"The Twilight Zone" (1959) TV series 1959-1964

Creator:

Rod Serling
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

2 October 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Rod Serling's seminal anthology series focused on ordinary folks who suddenly found themselves in extraordinary, usually supernatural, situations. The stories would typically end with an ironic twist that would see the guilty punished.

Plot Keywords:

Anthology | Moral | Cult Favorite | Surrealism | Supernatural Power

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Dec. 13	5:00 AM	SYFY	Person or Persons Unknown	#3.27
Sun. Dec. 13	5:30 AM	SYFY	The Trade-ins	#3.31

Cast

Rod Serling

...

Narrator / ... (156 episodes, 1959-1964)

Series Directed by
John Brahm		(12 episodes, 1959-1964)
Douglas Heyes		(9 episodes, 1959-1961)
Buzz Kulik		(9 episodes, 1960-1963)
Lamont Johnson		(8 episodes, 1961-1963)
Richard L. Bare		(7 episodes, 1960-1964)
James Sheldon		(6 episodes, 1961-1962)
Richard Donner		(6 episodes, 1963-1964)
Don Medford		(5 episodes, 1960-1963)
Montgomery Pittman		(5 episodes, 1961-1962)
Jack Smight		(4 episodes, 1959-1961)
Alvin Ganzer		(4 episodes, 1959-1960)
Ted Post		(4 episodes, 1960-1964)
William F. Claxton		(4 episodes, 1960-1962)
Elliot Silverstein		(4 episodes, 1961-1964)
Abner Biberman		(4 episodes, 1962-1964)
Joseph M. Newman		(4 episodes, 1963-1964)
Alan Crosland Jr.		(4 episodes, 1963)
Robert Florey		(3 episodes, 1959-1964)
Mitchell Leisen		(3 episodes, 1959-1960)
Robert Parrish		(3 episodes, 1959-1960)
Ron Winston		(3 episodes, 1960-1964)
Stuart Rosenberg		(3 episodes, 1960-1963)
David Orrick McDearmon		(3 episodes, 1960-1961)
Jus Addiss		(3 episodes, 1961-1963)
Perry Lafferty		(3 episodes, 1963)
Robert Stevens		(2 episodes, 1959)
John Rich		(2 episodes, 1960-1963)
Anton Leader		(2 episodes, 1960-1961)
Boris Sagal		(2 episodes, 1961)
Christian Nyby		(2 episodes, 1962)
Don Siegel		(2 episodes, 1963-1964)
Robert Butler		(2 episodes, 1964)

Series Writing credits
Rod Serling		(148 episodes, 1959-1964)
Charles Beaumont		(22 episodes, 1959-1964)
Richard Matheson		(16 episodes, 1959-1964)
Earl Hamner Jr.		(8 episodes, 1962-1964)
George Clayton Johnson		(7 episodes, 1960-1963)
Montgomery Pittman		(3 episodes, 1961-1962)
Jerry Sohl		(3 episodes, 1963-1964)
Oceo Ritch		(2 episodes, 1961-1962)
Frederick Louis Fox		(2 episodes, 1962)
Henry Slesar		(2 episodes, 1963-1964)
Martin Goldsmith		(2 episodes, 1964)

Series Produced by
Buck Houghton	....	producer (102 episodes, 1959-1962)
Rod Serling	....	executive producer: Cayuga Productions (36 episodes, 1959-1960)
Del Reisman	....	associate producer (22 episodes, 1960-1961)
William Froug	....	producer (22 episodes, 1963-1964)
Bert Granet	....	producer (18 episodes, 1963-1964)
Herbert Hirschman	....	producer (12 episodes, 1963)
Murray Golden	....	associate producer (10 episodes, 1963)

Series Original Music by
Van Cleave		(12 episodes, 1959-1964)
Bernard Herrmann		(7 episodes, 1959-1963)
Fred Steiner		(7 episodes, 1960-1963)
Jerry Goldsmith		(7 episodes, 1960-1961)
René Garriguenc		(4 episodes, 1960-1964)
Tommy Morgan		(3 episodes, 1962-1964)
Jeff Alexander		(2 episodes, 1960-1964)
Lucien Moraweck		(2 episodes, 1960-1964)
Nathan Scott		(2 episodes, 1960-1962)

Series Cinematography by
George T. Clemens		(117 episodes, 1959-1964)
Robert Pittack		(20 episodes, 1962-1964)
Jack Swain		(6 episodes, 1961-1962)
Fred Mandl		(2 episodes, 1964)
Charles F. Wheeler		(2 episodes, 1964)

Series Film Editing by
Bill Mosher		(43 episodes, 1959-1962)
Jason H. Bernie		(23 episodes, 1961-1962)
Richard V. Heermance		(18 episodes, 1963-1964)
Joseph Gluck		(15 episodes, 1959-1960)
Thomas W. Scott		(12 episodes, 1963-1964)
Leon Barsha		(11 episodes, 1960-1961)
Richard W. Farrell		(10 episodes, 1963-1964)
Edward Curtiss		(4 episodes, 1963)
Eda Warren		(4 episodes, 1963)
Everett Dodd		(3 episodes, 1963)
Fred Maguire		(2 episodes, 1959-1960)
Al Clark		(2 episodes, 1963)

Series Casting by
Patricia Mock		(25 episodes, 1963-1964)
Millie Gusse		(24 episodes, 1959-1960)
Ethel Winant		(22 episodes, 1960-1961)
Larry Stewart		(10 episodes, 1964)
Robert Walker		(9 episodes, 1962)

Series Art Direction by
George W. Davis		(148 episodes, 1959-1964)
Philip Barber		(51 episodes, 1960-1962)
William Ferrari		(26 episodes, 1959-1963)
Merrill Pye		(20 episodes, 1960-1962)
Walter Holscher		(13 episodes, 1963-1964)
Malcolm Brown		(12 episodes, 1963-1964)
Eddie Imazu		(10 episodes, 1964)
Edward C. Carfagno		(7 episodes, 1963)
Paul Groesse		(5 episodes, 1963)
John J. Thompson		(4 episodes, 1963)
William Craig Smith		(3 episodes, 1960-1961)
Robert Tyler Lee		(3 episodes, 1961)

Series Set Decoration by
Henry Grace		(116 episodes, 1959-1964)
H. Web Arrowsmith		(49 episodes, 1960-1962)
Robert R. Benton		(25 episodes, 1963-1964)
Rudy Butler		(21 episodes, 1959-1960)
F. Keogh Gleason		(20 episodes, 1960-1962)
Frank R. McKelvy		(13 episodes, 1963-1964)
Don Greenwood Jr.		(8 episodes, 1963)
Edward M. Parker		(5 episodes, 1963)
Jerry Wunderlich		(3 episodes, 1960-1964)
Arthur Jeph Parker		(3 episodes, 1960-1961)
Buck Henshaw		(3 episodes, 1961)
Budd Friend		(2 episodes, 1960)
George R. Nelson		(2 episodes, 1962)

Series Makeup Department
William Tuttle	....	makeup artist / makeup designer / ... (12 episodes, 1960-1964)

Series Production Management
Ralph W. Nelson	....	production manager (139 episodes, 1959-1964)
E. Darrell Hallenbeck	....	production manager (7 episodes, 1960-1961)
Sidney S. Van Keuren	....	production manager (6 episodes, 1960-1961)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
E. Darrell Hallenbeck	....	assistant director (53 episodes, 1960-1962)
Charles Bonniwell	....	assistant director (25 episodes, 1963-1964)
Edward O. Denault	....	assistant director (24 episodes, 1959-1960)
Carl 'Major' Roup	....	second assistant director (12 episodes, 1963-1964)
Marty Moss	....	assistant director (10 episodes, 1964)
Donald C. Klune	....	assistant director (9 episodes, 1960)
John D. Bloss	....	assistant director (9 episodes, 1963)
Ray DeCamp	....	assistant director (9 episodes, 1963)
Lindsley Parsons Jr.	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1960-1961)
Kurt Neumann	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1960)
Henry Weinberger	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1960-1961)

Series Sound Department
Franklin Milton	....	sound (148 episodes, 1959-1964)
William Edmondson	....	sound (44 episodes, 1961-1962)
Joe Edmondson	....	sound (40 episodes, 1963-1964)
Van Allen James	....	sound effects editor (36 episodes, 1959-1960)
Philip Mitchell	....	sound (27 episodes, 1959-1964)
Jean G. Valentino	....	sound (21 episodes, 1959-1960)
Charles Scheid	....	sound (16 episodes, 1960-1961)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
James V. King	....	camera operator (54 episodes, 1963-1964)
Tom D. Schamp	....	lighting director (6 episodes, 1960-1961)

Series Editorial Department
Robert J. Serling	....	technical advisor: aviation editor, United Press International (1 episode, 1961)

Series Music Department
Van Cleave	....	conductor (8 episodes, 1961-1964)
Fred Steiner	....	conductor (7 episodes, 1960-1963)
Bernard Herrmann	....	conductor (6 episodes, 1959-1963)
Lud Gluskin	....	conductor (6 episodes, 1960-1964)
Jerry Goldsmith	....	conductor / composer: stock music cues (5 episodes, 1960-1961)
Jeff Alexander	....	conductor (2 episodes, 1960-1964)
Tommy Morgan	....	conductor / music playing (2 episodes, 1962-1964)

Series Other crew
Richard P. McDonagh	....	story consultant (23 episodes, 1961-1962)
John Conwell	....	assistant to producer (18 episodes, 1963)
Jim Brady	....	technical director (6 episodes, 1960-1961)
James B. Clark	....	associate director (6 episodes, 1960-1961)

Production Companies

• Cayuga Productions
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (in association with)

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1959) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• AXN (????) (Japan) (TV)
• CBS Films (1965-1971)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Fuji Television Network (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD) (season 1)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD) (season 2)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD) (season 3)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD) (season 4)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD) (season 5)
• Kita Nihon Broadcasting (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Nihonkai Telecasting (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV) (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Paramount Television
• Radio Aoyama Television (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Radio Tohoku Television (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Sapporo Television Broadcasting Company (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Super Channel (2003) (Japan) (TV)
• Viacom
• Yamagata Broadcasting (1960) (Japan) (TV)
• Yomiuri Television (1960) (Japan) (TV)

Other Companies

• Liggett & Myers  original sponsor (Chesterfield cigarettes)
• Procter & Gamble  original sponsor (Lilt home perm, Crest toothpaste)

Also Known As:

The Twilight Zone: The Original Series (Australia)
Twilight Zone (USA) (new title)

Runtime:

51 min (18 episodes) (season 4) | 25 min (138 episodes) (season 1-3 and season 5)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:TV-PG | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes) | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Cayuga Productions

Trivia:

Series creator Rod Serling made up the phrase "Sixth Dimension" to use in season one's opening narration. William Self of CBS-TV asked him what was the fifth dimension (given that dimensions one through three are exemplified by a line, a plane, and a cube, respectively, and the fourth is time). Serling answered, "I don't know. Aren't there five?" He then changed the narration to "There is a fifth dimension..."

Quotes:

[Opening narration - season 2]
Narrator: You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead - your next stop, the Twilight Zone!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "All in the Family: Archie and the Computer (#4.7)" (1973)

Soundtrack:

Twilight Zone Theme

The true beginning of modern Science Fiction

Wow! Where should I start? "The Twilight Zone" is arguably the greatest science fiction television show ever! Almost every single episode is a masterpiece of modern Sci-Fi. I feel "The Twilight Zone" is responsible for the way we view science fiction today...provocative, strangely eerie, and wildly entertaining. The shows creator and writer, Rod Sterling, was a master of creating a show that caused you to stop and think, re-examine reality, consider the impossible, check the closet before going to bed, and sleep with the lights on! I watched this program religiously as a child. Every Saturday night I had to bribe my little brother to stay up and watch "The Twilight Zone" with me because I was afraid to watch it alone. It came on at 11:00 p.m. By 10:45 my little brother was sound asleep with chocolate smeared around his mouth, and I would be alone, curled in a blanket, awaiting the next spine tingling episode. I was never disappointed. By the time it went off, I would usually be sitting there alone...in a comatose-like daze, staring at the static on the television screen, too afraid to turn it off because to do so would ensure that you met with some hideous fate similar to the one you just saw earlier. "The Twilight Zone" was also a spring board for many young and talented actors/actresses during its run from the late 50's well into the 60's.

Thanks to mail order companies, I have ordered and received every single episode of "The Twilight Zone"! It would be impossible for me to say which episode is my absolute favorite because I loved so many. But a couple do stick out in my mind. They are "Time Enough At Last" and "Eye Of The Beholder". If you've never watched this wonderful example of television at it's best, I plead with you to check it out. It can be found on the Sci-Fi channel as well as various other stations via cable T.V. There's no sex, no foul language, and no graphic violence. But you will find a solid plot, famous actors/actresses years before before they became famous, and a story with a very surprising twist at the end that will leave a smile on your face, or, a cringe as you wake up your someone else in the house to turn off the T.V.