The Twilight Zone is the most iconic sci-fi series in television history. Thanks to screenwriter and narrator Rod Serling, we got five seasons and multiple reboots. The show was revived in 1985, 2002 and once again, Jordan Peele will be taking on another reboot, but we’ll get to that later. With Peele’s reboot in the works, let’s revisit the timeless show and some of its eerie performances. Here are some of the lesser known facts behind the mysterious episodes.
Orson Welles Was First Choice For Narrator
Now, it’s hard to imagine The Twilight Zone being narrated by anyone other than Rod Serling. However, creator/head writer Serling was not the first choice as narrator. CBS hoped for a bigger star. Actually, they had their sights on Orson Welles, legendary actor and filmmaker. Serling found Welles’ style too distracting and pompous, plus CBS couldn’t afford him. Then oddly enough, Serling tried out for the job and become one of the TV’s most recognizable hosts.
Orson Welles Was First Choice For Narrator
They Saved Money By Using ‘Forbidden Planet’ Props
Back when The Twilight Zone aired, they didn’t have a sizable budget to afford much, and the show had quite modest ratings then. (Hey, not everyone had budgets like HBO’s Westworld does today!) In order to cut costs, The Twilight Zone production team borrowed props from other science fiction movies. Turns out, they got costumes and the flyer saucer from Forbidden Planet. You remember that saucer from both “Death Ship” and “To Serve Man.” For “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” they refitted costumes. Oh and Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet appeared in two The Twilight Zone episodes.
They Saved Money By Using Forbidden Planet Props
One Episode Was An Oscar-Winning Foreign Film
Again, in an effort to save money for The Twilight Zone, which often exceeded its budget during the final season, producer William Froug tried something new. He purchased the rights to Owl Creek Bridge, a French film based on an Ambrose Bierce short story. Definitely not a typical thing for a show to buy an Oscar and Cannes award-winning short film, but due to the movie’s poetic and dark conclusion, it fit the The Twilight Zone perfectly. Since “Owl Creek Bridge” wasn’t sold into syndication and only aired for the first time on Syfy in 2016, many have forgotten about this episode.
One Episode Was An Oscar Winning Foreign Film
Failed Sitcom Pilot
Yes, The Twilight Zone episodes were self-contained, but Rod Serling hoped for something a bit different with “Cavender is Coming.” If you recall, this humorous episode featured the famous Carol Burnett and Jesse White. Serling aimed to launch a sitcom with this episode. White played the guardian angel who is unable to fulfill the wishes of Agnes (Carol Burnett). Sadly, the episode ended up being one of the worst episodes of The Twilight Zone and not funny for audiences. Even Marc Scott Zircree, who wrote The Twilight Zone Companion, joked it should really be called “Cadaver is Coming.” Needless to say, the sitcom never happened.
Failed Sitcom Pilot
Music Was Key
When anyone thinks of The Twilight Zone, they immediately hear the chilling, ‘do dee do do’ music notes. However Maurius Constant’s jazz theme song was not used until the second season. For the premiere season, they used an original score by Bernard Herrmann. Hermann was the composer responsible for works like Taxi Driver, Cape Fear, Psycho and North by Northwest. However, they felt the score was too much of a downer for the show. Also switching to Constant’s score saved money since he was French and CBS didn’t have to pay union fees for music composed outside America.
Music Was Key
The Real Reason For The Genius Choice In ‘The Silence’
Next, we’re taking you back to “The Silence” where Archie Taylor (Franchot Tone) bets Jamie Tennyson (Liam Sullivan) one million dollars he can’t stay silent for an entire year while living in a glass room. All the while, Taylor taunts him to make him lose. While filming, Franchot Tone did not show up one day. Apparently, he got in a bad accident and half his face got scraped raw. Thus, they needed to shoot only the other half, which ended up turning into a stroke of creative genius. Everyone praised Boris Sagal (the director) for that brilliant move where Tone’s character taunts Tennyson by talking out of the side of his mouth.
The Real Reason For The Genius Choice In The Silence
Rod Serling Wrote 94 Episodes
Now, we all know Rod Serling was incredibly gifted, but did you realize he wrote 94 out of the 156 episodes? Then, that kind of dedication was unheard of since he was also the narrator and The Twilight Zone showrunner! Eventually, his schedule got so intense he would dictate story-lines into a dictaphone so a secretary could transcribe it later. Between the his workaholic nature, chain smoking and family history, many weren’t surprised at his early death from a heart attack when he was only 50 years old. Luckily, Serling did bring on other talented writers to help with the workload, which takes us to our next bizarre fact.
Rod Serling Wrote 94 Episodes
Writer Charles Beaumont’s Strange And Tragic End
One famous writer Serling turned to for help with The Twilight Zone was horror author, Charles Beaumont. His most famous The Twilight Zone episodes were, “Long Live Walter Jameson,” “Living Doll,” “Number 12 Looks Just Like You,” and “The Howling Man.” Like Serling, he fell victim to an early death, but he was just 38 years old. Apparently, Beaumont suffered from a strange illness that made him appear well beyond his actual age and left him physically and mentally feeble. Rumors of Spinal Meningitis, Alzheimer’s or Bromo-seltzer poisoning have been brought up, yet no official cause of death was ever announced. However, his son did say in The Twilight Zone Companion of his dad, that “he looked ninety-five and was, in fact, ninety-five by every calendar except the one on your watch.” Beaumont’s former writing partner named William Nolan even said, “Like his character ‘Walter Jameson,’ Chuck just dusted away.”
Writer Charles Beaumont’s Strange And Tragic End
Rod Serling Lost Millions
Since syndication of TV shows was fairly new during the 60’s, Serling did not think much about the concept. He had no idea that The Twilight Zone would go on to play reruns for years to come on UHF stations and eventually cable TV and the Syfy channel. Thus, Serling ended up selling The Twilight Zone in a lump sum to CBS. His wife Carol Serling revealed, “One reason that my husband sold out, was that the show often went over budget and CBS said they would never recoup the costs. Needles to say, they have, many, many times.” So yes, Rod Serling and his family lost millions, even though Carol retained the rights to all of his written works and screenplays. Also, Rod Serling abhorred that during The Twilight Zone reruns they excised full scenes for commercials.
Rod Serling Lost Millions
Tackling The Untouched In A Parallel Universe
At the time, television shows rarely approached sensitive topics in order to make everything wholesome and bring in sponsors. Serling felt particularly frustrated by this restrictive nature. However, The Twilight Zone broke barriers by bringing up sexuality in season four’s “The Parallel.” Remember how astronaut Robert Gaines, played by Steve Forrest, thinks he is back on Earth, but rather, he’s in a parallel universe. Anyway, there’s a moment he tried to get intimate with his wife. Within The Twilight Zone Companion, producer Bert Granet said, “Censorship was so strict at the time…we tried something that was a shade too subtle…the sexual habits were different…unless you’re looking for it I don’t think you’ll find it.” Although the embrace was brief and a bit awkward, it was truly bold for its time.
Tackling The Untouched In A Parallel Dimension
Most Controversial Episode Starred George Takei
Some The Twilight Zone episodes were not included in the syndication for copyright reasons that eventually got resolved, such as with “Sounds and Silences” and “Miniature.” However, “The Encounter” was not included because many saw it as extremely offensive. Actor George Takei played a Japanese American who goes to a WWII veteran for work. Eventually they get into a violent and xenophobic argument. People were troubled that Takei played a character whose father was a spy implicated in the Pearl Harbor attack. Thus, they took it out of syndication until the 2016 Syfy New Year’s The Twilight Zone Marathon.
Most Controversial Episode Starred George Takei
First TV Episode With Mostly Black Cast
Serling was not willing to turn a blind eye to the rampant racism of the time. Thus, he made history by featuring a predominantly black cast for “The Big Tall Wish.” In addition to being the first mostly black cast, it never acknowledged the family’s ethnicity in the episode. Thus, Serling showed it was just another story of normal people and a boy’s wish to help his father. Serling himself explained, “Television, like its big sister, the motion picture, has been guilty of the sin of omission…Hungry for talent, desperate for the so-called ‘new face,’ constantly searching for a transfusion of new blood, it has overlooked a source of wondrous talent that resides under its nose. This is the Negro actor.”
First TV Episode With Mostly Black Cast
The Infamous Gremlin
One of the most iconic episodes has to “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” in which we see that Gremlin from the airplane window. Who could forget William Shatner and that creature? Actually, the writer behind that episode, Richard Matheson, did not appreciate how the Gremlin turned out. Matheson said, “I didn’t think much of that thing on the wing. I had wished that Jacques Tourneur (Cat People) had directed it…Tourneur was going to put a dark suit on him and cover him with diamond dust so that you hardly saw what was out there. This thing looked like a panda bear.” Despite his disapproval, millions went on to celebrate the episode and director Richard Donner (also famous later for The Omen and Superman The Movie) helped make it such an artistic masterpiece.
The Infamous Gremlin
Careful Disguise Of Social And Political Content
Serling became known for his eagerness to approach big social issues like cutthroat capitalism. However, corporate censors made him dilute some of his messages like the racial commentary within “A Town Has Turned to Dust.” When Ford Motors sponsored one of his teleplays, they made him remove a Chrysler building, which infuriated him. During his 1959 interview with Mike Wallace he said, “I don’t want to have to compromise all the time, which in essence is what a television writer does if he wants to put on controversial themes.” However, since Serling operated within fantasy and science fiction story-lines, he was able to disguise some messages combating religious zealotry, fascism and prejudice. Utilizing post-apocalyptic and alien plots helped him deliver more lessons without censorship, resulting in the didactic nature of The Twilight Zone that allowed it to remain relevant for decades.
Careful Disguise Of Social And Political Content
Giving Young Hollywood Actors Their Big Breaks
Thanks to The Twilight Zone, many young actors got their big breakout roles. Yes, The Twilight Zone launched the carrers of stars like, Charles Bronson, Cloris Leachmen, Carol Burnett, Robert Redford and Dennis Hopper. Oh how could we Robert Duvall, Ron Howard, Martin Landau and Dennis Weaver? Of course, Star Trek and The Twilight Zone shared many actors like the aforementioned, George Takei and William Shatner and others like, Leonard Nimoy and James Doohan. Rod Serling was close with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, who ended up giving the eulogy at Serling’s funeral.
Giving Young Hollywood Actors Their Big Breaks
Jordan Peele To Direct Reboot
After watching the critically acclaimed ‘social thriller’ Get Out, we simply cannot wait until director Jordan Peele takes on The Twilight Zone reboot! CBS announced that Peele will work with Marco Ramirez and Simon Kinberg on this The Twilight Zone reboot. The show will be produced in association with Jordan Peele’s company, Monkeypaw Productions and Simon Kinberg’s Genre Films. Peele stated, “Too many times this year it’s felt we were living in a twilight zone, and I can’t think of a better moment to reintroduce it to modern audiences.”
Jordan Peele To Direct Reboot