Horror on TV: The Twilight Zone 1.9 “The Pool Guy” (dir by Paul Shapiro and Brad Turner)

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For tonight’s excursion into the world of televised horror, we have an episode from the 2002 revival of The Twilight Zone.

In The Pool Guy, Richie (Lou Diamond Philips) is a pool cleaner with a problem. While his clients appear to believe that Richie is living a glamorous life straight out of a bad suburban melodrama, Richie actually feels as if his life is going nowhere. He’s never even gotten seduced by a bored housewife! Maybe Richie just isn’t a very good pool guy…

However, Richie has another problem, on top of all that. A man keeps mysteriously appearing and telling him to “Wake up!” before then shooting him. Immediately after getting shot, Richie wakes up somewhere else, just to once again be approached by the same man.

What is going on and why is Richie being charged $12,000 for the experience!?

Over the years, there have been quite a few attempts to revive The Twilight Zone and the results have always been mixed. The 2002 revival featured Forest Whitaker as the host and was canceled after just one season. That said, The Pool Guy is actually pretty good. Philips gives a good performance and the episode’s central mystery is an intriguing one.

This episode originally aired on October 16th, 2002!

Enjoy!

Horror on TV: The Twilight Zone 3.24 “To Serve Man”

Posted on October 2, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On this day, 58 years ago, one of the most influential shows in the history of television, The Twilight Zone, premiered on CBS. Created by Rod Serling, this anthology show not only featured some of the best actors and writers in the business but it also used tales of the unexpected to address some of the most pressing issues of the day. (Many, if not all, of those issues remain relevant today.) The Twilight Zone inspired a countless number of future filmmakers and writers and it remains popular today. The annual New Year’s Eve and 4th of July marathons on SyFy continue to delight viewers both new and old.

When we first started doing our annual October horrorthon here at the Shattered Lens, every single episode of the original, black-and-white Twilight Zone was available on YouTube. Sadly, that’s no longer the case. As I sit here writing this, while several episodes from the show’s later (and largely unsuccessful) revivals have been uploaded, there is exactly one episode of the original Twilight Zone on YouTube.

Fortunately, that episode is a classic. In 1962’s To Serve Man, an alien (Richard Kiel) comes to Earth and invites people to return to his home planet with him. He leaves behind a book. When everyone learns that the title of the book is To Serve Man, they excitedly decide that the book must be an instruction manual on how to help mankind. The truth, as we learn in the episode’s classic finale, is something a little bit different.

Here’s the episode! Watch it before YouTube yanks it down.

Enjoy!

Horror on TV: The Twilight Zone 3.24 “To Serve Man”

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

You know what?

I’ve spent this October irritated by the lack of episodes of the Twilight Zone on YouTube. I mean, I understand the importance of copyright laws and everything but seriously, how can you take away the Twilight Zone in October!?

However, I finally managed to find one — and exactly one — episode of The Twilight Zone on YouTube. And it’s a classic! (And who knows how long it’ll be available so don’t hold off on watching it!) Here is the classic “To Serve Man” episode of The Twilight Zone!

Enjoy and bon appetit!

And then she checked the temperature

Posted on July 24, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

(From The Twilight Zone episode, The Midnight Sun)

Horror on TV: The Twilight Zone 5.3 “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”

Posted on October 31, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Wow. It’s hard to believe that is going to be my final televised horror of the year. (Though I imagine this feature will return in October of 2016 — just in time for election season!) Well, let’s get right to it!

For our final televised horror, I have selected a classic episode of The Twilight Zone. In Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, William Shatner is a man who, though being scared of flying, finds himself on an airplane. And guess what he sees out on the wing?

This episode was written by one of Arleigh’s favorite writers, the great Richard Matheson. It was directed by Richard Donner and originally aired on October 11th, 1963.

Enjoy Nightmare at 20,000 Feet! And here’s hoping that all of our readers have had a wonderful, safe, and happy Halloween!

Horror on TV: The Twilight Zone 3.14 “Five Characters In Search Of An Exit”

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s episode of The Twilight Zone is another one of those existential stories of dread that I love so much. An army officer wakes up to find himself trapped in a cylindrical room. He has no idea how he got in there. He can’t even remember his name. All he knows is that 1) there doesn’t appear to any way out and 2) he’s trapped with four others; a hobo, a clown, a bagpiper, and a ballet dancer.

The officer wants to escape but, as his fellow prisoners explain to him, existence is pain.

This episode originally aired on December 22nd, 1961.

Horror On TV: The Twilight Zone 5.5 “The Last Night of a Jockey”

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For tonight’s episode of The Twilight Zone, we present to you The Last Night of A Jockey. In this episode, Mickey Rooney plays a jockey who has just been banned, for life, from horse racing. The self-pitying jockey is offered the chance to change his life with “one wish.” He wishes that he could be a “big man” and, unfortunately, he gets his wish.

This episode is basically a one-man show for Mickey Rooney and he makes the most of it. I almost feel like I have to share this episode, just in case my earlier review of The Manipulator inspired anyone to see that misbegotten film. Needless to say, Rooney is a lot more impressive in Last Night Of A Jockey than he was in The Manipulator.

This episode originally aired on October 25th, 1963.

Horror on TV: Twilight Zone 5.28 “Caesar and Me”

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s episode of The Twilight Zone might remind you of a previous episode entitled The Dummy. Once again, we have a story about a ventriloquist (Jackie Cooper) and a dummy who appears to have a mind of his own. (In fact, the same prop dummy was used in both episodes.) However, Caesar and Me is an even darker take on the conflict between puppet and puppeteer.

Seriously, don’t mess with Caesar.

This episode originally aired on April 10th, 1964.

Horror on TV: The Twilight Zone 1.3 “Mr. Denton on Doomsday”

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On tonight’s episode of The Twilight Zone, Al Denton (Dan Duryea) used to be a notorious old west gunfighter. Now, haunted as the result of killing a teenage boy, Mr. Denton is just the town drunk. However, a salesman subtly named Henry J. Fate (Malcolm Atterbury) comes into town and gives Denton the chance to once again be great. Of course, it all comes with a price and a lesson.

Originally aired on October 16th, 1959, Mr. Denton on Doomsday is one of the earlier episodes of The Twilight Zone. Today, it’s perhaps most interesting for its message of anti-violence. Myself,I just like it because I went to college in Denton, Texas.

Horror on TV: Twilight Zone 3.24 “To Serve Man”

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I shared this episode of The Twilight Zone two years ago for Halloween but the YouTube video has since been taken down. So, here it is again!

There’s a lot I could say about To Serve Man but really, all that needs to be acknowledged is that it’s a classic and features one of the best endings ever.

To Serve Man was written by Rod Serling and directed by Richard L. Bare. It originally aired on March 2nd, 1962.

Bon appetit!