The Twilight Zone premiered all the way back in 1959, not only before I was even a twinkle in my fathers eye, most likely before my father was even having that type of twinkle in his eye, so why am I reviewing it now? Because, it is most likely new to anyone reading this, sure you have probably seen a few episodes. Most likely you saw it in re-runs when you were a kid and home sick or on a rainy summer day. So aside from a few classic episodes such as "Eye of the beholder" or "Nightmare at 20,000 feet (one of two Shatner infused episodes) Most of us on the happy side of mid-life haven't stepped all the way through that iconic floating door, and trust me, if you think you seen the best the Twilight zone has to offer by peeking just your head in, you have another thing coming...
Luckily for those of us in this age of streaming, seasons 1,2,3 and 5 are available on netflix and amazon prime streaming services and you can watch all season included season 4 on hulu.
Shows that stand the test of time and hold up are few and far between and shows that seem totally unaffected by their age are almost a myth but twilight zone doesn't seem to have so much as a trick knee after almost 60 years. One thing that helps Twilight zone's endurance is that all but 6 episodes were shot on film rather than taped so the picture quality of most episodes are still beautiful especially when compared to so many other shows with the poor color at the time or even worse, color shows that were taped on video.
One prerequisite for watching Rod Serlings masterpiece is keeping a device handy to IMDB the actors. From Carol Burnette to Burt Reynolds to most of the bridge crew of a certain starship designated NCC-1701, the Twilight Zone has one of the best list of guest stars of any show to date.
One other must have before entering this strange land is time, Once you start watching those half hour episodes fly by (except the 4th season when show was moved to an hour time slot) and many of you find yourself saying "eh, I have time for one more." just ask my neighbors staring at my lawn I've neglected the last to days which is now long enough to probably be featuring a few hidden mysteries of it's own.
If you enjoy TV and or Sci fi you owe it to yourself to take a look at this classic, you'll be surprised when you realize how many references you've missed in other show's, books and movies over the years referring to episodes of the 'Zone. Particularly if your a fan of the Simpsons or it's drunk brother in law the Family guy. The Twilight Zone is one of the rare wonderful pieces of media that you'll find yourself thinking about spontaneously for weeks afterwords and reminded of by little things most likely for decades to come.
I give The Twilight Zone 10 out of ten Scary Doors... (futurama you know I'm, looking at you!)
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