The Twilight Zone

Rod Serling (1959), the creator and host of The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone is a brilliant, captivating anthology television series created by Rod Serling. It was aired by CBS for five seasons from 1959 to 1964, and ranked #5 on TV Guide's Top 65 TV shows.^[1] Like most science fiction, this innovative show was fundamentally conservative.

Three attempts at reviving the show were not as successful (in 1985 on CBS and later in first-run syndication and in 2002 on UPN, lasting for three seasons and one season, respectively, plus another in 2019-20^[2]).

Most episodes offer some sort of moral for the viewer or provide social commentary, often with a conservative theme.

Many famous actors and actresses appeared on the show, including Ron Howard (better known as Opie Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show, later as Richie Cunningham in Happy Days, and then as a movie producer), William Shatner (later known for Star Trek), Jack Klugman (best known for his Broadway, and later TV, portrayal as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple), Billy Mumy (best known as Will Robinson on Lost in Space) and Burgess Meredith (best known as The Penguin in the Batman series of the 1960s, and later as the trainer in the early Rocky movies): Klugman and Meredith were tied for the most episodes (four apiece).

A notable episode, The Obsolete Man, featured a dystopian future where Christianity is outlawed. A librarian (appropriately named Wordsworth, played by Meredith in his third appearance on the show) is tried for being "obsolete" (the State has also outlawed books), is found guilty and sentenced to death. Wordsworth is allowed to choose his method of execution: he requests a personal assassin (the only person to know how he will die) and that his execution to be televised (whereupon he will announce his method of execution), both of which are granted. Wordsworth summons the Chancellor (who presided over his trial) to come to his study for the announcement: Wordsworth announced he will die by a bomb at midnight. But secretly he locked the door (thus, the Chancellor will be killed as well; the State refused to risk losing face by an attempted rescue) and calmly begins reading his Bible while the Chancellor panics. Ultimately the Chancellor begs to be released "in the name of God"; Wordsworth unlocks the door and releases the Chancellor, then stays and is killed; the Chancellor now faced his own trial for being "obsolete".

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