VISION ON SOUND EPISODE 144 - TX JULY 9 2023 - TWILIGHT ZONE

First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on July 9th 2023

I’ve wanted to cover the iconic TV series THE TWILIGHT ZONE on the show since almost the very first episode of VISION ON SOUND, but for some reason, things seemed to keep getting in the way of me getting around to it, so I was very pleased when ANDREW-MARK THOMPSON joined me for a bit of a chat about the series in all of its many manifestations.

THE TWILIGHT ZONE, created by the legendary television writer ROD SERLING was first transmitted on American TV on the CBS network in October 1959.

Despite being often thought of as a Science-Fiction series, THE TWILIGHT ZONE was something far more insightful, and far stranger than that. Because whilst the overall notion of slipping into THE TWILIGHT ZONE is a fundamentally S-F concept, the stories that it featured were often more about life, and fate, and the whims of chance, or choice, than being about starships and aliens.

Of course, such tales did feature, some so memorable that they have inspired some of the finest moments on THE SIMPSONS decades later, as well as presenting half hour versions of stories that later went on to inspire the minds behind several blockbuster movies.

Taking as its source stories featuring people from all walks of life, themes as diverse as jazz music, boxing, military life, and aircraft pilots would feature alongside the astronauts exploring the final frontier at the start of the space race, as well as the melancholic angst of life in post-war atomic-age America.

THE TWILIGHT ZONE aired for five seasons, but sadly was not as much loved in its day as it would later become, and had only moderate ratings meaning that it was twice cancelled and revived, ultimately running for five years and 156 Episodes, 92 of which were written by ROD SERLING himself.

It has since been revived several times, with varying degrees of both success, and, in the case of the feature film version, tragedy, but these versions have rarely proved to be as lasting, or as iconic as that original series born in the 1950s.

Of course, with a topic as huge as THE TWILIGHT ZONE, we may feel the need to return to it at some point, so do feel free to share your own thoughts on the series with us.

PLEASE NOTE - For Copyright reasons, musical content sometimes has to be removed for the podcast edition. All the spoken word content remains (mostly) as it was in the broadcast version. Hopefully this won't spoil your enjoyment of the show.