Twilight Zone Collectibles: The Land of Both Shadow & Substance

Twilight Zone fans will get a boost for their collections this year as CBS Consumer Products unveils five new licensing partnerships formed to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the 1960's pop culture television series. Attendees at the February New York Toy Fair 2009, where the serious business of toys is conducted, were treated to the early announcement and the chance to pre-order these trendy collectibles.

First in on the Twilight Zone collectibles scene will be BifBangPow! with several lines including action figures, bobble heads and statues. They will produce characters from Twilight Zone episodes and three dimensional likenesses of the creator, Rod Serling. BifBangPow!, created by uber pop culture fan, Jason Lenzi, got its start in 2005. His action figures include Flash Gordon, Dexter, of Showtime's emmy nominated break-out series and Dude and Walter of the 1998 hit movie, The Big Lebowski. These action figures come with full accessories and in a new twist, Dexter has interchangeable limbs to transform him from blood-splatter crackerjack to killer extraordinaire. The expectation is that the initial Twilight Zone product line will arrive in time for a debut at the San Diego Comic Convention slated for July 23-26, 2009. Details on the TZ episode characters remain sketchy but speculation has it that Rod Serling's signature cigarette may be missing from his accessories list or at least carefully concealed in promotional packaging.

Following close on the heels of the Comic Convention will be the release of the US Postal Service's Rod Serling 50^th Anniversary Commerative Stamp. With slight changes from the likeness preferred by the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation, whose stamp prototype was developed by Serling's childhood friend and artist Robert Keller of Binghamton, it will become a reality August 11, 2009 after many years of foundation lobbying. Local First Day Ceremony Events will be held in Los Angeles. The stamp will be issued in a 20-stamp block called Early TV Memories. Philatelists who are theme collectors will surely want to add the Serling stamp to such topical collecting areas as famous people and commemorative events.

DVD and board game afficionados can test their knowledge of Twilight Zone trivia when UK based Gamaka© Limited releases its offerings. The makers of family entertainment board games based on hit television shows like Dexter, Charmed and America's Next Top Model also distributes electronics, accessories, and gadgets based on television product lines. Two games, an interactive TZ Trivia DVD and a traditional Twilight Zone board game will make their appearances on store shelves just in time for Christmas seasonal sales. Hallmark will add a line of Twilight Zone keepsake ornaments to its Sci-Fi group of Star Trek and Star Wars Christmas collectibles.

In November of 1999 Rittenhouse Archives, the leading producer of fantasy and sci-fi nonsport trading cards and collectibles was the first to sell a 72 card set of Premiere Twilight Zone trading cards. The cards featured Twilight Zone actors, think William Shatner, with a limited number of autographed cards in each set. To date there have been 4 card sets issued. This year Rittenhouse will roll out a 50^th Anniversary Twilight Zone Set. With no public release date yet, the company is keeping the details under wraps so fans will have plenty of time to find room in their official Twilight Zone Trading Cards Collectors Albums for these new treasures.

Additionally, Twilight Zone fans will not want to miss the graphic novels that hit the bookstores in January of 2009. In partnership with the Serling Estate, Walker and Company of New York teamed with students and faculty of the Savannah College of Art and Design through an industry partnerships program to produce eight graphic novels based on original Serling television scripts. Though targeted to an adolescent audience, these book-format comics are a must have for collectors young or old. The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, The After Hours, The Odyssey of Flight 33 and Walking Distance have been lavishly inked and illustrated by Savannah's Sequential Art Department. The book-format comics have been released by Bloomsbury of the United Kingdom who promise four more editions by year's end.

With this impressive round-up of Twilight Zone promotional products collectors will have a difficult time keeping their buying impulses in check. CBS is seeking to consolidate its Television City TV Icons market through the use of distinctive packaging, marketing, and signage. The five licenses comprise a fresh branding initiative for CBS Consumer Products which manages worldwide licensing and merchandising for CBS Entertainment. The Serling Estate has carefully guarded use of the Serling name and the licensing and marketing of Twilight Zone interests since Mr. Serling's death. These new initiatives may signal a loosening of this hold and collectors may look forward to the enjoyment of new Twilight Zone products for a long time to come.

Sources:

"CBS CONSUMER PRODUCTS CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE WITH TARGETED MERCHANDISING PROGRAM. New Games, Trading Cards, Collectibles, Commemorative Stamp And More Allow Fans to Travel To Another Dimension." 25 Feb. 2009. 23 Mar. 2009 www.cbs.com.

Lenzi, Jason. "Prepare to enter another dimension...a dimension of the coolest collectibles anywhere!" BifBangPow! 27 Feb. 2009. 23 Mar. 2009 www.bifbangpow.com.

Reid, Calvin. "Walker, College Team on Twilight Zone Graphic Novels." 5 Feb. 2008. 23 Mar. 2009 www.Publishers Weekly.com.

Stamp Lobby. "Petition the US Postal Service!" Rod Serling Memorial Foundation. 23 Mar. 2009 www.rodserling.com.

"Twilight Zone Products." Rittenhouse Archives Ltd. 23 Mar. 2009 www.rittenhousearchives.com.