Like most areas of the entertainment industry outside of acting, casting and costuming, television writing was generally one big boys club until women began making (incremental) inroads during the 1990s. There were trailblazers like "I Love Lucy" scribe Madelyn Pugh, but that trail was walked far too infrequently for far too many years.
Anyone who possessed a conscience knew this was unacceptable, which is why it's disappointing that a politically progressive (particularly for his era) writer like Rod Serling never made a concerted effort to work at least one female writer into "The Twilight Zone" mix during the series' five seasons (which stretched from 1959 to 1964). To be fair, Serling did adapt the work of women for certain episodes; in fact, a tale that many consider the show's finest half-hour, "Time Enough at Last," was based on a short story by sci-fi/fantasy writer Lynn Venable. But he never managed to...
Anyone who possessed a conscience knew this was unacceptable, which is why it's disappointing that a politically progressive (particularly for his era) writer like Rod Serling never made a concerted effort to work at least one female writer into "The Twilight Zone" mix during the series' five seasons (which stretched from 1959 to 1964). To be fair, Serling did adapt the work of women for certain episodes; in fact, a tale that many consider the show's finest half-hour, "Time Enough at Last," was based on a short story by sci-fi/fantasy writer Lynn Venable. But he never managed to...
- 3/9/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Burgess Meredith had a damn good run. He became a Broadway and film star almost simultaneously in the 1930s via his starring role in the Sacco and Vanzetti-based drama "Winterset," and turned in an unforgettable portrayal of George opposite Lon Chaney Jr.'s Lennie in Lewis Milestone's 1939 adaptation of "Of Mice and Men." He worked steadily, tirelessly until his death at the age of 89 in 1997. He was the Penguin on ABC's "Batman," the Italian Stallion's gruff-but-lovable trainer Mickey Goldmill in five "Rocky" movies, and Jack Lemon's surly Pops in the "Grumpy Old Men" movies.
And he was fortunate enough to appear in four particularly memorable "Twilight Zone" episodes.
Meredith's finest half-hour in the land of both shadow and substance, or things and ideas was obviously "Time Enough at Last," where he stars as a bibliophile who survives a nuclear apocalypse (and winds up wishing he didn't). The...
And he was fortunate enough to appear in four particularly memorable "Twilight Zone" episodes.
Meredith's finest half-hour in the land of both shadow and substance, or things and ideas was obviously "Time Enough at Last," where he stars as a bibliophile who survives a nuclear apocalypse (and winds up wishing he didn't). The...
- 2/24/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
When people remember "The Twilight Zone," they usually talk about the endings. Certainly, the show's endings are the greatest fodder for parodies — from "Treehouse of Horror" on "The Simpsons" to "The Scary Door," a show-within-a-show in "Futurama."
As an anthology series, each venture into the Twilight Zone stands on its own terms and ends conclusively; the only consistent face is series creator Rod Serling as the narrator. The whole point of the series is to put its characters in bewildering circumstances, so twist endings were a way to wring out one last bit of shock. That's not to say the endings were all about shock value; the best twist endings in "The Twilight Zone" reflect the episode's message or leave the viewer with a new perspective on what they just watched.
Happy endings aren't an impossibility in "The Twilight Zone," but they aren't the ones that people remember. Here are...
As an anthology series, each venture into the Twilight Zone stands on its own terms and ends conclusively; the only consistent face is series creator Rod Serling as the narrator. The whole point of the series is to put its characters in bewildering circumstances, so twist endings were a way to wring out one last bit of shock. That's not to say the endings were all about shock value; the best twist endings in "The Twilight Zone" reflect the episode's message or leave the viewer with a new perspective on what they just watched.
Happy endings aren't an impossibility in "The Twilight Zone," but they aren't the ones that people remember. Here are...
- 10/7/2023
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
"The Twilight Zone" may have been an anthology series that featured a new cast of actors every single week, but it had a star. Series creator Rod Serling, an Emmy Award-winning screenwriter who personally wrote 92 episodes of the 156-episode series, was also the show's headliner. Every episode began with Serling introducing the story, teasing the unexpected ironies that would befall the latest characters. His pleasingly gravelly voice and serious business suit gave him an on-air authority usually reserved for news anchors, which gave a powerful legitimacy to the strange tales that were about to unfold.
Rod Serling was indelibly linked to "The Twilight Zone" in front of and behind the camera and was a driving force behind its bizarre tales of sci-fi and supernatural. So it might stand to reason that Serling, as a producer and a frontman for the series, wouldn't play favorites with the many episodes of the show.
Rod Serling was indelibly linked to "The Twilight Zone" in front of and behind the camera and was a driving force behind its bizarre tales of sci-fi and supernatural. So it might stand to reason that Serling, as a producer and a frontman for the series, wouldn't play favorites with the many episodes of the show.
- 9/27/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
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