I feel bad for Rod Serling. It really seemed like producers and studio bosses were not taking him all that seriously when it came to his own ideas but very happy to use his face and name for other stuff.
my favorite reference to the TZ movie comes in Third Rock from the Sun when Shatner shows up as the Big Giant Head and complains that there was a gremlin on the wing of his plane but no one else could see it, to which Lithgow replies: "The same thing happened to me!!!" The cleverest Easter egg ever, imo.
The withdrawal of not having new Rod Serling videos to watch while I eat lunch every day has really been hitting me, thank you for giving me one more day of it 🤣🤣
@@WalterCulture I’m surprised you didn’t mention the twilight zone in the medium of video games. There was a seek and find twilight zone adventure game that took place in layouts of popular episodes, and just recently there’s a twilight zone VR game where are you’re the main character in three episodic adventures.
Watching "Rod Serling's Lost Classics" with James Earl Jones made me imagine another dimension where Rod survived past 50, revived his show in the eighties and hired Jones to take over as narrator with new stories every bit as memorable as the original Zone. It was like a glimpse into what could've been.
Imagine an episode of The Twilight Zone But perhaps without the original creator, Perhaps it’s actually a feature film Horrors like this and more can all be found behind… The Scary Door
Yeah tell me about it. I remember Johnny Bravo has three episodes, each one parodying a Twilight Zone episode. I also remember a episode from “The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy” that had a opening scene in black & white with a in person narrator guy dressed in a suit and he called the name of the story we are about to see, “The Billy Zone”
I'm glad Walter is doing a spotlight on the various twilight zone spin-offs. I liked the Three fourths of the movie, The 1980s and 2002 versions were great.
Walter, you forgot the most obvious one. Every October, for the past few years, reviews and tributes of the Twilight Zone have been created by a Mr Banasiak, sharing the best and the worst of the franchise. Not only that, but the guy does a pretty great Rob Starling tribute too, with no digitizing required
I remember the 2002 Twilight Zone had the best catchphrase because we were all inundated with Reality shows at the time, “Check your Reality at the door.”
I recently got recommended a video from an interview with Bill Mumy about his time on The Twilight Zone. Bill mentioned how when the revival happened, he told his friend to do it since he said that he would keep the show in good hands. I need to watch more of that revival, but honestly Its Still a Good Life is a great, absolutely incredible. I saw the 2019 revival for a few episodes, and….well, some episodes hit a bit harder than others. a Small Town is definitely the best one out of the series so far from what I watched, it used its full runtime very well! However the rest of the episodes…well not so much. Ive only seen about 5 episodes, and the rest of them besides a Small Town are either very mid or just not that great. A real shame since it had some great talent behind it! I think the issue is the creativity being gone. Rod Serling was incredibly creative, and he was surrounded by people who were equally as creative. Their ideas really helped bring the show together. Limitations also help for more creative ideas. I think its why im so surprised Jordan Peele’s didn’t do as well, but everyone has their strengths. Another great video!!
Not only is creativity basically gone, almost banned from showing up, everything has been DONE now. the 60s had amazing science fiction because it was all new, an era of rapid change. People who didn't grow up with _indoor plumbing_ were now technically able to go to the moon, they had no idea what their future would be like and they got to speculate. Then yknow, using those scifi concepts, they could explore real-life issues in creative ways that force you to look at them differently. Right now we're in the most stagnant period in a century. Tech is barely moving, and what new things appear are terrible. Huge swaths of things we built up in the last 20 years are being torn down rapidly, their legacy erased, and lives ruined if you even bring some of them up. There's nothing to say or to get people to think about, because everybody thinks they already know what needs to happen, and that it won't, even if we can't collectively agree on which half of us is at fault, we are *sure* they are. There will never be 'an audience' again, whole masses of people watching the same thing with the same message. If there even *is* going to be a future, it's going to be by some complete fluke of events that nobody saw coming.
Thank you so much for all your work in covering the entire TZ franchise. Even if you're not covering them in as much detail as you did with the classic series, it's still interesting to hear your thoughts on them.
For years, I didn't want to watch "Twilight Zone: The Movie", due to the real life tragedy of Vic Morrow and the child actors. When I finally did, I found it alright, but nothing really remarkable, aside from Stephen Spielberg having directed a updated version of "Kick the Can."
Rod would’ve been _devastated_ that 3 people died if he was alive to see it out. Eerily enough, I heard that Vic Morrow predicted his own death on a Mr. Nightmare video on “Scariest Things To Happen On A Movie Set”.
The Twilight Zone reference I always think of is Alan wake’s Night Springs. Which in the first game are 2-5 minutes shorts you can watch throughout (some of the ideas I actually feel could be real Twilight Zone episodes) Then the stories start to have more Importance later in as Alan Wake is a story about fiction being brought to life. Turning Night Springs (the setting of each episode) into a sort of infection that can overtake real places for the duration of the story making them into Night Springs.
I remember as a teenager I use to write so many short stories writing them as if they were Twilight episodes. My favorite one I wrote was where a loser writer was trying to get talented enough to write something good enough to publish. He found a basement underneath the basement of the old studio the Twilight Zone was filmed to find old reels of Rod. Rod throughout the film keeps stopping to tell the writer to stop watching and to leave, but the writer doesn't. Rod explained the people he fed to a long forgotten god to be blessed with his talent. In the end Rod turns as of looking at the writer saying "Sorry, but my contract isn't fulfilled yet" then tenacles come out of the projector taking the writer. My last line was something like "A deep laugh echoed the old basement. A laugh so deep and inhuman that it could only be heard... in the Twilight Zone".
SpongeBob SquarePants has their own Twilight Zone parody called The Tidal Zone. It debuted in the Season 11 episode "No Pictures Please" and returned in The Night Patty. In 2023, they had a special dedicated to the parody, crossing over the series two spin-off shows.
Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror at various Disney Parks is one of the greatest theme park rides ever made. As a kid who was privileged enough to visit Disneyland a lot, Tower of Terror was my introduction to the Twilight Zone. Did a class reading project in 7th grade English on “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” and I’ve been a big fan of the series ever since
@@crisananca313 The OG series was subtle in it's approach to storytelling without beating you over the head like the current series; completely missed the point of what it was going for.
I would argue some of the singular best Twilight Zone episodes came from that "phoned in" 3rd season of the 80s revival. No one at CBS cared about what they produced so there was a wild spread of the types of stories they covered. One of my favorites is one called "The Trunk" which takes what would otherwise be a bog-standard cautionary tale and does something completely different with the ending. It's on TH-cam somewhere.
Glad you mentioned the Radio Dramas. They were my intro to the Zone and I have every episode on my phone. If I'm on a longer drive, I'll just pull up a random episode and let it play. Ive actually only seen very few episodes of the show on visual media, but know every episode due to Radio, so while I respect the original and honor it's legacy, Stacey Keach will always be the narrator I think of first. I really should check out the visual shows....
How did I miss this when it was posted?? I’m an idiot. Hitting Hollywood Studios tomorrow. Going to watch your video on the ride and try to spot the Easter Eggs!! Have a great Thanksgiving ahead man!!
I used to watch the original twilight zone with my mother in the early and mid 80s. We used to also watch the 80s version late at night waiting for my dad to get home from work. Other good shows that bring back a lot of memories from that time was tails from the dark side, friday the 13th the series, alfred hitchcock, tales from the crypt and i'm sure there are a few others.I can't remember off the top of my head. I got a hold of the 80s series and it it was pretty good, but not as good as I remembered. I got a hold of the black and white original series and they still hold up extremely well. The 2nd season of the Jordan Peele version was actually pretty amazing although I did not care too much for his 1st season.
In case you're wondering, "Josh Rogan", the co-writer for ep. 2 of *"TWILIGHT ZONE: The Movie"* was in reality Melissa Mathison, the Oscar -winning writer of Steven Spielberg's *"E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial"* (1982) and she later worked with Spielberg again as the writer for the 2016 adaptation of Roald Dahl's *"The BFG"* before she passed away the year before.
I saw the 80’s version as a kid on KSTW in Seattle Wa. Funny thing was it can only be randomly. After a movie, or between television shows. Episodes that stuck with me was the girl dropping off her parents and getting new one, the one with the display figures coming to life at a department store, aliens that came to Earth during a meeting of world leaders, and a writer being terrorized by little creatures in hoods. Only saw one episode of the Forest Witticure one that had Usher in it. And it was a damn good episode.
I would actually love, if you start covering episodes of the later Twilight Zone shows next October, just out of curiosity. Or switch to Black Mirror, which might be the best Twilight Zone like show today.
Me commenting on this video before I actually watch it. Growing up seeing the new iterations of the twilight zone whether it was the 2000sone with the new metal intro or the 80s one there was maybe like five or six episodes in the grand scheme that are very memorable
As a twilight zone fan, what I like about the original show is the stories are allegories. Every time someone tries to bring it back the stories are weird for the sake of being weird without actually saying anything. The absents of allegories is a design element that leaves the shows lacking.
Nice documentary retrospective. For me, The Twilight Zone has never been equalled, even by modern shows. It's story telling, the sense of wonder and the fact that it could be anything it wanted, is unmatched. The revival which came closest to the original show was the eighties revival. The opening was incredibly creepy and I always loved the way that Rod Serling's ghost formed into the title. It's like he had watched over it. I think Rod himself would have been proud of the eighties one. The movie was hit and miss, but and a masterstroke to have Burgess Meredith do the narration, which was of course, uncredited. The opening segment gets the movie off to a very dark start, (terrible shame about the horrible tragedy that happened, resulting in the deaths of actor Vic Morrow and two Vietnemese children, which has always mired it, but I don't wish to dwell on that), but Spielberg ruined it with the awful second segment, which destroyed its tone completely. The third segment is a bit of a misfire, but contains the most memorable images, and the final one is frankly, the greatest remake of a classic episode of all. Nightmare at 20,000 feet is superior to the original for me. After that, I'm not sure any of the new revivals worked that great. Not surprising that they keep trying to revive it. But I think that the reruns of the original classic should remain now. Would be great if they could release the eighties show on blu ray though. The original show is what has stood as a benchmark for television standards, even now, and it began its five year run almost seventy years ago. Nearly seventy years later, it remains the most iconic show in television history.
James Earl Jones saying "Your next stop: The Twilight Zone" Chills down my spine. Good chills. The radio dramas are on the blu-ray set. I don't remember much about the '80s reboot, and I watched a handful of 2000s episodes, but I was in college at the time and was busy doing other things. I did see It's Still a Good Life and The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street -- if I remember correctly, these two episodes aired back to back. I was meh on the Jordan Peele reboot, although I've seen every episode. I have the movie, but it's hard to watch it knowing what happened during filming (also, that first segment is not entirely original. The influence is from the episode A Quality of Mercy. But, it's not a remake or a reimagining like the other three segments are.)
The 80s show is underrated IMO. Feels like it iterated on the concept rather than copied it and time passing allowed them to touch on new concepts or refresh the old ones interestingly. The writers room was a rogues gallery of greats as well.
I’m surprised you didn’t give a mention to the Tower Of Terror movie. It’s not officially a Twilight Zone movie but it’s still Twilight Zone adjacent at the least, I feel that along with its general obscurity makes it at least worth a brief mention.
I feel like the only person who even knew about the Peele reboot. Season 2 was "better" than 1 but it isn't worth seeking out let alone the Twilight Zone name
The 80s series is by far the best of the revivals in my opinion, with several stories just as good as the best of the original series. It has about the same hit-miss ratio as the original as well. The 2002 series started strong but really took a nosedive quickly. Its biggest sin in my opinion is that many of the episodes leave no impact whatsoever. It’s not even because they are bad necessarily, but because they are boring, which is arguably worse. The 2019 series has some of the lowest lows across any iteration in my opinion. When it hits, it’s fantastic but there were just way too few hits.
Aw man. I wanted to hear more about the 2002 reboot. It was such a weird version of the classic. Watched every episode when I was a kid and during covid.
Idk how many people will agree. But I think Jordan Peele's Twilight Zone is not the best of the four series. The last episode of the series is what really turned me off. It just didn't make any sense and now that's what I think of whenever the series is brought up
I listened the radio drama, I found them very etertaining. They were a fine distraction during lockout. All TV shows had something to propose and I enjoyed most episode I saw in the revivals, they were good shows ... Except Peele's one. 45 mn long for one story. That didn't work. I was so bored I quitted three quater through season one.
I would like to see a Twilight Zone musical where the main character is self-aware of the musical and wants to break free. It's just a genre of entertainment that the twilight zone, it never really tackled, so it would be really fun to see a very twilight zone.S musical
I think the best form Twilight Zone could take today is an anthology movie series, or yearly hour long tv specials. This kind of series is too demanding and I expect any form of tv series would fall flat on its face.
Trouble with 21st century TZ shows is that they were saddled by those who DESPISE intellectual storytelling. Take for instance the sequel to "It's a Good Life" - it's something straight out of a comic book with no deeper meaning to be found.
The original series started in '59, but primarily aired in the '60s. There were reboots in the '80s, 2000's, and 2020's. Now we wait for a new reboot in the 2040's.
0:53 the twilight zone companion that has been referenced across the entire twilightober zone 4:07 yeah... the twilight zone film changed a lot of things... but for tragic reasons
I believe the next step should be a new video game, a linear story where the protagonist travels through various scenarios throughout the franchise's history, as well as some original ones, and then has a "confrontation" with the "narrator". It'd be pretty cool. And I hope it'll happen.
@WalterCulture The idea came to me from remembering that Ken Levine was at one point gonna do an interactive Twilight Zone show and I got BioShock on the brain.
Perhaps the reason Twilight Zone reboots receive mixed reception could be because Twilight Zone isn't Twilight Zone without Rod Serling. He is the only person who could deliver on screen and off screen narration in the dead pan, morbid style fans of the original series love. Now that deep fake/AI technology has reached a convincing level the next Twilight Zone reboot MUST feature a resurrected Rod Serling as host and narrator. It should be setup as a sequel to the original series ignoring all previous reboots. I'm sure the Serling estate would approve of Rod's likeness being brought back to star in the role that only he can play.
@@theketaminekid1241 I know deep fake tech is a touchy subject however if its in the right hands great things can be achieved. We wouldn't have ROTJ Luke in Mando season 2 without deep fake tech. Death no longer has to be final. If I was a celebrity I would give studios the right to recreate me digitally after I'm gone. I'm glad James Earl Jones before he passed away gave studios permission to recreate his iconic voice. He knew how important it is for Darth Vader maintain the iconic sound he gave the character and that his passing did not mean Vader's voice had to go with him.
“It’s a Good Life” reboot of the movie featured a then unknown and future Bart Simpson voice actress, Nancy Cartwright as the private schoolgirl. Her demise at the hands of psychotic toons is similar to an episode of Treehouse of Horrors (an inspiration for Treehouse of Horrors). Bart and Lisa get sucked in to an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon, though they make it out alive.
I'm from where Serling is from and we recently put up a rad statue of him It's weird to think that like, I'm a big fan of Ultraman, and the first and one of the best Ultra series, Ultra Q, was a sci-fi anthology show very much based on The Twilight Zone, so in a way I wouldn't have one of my favorite long-running Japanese series if it wasn't for spiedies
2019 had some good ideas “blurry man” was a pretty good finale, but I think burnout kicked in quickly and you can see the later episodes of the second season getting too silly. I’d honestly give it another shot. It goes to show how complex the fourth dimension really is.
I'd rather see brand new content inspired by The Twilight Zone than trying to revive it. I watched the 2003 series, but it didn't have the same impact as the original series. The acting was usually poor, and the twists were more ridiculous and predictable. I was interested in a sequel of "It's a Good Life" showing Anthony, his daughter, and whomever currently lived in Peaksville surviving his torment; however, it could've been better. I remember watching Jordan Peele's first episode and thought it was okay. The one that brought back The Kannamits was very odd and left me with more questions. Rather than attempt to revive a classic series, try something new with its own unique twists and sci-fi.
my favorite twilight zone reboot is the movie. my least favorite is the jordan peele TZ not because its the worst but because YOUR JORDAN PEELE, You could've done so much better!
I've been a big fan of the original Twilight Zone since a kid. Have it on blu-ray. Though I don't think any of the reboots have actually worked. It seems they just go for the weird. One thing I remember of the early 2000's reboot is I did like it. But I recall they tried to make it more real world like changing the twist ending of The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street from aliens to the military. Though, while I'm a big fan of the original series. I do think it works better for kids. As some of the episodes really are nothing without the twist ending. And the stories are super simple and so it's kind of a hard watch for an adult. But I still really like it, but that could be nostalgia talking. Though I've never watched the 2019 reboot. As I heard it was terrible, and so just didn't bother.
There was a spoken of Season Two introduction said to have never been used for broadcast, although from what I myself know, it got as far, if no further, than the written scripts. Is there any way you could do research on this?
Honestly I love the 80's Twilight Zone and believe it has many gems. It's not nearly as good as the original series for the most part, but a handful of episodes could stand beside some of my original favorites. The 2002 Series had a few episodes I really enjoy, even though it's pretty mediocre on the whole. The Radio Show is excellent and I love listening to it at work when I want a fix. The Jordan Peele series has a very mixed first season, while the second fares a little better...
I know I'm in the minority but the 2002 version is my favorite. Some episodes like The Pool Guy,Upgrade and Hunted feel like there straight out of Black Mirror. Most episodes where solid except for a few overall I feel the 2002 version is underrated and gets to much hate but that's just me.
I didn’t like the reboots as much, but I liked the source material for the episode Examination Day. I’m surprised the reboots never did a take on The lottery. Although I enjoyed the movie, John Landis should’ve gone to jail. That being said, I wouldn’t mind seeing a retrospective of the film as well as the many reboot series episodes.
Speaking of comics there was crossover with the twilight zone and the shadow. Plus I once owned a copy of the twilight zone comic adaptation of walking distance.
I will say that a lot of the game, Alan Wake, was inspired by The Twilight Zone. So much so they have a fictional show called “Night Springs” in the game to act as the twilight zone stand in.
I personally wouldn't mind if they tried to do another TV series a few years down the road from now. However, I think the main reason a lot of these new spin offs aren't able to capture the original as well is because they're mostly busy trying to emulate what came before, while putting a modern spin to it. You even said yourself that some of these episodes were either sequels or remakes of older episodes, which only proves my point more. The original Twilight Zone was a trend setter. Sure, they borrowed props and concepts from other sources, but the original series was it's own unique voice within the entertainment industry. The new spin offs were merely cheap immitations by comparison, and they often struggled to find their voice for a new generation. I haven't seen the new series with Jordan Peele, but I have heard it's incredibly woke at times. I don't know if that's true or not. But if it is, then that tells me even Jordan Peele never understood the Twilight Zone as much as he thinks he does. I think you can do a twilight zone tv series if you're able to put the right talent behind it, with writers that know the appeal of the ip, while creating new stories that offer a new voice to the show. Or if they're going to remake old episodes from the original series, then why not remake flawed ones that weren't popular like that one with the nerdy guy having a machine fall in love with him. I forget the name of the episode, but you know which one I'm talking about. As of right now, there's tons of AI apps that encourage users to find companionship with AI. Heck, we even got a movie called "Her" that explores the concept of humans having relationship with body-less AI programs for companionship. You could easily remake that old twilight zone episode, and tone down the humor to make it a serious character study, and you could probably get an episode that speaks to modern times, or possibly act as a cautionary tale considering where our society is going.
I did remember the one episode of the twilight zone about a man drawing a picture of a girl and a girl comes to life think of the manic pixie dream girl trop
Not sure if this is the same episode, but there is an episode with a writer who uses a recording device to create his dream girl-but has to destroy the tape, making her vanish when his wife comes in. His wife finds out, and he explains, even bringing her back into existence, but she still thinks he's having an affair. SPOILERS INCOMMING. Then he pulls out another tape-his wife. Turns out she's also a creation of his. She declares it nonsense and tosses the tape into the fireplace, only for her to fade out. He starts to record her description-but then decides to recreate the dream girl. And then it gets really goofy, with Rod Sterling appearing, saying it's just a fantasy, only for the writer to pull out a tape of Rod Sterling and toss that into the fire, making Rod vanish.
80s version doesn't quite have the timeless appeal of the original series, but there are some great segments to be found. To See the Invisible Man might be my personal favorite.
My problem with most attempts to revive Twilight Zone is that they either try to make the show straight-up horror, or they just make it needlessly modernized/gritty. The movie missed the point of the show as early as the opening segment with Al Brooks & Dan Aykroyd, both erroneously declaring how scary the show as a whole was. Yes, there were scary episodes, but the show itself wasn't supposed to be out & out horror. To quote Serling himself in an interview he did in the early '60s, "The Twilight Zone is, in essence, an imaginative itinerary of storytelling, in which we utilize bases of fantasy, science fiction, Neo-Cult, extrasensory perception, anything that is imaginative, wild, or, as in the States we call it, kooky (The quote is from an interview in Australia). In normal earthbound drama, if a man is on top of a building, & it's burning, of necessity, he has to crawl down either a ladder, or go through a skylight, or is rescued by a helicopter. In the Twilight Zone, he grows wings, & he flies off." The '85 series committed the same sin, especially with the intro. The objects in floating in space in the original intro weren't supposed to be scary. I believe they were meant to represent how all-encompassing the Twilight Zone is as a dimension & how anything & everything can happen & exist in it. The intro for the '85 series plays creepy music box chimes while flying a creepy baby doll, tarantula, & tribal mask across & ending in a mushroom cloud in an attempt to go, _"wOoOoOo, SpOoOoOoKy."_ I've only seen a couple of episodes of the '85 series, so I can't speak for the writing as a whole, but it made a _very_ poor first impression on me with the "Toys of Caliban" episode.
I feel bad for Rod Serling. It really seemed like producers and studio bosses were not taking him all that seriously when it came to his own ideas but very happy to use his face and name for other stuff.
It did seem like after TZ he wasn't given as much free rein as he should've been.
my favorite reference to the TZ movie comes in Third Rock from the Sun when Shatner shows up as the Big Giant Head and complains that there was a gremlin on the wing of his plane but no one else could see it, to which Lithgow replies: "The same thing happened to me!!!" The cleverest Easter egg ever, imo.
Yes! I loved that as well.
those were the days! and he says SOMETHING on the wing of the plain, and they are both referring to the engine turbine
It’s worth noting that a lot of Goosebumps stories seem to be heavily inspired by many of the twilight zone episodes.
The withdrawal of not having new Rod Serling videos to watch while I eat lunch every day has really been hitting me, thank you for giving me one more day of it 🤣🤣
I agree, I'll miss Twilight Tober Zone, but I'm glad that he's covering the spin offs and revivals.
Same bro, same
I'll do more Twilight Zone/Rod Serling videos down the line. Don't you worry.
@@trinaqsame here.😞
@@WalterCulture I’m surprised you didn’t mention the twilight zone in the medium of video games. There was a seek and find twilight zone adventure game that took place in layouts of popular episodes, and just recently there’s a twilight zone VR game where are you’re the main character in three episodic adventures.
The original twilight zone is the best advocate for television being art
Watching "Rod Serling's Lost Classics" with James Earl Jones made me imagine another dimension where Rod survived past 50, revived his show in the eighties and hired Jones to take over as narrator with new stories every bit as memorable as the original Zone. It was like a glimpse into what could've been.
It's official: cartoons are what got me hooked on TZ as a child, since I was curious to find out what they were referencing.
Imagine an episode of The Twilight Zone
But perhaps without the original creator,
Perhaps it’s actually a feature film
Horrors like this and more can all be found behind…
The Scary Door
Yeah tell me about it. I remember Johnny Bravo has three episodes, each one parodying a Twilight Zone episode. I also remember a episode from “The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy” that had a opening scene in black & white with a in person narrator guy dressed in a suit and he called the name of the story we are about to see, “The Billy Zone”
I'm glad Walter is doing a spotlight on the various twilight zone spin-offs. I liked the Three fourths of the movie, The 1980s and 2002 versions were great.
Me too, I grew up with the 2000's versions, before finding the classic series.
The movie can be pretty wild at times, but that's also part of its charm.
The 2019...not so much.
@@colleen4everFrom the episodes I've seen, it's a mixed bag.
@@vgtrpthe 4th series with Jordan is definitely the weakest.
Walter, you forgot the most obvious one. Every October, for the past few years, reviews and tributes of the Twilight Zone have been created by a Mr Banasiak, sharing the best and the worst of the franchise. Not only that, but the guy does a pretty great Rob Starling tribute too, with no digitizing required
Hmmm. I'll have to check it out. Haha
I remember the 2002 Twilight Zone had the best catchphrase because we were all inundated with Reality shows at the time, “Check your Reality at the door.”
The subsequent TV series could’ve given you four years, BUT the latter two would’ve had a really weird divide. This is a great approach
I recently got recommended a video from an interview with Bill Mumy about his time on The Twilight Zone. Bill mentioned how when the revival happened, he told his friend to do it since he said that he would keep the show in good hands. I need to watch more of that revival, but honestly Its Still a Good Life is a great, absolutely incredible.
I saw the 2019 revival for a few episodes, and….well, some episodes hit a bit harder than others. a Small Town is definitely the best one out of the series so far from what I watched, it used its full runtime very well! However the rest of the episodes…well not so much. Ive only seen about 5 episodes, and the rest of them besides a Small Town are either very mid or just not that great. A real shame since it had some great talent behind it!
I think the issue is the creativity being gone. Rod Serling was incredibly creative, and he was surrounded by people who were equally as creative. Their ideas really helped bring the show together. Limitations also help for more creative ideas. I think its why im so surprised Jordan Peele’s didn’t do as well, but everyone has their strengths.
Another great video!!
Not only is creativity basically gone, almost banned from showing up, everything has been DONE now. the 60s had amazing science fiction because it was all new, an era of rapid change. People who didn't grow up with _indoor plumbing_ were now technically able to go to the moon, they had no idea what their future would be like and they got to speculate. Then yknow, using those scifi concepts, they could explore real-life issues in creative ways that force you to look at them differently.
Right now we're in the most stagnant period in a century. Tech is barely moving, and what new things appear are terrible. Huge swaths of things we built up in the last 20 years are being torn down rapidly, their legacy erased, and lives ruined if you even bring some of them up. There's nothing to say or to get people to think about, because everybody thinks they already know what needs to happen, and that it won't, even if we can't collectively agree on which half of us is at fault, we are *sure* they are. There will never be 'an audience' again, whole masses of people watching the same thing with the same message.
If there even *is* going to be a future, it's going to be by some complete fluke of events that nobody saw coming.
You forgot the 1994 pinball machine by Bally-Midway. Was considered one of the best modern games ever designed.
What an absolute masterpiece! I've played two different copies of this game and it just never tires.
I adore this machine
Thank you so much for all your work in covering the entire TZ franchise. Even if you're not covering them in as much detail as you did with the classic series, it's still interesting to hear your thoughts on them.
For years, I didn't want to watch "Twilight Zone: The Movie", due to the real life tragedy of Vic Morrow and the child actors. When I finally did, I found it alright, but nothing really remarkable, aside from Stephen Spielberg having directed a updated version of "Kick the Can."
It's hard to put the tragedy out of your mind. There's plenty of stuff in there I do enjoy, but it's more scattershot.
Rod would’ve been _devastated_ that 3 people died if he was alive to see it out. Eerily enough, I heard that Vic Morrow predicted his own death on a Mr. Nightmare video on “Scariest Things To Happen On A Movie Set”.
I LOVE this franchise. I can't wait to see what comes next. Thank you so much for this video.
Ditto. Thanks for watching!
The Twilight Zone reference I always think of is Alan wake’s Night Springs. Which in the first game are 2-5 minutes shorts you can watch throughout (some of the ideas I actually feel could be real Twilight Zone episodes)
Then the stories start to have more Importance later in as Alan Wake is a story about fiction being brought to life. Turning Night Springs (the setting of each episode) into a sort of infection that can overtake real places for the duration of the story making them into Night Springs.
RIP Vic Morrow, Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen
Nobody can compare to the class and distinction of Rod Searling
I remember as a teenager I use to write so many short stories writing them as if they were Twilight episodes. My favorite one I wrote was where a loser writer was trying to get talented enough to write something good enough to publish. He found a basement underneath the basement of the old studio the Twilight Zone was filmed to find old reels of Rod. Rod throughout the film keeps stopping to tell the writer to stop watching and to leave, but the writer doesn't. Rod explained the people he fed to a long forgotten god to be blessed with his talent. In the end Rod turns as of looking at the writer saying "Sorry, but my contract isn't fulfilled yet" then tenacles come out of the projector taking the writer. My last line was something like "A deep laugh echoed the old basement. A laugh so deep and inhuman that it could only be heard... in the Twilight Zone".
Tower of terror is one of the most memorable rides at DW.
Awesome finding your channel! I'm a big fan of The Twilight Tober Zone and look forward to marathoning your videos!
Thanks for checking out the channel!
SpongeBob SquarePants has their own Twilight Zone parody called The Tidal Zone. It debuted in the Season 11 episode "No Pictures Please" and returned in The Night Patty. In 2023, they had a special dedicated to the parody, crossing over the series two spin-off shows.
Oh, I gotta look that up!
This was great! Thanks Walter.
Glad you enjoyed!
@WalterCulture do you have anything planned for next year? Like the Hitchcock Hour or something?
Thank you Walter for keeping this alive. I hope you get to review some of these episodes as well!
It had a fun pinball machine too.
At an RPG convention I once ran a Call of Cthulhu game inspired by The Twilight Zone
I made if halfway through this video before I realized this was Walter from channel awesome. This is great stuff, keep it up.
Haha! Thanks, man.
I remember watching “Outer Limits” reruns on tv when I was younger. It was a pretty good spiritual successor to the original Twilight Zone.
Thanks for this! So needed more of these videos (after binging every last one of your other ones). Gonna watch with dinner!!
Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror at various Disney Parks is one of the greatest theme park rides ever made. As a kid who was privileged enough to visit Disneyland a lot, Tower of Terror was my introduction to the Twilight Zone. Did a class reading project in 7th grade English on “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” and I’ve been a big fan of the series ever since
Jordan Peele’s version didn’t really make a splash it was more of a plop
seriously, that kid president episode alone! or the plane one wtaf was that ending!
There's also the fact it was woke as Hell.
@@comyxcon4gaming860 understatement! the meteor that makes straight meat eating men rage, but the vegan gay guy can control himself.......
@@crisananca313 The OG series was subtle in it's approach to storytelling without beating you over the head like the current series; completely missed the point of what it was going for.
@@comyxcon4gaming860that’s like saying the X-men are also now woke when they’ve always have been. But the subtleties could’ve been worked on
I would argue some of the singular best Twilight Zone episodes came from that "phoned in" 3rd season of the 80s revival. No one at CBS cared about what they produced so there was a wild spread of the types of stories they covered. One of my favorites is one called "The Trunk" which takes what would otherwise be a bog-standard cautionary tale and does something completely different with the ending. It's on TH-cam somewhere.
I remember listening to the audio dramas on WGN radio back in the day.
I love the 80s series! Some absolute gem of episodes.
Rod Serling is from Binghamton, New York!! We have a museum exhibit and festival for him every Halloween
I hope to visit one day!
Sterling was taken away too soon
Glad you mentioned the Radio Dramas. They were my intro to the Zone and I have every episode on my phone. If I'm on a longer drive, I'll just pull up a random episode and let it play.
Ive actually only seen very few episodes of the show on visual media, but know every episode due to Radio, so while I respect the original and honor it's legacy, Stacey Keach will always be the narrator I think of first.
I really should check out the visual shows....
What an interesting way to get into the series! Yeah, check out the original TV series!
How did I miss this when it was posted?? I’m an idiot. Hitting Hollywood Studios tomorrow. Going to watch your video on the ride and try to spot the Easter Eggs!! Have a great Thanksgiving ahead man!!
Same to you!
I used to watch the original twilight zone with my mother in the early and mid 80s. We used to also watch the 80s version late at night waiting for my dad to get home from work. Other good shows that bring back a lot of memories from that time was tails from the dark side, friday the 13th the series, alfred hitchcock, tales from the crypt and i'm sure there are a few others.I can't remember off the top of my head.
I got a hold of the 80s series and it it was pretty good, but not as good as I remembered. I got a hold of the black and white original series and they still hold up extremely well. The 2nd season of the Jordan Peele version was actually pretty amazing although I did not care too much for his 1st season.
In case you're wondering,
"Josh Rogan", the co-writer for ep. 2
of *"TWILIGHT ZONE: The Movie"* was
in reality Melissa Mathison, the Oscar
-winning writer of Steven Spielberg's
*"E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial"* (1982) and
she later worked with Spielberg again
as the writer for the 2016 adaptation
of Roald Dahl's *"The BFG"* before she
passed away the year before.
I saw the 80’s version as a kid on KSTW in Seattle Wa. Funny thing was it can only be randomly. After a movie, or between television shows. Episodes that stuck with me was the girl dropping off her parents and getting new one, the one with the display figures coming to life at a department store, aliens that came to Earth during a meeting of world leaders, and a writer being terrorized by little creatures in hoods. Only saw one episode of the Forest Witticure one that had Usher in it. And it was a damn good episode.
I would actually love, if you start covering episodes of the later Twilight Zone shows next October, just out of curiosity. Or switch to Black Mirror, which might be the best Twilight Zone like show today.
I'll talk more TZ on this channel, but likely not in the episodic T-TZ format. Black Mirror would be interesting to compare and contrast.
Me commenting on this video before I actually watch it. Growing up seeing the new iterations of the twilight zone whether it was the 2000sone with the new metal intro or the 80s one there was maybe like five or six episodes in the grand scheme that are very memorable
As a twilight zone fan, what I like about the original show is the stories are allegories. Every time someone tries to bring it back the stories are weird for the sake of being weird without actually saying anything. The absents of allegories is a design element that leaves the shows lacking.
Nice documentary retrospective. For me, The Twilight Zone has never been equalled, even by modern shows. It's story telling, the sense of wonder and the fact that it could be anything it wanted, is unmatched. The revival which came closest to the original show was the eighties revival. The opening was incredibly creepy and I always loved the way that Rod Serling's ghost formed into the title. It's like he had watched over it. I think Rod himself would have been proud of the eighties one. The movie was hit and miss, but and a masterstroke to have Burgess Meredith do the narration, which was of course, uncredited. The opening segment gets the movie off to a very dark start, (terrible shame about the horrible tragedy that happened, resulting in the deaths of actor Vic Morrow and two Vietnemese children, which has always mired it, but I don't wish to dwell on that), but Spielberg ruined it with the awful second segment, which destroyed its tone completely. The third segment is a bit of a misfire, but contains the most memorable images, and the final one is frankly, the greatest remake of a classic episode of all. Nightmare at 20,000 feet is superior to the original for me. After that, I'm not sure any of the new revivals worked that great. Not surprising that they keep trying to revive it. But I think that the reruns of the original classic should remain now. Would be great if they could release the eighties show on blu ray though. The original show is what has stood as a benchmark for television standards, even now, and it began its five year run almost seventy years ago. Nearly seventy years later, it remains the most iconic show in television history.
RIP Rod Serling, legend
James Earl Jones saying "Your next stop: The Twilight Zone" Chills down my spine. Good chills. The radio dramas are on the blu-ray set. I don't remember much about the '80s reboot, and I watched a handful of 2000s episodes, but I was in college at the time and was busy doing other things. I did see It's Still a Good Life and The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street -- if I remember correctly, these two episodes aired back to back. I was meh on the Jordan Peele reboot, although I've seen every episode. I have the movie, but it's hard to watch it knowing what happened during filming (also, that first segment is not entirely original. The influence is from the episode A Quality of Mercy. But, it's not a remake or a reimagining like the other three segments are.)
Loved Twilight Zone magazine back in the day.
The 80s show is underrated IMO. Feels like it iterated on the concept rather than copied it and time passing allowed them to touch on new concepts or refresh the old ones interestingly. The writers room was a rogues gallery of greats as well.
I’m surprised you didn’t give a mention to the Tower Of Terror movie. It’s not officially a Twilight Zone movie but it’s still Twilight Zone adjacent at the least, I feel that along with its general obscurity makes it at least worth a brief mention.
I’m surprised you didn’t digitally resurrect Rod Serling yourself for this video.
I feel like the only person who even knew about the Peele reboot. Season 2 was "better" than 1 but it isn't worth seeking out let alone the Twilight Zone name
Jordan Peele had 1 mediocre idea that came at the right time. He's a hack
The 80s series is by far the best of the revivals in my opinion, with several stories just as good as the best of the original series. It has about the same hit-miss ratio as the original as well.
The 2002 series started strong but really took a nosedive quickly. Its biggest sin in my opinion is that many of the episodes leave no impact whatsoever. It’s not even because they are bad necessarily, but because they are boring, which is arguably worse.
The 2019 series has some of the lowest lows across any iteration in my opinion. When it hits, it’s fantastic but there were just way too few hits.
Aw man. I wanted to hear more about the 2002 reboot. It was such a weird version of the classic. Watched every episode when I was a kid and during covid.
Really cool to hear...though very curious if/and/or what you might have to say about Night Gallery
I loved the 80s series. One of the best from an era of great tv horror anthologies.
Idk how many people will agree. But I think Jordan Peele's Twilight Zone is not the best of the four series.
The last episode of the series is what really turned me off. It just didn't make any sense and now that's what I think of whenever the series is brought up
I listened the radio drama, I found them very etertaining.
They were a fine distraction during lockout.
All TV shows had something to propose and I enjoyed most episode I saw in the revivals, they were good shows ... Except Peele's one. 45 mn long for one story. That didn't work.
I was so bored I quitted three quater through season one.
Fascinating
I would like to see a Twilight Zone musical where the main character is self-aware of the musical and wants to break free.
It's just a genre of entertainment that the twilight zone, it never really tackled, so it would be really fun to see a very twilight zone.S musical
Sounds similar to the Starkid musical "The Guy Who Hates Musicals"
I think the best form Twilight Zone could take today is an anthology movie series, or yearly hour long tv specials.
This kind of series is too demanding and I expect any form of tv series would fall flat on its face.
I like those ideas. Space it out.
Trouble with 21st century TZ shows is that they were saddled by those who DESPISE intellectual storytelling. Take for instance the sequel to "It's a Good Life" - it's something straight out of a comic book with no deeper meaning to be found.
The original series started in '59, but primarily aired in the '60s. There were reboots in the '80s, 2000's, and 2020's. Now we wait for a new reboot in the 2040's.
Wait, the last one started in 2019? Oh.
0:53 the twilight zone companion that has been referenced across the entire twilightober zone
4:07 yeah... the twilight zone film changed a lot of things... but for tragic reasons
I believe the next step should be a new video game, a linear story where the protagonist travels through various scenarios throughout the franchise's history, as well as some original ones, and then has a "confrontation" with the "narrator". It'd be pretty cool. And I hope it'll happen.
That’d be great!
@WalterCulture The idea came to me from remembering that Ken Levine was at one point gonna do an interactive Twilight Zone show and I got BioShock on the brain.
I loved the 80's Twilight Zone sereis, the 2000 attempt not so much.
Perhaps the reason Twilight Zone reboots receive mixed reception could be because Twilight Zone isn't Twilight Zone without Rod Serling. He is the only person who could deliver on screen and off screen narration in the dead pan, morbid style fans of the original series love. Now that deep fake/AI technology has reached a convincing level the next Twilight Zone reboot MUST feature a resurrected Rod Serling as host and narrator. It should be setup as a sequel to the original series ignoring all previous reboots. I'm sure the Serling estate would approve of Rod's likeness being brought back to star in the role that only he can play.
AI deepfakes?! Hell no!!!
@@theketaminekid1241 I know deep fake tech is a touchy subject however if its in the right hands great things can be achieved. We wouldn't have ROTJ Luke in Mando season 2 without deep fake tech. Death no longer has to be final. If I was a celebrity I would give studios the right to recreate me digitally after I'm gone.
I'm glad James Earl Jones before he passed away gave studios permission to recreate his iconic voice. He knew how important it is for Darth Vader maintain the iconic sound he gave the character and that his passing did not mean Vader's voice had to go with him.
“It’s a Good Life” reboot of the movie featured a then unknown and future Bart Simpson voice actress, Nancy Cartwright as the private schoolgirl. Her demise at the hands of psychotic toons is similar to an episode of Treehouse of Horrors (an inspiration for Treehouse of Horrors). Bart and Lisa get sucked in to an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon, though they make it out alive.
I'm from where Serling is from and we recently put up a rad statue of him
It's weird to think that like, I'm a big fan of Ultraman, and the first and one of the best Ultra series, Ultra Q, was a sci-fi anthology show very much based on The Twilight Zone, so in a way I wouldn't have one of my favorite long-running Japanese series if it wasn't for spiedies
As I Knew Him: My Dad Rod Serling is a brilliant book and i highly recommend everyone check it out if they ever get themselves a copy.
I listened to the audio book read by Anne. It’s very affecting. Many touching moments.
2019 had some good ideas “blurry man” was a pretty good finale, but I think burnout kicked in quickly and you can see the later episodes of the second season getting too silly. I’d honestly give it another shot. It goes to show how complex the fourth dimension really is.
To anyone to reads this if you love the Twilight Zone, listen to the Radio Dramas they are 💯!!!
I'd rather see brand new content inspired by The Twilight Zone than trying to revive it. I watched the 2003 series, but it didn't have the same impact as the original series. The acting was usually poor, and the twists were more ridiculous and predictable. I was interested in a sequel of "It's a Good Life" showing Anthony, his daughter, and whomever currently lived in Peaksville surviving his torment; however, it could've been better. I remember watching Jordan Peele's first episode and thought it was okay. The one that brought back The Kannamits was very odd and left me with more questions. Rather than attempt to revive a classic series, try something new with its own unique twists and sci-fi.
my favorite twilight zone reboot is the movie. my least favorite is the jordan peele TZ not because its the worst but because YOUR JORDAN PEELE, You could've done so much better!
Exactly!! It was TERRIBLE!!
I've been a big fan of the original Twilight Zone since a kid. Have it on blu-ray. Though I don't think any of the reboots have actually worked. It seems they just go for the weird. One thing I remember of the early 2000's reboot is I did like it. But I recall they tried to make it more real world like changing the twist ending of The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street from aliens to the military.
Though, while I'm a big fan of the original series. I do think it works better for kids. As some of the episodes really are nothing without the twist ending. And the stories are super simple and so it's kind of a hard watch for an adult. But I still really like it, but that could be nostalgia talking.
Though I've never watched the 2019 reboot. As I heard it was terrible, and so just didn't bother.
The twilight zone keeps expanding in new forms. The fifth dimension can’t be killed.
There was a spoken of Season Two introduction said to have never been used for broadcast, although from what I myself know, it got as far, if no further, than the written scripts. Is there any way you could do research on this?
Honestly I love the 80's Twilight Zone and believe it has many gems. It's not nearly as good as the original series for the most part, but a handful of episodes could stand beside some of my original favorites. The 2002 Series had a few episodes I really enjoy, even though it's pretty mediocre on the whole. The Radio Show is excellent and I love listening to it at work when I want a fix. The Jordan Peele series has a very mixed first season, while the second fares a little better...
Jorden Peele's STUNK!!
I’d like to see them bring back The Twilight Zone Magazine
We really need a Serling biopic
Oh, yes! I'd love to see that.
I know I'm in the minority but the 2002 version is my favorite. Some episodes like The Pool Guy,Upgrade and Hunted feel like there straight out of Black Mirror. Most episodes where solid except for a few overall I feel the 2002 version is underrated and gets to much hate but that's just me.
I didn’t like the reboots as much, but I liked the source material for the episode Examination Day. I’m surprised the reboots never did a take on The lottery. Although I enjoyed the movie, John Landis should’ve gone to jail. That being said, I wouldn’t mind seeing a retrospective of the film as well as the many reboot series episodes.
Did they really have Jordan Peele introduce TZ? That’s just disrespectful. He made two decent movies and Nope sucked ass.
Speaking of comics there was crossover with the twilight zone and the shadow. Plus I once owned a copy of the twilight zone comic adaptation of walking distance.
I have the TZ/Shadow book. It was interesting.
There was also the official VR Game released 2 years ago.
I think you should've called this channel Walt Couture.
I will say that a lot of the game, Alan Wake, was inspired by The Twilight Zone. So much so they have a fictional show called “Night Springs” in the game to act as the twilight zone stand in.
Twilight zone VR would be cool of done right
I still like the 80s version but not having a visible narrator was a mistake. Peeles version is cool too but Nothing Beats the original show though
I personally wouldn't mind if they tried to do another TV series a few years down the road from now. However, I think the main reason a lot of these new spin offs aren't able to capture the original as well is because they're mostly busy trying to emulate what came before, while putting a modern spin to it. You even said yourself that some of these episodes were either sequels or remakes of older episodes, which only proves my point more. The original Twilight Zone was a trend setter. Sure, they borrowed props and concepts from other sources, but the original series was it's own unique voice within the entertainment industry. The new spin offs were merely cheap immitations by comparison, and they often struggled to find their voice for a new generation. I haven't seen the new series with Jordan Peele, but I have heard it's incredibly woke at times. I don't know if that's true or not. But if it is, then that tells me even Jordan Peele never understood the Twilight Zone as much as he thinks he does.
I think you can do a twilight zone tv series if you're able to put the right talent behind it, with writers that know the appeal of the ip, while creating new stories that offer a new voice to the show. Or if they're going to remake old episodes from the original series, then why not remake flawed ones that weren't popular like that one with the nerdy guy having a machine fall in love with him. I forget the name of the episode, but you know which one I'm talking about. As of right now, there's tons of AI apps that encourage users to find companionship with AI. Heck, we even got a movie called "Her" that explores the concept of humans having relationship with body-less AI programs for companionship. You could easily remake that old twilight zone episode, and tone down the humor to make it a serious character study, and you could probably get an episode that speaks to modern times, or possibly act as a cautionary tale considering where our society is going.
Aw I wish he talked more on the 2000s show as the ideas where there for great stories it’s just that the time period didn’t match well
This was just an overview of everything after the original series. I'll probably go more in depth about specific details later.
I did remember the one episode of the twilight zone about a man drawing a picture of a girl and a girl comes to life think of the manic pixie dream girl trop
Not sure if this is the same episode, but there is an episode with a writer who uses a recording device to create his dream girl-but has to destroy the tape, making her vanish when his wife comes in.
His wife finds out, and he explains, even bringing her back into existence, but she still thinks he's having an affair.
SPOILERS INCOMMING.
Then he pulls out another tape-his wife. Turns out she's also a creation of his. She declares it nonsense and tosses the tape into the fireplace, only for her to fade out. He starts to record her description-but then decides to recreate the dream girl.
And then it gets really goofy, with Rod Sterling appearing, saying it's just a fantasy, only for the writer to pull out a tape of Rod Sterling and toss that into the fire, making Rod vanish.
Awesom Vid
Thank you!
80s version doesn't quite have the timeless appeal of the original series, but there are some great segments to be found. To See the Invisible Man might be my personal favorite.
It is also the only reboot of the series to have any kind of success. The post 2000s ones are total washouts.
Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories has a pretty strong Twilight Zone vibe.
That’s what I’ve heard.
To me the long episode ruin the Twilight zone with Jordan Peele.
“Nightmare At 100,000 Feet”
My problem with most attempts to revive Twilight Zone is that they either try to make the show straight-up horror, or they just make it needlessly modernized/gritty.
The movie missed the point of the show as early as the opening segment with Al Brooks & Dan Aykroyd, both erroneously declaring how scary the show as a whole was. Yes, there were scary episodes, but the show itself wasn't supposed to be out & out horror.
To quote Serling himself in an interview he did in the early '60s, "The Twilight Zone is, in essence, an imaginative itinerary of storytelling, in which we utilize bases of fantasy, science fiction, Neo-Cult, extrasensory perception, anything that is imaginative, wild, or, as in the States we call it, kooky (The quote is from an interview in Australia).
In normal earthbound drama, if a man is on top of a building, & it's burning, of necessity, he has to crawl down either a ladder, or go through a skylight, or is rescued by a helicopter.
In the Twilight Zone, he grows wings, & he flies off."
The '85 series committed the same sin, especially with the intro. The objects in floating in space in the original intro weren't supposed to be scary. I believe they were meant to represent how all-encompassing the Twilight Zone is as a dimension & how anything & everything can happen & exist in it. The intro for the '85 series plays creepy music box chimes while flying a creepy baby doll, tarantula, & tribal mask across & ending in a mushroom cloud in an attempt to go, _"wOoOoOo, SpOoOoOoKy."_
I've only seen a couple of episodes of the '85 series, so I can't speak for the writing as a whole, but it made a _very_ poor first impression on me with the "Toys of Caliban" episode.