1x06 "Up One Scythe and Down the Other"

This week, host Craig braves two brushes with Death as he examines “One for the Angels” and “Nothing in the Dark,” two classic episodes of The Twilight Zone that feature characters being pursued by that sneaky rascal The Grim Reaper. In the interest of full disclosure: after swearing off drinking whilst podcasting, Craig nonetheless had a few during this week’s recording session… so he’ll likely be pushing this envelope and lushing it up for future episodes. You’ve been warned.raig...DISCLAIMERaig the spouse

Opening theme: “Neither Here nor There” by Twin Loops

Closing music: “Fly on the Windscreen” by The Ineffable Orchestra (from the album Symphonic Music of Depeche Mode, copyright 2006 by Cleopatra Records)

The Twilight Zone is a trademark of CBS, Inc.

Between Light and a Shadow: A Twilight Zone Podcast is a nonprofit podcast. Music clips and dialogue excerpts used herein are the property of their respective copyright owners; we claim no ownership of these materials. Their use is strictly for illustrative purposes and should be considered Fair Use as stated in the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. section 107. 

Repeat Report: Summer 1961, Part 2

The Twilight Zone's repeat schedule for summer 1961 (post-season 2) was 14 weeks in length, and was composed entirely of repeats from the show's first season. We covered the first half here, and we'll cover the second half here. It appears I missed two fairly obvious Forbidden Planet connections in my initial episode promos, so I'll spotlight 'em here. Oh, and make sure to click on the images to see the full-size HD beauty, thanks to Image Entertainment's stunning blu-ray release.

07/28/1961
"Elegy"
(originally broadcast 02/19/1960)

Forbidden Planet alert! Check out the mega-cool "Pac Man" lights, which were originally part of the film's ancient Krell laboratory... we also saw them previously in "People Are Alike All Over," and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they pop up again in the series' run.

08/04/1961

"Mirror Image"
(originally broadcast 02/26/1960)

Damn you, Vera Miles! I'm still waiting for my autographed 8x10...

08/11/1961

"One for the Angels"
(originally broadcast 10/09/1959)

Forbidden Planet alert! There's Robby the Robot, in wind-up toy form, making his first of three Twilight Zone appearances. Note the rather TZesque eyeball sticker on his dome.

08/18/1961

"The Big Tall Wish"
(originally broadcast 04/08/1960)


08/25/1961
"The Chaser"
(originally broadcast 05/13/1960)

09/01/1961

"Nightmare as a Child"
(originally broadcast 04/29/1960)

09/08/1961

"A World of His Own"
(originally broadcast 07/01/1960)

What can I say? I'm kind of a big deal.

Season 3 commences on 9/15 with a haunting tale of a chance encounter between mortal enemies. We'll witness firsthand that the line between love and hate is quite thin indeed. It's "Two" good to miss.

TZ Repeat: "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" (6/24/1960)

Tonight we celebrate something of a milestone in Twilight Zone history. Exactly fifty years ago, the show aired its first repeat. What, not blog-worthy? I respectfully disagree.

Serling and company chose “Mr. Denton on Doomsday” as the first encored episode. It premiered October 16, 1959, which makes it the third episode ever seen. I’ll state for the record that, in my humble opinion, it’s the first truly great TZ episode.

The pilot episode, “Where Is Everybody?” is quite good, but for me it never reaches its full potential, likely because the story doesn’t feature the trademarked wrinkle in reality that would characterize the best episodes. In other words: it could really happen. It’s basically a guy having a really detailed dream. When Serling later adapted the story script into short story form, he added a critical detail that strongly suggests that more has happened. The episode, however, presents it as an isolation-inspired hallucination, nothing more. Interestingly, "Where Is Everybody?" wouldn't be seen again until June 1961, after the show's second season was finished.

The second episode, “One for the Angels,” is competent but ultimately misses the mark. I mean, we’re talking about a life hanging in the balance, and there’s never really any suspense. The “pitch for the angels” that Ed Wynn delivers is hardly compelling. So I dunno, maybe his performance is the problem…? Serling reportedly was unhappy with Wynn's work, but that didn't prevent the episode from being repeated (however, like its predecessor, it wouldn't be seen again until the following year, in August 1961).

Which leaves “Mr. Denton on Doomsday” to take the honors of first Twilight Zone repeat ever, and the episode is just terrific. The acting is top notch: Dan Duryea, a bad guy in so many noir films of the 40’s and 50’s, is remarkable as Al Denton, once a respected gunfighter, now the town drunk. Martin Landau absolutely nails it as the gleefully sadistic town bully who taunts him. It's a western, but not your typical western. Somber, sad, but ultimately optimistic. Plus, it's the first televised example of a Twilight Zone mainstay: the O. Henry-esque surprise "flip" at the end. I won't ruin it for you. Irony is best when left unspoiled.

Here's my original entry on the episode. I hadn't quite figured out my promos yet, so it's pretty sparse.


Next week: Season one wraps up with a Richard Matheson comedy about a writer with a very special gift (and a very powerful tape recorder). Press PLAY and tune in.

TZ Promo: "One For The Angels" (10/09/59)

As I’ve stated in previous entries, I’m watching one Twilight Zone episode per week, on the 50th anniversary of its first broadcast. It started last Friday with my viewing of the premiere episode (“Where Is Everybody?”), and it continues tonight with “One for the Angels,” which first aired on this date in 1959. It’s the charming tale of an elderly pitchman who gets an unexpected visit from the one guy NOBODY wants a visit from. Rod Serling wrote it, Ed Wynn stars in it, and it starts promptly at 7:00 pm in my micro-home theater (also known as my office).

7:00? The show actually aired at 10:00 pm when it was originally on (both east and west), but I tend to doze off fairly early these days (I’m not exactly a spring chicken, y’now), so I decided I’d watch ‘em at 7:00 pm instead. Hey, it’s 10:00 on the east coast, so it’s close enough.

Since the show ran for five seasons (1959-1964), I’ll be doing this faithfully for the next five years. Yeah, it’s a big commitment, but I fully intend to see this thing through to the end. I’ve actually avoided watching the show for the past couple of years in anticipation of this endeavor (and the waiting’s been tough, let me tell ya; there were several times when I had to force myself to leave the DVDs on the shelf and find something else to watch). But now the time has finally arrived, and I can savor the series the same way America first savored it: once a week, no more, no less.

I first discovered the show in syndication (it was on six days a week!), and subsequently enjoyed it for many years at my leisure on home video, so rigidly following the original broadcast schedule promises to be a markedly different experience. I’m hoping to gain an even deeper appreciation for the series (if that’s possible). And I must say, I’ve been eagerly looking forward to tonight all week long, as I’m sure original fans of the show did fifty years ago. I feel an emerging new level of connection to the series as I set out to trace its history, as if I’m somehow touching the past.

My good friend Bill Huelbig (who watched the series when it originally aired, the lucky bastard) sent me the following email last Friday, on the 50th anniversary of the premiere episode:

"Enjoy your trip into the Zone at 10 PM tonight. And if you do find yourself actually transported back into 1959 while watching the show, I hope you can easily find your way back, and not by going through Willoughby either."

He knows me too well. I had this crazy idea that if I watched the episode at exactly the right time, and wished hard enough, and if the moon and the stars were precisely aligned, that I’d magically find myself in 1959. I’d find Rod Serling and shake his hand. There are many other hands I’d shake, too… Charles Beaumont, Bernard Herrmann, Jack Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, John Coltrane, Alfred Hitchcock, James Dean… and countless others. God, imagine it. What an exhilarating fantasy.

This is my life in the shadow of The Twilight Zone. Sometimes it’s dark and foreboding, other times it’s bright and hopeful. Tonight’s episode is, appropriately enough, in that second category.