Today’s televised horror is the Living Doll episode of The Twilight Zone. This memorably creepy episode takes a look at what happens when a suburban jerk of a father (played by Telly Savalas) gets into a fight with his daughter’s doll, Talky Tina (voiced by June Foray). Things do not end well for one of them.
Seriously, don’t mess with Talky Tina.
This episode was directed by Richard Sarafain, written by Charles Beaumont, and originally broadcast on November 1st, 1963.
Today’s televised horror is an episode of The Twilight Zone called The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank. It examines what happens when, in the middle of his funeral, Jeff Myrtlebank (played by James Best) suddenly sits up in his coffin and asks what’s going on. Jeff’s friends and family are now torn between being happy to have Jeff back and being worried as they try to figure out what exactly Jeff has come back as. I like this episode, largely because it’s a good example of country gothic and, in many ways, I’m a gothic country girl. Plus, it has a really great ending!
This episode was directed and written by Montgomery Pittman and originally aired on February 23rd, 1962.
Along with starting each day of October with a horror film here at the Shattered Lens, we’re going to end each day with a horror-themed television show.
While I had previously caught a few episodes of the Twilight Zone during one of the annual holiday marathons on SyFy, I didn’t truly appreciate the show until I first exchanged e-mails with my friend in Australia, Mark. Among other things, Mark expressed a very eloquent appreciation for The Twilight Zone and that inspired me to watch quite a few episodes that have been uploaded to YouTube and Hulu. Along with being an essential piece of television history, the best episodes of the Twilight Zone remain watchable and entertaining 50 years after they were first broadcast.
Considering the esteemed place that the Twilight Zone continues to occupy in American culture, it seems appropriate to feature it during Horror Month here at the Shattered Lens.
We start things off with an episode that was originally broadcast on November 18th, 1960. The Nick of Time tells the story of what happens when two newlyweds stop off at a small town cafe and the superstitious husband (William Shatner) starts to play with a memorably creepy fortune telling machine. Now, I should warn you that, since this episode is not available on YouTube, I’m having to embed it from Hulu. That means that you’ll have to sit through a few commercials but it’s still a good episode.
Enjoy!
Seeing as how one of the first ghosts of Christmas Past was an episode of the Twilight Zone, it seems only appropriate that the same should be true of the 2013’s final Christmas ghost.
It’s debatable whether “The Changing of the Guard” is truly a Christmas episode. However, it does take place during the holiday season and it’s such a wonderful and sweet 23 minutes of television that it simply has to be shared and enjoyed.
The Changing of the Guard, which features a poignant lead performance from Donald Pleasance, originally aired on June 1st, 1962.
All of us here at the Shattered Lens hope that you have had and will continue to have a wonderful holiday season! Please enjoy The Changing of the Guard.
Tonight’s ghost of Christmas Past was recommended to me by the TSL’s own editor-in-chief, Arleigh Sandoc. This episode of the Twilight Zone originally aired on December 20th, 1985. Based on a short story by Arthur C. Clarke, The Star features two men — one a scientist and one a priest — exploring the remains of a long dead alien civilization and discovering a connection to our own society.
And yes, it is a Christmas story.
A Christmas episode of the Twilight Zone? Yes, such a thing does exist. In Night of the Meek, an unemployed man (Art Carney) is given a chance to be Santa Claus. This is a wonderful episode that truly captures the spirit of the season.
Night of the Meek was written by Rod Serling and directed by Jack Smight. It was originally broadcast on December 23rd, 1960.
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 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!
After having too much to drink at a party, Bob and Millie (played by Barry Nelson and Nancy Malone) wake up in a strange bed with no memory of how they got there. Hey, who hasn’t had that happen once or twice, right? However, Bob and Millie soon discover that not only is the house deserted, but so is the strange town outside.
This episode of the Twilight Zone was written by Earl Hamner, Jr. and directed by Ron Winston. It was originally broadcast on April 24th, 1964.
With Halloween only two days away, what better time to watch the pilot episode of the original Twilight Zone.
“Where Is Everybody?” was written by Rod Serling and directed by Robert Stevens. It was first aired on October 2nd, 1959.
When I first decided to feature old, horror-themed television episodes this month, I knew that I had to include Nightmare At 20,000 Feet.
This is perhaps the most famous episode of Twilight Zone. William Shatner plays a man on an airplane who is both terrified of flying and who has spotted a gremlin out on the wing. As Shatner desperately tries to convince his fellow passengers that he’s not crazy, the gremlin cheerfully goes about his destructive business.
This is one of the few episodes of The Twilight Zone not to have been downloaded onto YouTube and, at first, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to share it. Fortunately, site subscriber and frequent commenter KO tracked it down on Hulu for me and, as a result, we are very happy to present the classic fright fest Nightmare At 20,000 Feet!
This episode was written by Richard Matheson and directed by Richard Donner, who would later direct such films as The Omen, Superman, and Lethal Weapon. It originally aired on October 11th, 1963.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/440824
(Incidentally, originally an episode of Goosebumps was scheduled to be featured tonight. However, the YouTube account that was hosting that video has been suspended. The episode in question was The House of No Return, which many people believe features an early performance from Ryan Gosling. Having seen the episode before it was taken off YouTube, I can assure you that Ryan was nowhere to be seen.)
Through the Shattered Lens 