Almost Entirely Timeless
Apart from a handful of episodes that admittedly have not aged quite so well, it’s insane how well The Twilight Zone holds up. It just goes to show how good writing stands the test of time.
I admire Rod Serling immensely. He was a talented writer with a very creative mind and strong sense of morality. He created this show because he didn’t want sponsors to censor him, to my understanding. He tried to write a drama involving Holocaust trials but he couldn’t mention gas chambers because it was being sponsored by a gas company. Ridiculous, I know, and he thought so too. So he made his own show where no one could keep him from speaking his mind. (If this is inaccurate, please let me know, but I’m pretty sure I got the facts right!)
I’d place the Twilight Zone episodes into two broad categories. One is the ones with a clear, stark message. “Eye of the Beholder,” “The Obsolete Man,” etc. The other is episodes that’re more there to make you say “Oh wow, that was screwed up.” Episodes like “Caesar and Me” or “Perchance to Dream.” Ones that don’t exactly have a grand statement to make, but are more there to confuse or scare you. These categories can overlap, don’t get me wrong, but that’s how I always viewed the show.
Plenty of the episodes don’t hit the same now as I’m sure they would’ve when they first aired, but The Twilight Zone has episodes that are absolutely worth watching, both for the timeless messages and for the quality. And even its sillier episodes are often fun to watch, anyway! No matter what, it’s a good time if you appreciate quality and older media.
I admire Rod Serling immensely. He was a talented writer with a very creative mind and strong sense of morality. He created this show because he didn’t want sponsors to censor him, to my understanding. He tried to write a drama involving Holocaust trials but he couldn’t mention gas chambers because it was being sponsored by a gas company. Ridiculous, I know, and he thought so too. So he made his own show where no one could keep him from speaking his mind. (If this is inaccurate, please let me know, but I’m pretty sure I got the facts right!)
I’d place the Twilight Zone episodes into two broad categories. One is the ones with a clear, stark message. “Eye of the Beholder,” “The Obsolete Man,” etc. The other is episodes that’re more there to make you say “Oh wow, that was screwed up.” Episodes like “Caesar and Me” or “Perchance to Dream.” Ones that don’t exactly have a grand statement to make, but are more there to confuse or scare you. These categories can overlap, don’t get me wrong, but that’s how I always viewed the show.
Plenty of the episodes don’t hit the same now as I’m sure they would’ve when they first aired, but The Twilight Zone has episodes that are absolutely worth watching, both for the timeless messages and for the quality. And even its sillier episodes are often fun to watch, anyway! No matter what, it’s a good time if you appreciate quality and older media.
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