The Twilight Zone Turns 50

Who among us does not recall with great fondness that familiar line from Rod Serling's "To Serve Man" episode of the Twilight Zone? If you were perhaps not indoctrinated in the brilliantly conceived world of this anthology series which originally aired on the CBS Network, you need look no further than the wildly successful 2005 animated motion picture, "Madagascar," starring the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and others to find one of so many contemporary references. One scene features a meeting of lemurs called together to discuss the outsiders from the Bronx Zoo that have mysteriously shipwrecked there. The dreaded enemy of the lemurs, the Fousas, is mentioned and the meeting immediately spirals out of control. In the midst of the panic and chaos, one lemur briefly holds up a book entitled 'To Serve Lemur,' screaming, "It's a cookbook! It's a cookbook!"

It is a measure of great quality and durability when a television show can influence generations of people in all walks of life, at all stages of life, for as long as Twilight Zone has. When one considers how often the program's tentacles reach into our culture's every day life, it is nothing short of amazing it first aired nearly half a century ago.

Indeed, the program is to be celebrated. As the signpost up ahead reads, Twilight Zone turns 50 years old.

The anatomy of a classic began in November of 1958 when CBS' Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse aired "The Time Element," originally penned by Serling to be the Twilight Zone pilot. After great audience reaction, CBS revived previously stalled negotiations and the show was given the green light, first airing in October of 1959 with "Where Is Everybody?" and a cultural phenomenon was born.

There are many memorable television programs that hold a special place in our hearts, whether they evoke memories of childhood, recall simpler times, or are purely timeless in their content and delivery. Culled from the 1959 television schedule, there are several programs that are affectionately remembered, such as the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, the Red Skelton Show, Bonanza, and Gunsmoke. But few, if any, can claim that people will still regularly reference key images of the show fifty years later, as many do with Twilight Zone when they whistle the eerie introduction tune at the sight of something, or somebody, frightening.

So what is the nature of this longevity? Why does Twilight Zone still linger in our lives like a spirit hovering in the night? Today, you can still watch the show on the Science Fiction Channel. You can stand on endless lines at Disney theme parks to experience the "Tower of Terror" attraction, complete with a magnificently holographed Rod Serling delivering the bone-chilling introduction before you plummet in a falling elevator. Of course, film icon Steven Spielberg was responsible for bringing the program to the big screen in 1983. And now, Leonardo DiCaprio's production company, Appian Way, has joined forces with Warner Brothers in an attempt to do it again, seeking to purchase the rights to Twilight Zone episodes for feature film fodder.

There are many reasons Twilight Zone lives on, but it inevitably circles back to one factor...its creator, Rod Serling. He developed the program after having established himself as a distinguished writer. Then, over the course of five seasons, Serling wrote 92 of the show's 157 episodes, a compelling and admirable fact considering it was an anthology series, and he was creating scripts anew every time he positioned himself at the typewriter... each one representing a distinct 30-minute film. He took on all issues within the context of this science fiction format, and when watching an episode today that Mr. Serling set in the future, it is remarkable how prescient he was about life as it evolved 50 years or so beyond his writing.

Underscoring the program's influence, Twilight Zone's handsomely prepared teleplays were showpieces for actors seeking serious opportunities to demonstrate their talents. Robert Duvall, Lee Marvin, Robert Redford, Mickey Rooney, Peter Falk, Carol Burnett, William Shatner and a litany of others were proud to grace the Twilight Zone stage in the beginning and in the midst of award-winning careers.

To best chronicle and commemorate this television institution, an unscientific poll of 250 people in the New York metropolitan area...college students at Ramapo University in New Jersey and Fordham University in New York, corporate professionals from Westchester, Bergen, Putnam and Orange Counties, and others...gave rise to the best 25 Twilight Zone episodes of all time. In order of importance, criteria included writing, performance, and compelling subject matter. Each episode will be the focus of an article examining it and its appeal, thereby comprising a 25-article series to honor Mr. Serling and his signature masterpiece collection.

Understanding there is no bona-fide way to rank brilliance other than subjective endeavors such as this one, it is nevertheless a worthy effort to help us travel once more to that fifth dimension of imagination...that place as vast as space and as timeless as infinity...that middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition. Thank you, Twilight Zone, and happy birthday.