Horror On TV: Twilight Zone 1.22 “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street”

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

As Halloween comes to a close, so does both horror month here at the Shattered Lens and our series of televised horrors. What better way to finish out this feature than with one of the best known and most popular episodes of The Twilight Zone?

There’s a lot I could say about The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street but really, all that needs to be acknowledged is that it’s a classic and it features one of the best endings ever. As well, it also contains an important message about paranoia and conformity that remains as relevant today as when the episode was first broadcast.

The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street was written by Rod Serling and directed by Ron Winston. The episode was originally broadcast on March 4th, 1960.

Horror on TV: The Twilight Zone 2.6 “Eye of the Beholder”

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

First broadcast on November 11th, 1960, Eye of the Beholder is one of the best known and most acclaimed episodes of The Twilight Zone. Telling the story of a bandaged patient and the shadowy doctors who continually talk about how the patient’s upcoming surgery will be her final chance, this is one of those universal episodes that is probably more relevant today than when it was first broadcast.

Horror on TV: Twilight Zone 2.26 “Shadow Play”

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This is one of my favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone! In Shadow Play, a man (Dennis Weaver) is curiously unconcerned about being on death row. According to him, it’s all just a recurring dream and everyone around him — the other prisoners, the District Attorney, the judge, the jury, and everyone else — is just a part of his dream. As the other characters start to realize that Weaver could be telling the truth, they’re forced to consider what will happen when he either wakes up or starts the dream over…

I love this one. It’s just a lot of fun and not quite as heavy-handed as some of The Twilight Zone‘s other attempts at social commentary.

This was originally broadcast on May 5th, 1961. It was directed by John Brahm and written by Charles Beaumont.

Horror on TV: The Twilight Zone Ep. 111 “Printer’s Devil”

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

In this episode of The Twilight Zone, Robert Sterling plays the editor of a failing newspaper. After being forced to fire all of his employees, Sterling prepares to commit suicide. However, before going through with it, Sterling is approached by a friendly old man (Burgess Meredith) who offers to both pay off Sterling’s debts and to work for him as the newspaper’s only reporter. Sterling agrees and…

Well, just the fact that this episode is entitled Printer’s Devil probably gives you a clue about what’s really going on with that nice old man…

Printer’s Devil is one of the rare hour-long episodes of The Twilight Zone. If nothing else, it’s worth watching just to compare Meredith’s performance here with his far different performance in Time Enough At Last.

Horror on TV: Twilight Zone 1.16 “The Hitchhiker”

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s horror on TV is an episode of The Twilight Zone that is entitled The Hitchhiker. A woman (Inger Stevens) is haunted by a mysterious hitchhiker who continually asks her if she’s “Going my way?”

It’s tempting to call this a companion piece to Carnival of Souls but actually, The Hitchhiker was first broadcast on Jan. 22, 1960, two years before the premiere of Carnival of Souls. So, it would perhaps be more appropriate to call Carnival of Souls a companion piece to the Hitchhiker.

Horror on TV: Twilight Zone 5.17 “Number 12 Looks Just Like You”

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s horror on TV comes to us from The Twilight Zone. At first glance, Number 12 Looks Just Like You may not seem like a horror story but, by the end of it, it clearly is. Number 12 deals with the horror of being an individual living in a society of conformists.

This episode was originally broadcast on January 24th, 1964.

Horror on TV: Twilight Zone 3.10 “The Midnight Sun”

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

In this episode of The Twilight Zone, the Earth has somehow gotten off of orbit is now being drawn closer and closer to the sun. With humanity on the verge of extinction, two women (Lois Nettleton and Betty Garde) struggle to survive as the heat keeps rising.

Full of haunting images of a deserted and sun-baked city, The Midnight Sun is one of the few episodes of The Twilight Zone that has ever given me nightmares. For some reason, the melting painting always gets to me.

This episode was written by Rod Serling and directed by Anton Leader. It was originally broadcast on November 17th, 1961.

Horror on TV: Twilight Zone 4.4 “He’s Alive”

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s episode of the Twilight Zone was originally broadcast on January 24th, 1963 and it’s one of the rare hour-long episodes of the original Twilight Zone. In He’s Alive, a very young Dennis Hopper plays Peter Vollmer, an aspiring Neo-Nazi who isn’t having much luck bringing fascism to America until he meets a mysterious benefactor who teaches him the tricks of the trade.

It’s a pretty good (if heavy-handed) episode, distinguished by both Dennis Hopper’s lead performance and a message that is probably even more relevant today than when the show was first broadcast.

This episode was written by Rod Serling and directed by Stuart Rosenberg.

Horror on TV: Twilight Zone 3.6 “The Mirror”

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s episode of The Twilight Zone is a political allegory about a communist dictator in Central America who gets a magic mirror that, he believes, will reveal who is plotting against me. It’s undeniably heavy-handed but, at the same time, it’s a lot of fun to watch Peter Falk play Fidel Castro.

This episode was written by Rod Serling and directed by Don Medford. It was originally broadcast on October 20th, 1961.

Horror on TV: Twilight Zone 2.28 “Will The Real Martin Please Stand Up?”

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s episode of The Twilight Zone examines what happens when a freak snow storm breaks out, a bus makes a stop at a late night diner, and reports come in of a UFO landing somewhere in the area. The fun starts once the bus driver realizes that he has an extra passenger. Who is the alien? Or, any other words: Will the real Martian please stand up? This episode is a classic example of how a group of strangers trapped in one location can be used to generate a lot of suspense. It has a great ending as well!

This episode was originally broadcast on May 26th, 1961. It was written by Rod Serling and directed by Montgomery Pittman.