May 11 – Twilight Zone Day

n

nFornfive years, audiences loved taking a weekly journey into anotherndimension – a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of thenmind, of the imagination.
n
Cuenthe haunting music…
n
nNext stop, The Twilight Zone!
n
Asna a boy, Rod Serling was a big fan of pulp fiction magazines,ninexpensive publications printed on cheap paper, chock full ofnexciting stories. As an adult, Serling wanted to comment on racismnand other important issues, on government and society. So henbrilliantly combined the two and created the TV show The TwilightnZone.
n
nSerlingnnot only created the series, he wrote and narrated the stories.
n
n
nEachnepisode was an unrelated story; there were no continuing characters.nIn that way, The Twilight Zone was more like Serling’s boyhoodnmagazines and less like most TV series today. His show premiered onnOctober 1, 1959.
n

n

n
n
nAtnfirst, the show was so different than anything else, it struggled tonfind an audience. But soon there was a large and enthusiasticnaudience and raves from reviewers. The show’s success led to a movie,na radio series, a comic book, a magazine, a board game, a Disneynride, stage productions, and countless reruns.
n
nTherenwere even two revivals of the series – not as popular as the first.nThere are rumors, even, that the show will come back for yet anothernrevival, soon…
n
n

n

n

The original series starred some now-familiar faces – actors at the beginning of their careers. Burt Reynolds, Leonard Nimoy, and William Shatner (shown here) are just a few…

nThenTwilight Zone was...
n
n
n

n

n

One of the staples of horror movies: dolls. Creepy, creepy dolls.

n…drama,npsychological thriller, suspense, horror, fantasy, and sciencenfiction…
n
n
nSomenpeople think that “science fiction” is basically about spacentravel and aliens, but of course any fiction about the future can laynclaim to the title. Also, fiction about the “right now,”nalternative timelines, and even the past can be considered sciencenfiction. Really, sci-fi is the literature of the “what if?”
n
n
nAndnThenTwilight Zone wasndefinitely what-if-?-ic. 
n
n

n
• Today, check out some of the best episodes,nsuch as “To Serve Men” or “The Eye of the Beholder.” 

n

• Or get together with TZ fans and play trivia games.

n

n
n
n
n
n

n

n

nPhysicist Richard Feynman’s birthdayn 

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n
• nMayn holidays 

  n

n

• nMayn birthdays 

  n

n

• nHistoricaln anniversaries in May

  n

n

n

n

n
• nJunen holidays

  n

n

• nJunen birthdays

  n

n

• nHistoricaln anniversaries in June

  n

n

n