"There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone."
And with those timeless words (and an unforgettable musical theme meandering underneath those words) a television legend was born 55 years ago today. Yes, believe it or not, Rod Serling's classic "The Twilight Zone" is that old, first airing on CBS October 2nd, 1959 with an episode titled, "Where Is Everybody?" The show certainly doesn't seem that old because you can watch almost any of the episodes on DVD today to find the plotlines and themes that it tackled still are as relevant today as they were in late 50s and early 60s.
During its five year run, "The Twilight Zone" was nominated for four Emmys and won two...both for creator Rod Serling's outstanding writing. The show also launched the careers of many young actors and actresses, mostly unknowns at the time, but they would go on to become household names. Names such as: Bill Bixby, Charles Bronson, Carol Burnett, Robert Duvall, Peter Falk, Mariette Hartley, Dennis Hopper, Ron Howard, Martin Landau, Cloris Leachman, Jean Marsh, Elizabeth Montgomery, Julie Newmar, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, William Shatner, Dean Stockwell, George Takei, Lee Van Cleef, Joyce Van Patten, Jack Warden, Jonathan Winters and Dick York.
To this day, debate still rages on as to which of the 156 episodes were the best. Everyone has their own opinion of course, but according to Wikipedia, in 1997, the episodes "To Serve Man" and "It's a Good Life" were respectively ranked at 11 and 31 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest TV Episodes of All Time. Serling himself stated that his favorite episodes of the series were "The Invaders" and "Time Enough at Last." In 2002, "The Twilight Zone" was ranked No. 26 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the third best-written TV series ever, and TV Guide (re)ranked it as the fifth greatest show of all time.
"The Twilight Zone's" enduring legacy reverberated throughout the following decades with shows like "The Outer Limits," "Night Gallery," "Amazing Stories" and "Tales from the Darkside" that were certainly cut from the tapestry that Serling originally wove. On top of that, there was an ill-fated movie version of "The Twilight Zone" produced in 1983 with Hollywood legends Steven Spielberg, John Landis, George Miller and Joe Dante all helming different sequences...and not to mention the attempted reboots of the series itself in 1985 and 2002, which were modest successes at best.
So do yourself a favor when you get home tonight, look up a couple of old episodes on YouTube, or break out your DVDs (or even your old VHS tapes), and watch a couple episodes of this timeless series in honor of its 55th year. I personally recommend "Mr. Bevis" and "The Hitchhiker" both from the show's first season.
"You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas; you've just crossed over into the Twilight Zone..."
