Headline, June25, 2013

'''THE THUNDERCLA​P OF REVELATION​'''

From 1959 to 1964, Rod Serling hosted half-hour tales that melded sci-fi, mystery and morality tales, usually with a twist. It would prove to be some of the most creative and influential television ever made. His show, The Twilight Zone, was described by horror writer Stephen King in the early 1980s as ''damn near immortal.... For me and those of my generation, it was like a thunderclap of revelation, opening a million entrancing possibilities.''

The impact of The Twilight Zone is vast and continues right up to today. The recent film Red Steel was actually based on the 1963 Twilight Zone episode ''Steel'', starring Lee Marvin. The Final Destination film series  -part five came out last year-  owes a huge debt to the TZ episode called ''Twenty Two'', in which a couple get off a plane before take-off after having a vision of it crashing.

In the episode ''A World Of Difference,'' a businessman realises that he's actually just an actor playing a role on a TV series; a story not a million miles from a later film, The Truman Show. The list is extensive. Meanwhile, on television, TZ's influence has always been felt strongly, with too many shows to list. But worth seeking out is the surprisingly excellent teen series Eerie Indiana, which borrowed heavily, as well as some of the stand-alone episodes of The X-Files through out the 90s.

And only a year ago,  began with British Filmmaker Charlie Brooker creating Black Mirror   -a trio of dystopian stories based on the futuristic technology that he credited to the likes of TZ and British series Tales Of The unexpected. So, far from being blatantly ripped off, the show provided a jumping-off point for ideas; which was a fair exchange seeing as The Twilight Zone itself borrowed from earlier science fiction and radio plays.

The key innovation, however, was that it used the medium of television to present fantastical ideas to an audience who hadn't seen anything like that before. And, this being the late 50s, Sterling was able to present allegorical tales about prejudice, race, political issues and other themes that would have been censored by television stations not wishing to upset their conservative advertisers.

A little later and Now it seems that a slew of new sci-Fi/what if?/ mystery series are launched every yea, all able to trace their lineage back to the late 50s and Serling's series. Serling was even digitally resurrected in 2005. An episode of the series Medium opened with him introducing the show and telling the vewers to put on 3-D glasses. This was done by manipulating old footage of him, with new dialogue spoken by an impersonator. And the plot of episode involved painting coming to life, a nod to both The Twilight Zone and his later series Night Gallery.

Series five.......out later............completed the set of BlueRay releases an included arguably the show's most famous episode. An airplane passenger, played by William Shatner-  sees a creature on the wing damaging the engine, but nobody believes him. It's been parodied and referenced many times since, but the original did for nervous fliers what JAWS did for swimming in the sea.

The Twilight Zone has dated remarkably well, with themes that are still relevant today. And for standalone stories of the weird and wonderful, there has been little to touch it since.

This masterpiece of Creative Work, endures. It's legacy carved just not in stone, but stones and marble work.

Respectful dedication to North Korea's Love of Football.

Respectful dedication to North Korea's Students and Professors. See ya all on !WOW!

Good Night & God Bless!

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless