A visually stunning backstage glimpse through time and space into the history and making of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone. This is an invitation to explore a portion of the show's archives: over 300 original behind-the-scenes production stills taken during filming, accompanied by insightful captions, rare documents and interviews with 40 producers, directors, writers and actors who worked on the series including Bill Murray and Earl Hammer, Jr. With a foreword by Neil Gaiman.
Rod Serling's anthology series The Twilight Zone is recognized as one of the greatest television shows of all time. Always intelligent and thought-provoking, the show used the conventions of several genres to explore such universal qualities as violence, fear, prejudice, love, death, and individual identity. This comprehensive reference work gives a complete history of the show, from its beginning in 1959 to its final 1964 season, with critical commentaries, incisive analyses, and the most complete listing of casts and credits ever published. Biographical profiles of writers and contributors are included, followed by detailed appendices, bibliography and index.
The Twilight Zone explores the possibilities inhering in the ordinary. A Twilight Zone episode can move us by being poignant and intimate, rambunctious or thought provoking. It can also be orchestrated as a set of intertwined plot developments or as a serial progression. But regardless of whether it takes place on an asteroid, in a city pool room, or in the backwoods, it will usually convey both a folklorist's eye for detail and the born raconteur's sense of pace. Rod Serling, the show's founder, main scriptwriter, and artistic director, knew how much burden he could place on his rhetorical and dramatic gifts. Deservedly celebrated as a pioneer in TV science fiction, he also writes about history and loyalty, the grip of everyday reality, and the dangers of both forgetting about one's ghosts and giving them the upper hand.
Since its 1959 debut, The Twilight Zone has been an indelible part of the American cultural fabric and remains one of TV's most influential series. Assembled with the full cooperation of the Rod Serling estate, this fact-filled collectible includes biographies of every principal actor involved in the series, and detailed descriptions of the characters they played. The hundreds who toiled behind the scenes—producer, writers, and directors—enjoy a place of equal prominence. The Twilight Zone Encyclopedia is two books in one: an episode-by-episode guide and a compendium of credits, plot synopses, anecdotes, production details, never-before-seen images, and interviews with nearly everyone still alive who was associated with the show.
This history presents a portrait of the beloved Rod Serling and his television program, recounting the major changes the show underwent in format and story selection, including censorship battles, production details, and exclusive memories from cast and crew. The complete episode guide documents all 156 episodes.
Can you live your life by what The Twilight Zone has to teach you? Yes, and maybe you should. The proof is in this lighthearted collection of life lessons, ground rules, inspirational thoughts, and stirring reminders found in Rod Serling’s timeless fantasy series. Written by veteran TV critic, Mark Dawidziak, this unauthorized tribute is a celebration of the classic anthology show, but also, on another level, a kind of fifth-dimension self-help book, with each lesson supported by the morality tales told by Serling and his writers. The notion that “it’s never too late to reinvent yourself” soars through “The Last Flight,’’ in which a World War I flier who goes forward in time and gets the chance to trade cowardice for heroism. A visit from an angel blares out the wisdom of “follow your passion” in “A Passage for Trumpet.” The meaning of “divided we fall” is driven home with dramatic results when neighbors suspect neighbors of being invading aliens in “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.” The old maxim about never judging a book by its cover is given a tasty twist when an alien tome is translated in “To Serve Man.”
When CBS cancelled Serling's series, The Twilight Zone, Serling sought a similar concept in Night Gallery in the early 1970s as a new forum for his brand of storytelling, a mosaic of classic horror and fantasy tales. In this work, the authors explore the genesis of the series and provide production detail and behind-the-scenes material. They offer critical commentary and off-screen anecdotes for every episode, complete cast and credit listings, and synopses of all 43 episodes. Also featured are interviews with television personalities including Roddy McDowall, John Astin, Richard Kiley and John Badham.
"A haunting and beautifully written memoir about the creator of The Twilight Zone." --Robert Redford "Beautifully written. . .I laughed and I cried. I plan to read it again once I catch my breath." --Carol Burnett In this intimate, lyrical memoir about her iconic father, Anne Serling reveals the fun-loving dad and family man behind the imposing figure the public saw hosting The Twilight Zone each week. After his unexpected, early death, Anne, just 20, was left stunned. But through talking to his friends, poring over old correspondence, and recording her childhood memories, Anne not only found solace, but gained a deeper understanding of this remarkable man. Now she shares her discoveries, along with personal photos, revealing letters, and scenes of his childhood, war years, and their family's time together. A tribute to Rod Serling's legacy as a visionary, storyteller, and humanist, As I Knew Him is also a moving testament to the love between fathers and daughters. "A tender, thoughtful and very personal portrait of American genius Rod Serling." --Alice Hoffman "Richly told. . .a haunting memoir about grief, creativity, and a father-daughter bond as memorable and magical as any Twilight Zone episode." --Caroline Leavitt "Filled with anecdotes and self-reflection. . .Serling still casts an outsized shadow." --Variety "Lush memories of a remarkable father and adept analysis of his work." --Kirkus Reviews
"Submitted for Your Approval," is the first short-story anthology from Rod Serling Books - a collection of works written in the Serling genre or, in the consensus of the editorial board, a story that Rod, himself, would have considered worthy of being included. As one of the world's foremost storytellers, Serling was primarily concerned with the well-being of humanity and the creation of commentative works of social and moral relevance. It is with this spirit that Mariel Cooksey, James Goertel, Tim Johnston, Sara Jordan, Ken Knight, Michael Lizarraga, Lisa Manderosian-Saleski, Doug Nufer, Terry Persun, Carl Rafala, and Lindy Spencer submitted their works, which vary in length from short-story to novella. As with Serling's body of work, not all are tales of fantasy. They are, however, very Serling-like in terms of being thought provoking; concerned with the human condition; and fine examples of the art of storytelling. As for the art of storytelling, we were thrilled to affirm that it is so very alive and flourishing. With the publication of this anthology and an exciting new anthology just around the corner, we continue to collect submissions from talented writers around the world; develop new anthology ideas; and most of all, champion writers, without whom the theater, film, television, and publishing industries would cease to exist.
Into The Twilight Zone: The Rod Serling Programme Guide includes complete episode guides with cast, credits and story summaries of the original Twilight Zone series, as well as its many film and television revivals, and Rod Serling's Night Gallery. The book features an overview and filmography of Serling's life and career, and interviews with many of his colleagues, including Buck Houghton, Richard Matheson, Frank Marshall, Joe Dante, Phil DeGuere, Wes Craven, Alan Brennert, Paul Chitlik and Jeremy Bertrand Finch. It also includes indices of actors and creative personnel. "The best TV programme guide I have seen." --Ty Power, Dreamwatch "The perfect complement to The Twilight Zone Companion." --David McDonnell, Starlog
