(From The Twilight Zone episode, The Midnight Sun)
Tag Archives: Twilight Zone
Horror on TV: The Twilight Zone 5.3 “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”
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”
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”
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”
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”
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”
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!
Horror on TV: The Twilight Zone 2.18 “The Odyssey of Flight 33”
Remember how this morning’s movie — Robot Monster — featured dinosaurs?
Well so does tonight’s episode of The Twilight Zone! In The Odyssey of Flight 33, a commercial airline flight somehow flies straight into the past, where they see …. dinosaurs! Now, I’ll be honest here. These are not dinosaurs like the dinosaurs in Jurassic World. But I imagine for 1961, those dinosaurs were pretty impressive!
And this episode holds up as well. I especially love the ambiguous ending.
The Odyssey of Flight 33 originally aired on February 24th, 1961.
Horror on TV: Twilight Zone 2.5 “The Howling Man”
This is one of my favorite episode of The Twilight Zone. I originally shared it two years ago but it has subsequently been taken off of YouTube. At first, that upset me but then I realized that it gave me the perfect excuse to share it again!
In The Howling Man, American wanderer Dave Ellington (H.M. Wynant) comes across a castle. There’s a man (Robin Hughes) being held prisoner in the castle. Brother Jerome (the great John Carradine) explains that the man is the devil. The man says that Brother Jerome is crazy. Dave Ellington has to decide who to believe.
This well-acted, dream-like episode was written by Charles Beaumont and directed by Douglas Heyes. It originally aired on November 4th, 1960.
Horror on TV: Twilight Zone 3.76 “Still Valley”
In this episode of The Twilight Zone, a Confederate soldier (Gary Merrill) meets an old man (Vaughn Taylor) who claims that, through magic, he can help the Confederacy win the Civil War. However, as often happens when it comes to weird old men and magic, there’s a price that must be paid.
I like this episode, largely because I’m obsessed with three things: history, the Civil War, and magic. And this one has all three!
It originally aired on November 24th, 1961.
Through the Shattered Lens 