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Step into the ring with us this month as week take a look at two sports-themed episodes from The Twilight Zone. "The Mighty Casey" and "Steel" both explore themes of man vs. machine and the struggle to stay relevant in a changing world. In "The Mighty Casey," a struggling baseball team's fortunes change when they recruit a mysterious but talented player named Casey, only to discover that he is a robot. "Steel" takes place in a near-future world where human boxing has been replaced by robot fighters, and a former boxer disguises himself as a robot in a desperate attempt to prove his worth. Both episodes highlight the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity and the challenges posed by technological advancement.
SyFy Twilight Zone Marathon Info
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Themed around groups of people making an escape, this month we look at two iconic Twilight Zone episodes: "Third from the Sun" and "On Thursday We Leave for Home." Season One's "Third from the Sun" presents a story steeped in the dread and anticipation of a nuclear apocalypse, following a desperate plan by a group of individuals to escape their doomed planet. Season Four's episode, "On Thursday We Leave for Home" offers a look into the psychological and social dynamics of a leader who faces the reality of relinquishing control as his colonists prepare to return to Earth after 30 years. Both episodes masterfully explore the human condition under extreme circumstances, highlighting themes of hope, fear, authority, and the longing for safety.
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Nothing is civil about war, and nothing is ever as it seems in The Twilight Zone. This month we take a look at two Civil War themed episodes, "The Passerby" from season 3 and "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" from season 5. Each episode not only plays in the sandbox of Civil War themes, but also takes a look at the supernatural realm, passing through to the afterlife, family, and paying for one's acts while on earth. "The Passerby" includes a wonderful Abraham Lincoln portrayal from Austin Green, while "Owl Creek" is a short-film that was purchased as a completed project and edited to become last episode of The Twilight Zone ever produced. We had a lot to say about each of these wonderful episodes, and hope you enjoy our discussion.
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Music has the power to enchant, stir emotions, calm the spirit, and heal. This month we take a look at two episodes that use the power of music to explore the impact of music. In season 3, "A Piano in the House" takes a look at the sides of our humanity that we all try to hide, by using music to expose those hidden faces. In season 5, "Come Wander With Me" is a somewhat disjointed story that still leaves us enchanted and mesmerized by Mary Rachel and her melody.
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Alternate dimensions and parallel worlds is not something The Twilight Zone was afraid to explore, and this month we take a look at two excellent examples of this type of storytelling. Season 3 "Little Girl Lost" explores a scenario where a young girl named Tina slips into the fourth dimension via a portal that opens up in her bedroom wall. The following season in "The Parallel" we see astronaut Robert Gaines transported to a parallel earth where he has a slightly different family in a slightly different house and JFK is unknown.
Each of these episodes wonder what might happen if one was to get trapped in an alternate dimension in such a way that it leaves us much to ponder, while still giving us quite a bit to enjoy.
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Rod Serling was no stranger to the atrocities of what Hitler's Nazi party did to Jews during the Holocaust. He fought in WWII, battled anti-semitism in his own home state, and through the power of his pen fought to bring light to this hate in an effort to end racism of every kind. As brilliant as he was, we unfortunately still find racism all around us and Jews are still being attacked more than any other group today. This month we look at two episodes that Rod wrote to shed light on the horrors of the Nazi party, and express his confidence that their ultimate judgement awaited them. These episodes are "Judgement Night" from season 1 and "Death's Head Revisited" from season 3. These episodes stand as proof that The Twilight Zone is just as relevant today as it was in the 1960's.
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Many Hollywood legends spent time in The Twilight Zone, and this month we look at two of the largest legends in Hollywood history with Robert Redford and Dennis Hopper. Redford's season 3 appearance with Gladys Cooper has him portraying the role of the death angel escorting her character to the afterlife. Meanwhile, Hopper's season 4 role is one of an angry young man under the influence of Hitler, who is raising up his own all-too-familiar brand of hate. It's easy to see in these performances what will make these men legendary, and each of these stories gives us a lot of meat to chew on for discussion.
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The Twilight Zone is no stranger to close encounters between various aliens and humans. Sometimes those encounters are fun or silly, other times they reveal some of the darker realities of our humanity. This month's episodes fall into that latter category with "People Are Alike All Over" from season 1, and "Stopover in a Quiet Town" from season 5. Of course, the dark side of humanity is not all that is on display, because in a twist only the Twilight Zone can deliver, these aliens have their own dark side as well.
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Over the course of the 5 season run of The Twilight Zone many episodes touched on religious themes. We've already looked at episodes like, "The Hunt," "The Obsolete Man," and "The Howling Man," for example. This month we take a look at two episodes which, for better or for worse, are very on the nose with their religious themes. First up is "The Gift" from season three. Drawing parallels to Jesus and his crucifixion, an alien visits a small Mexican town with a gift that will change the world, but their fear leads them to killing him. Next up is "Probe 7, Over and Out" from season five, which tells its own version of the beginning of Earth, Adam, Eve, and a tree with fruit.
In our Whipple's segment, Robert shares this list of books about alien contact and messages from outer space.
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It's been said that magic is just science that we don't understand yet. While we're not sure if that's a suitable explanation for the kinds of magic on display in this month's episodes, we certainly had a magical time discussing them. First up is "Dust" from season 2. Written by Rod Serling and directed by Douglas Heyes, it tells the story of a dusty small town on the verge of killing a man who drunkenly killed a young girl. Is it magic dust or something else that brings the town the hope it so desperately needs?
In "The Fugitive," we encounter a young girl with a crippled leg name Jenny, and an elderly man the neighborhood children call Old Ben. Written by Charles Beaumont and directed by Richard Bare, we learn that Old Ben seems to have the gift of magic, and while he may not be what he appears, he might just be the savior Jenny needs.
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Carol Burnett was recently honored on her 90th birthday for her lifetime of work in film and television. Her talent was recognized early in her career, and Rod wrote an episode especially for her with season 3's comedy, "Cavender is Coming." Before Martin Landau became famous for his work on Mission Impossible, he starred in two Twilight Zone episodes and we cover season 5's thriller, "The Jeopardy Room" here.
Both Burnett and Landau would go on to become Hollywood legends and each have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Carol's star has a fantastic story that relates to her Twilight Zone episode, and we share that story in this month's episode.
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Season 5 of The Twilight Zone brought us two episodes handing out poetic justice to the lead characters. In "A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain," an aging businessman drinks from a fountain of youth in order to satisfy his much younger, demanding wife. His plan backfires, leaving both of them to deal with life-altering consequences. In "Sounds and Silences," a toy boat manufacturing executive forces everyone in his life to be constantly subjected to loud noises. His life is turned upside down when he develops hypersensitive hearing, and he's forced to live his life with highly compromised hearing.
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"Perchance to Dream" follows the story of Edward Hall, who suffers from a recurring nightmare. He seeks help from a psychiatrist who helps him confront his fear. However, the dream becomes a reality, blurring the line between dream and reality, while the episode explores the power of the mind and the subconscious.
"Twenty-Two" tells the story of Liz Powell, who has a recurring dream in which she is in a hospital and follows a nurse to room 22, which is the morgue. Once released from the hospital, she realizes that the dream is a premonition of death, and it saves her by keeping her from boarding a doomed aircraft. The episode explores the theme of fate and the idea that our dreams can reveal hidden truths about the future.
Both episodes are known for their psychological horror and explore the idea of being trapped in a nightmare or a dream that is indistinguishable from reality. They also examine the relationship between the mind, the subconscious, and the external world, as well as the idea that our dreams may hold hidden meanings and truths about our lives.
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The world is full of big talkers, and not even the Twilight Zone can escape them. In season 2 Rod Serling wrote "The Silence" about two rich men who square off in an expensive bet, just so one of the men can be freed from the incessant talking of the other. In season 3 the Zone served up "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby," a story about a country bumpkin that can spin yarns unlike anyone else. He's abducted by aliens and is able to escape using his harmonica, but the townsfolk believe his story is just another of his exaggerated tales.
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Hollywood legends Dennis Weaver and Robert Duvall each made trips into The Twilight Zone. In the season 2 episode, "Shadow Play," Dennis Weaver portrayed Adam Grant, a man stuck in a dream where he is convicted to die over and over again in the electric chair. In season 4, Robert Duvall starred in, "Miniature," a story where Charley Parkes falls in love with a woman from a museum display. Each of these two brilliant actors showed why they would soon become Hollywood legends.
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The power of the human mind is perhaps often underestimated, but it's certainly capable of much more once it enters the Twilight Zone. Season 2 of Rod Serling's masterpiece gave us two excellent examples. Episode 16 features Dick York in, "A Penny for Your Thoughts" and episode 27 showcases Shelley Berman in, "The Mind and the Matter." Both of these light-hearted episodes had us cracking up and enjoying our trip to the Twilight Zone!
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Are machines capable of love? Can they learn, adapt, conspire, or feel emotions? They definitely can in the Twilight Zone! In season 3, Ray Bradbury contributed the episode, "I Sing the Body Electric," inspired by Walt Whitman's poem of the same name. After losing their mother, a grieving father acquired a robot to help love, care, and raise his children. In season 5, Bernard C. Schoenfeld contributed the episode, From Agnes, With Love" in which a computer programmer is tormented by the jealous computer he works with at his office. In our Whipples segment we explore robotics, humanity, self-awareness, and other film projects that have tacked similar subjects as these episodes.
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Whether it's on the train to Willoughby or coming home from a 'coon hunt, you never know when you might find yourself on a journey to the after life. You might discover that you're seeing dead people and don't know it, or even that you yourself have passed into the afterlife. At least, that's the case with Mr. Williams and the Old Man in "A Stop at Willoughby" and "The Hunt."
These two stories give us quite different approaches to dying and what it's like passing on to the afterlife, but both episodes hit their marks quite well and earn high scores from us and other viewers. Whether you grew up in the country like Darrell, or are a city boy like Robert, we think you'll like this month's trip to the Zone
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Stories that focus on the young or the elderly tend to bring us as viewers into an introspective frame of mind. Season 3 of The Twilight Zone gives us two such examples of this. "Kick the Can" blends both the elderly and the young into the storyline, giving us a double punch to ponder the innocence and wonder of childhood in a way that makes us never to grow old in our spirit. "The Trade-Ins" helps us appreciate the ones we cherish most and the life we've build together.
Written by George Clayton Johnson and Rod Serling respectively, these two stories serve as powerful reminders to make the most of the life we have, enjoy it to the fullest, and never forget what it's like to be young.Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension:
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It takes a gifted actor to be able to pull off a single-actor episode. When executed well - such as Agnes Moorehead's "The Invaders," the episode can become legendary. Since we've already covered that episode, this month we look at two other single-actor episodes. First up is Robert Cummings' season 2 premiere, "King Nine Will Not Return." Cummings portrays a US Air Force pilot who was unable to pilot what ended up being a fateful flight that took the lives of his entire crew. Next up we look at Mickey Rooney's season 5 episode, "The Last Night of a Jockey." Rooney plays Grady, a jockey who wishes he were big after being suspended for fixing races and doping.
Each of these episodes was written for their respective leads by Rod Serling himself. While they haven't risen to the top of the Zone echelon like Moorehead's "Invaders," they both showcase top-level performances and offer up lessons on issues that are still very relevant today: mental health. Certainly the lessons Rod penned sixty years ago are ones we need to be reminded of and learn today.
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