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The Twilight Zone: Season 05
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The Twilight Zone [TV Series] [1959-1964]
"You're traveling to another dimension...a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind...a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Your next stop: The Twilight Zone." Originally telecast on CBS from October 2, 1959, to September 18, 1964 (not counting a brief spate of network reruns in the summer of 1965), The Twilight Zone was one of the foremost filmed dramatic anthologies on TV and one of a precious few that specialized in fantasy and science fiction. Created by Rod Serling, whose previous TV writing credits included such classic live dramas as Patterns and Requiem for a Heavyweight, the series specialized in concise, economical playlets dealing with the offbeat andsupernatural, many of them with surprising and ironic climactic twists. Many of the individual episodes have stood the test of time as indisputable classics, among them "Eye of the Beholder," "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," "The Invaders," "It's a Good Life," "To Serve Man," "The Invaders," and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." Rod Serling served as the series' host and narrator, and also wrote most of the dramas. Other noteworthy contributors included Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, and, on one memorable occasion (the episode "I Sing the Body Electric"), Ray Bradbury. A veritable constellation of guest stars brought the stories to life; among those making multiple appearances were Burgess Meredith, Jack Klugman, William Shatner, Martin Landau, Anne Francis, Bill Mumy, Ed Wynn, and Lee Marvin, while many more showed up for memorable single performances including Charles Bronson, Elizabeth Montgomery, Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, James Coburn, Mickey Rooney, and Dennis Hopper. The series' famous theme music (heard from the second season onward) was composed by Marius Constant with unforgettable incidental music provided by the likes of Bernard Herrmann and Jerry Goldsmith. Although the series' title has become a household word and many of its episodes are acknowledged masterpieces, Twilight Zone was never a huge ratings attraction during its network run. Indeed, after only three seasons, CBS decided to yank the show. It was saved at the last minute and brought back as a mid-season replacement, expanded from 30 to 60 minutes per week in the process. For its fifth and final season, Twilight Zone returned to its familiar half-hour format, still playing to appreciative but comparatively small audiences. It was not until the series went into off-network reruns that Twilight Zone truly built its fan following, which has increased many times over in the ensuing years. Twilight Zone was revived twice with new, full-color episodes, first as a CBS (and later syndicated) weekly in 1985, then on UPN in 2002. Rod Serling was not involved with these revivals, having passed away in 1975; the 1985 version had no host, though its narrators included Charles Aidman and Robin Ward, but the 2002 version was hosted by Forest Whitaker. In addition, a theatrical feature, Twilight Zone: The Movie, was released in 1983. ~ All Movie Guide

Includes Seasons:
The Twilight Zone: Season 03
Surviving several defecting sponsors and vacillating ratings, Twilight Zone manages to survive for a third season on CBS -- a season that many aficionados regard as the anthology series' best. With Rod Serling as narrator and frequent scriptwriter, season three offers 37 half-hour playlets, many of them regarded today as classics of the sci-fi fantasy genre. The best of the batch includes "It's a Good Life," starring Bill Mumy as a deceptively angelic-looking youngster who holds the power to destroy the world; "The Midnight Sun," a nightmarish scenario of solar energy run amok; "Once Upon a Time," a delightful time-travel comedy (largely shot in silent-movie fashion) starring Buster Keaton; "Kick the Can," with Ernest Truex as a senior-home resident who gets a new lease on life by reverting to the games of his childhood; "Little Girl Lost," a dizzying foray into The Fourth Dimension, brilliantly underlined by Bernard Herrmann's musical score; and the unforgettable "To Serve Man," the title of which also serves as the episode's grimly ironic punchline. Among the guest stars from previous seasons making return appearances are Jack Klugman, Larry Blyden, Cliff Robertson, and John Dehner. Prominent newcomers to the series include Jonathan Winters, Donald Pleasence, Elizabeth Montgomery, Charles Bronson, Joseph Schildkraut, Andy Devine, and Carol Burnett, the latter appearing in "One for the Angels," which was intended as the pilot for a spin-off comedy series (complete with laughtrack!) Twilight Zone's ever-growing legion fans were disheartened by CBS' decision to cancel the series at the end of season three; however, the property made a dramatic comeback the following season in a brand-new hour-long format. ~ All Movie Guide

The Twilight Zone: Season 04
Canceled by CBS at the end of its third season, the weekly, half-hour fantasy anthology The Twilight Zone was at the last minute revived for a fourth year on the air, though it would not return to CBS' prime time manifest until after a four-month hiatus. Also, the series was expanded from 30 to 60 minutes per week for season four in keeping with an industry-wide trend for hour-long programs (the better to attract more sponsors). Unfortunately, the added length did more harm than good for Twilight Zone, with several episodes that would have played just fine in the 30-minute format seeming attenuated and strained when expanded to twice that length. Wisely, when the series returned for its fifth season, Twilight Zone's original half-hour format was restored. Despite the above-mentioned artistic and esthetic problems inherent in the 60-minute Zone, a handful of the fourth-season installments can be ranked among the series' better efforts. These include "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville," a comic episode starring Julie Newmar as a curvaceous female Satan; "Jess-Belle," featuring Anne Francis as a mountain girl who will go to any lengths to win back her sweetheart (this episode is distinguished by an original ballad, which is heard at the finale in place of host Rod Serling's traditional narration); "Printer's Devil," in which Burgess Meredith makes his only villainous Twilight Zone appearance; "Death Ship," a Pirandellian nightmare starring another frequent Zone guest star, Jack Klugman; and "The Bard," a wild spoof of TV commercialism co-starring a young Burt Reynolds as a Marlon Brando wannabe. One of the best hour-long Twilight Zones is "Miniature," a bittersweet fantasy starring Robert Duvall. Due to a legal entanglement, this episode was long absent from the series' syndicated package but was reissued in the mid-1980s in a semi-colorized version. ~ All Movie Guide

The Twilight Zone: Season 05
Although CBS' decision to rescue Rod Serling's classic fantasy anthology The Twilight Zone from cancelation and bring the series back for a fourth season in January of 1963 enabled the property to be renewed in the fall of that year, everybody realized that expanding the half-hour series to a weekly sixty minutes was a mistake. Thus, Twilight Zone showed up for its fifth and final season in its familiar 30-minute format, much to the relief of its fans. Rod Serling of course is back for season five as both host/narrator and frequent scriptwriter; also making return appearances this season are such past Twilight Zone guest stars as Jack Klugman, Lee Marvin, Ed Wynn, Bill Mumy, Martin Landau, and William Shatner, the latter starring in what is regarded as the fifth season's best and most terrifying episode, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (more popularly known as "The Thing on the Wing"). Not all of the series' episodes during its terminal season are on the same leval as "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet;" in fact, there are arguably more misses than hits in the series' final 36 installments. That said, one cannot deny the excellence of such fifth-season efforts as "The Last Night of a Jockey," a solo tour de force for star Mickey Rooney; "Number Twelve Looks Just Like You," featuring both Richard Long and Suzy Parker in multiple roles; "From Agnes-With Love," a comic episode in which Wally Cox is tormented by an amorous computer; and "The Masks," directed by former Twilight Zone leading lady Ida Lupino, wherein four greedy relatives get their just desserts from their disillusioned wealthy benefactors. Until very recently, four of Twilight Zone's fifth-season episodes were withheld from the series' syndication package. Both "A Short Drink From a Certain Founain" and "Sounds and Silences" were removed for legal reasons, while "The Encounter" was withdrawn because of its (unintended) overtones of racism. The fourth "missing" Twilight Zone episode was "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," which was not actually filmed for the series but instead was adapted from an award-winning French short subject directed by Robert Enrico. (Both the edited Zone version and the original uncut short subject are currently available on the public-domain market.) ~ All Movie Guide

Includes Episodes:
The Twilight Zone: Hocus-Pocus and Frisby
Andy Devine stars as Mr. Frisby, the biggest liar in three counties. Despite his constant gas-bagging about his alleged past acts of heroism, no one believes Frisby's tall tales -- no one, that is, except a team of space aliens, who accept Frisby's lies at face value. On the verge of being whisked off to another planet as a zoo specimen, Frisby stumbles upon a method of overpowering his extraterrestial captors (a method, incidentally, that would be expanded upon in the 1997 sci-fi movie spoof Mars Attacks!) Scripted by Rod Serling from a story by Frederic Louis Fox (in which Frisby became an outer-space TV personality), the fitfully funny Twilight Zone installment "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby" first aired April 13, 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Twilight Zone: Of Late I Think of Cliffordville
This 60-minute Twilight Zone entry was adapted by Rod Serling from Malcolm Jameson's short story "Blind Alley." Wearing thick "age" makeup, Albert Salmi stars as ruthless millionaire Feathersmith, who would give anything to relive his carefree youth. Enter Miss Devlin (Julie Newmar) -- actually the Devil, but a very shapely Devil -- who offers to strike a deal with the decrepit tycoon. Curiously, Devlin doesn't want Feathersmith's soul (which he had already lost several years earlier), but she will settle for cold, hard cash. Another cautionary "Be Careful What You Wish For" yarn, "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville" originally aired April 11, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Twilight Zone: Mr. Garrity and the Graves
A jaunty harmonica-music score by Tommy Morgan was the main redeeming feature of this otherwise pedestrian Twilight Zone episode. John Dehner stars as Jared Garrity, a frontier con artist who convinces the citizens of a sleepy western town that he possesses the ability to bring the dead back to life. After a few examples of his power, the townsfolk are convinced -- and are willing to pay through the nose to make sure that certain people remain dead. An amusing but predictable twist caps this episode, which was scripted by Rod Serling from a short story by Mike Korologos and first aired May 8, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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TWILIGHT ZONE V37 (DVD) DOLBY DIGITAL MONO DVD

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