October 2nd marks the 50th anniversary of the TV premiere of Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone." Arlen Schumer, illustrator, author, and Twilight Zone scholar, and George Clayton Johnson, the science writer who co-wrote the novel Logan’s Run and screenwriter for "The Twilight Zone," discuss what made the series so special and what its impact on pop culture today has been.
Event: Arlen Schumer will be holding a discussion and debate on the impact The Twilight Zone has had on pop-culture, and two
classic episodes will be screened, as part of “The Twilight Zone Forever”
Friday, October 2nd, 7:30 - 11pm
The New York Times' Times Center
242 West 41st Street
Tickets: $30; they can be purchase at the door or at thetimescenter.com.
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Comments [5]
Growing up watching Rod Serlins "The Twilight Zone" was for my family a catharsis of sorts if you will from the drudgery of daily life.
I'm not a a big fan of sci-fi, yet I love "The Twilight Zone." Rod Serling was a true genius. He was creating something more akin to literature than TV.
And he really was a progressive humanist. He tackled social issues like racism, the Cold War, and anti-communist hysteria.
My personal fave is "In Praise of Pip," which I think was the first mention of the Vietnam War in pop culture. Jack Klugman's performance in this one breaks my heart every time.
This was such a ground breaking show for its time. It breathed some new life into science fiction that helped influence what was to come. It was so sad that Rod Serling couldn't break out of his slump, with the disappointing Night Gallery that followed. But he was cut down by cancer at the young age of 50, which I firmly believe prevented him from achieving his full potential. So many other artists have hit their strides later on in life and I think Rod would have been one of them.
So the Twilight Zone is really important in several respects. One, being the impact it had on science fiction, and two, the last great representation of Rod Serling.
What Rod helped do with the Twilight Zone was to break through stereotypes and rigid expectations of television programming. I especially appreciated his progressive social views on racial relations. Certainly, he helped influence Gene Roddenberry with his pushing of boundaries in Star Trek. Gene said "No one could know Serling, or view or read his work, without recognizing his deep affection for humanity ... and his
determination to enlarge our horizons by giving us a better understanding of ourselves."
RIP, Rod. And thank you for your tremendous influential works. :-)
The Odyssey of Flight #33 one of my favorites..
I just saw my favorite episode, "The Grave", starring Lee Marvin, Lee Van Cleef and Strother Martin, on SyFy's Twilight Zone marathon. How many stars got their start on the series, and how many actually appeared as already bona fide stars?
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