The Big 4-2.

As far as I can tell, there are no new Twilight Zone greeting cards floating around. The usual suspects, Hallmark and American Greetings, haven't released anything this year. As my 42nd birthday reared its ugly head this past Sunday... well, leave it to my old pal Bill Huelbig to fill the gap.

Front

Inside

Back

My wife, um, didn't make me a special Twilight Zone cake this year (as she's done for the past two years). In fact, there was no TZ to be found anywhere as I hit the big 4-2. Thank you, Bill, for injecting some much-needed Twilight Zone (not to mention humor) into the proceedings. As always, I love ya.

TZ Spotlight: 2010 Christmas Card (Andrew Ramage)

I've spotlighted a few Twilight Zone greeting cards in the past, from both Hallmark and American Greetings. This time around, however, I'm pleased to present something much more limited. In fact, it's damned near unobtainable unless you happen to be a friend of fellow TZ fan/collector Andrew Ramage (which, I'm happy to report, I am). The following showed up in mailbox a couple weeks before Christmas last month, and I was floored.

Front:

Back:

Andrew used Vistaprint to create the card, and it's really a first rate job. The publicity still of a rather downcast Art Carney from "The Night of the Meek" is utilized beautifully. I can't deny that I feel strongly compelled to create my own TZ-themed Christmas card next time the holidays come 'round.... stay tuned.

Mr. Ramage, pictured here with H.M. Wynant, star of season two's "The Howling Man," at the 2006 Twilight Zone convention in New Jersey.

Thanks, Andrew! Hope your Christmas was merry, and keep an eye on your mailbox next December...

TZ Spotlight: American Greetings Birthday Card (with sound!)

Exactly one year ago today, I spotlighted Hallmark's Twilight Zone greeting card. A few days ago, I stumbled across a new TZ card.... of sorts. This time it's an American Greetings offering, and I can't really say whether or not it's an officially-licensed card, but it does include the Marius Constant theme (yes, it has a sound feature), so they at least had to get permission to use that. It doesn't actually say "The Twilight Zone" anywhere on the card (well, except the copyright notice on the back for the Constant theme), but there's enough TZ here to plug it on my blog.

The lettering is done in gold foil, which looks pretty nice. Visually, the design seems intended to evoke the floating objects from the opening title sequence from seasons 4 and 5. It works well enough.

The middle is, to be blunt, kinda boring. The Hallmark card had a nice big season 3 spiral adorning the entire left half of the interior. I'm not really sure what we're seeing here. Clouds?

The back. Well, nothing interesting here, except the copyright notice for the Constant theme... and again, this is the only place on the card that "The Twilight Zone" name actually appears.

Here's a quick video clip so you can hear the recording. It's a Rod Serling impersonator over a cheap-sounding recording of the Constant theme. It gets the job done. It seems a bit silly to critique the sound quality of such a tiny sound chip, but it sounds pretty crappy. The Hallmark card sounded much clearer.

The fake Rod is a bit hard to understand (likely due to the low-quality sound chip), so here's the text:

"You are traveling into a place that's as wild as your imagination, a dimension where you, and people familiar to you, get down to the business of having some serious fun on your birthday. You've just crossed over into... The Party Zone."

Hmmmm.

American Greetings have produced what amounts to a pretty basic card. At $4.99, it's a fairly reasonable deal (pretty standard for a card with a sound chip), but I can't help but wish that a little more work had gone into it. However, anything that evokes The Twilight Zone, directly or indirectly, is pretty much a must-have for me, so naturally I bought it. Actually, I bought two: one for my collection, and one for my good friend Bill Huelbig, who celebrates his 56th birthday tomorrow. Happy birthday Bill!

TZ Spotlight: Hallmark Valentine's Day Card (2005)

I spotted this little oddity on eBay a few weeks back, and snagged it without thinking twice. As I waited for it to arrive, I found myself questioning the validity of the item, since my internet searches turned up virtually no information on it. I half-suspected it to be a homemade custom job (a variation on the existing Hallmark TZ card, reviewed here), but when it showed up in the mail, I was quite pleased. It's the real deal.

The copyright year is 2005 and, as far as I know, the card only appeared that year. It contains the exact same sound chip as Hallmark's TZ birthday card (which can be customized on their website), which plays the familiar Marius Constant theme in its entirety when the card is opened. Although I typically eschew the color red, I can't deny that it really pops against the deep glossy black on the card's front. And I must admit, the actual greeting is kinda cute (albeit highly feminine). But my favorite aspect of this little gem can be found on the back of the card: it's our friend The Invader, holding a box of chocolates! Brilliant! If he'd shown up at Agnes Moorehead's house bearing chocolates instead of his laser gun, things between them might have ended on a much more romantic note.

Here's hoping Hallmark makes more Twilight Zone-themed greeting cards. I'll happily snatch them up for my ever-growing TZ scrapbook.

Bill, That's a REAL Good Thing You Did....

Check out the birthday card (I'm turning 40 tomorrow) that arrived in the mail today from my good friend Bill Huelbig. It's one of those awesome musical customizable cards available from Hallmark (previously spotlighted here).

The front:

Inside:

The back:

Gotta love the "Perchance to Dream" reference, not to mention the "It's a Good Life" vibe running throughout. Bill is every bit as obsessed with The Twilight Zone as I am, and that's a good thing... that's a REAL good thing. Thanks Bill!

TZ Spotlight: Hallmark Greeting Card (with sound!)

Back in 1984, I stumbled upon a very cool Twilight Zone greeting card from Hallmark. Glossy full-color front, blank inside, highly cool. I made a point of keeping it with my other Twilight Zone stuff throughout the years, but (wouldn’t you know it) I can’t find it now. Twilight Zone Magazine had a blurb about it in the August 1984 issue, which I’ve scanned for your perusal:

I’d love to get my hands on this card. I wonder where greeting cards go to die…?

Flash forward 25 years. The big thing in greeting cards nowadays is sound. Micro-electronics have advanced to the point where a small computer chip and a miniature flat speaker can be hidden inside a greeting card, with only a tiny lump to give them away. Short samples of songs are typically what one finds in these cards, but there are sometimes voice recordings too (the prolific and hysterical Hoops and YoYo offerings are one example), plus some cards even allow you to record your own message. It’s neat technology, I must admit.

Your attention is directed to one such sound card from Hallmark (who else?), which I received two years from my kids, on my 38^th birthday:

It’s black and white on matte paper (no fingerprints!). It plays the standard Marius Constant theme used for seasons 2-5 in its entirety. In fact, it’s the exact same recording used in Hallmark’s holiday ornament (minus the static effect), released last month and detailed here. The sound chip in the card, however, is significantly louder than the one in the ornament (unless the ornament’s plastic housing is muffling it). Trust me, it is LOUD. You’ve been warned. My card is two years old, and it still works (I wonder how long the battery will last, and if its possible to replace it).

I’m not sure when the card was first released, but the copyright date on the back is 2005. It’s still available, too: I picked up a spare a couple of weeks ago at my local Hallmark store, so I could have a “clean” specimen for my TZ collection. Cooler yet, you can customize the TZ card on the Hallmark website:

Twilight Zone customizable card

You can change the text on the front and inside, plus you can add a photo (!) and additional text on the back. I did one recently for my good friend Bill Huelbig (he turns 55 tomorrow!), and it turned out great (damn, I should’ve scanned it before I mailed it to him). I’m, um, kinda hoping somebody out there customizes one for MY birthday (November 27, hint hint)…..

Anyway ---- it’s a neat card, worthy of your TZ collection. Putting a Rod Serling stamp on the envelope will complete the effect.