From Season One, Episode 1, loneliness and isolation have been a major theme of The Twilight Zone. By the late 50’s, the age of extended families living under one roof or even in the same community had significantly disappeared in America, and it continues today, with mammoth urban apartment complexes, little-box suburbs, and condominium associations filled … Continue reading THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 9: Alone Again, Unnaturally

The other day, a friend of mine tweeted: “The Outer Limits was the most interesting of all those late 50s/early 60s US anthology series. I much prefer it to The Twilight Zone.” I like my friend, but he was wrong. In the days of Elon Musk’s Twitter, this sort of wrong opinion is harmless; plus, it’s only … Continue reading THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 8: No Explanations, Please!

I understand that the big water-cooler show these days is HBO’s The Last of Us, about a horrible plague that sweeps the globe, turning everyone into giant mushrooms. I’m really looking forward to watching that one – never in a million years!!!!!!!!!! I don’t like gore, I don’t like gross-out imagery and, for some reason, I have … Continue reading THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 7: Here Be Monsters

Last week, we watched The Twilight Zone not to learn answers or to receive moral lessons. Instead, Rod Serling unsettled us with the fear of the unknown, the situation that has no answer. This week, in the most classic of the episodes we watched, Serling shows us that he can scare us and explain it all away. Instead of … Continue reading THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 6: Other Dimensions Are Where You Find Them