Editor’s Notes: In The Twilight Zone

Posted on February 2, 2014 by bob in EdNote

At eight years old, The Twilight Zone was my favorite show on television. Not that Andy Griffith, My Three Sons, and Make Room for Daddy didn’t thrill me, but I lived for Friday nights, in anticipation of how I’d be scared witless by Rod Serling’s latest installment.

Growing up with an older brother, I was introduced to science fiction at an early age. Remember WSFA’s Shock Theater on Saturday nights? We were frequent viewers. Five years my senior, Vic lived and breathed science fiction. From the early Tom Swift series to the Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and Ray Bradbury paperbacks he later devoured, my brother adored the genre and relished sharing that love with me. Not that I wanted him to. He delighted in my wide-eyed fright as he retold story after story he’d just read.

In the late 1950s and early 60s, science fiction and horror movies were everywhere, an unsettling sign of the times. TV and movies mirrored societal fears. Our neighbors could be Red spies! Who knew what we’d find after landing on the moon? The atmosphere was thick with the threat of nuclear annihilation. We even practiced “duck and cover” in school, low-tech preparation for surviving an atomic bomb. Learning to grab our heads and hide under the desk would certainly save us. (Seriously? I wonder who thought up that plan.)

All those fears played out before our eyes when The Twilight Zone began its multi-year run in the late 50s. The series definitely scared us, but we clamored for more. The perfect mix of yin and yang, each week’s show made us queasy, but we were always entertained. And Rod Serling was cute, clean and  – admit it – just a little creepy.

Albeit a young instrument, TV had never brought us programs like this – thought-provoking science fiction, top rated actors, unexpected twists and turns in each episode. Every installment seemed to pack a moral punch. The shows made our young brains consider scary, big ideas. Each week. Each year. For five years, from 1959 to 1963.

Vic and I loved The Twilight Zone so much we (emphasis on Vic) even wrote a story for the series. The Odyssey of Room 9 was about a group of children – misshapen atomic survivors – who lived in a classroom at the end of a hall where most people never ventured. Except, of course, for viewers of The Twilight Zone. (See where “duck and cover” led? I knew it was a bad idea.)

Don’t miss February’s feature on Rod Serling’s iconic TV series by local writer Nick Thomas (page 16). If you, too, were a fan of the series, there are thousands of Facebook pages and websites dedicated to all aspects of the show, including the names of actors who appeared, most memorable programs, and opportunities to cast your vote for the best Twilight Zone episode. The show retains a very loyal following with multiple TTZ marathons on the SyFy channel and thousands, perhaps millions, of fans across all social media platforms.
Have a wonderful February. Haven’t we had enough cold weather for one winter? I’m done with it. Bring on spring.

Sandra Polizos, Editor