy Mannequin.
The quality of the discs are exceptional, much love and care has been poured over the restoration of this image. They have also included the brilliant Rod Serling appearances after each episode giving an introduction to what will happen the following week. The set also includes audio commentaries, vintage audio recollections by the likes of Burgess Meredith, Anne Francis and Richard Matheson and Rod Serling audio lectures from Sherwood Oaks College. All of this simply means that you will be in possession of a definitive set of what is arguably the greatest fantasy TV series of all time.
Occasionally those in charge of creating releases of classic TV series’ get absolutely everything done as perfect as any fan could imagine. The Twilight Zone: Season 1 is just such a moment. I can’t find anything to even have a slight moan about. Everything is as it should be and more, it will take anyone a serious amount of time to truly dig deep into the treasures of this release. Fans of fantasy in general should definitely consider buying this next; it’s that good, it’s practically essential.
Aled Jones