"Gilligan's Island" may be viewed as a classic sitcom now, but when the silly series about a group of island castaways aired from 1964 to 1967, it was far from a sure bet for its home network, CBS. As Laura Morowitz writes in the book "Critiquing the Sitcom," the series was "championed by the public" yet "routinely derided by critics." Anything but a classic in its time, the series ultimately became an enduring part of TV history thanks to its seemingly endless replays in syndication. According to Morowitz, it "would come to be the most repeated series in television history."
During its original airing, "Gilligan's Island" was pushed around the prime-time schedule like brussel sprouts on a picky kid's plate. It switched time slots three times during its relatively short run and was finally canceled in 1967. Except, the cancelation of "Gilligan's Island" wasn't straightforward; by several accounts, it came after the show had already seemingly been renewed,...
During its original airing, "Gilligan's Island" was pushed around the prime-time schedule like brussel sprouts on a picky kid's plate. It switched time slots three times during its relatively short run and was finally canceled in 1967. Except, the cancelation of "Gilligan's Island" wasn't straightforward; by several accounts, it came after the show had already seemingly been renewed,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
True lightning-in-a-bottle phenomena are immensely difficult to recapture. 60 years after "The Twilight Zone" completed its initial run in 1964, subsequent attempts to resuscitate the property -- either with an anthology film or reboot series -- have failed to match its cultural impact, even with vaunted directors Steven Spielberg, George Miller, Wes Craven, William Friedkin, Jonathan Frakes, Ana Lily Amirpour, Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, and Osgood Perkins lending their talents behind the camera. It's a testament to everything the late Rod Serling accomplished with his surreal amalgamation of genre storytelling and social commentary that we tend to overlook his many other significant contributions as an artist (which include co-penning the 1968 "Planet of the Apes" movie).
When the original "Twilight Zone" ended, however, its legacy seemed far from assured. Serling had burnt himself out after writing so many episodes for the series, with the consensus being that the show's final two seasons were...
When the original "Twilight Zone" ended, however, its legacy seemed far from assured. Serling had burnt himself out after writing so many episodes for the series, with the consensus being that the show's final two seasons were...
- 4/21/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" features several stories about haunted towns, extraterrestrial invasions, and every strange thing that occurs within the titular liminal space, where belief and superstition meet. (Remember when an entire town of actors was seemingly frozen in place?) In the show's 134th episode, "You Drive," a sentient car hounds a guilty man to mete out justice — in this instance, technology and human inventions are not symbols of doom, but demonstrate self-awareness and morals that some of their inventors or users lack. Although the writing in this episode comes off as muddled or shallow at times, "You Drive" remains memorable for pulling off an impressive feat: Creating the illusion of a self-driving car following a guilty man around.
Before we delve into the mechanics of the sequence, here's a recap the broad strokes of the story. Oliver Pope (Edward Andrews), an anxious, self-absorbed government official driving a 1956 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan,...
Before we delve into the mechanics of the sequence, here's a recap the broad strokes of the story. Oliver Pope (Edward Andrews), an anxious, self-absorbed government official driving a 1956 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan,...
- 3/16/2024
- by Debopriyaa Dutta
- Slash Film
Like most areas of the entertainment industry outside of acting, casting and costuming, television writing was generally one big boys club until women began making (incremental) inroads during the 1990s. There were trailblazers like "I Love Lucy" scribe Madelyn Pugh, but that trail was walked far too infrequently for far too many years.
Anyone who possessed a conscience knew this was unacceptable, which is why it's disappointing that a politically progressive (particularly for his era) writer like Rod Serling never made a concerted effort to work at least one female writer into "The Twilight Zone" mix during the series' five seasons (which stretched from 1959 to 1964). To be fair, Serling did adapt the work of women for certain episodes; in fact, a tale that many consider the show's finest half-hour, "Time Enough at Last," was based on a short story by sci-fi/fantasy writer Lynn Venable. But he never managed to...
Anyone who possessed a conscience knew this was unacceptable, which is why it's disappointing that a politically progressive (particularly for his era) writer like Rod Serling never made a concerted effort to work at least one female writer into "The Twilight Zone" mix during the series' five seasons (which stretched from 1959 to 1964). To be fair, Serling did adapt the work of women for certain episodes; in fact, a tale that many consider the show's finest half-hour, "Time Enough at Last," was based on a short story by sci-fi/fantasy writer Lynn Venable. But he never managed to...
- 3/9/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
The "Twilight Zone" episode "Come Wander With Me" is probably better remembered for its titular song than its strange, ambiguous story. Unlike many other episodes of "The Twilight Zone," where the twist is thoroughly explained, the ending of this one is left up to the viewer's interpretation.
The episode centers on a cocky young singer called Floyd Burney (played by Gary Crosby), who styles himself as "The Rock-a-Billy Kid" and is scouring the backwoods of the U.S. for old folk songs that he can jazz up and call his own. But when he hears a beautiful young woman called Mary Rachel singing a song called "Come Wander With Me," Floyd is so fixated on capturing the tune that he chases it all the way to his grave. Mary Rachel cryptically says that he does so "every time," trying and failing to persuade him to make different choices. It's part ghost story,...
The episode centers on a cocky young singer called Floyd Burney (played by Gary Crosby), who styles himself as "The Rock-a-Billy Kid" and is scouring the backwoods of the U.S. for old folk songs that he can jazz up and call his own. But when he hears a beautiful young woman called Mary Rachel singing a song called "Come Wander With Me," Floyd is so fixated on capturing the tune that he chases it all the way to his grave. Mary Rachel cryptically says that he does so "every time," trying and failing to persuade him to make different choices. It's part ghost story,...
- 2/23/2024
- by Hannah Shaw-Williams
- Slash Film
Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" has likely inspired more nightmares than any other TV series in history. Several of the show's notorious twist endings often revealed horrors and grotesquerie typically not seen on the airwaves in the late '50s and early '60s, leaving younger viewers rattled and afraid.
The above image, from the episode "The Masks" came at the end of an episode where a quartet of greedy gold-diggers were forced to wear personality-based masks by the rich patriarch they hoped would die. The patriarch does indeed die, but when the characters remove their masks, they find their faces have mutated underneath. That one kept this author up a few nights.
Other scary faces popped up all across "The Twilight Zone." Many might immediately think of the episode "Eye of the Beholder", which was wholly a close-up of a young woman (Maxine Stewart) waiting to remove her bandages after extensive cosmetic surgery.
The above image, from the episode "The Masks" came at the end of an episode where a quartet of greedy gold-diggers were forced to wear personality-based masks by the rich patriarch they hoped would die. The patriarch does indeed die, but when the characters remove their masks, they find their faces have mutated underneath. That one kept this author up a few nights.
Other scary faces popped up all across "The Twilight Zone." Many might immediately think of the episode "Eye of the Beholder", which was wholly a close-up of a young woman (Maxine Stewart) waiting to remove her bandages after extensive cosmetic surgery.
- 2/18/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
At a time when weird tales were often dismissed by respectable critics — a time in which, sadly, we have never actually stopped living — the anthology series "The Twilight Zone" wasn't just popular, it was widely acclaimed. The show even won three Emmy Awards: two for its creator and writer, Rod Serling, for his many impressive and subversive scripts (Serling wrote 92 of the show's 156 episodes), and one for the show's primary cinematographer, George T. Clemens.
While it's still unusual for media in the weird horror genre to win any mainstream accolades, it's not altogether strange when a popular TV series wins at least some Emmy Awards. It is, however, exceptionally strange when an episode of a television series — any television series — wins an Academy Award. Because, you know, that's an award that specifically exists to honor movies instead of television.
And yet, that's exactly what happened to a "Twilight Zone" episode called.
While it's still unusual for media in the weird horror genre to win any mainstream accolades, it's not altogether strange when a popular TV series wins at least some Emmy Awards. It is, however, exceptionally strange when an episode of a television series — any television series — wins an Academy Award. Because, you know, that's an award that specifically exists to honor movies instead of television.
And yet, that's exactly what happened to a "Twilight Zone" episode called.
- 9/5/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
Emmy winner William Froug, a TV writer, producer and executive who also taught, authored books and was active in the WGA, died August 25 of natural causes in a Sarasota, Fl hospice. He was 91. After a Navy stint in the Pacific during World War II, the NYC native sold his first novella to True Detective magazine in 1946. He transitioned to writing, directing and producing for radio, rising to VP Programs at CBS Radio in Hollywood by 1956. Froug followed the business to TV, contributing as a writer-producer to such series as The Twilight Zone, Playhouse 90 and Gilligan’s Island. He won an Emmy and PGA Award in 1958 for the telefilm Eddie, starring Mickey Rooney, and shared an Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy nom for Bewitched in 1967. His other small-screen credits include Bonanza, Charlie’s Angels, Quincy, M.E. and The Paper Chase. In 1987, he received the WGA’s Valentine Davies Award for...
- 9/5/2013
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
August 30, 2013
CBS Radio Workshop Volume 4 The CBS Radio Workshop debuted at the end of the Age of Classic Radio, which was a time of innovation and experimentation, especially in terms of radio drama. The ten-hour Volume 4 includes “All Is Bright”, a history of the famous Christmas song; “1489 Words”, which featured the debut of later film composer Jerry Goldsmith’s “The Thunder of Imperial Names”, which was written for a concert band and was based on a text piece by Thomas Wolfe; a two-part adaptation of Frederick Pohl and Cyril M. Cornbluth’s The Space Merchants, which offers a satirical look at rampant consumerism from the viewpoint of an advertising executive; Archibald MacLeish’s “Air Raid”, the series’ only re-broadcast, which had first been written for the 1938 Columbia Workshop. Aired during the Cold War era, it took on a sinister new meaning; Henry Fritch’s “The Endless Road”, about a road...
CBS Radio Workshop Volume 4 The CBS Radio Workshop debuted at the end of the Age of Classic Radio, which was a time of innovation and experimentation, especially in terms of radio drama. The ten-hour Volume 4 includes “All Is Bright”, a history of the famous Christmas song; “1489 Words”, which featured the debut of later film composer Jerry Goldsmith’s “The Thunder of Imperial Names”, which was written for a concert band and was based on a text piece by Thomas Wolfe; a two-part adaptation of Frederick Pohl and Cyril M. Cornbluth’s The Space Merchants, which offers a satirical look at rampant consumerism from the viewpoint of an advertising executive; Archibald MacLeish’s “Air Raid”, the series’ only re-broadcast, which had first been written for the 1938 Columbia Workshop. Aired during the Cold War era, it took on a sinister new meaning; Henry Fritch’s “The Endless Road”, about a road...
- 9/4/2013
- by Glenn Hauman
- Comicmix.com
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