The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic [Paperback]

Martin Grams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2008

Very few television shows withstand the test of time, and Rod Serling's THE TWILIGHT ZONE is one of the notable exceptions. Proven to be an important part of American culture since its debut on CBS in October 1959, many Hollywood producers, screenwriters and directors have been inspired and influenced by this series. Comic books, magazine articles, numerous television revivals, a major motion picture and even modern audio productions have been produced, showcasing the continuing popularity of this television classic. This definitive history presents a portrait of the beloved Rod Serling and his television program, recounting the major changes the show underwent in format and story selection, including censorship battles, production details, and exclusive memories from cast and crew. The complete episode guide recalls all 156 episodes of the series in detail that has never before been accomplished in any publication. This book will make you want to look back at the episodes once again, whether you are a casual fan or serious enthusiast of the series. Unlock the door to a television classic by reading about the in-jokes, bloopers, and other trivia associated with the behind-the-scenes production of . . . THE TWILIGHT ZONE!

Editorial Reviews

Review

The word DEFINITIVE is not one that should be bandied about loosely or bestowed too readily on any text. However, Martin Grams Jr.'s newest television history can, without reservation, be called definitive, essential, benchmark, and all other terms that indicate no collection should be without it. --Tony Fonseca, DEAD RECKONINGS, Spring 2009

Readers who feel they've entered this dimension before, namely via Marc Scott Zicree's TWILIGHT ZONE COMPANION years ago, are in for a treat. Grams has dug further than any other researcher into this durable anthology's creation and history, a series which included among its fans novelist Ayn Rand and actress Jodie Foster. THE TWILIGHT ZONE: UNLOCKING THE DOOR TO A TELEVISION CLASSIC is a proud testament to the series's enduring appeal. --Issue #120, Filmfax Magazine

I'm blown away by the mass of data... by the attention to the smallest detail. It puts everything else written about TWILIGHT ZONE in the shade. Monumental and fascinating and hugely informative. --William F. Nolan, famous science fiction author

About the Author

Martin Grams Jr. is the author of numerous books about old-time radio and retro television. He is the recipient of the Ray Stanich Award, the Stone-Waterman Award and the Parley E. Baer Award for his contribution to preserving the arts in books. He is a research consultant for Bear Manor Media. He and his wife are active volunteers for the annual Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, and spend their free time promoting public awareness for saving the Earth's resources and environment.

Product Details

• Paperback: 800 pages
• Publisher: OTR Publishing (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970331096
• ISBN-13: 978-0970331090
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #342,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #94 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Television Performers

More About the Author

Martin Grams is the author and co-author of more than 20 books, and contributed numerous appendixes and chapters for other books. His book on THE TWILIGHT ZONE was the winner of the 2008 Rondo Award for "Best Book of the Year." His recent book on THE GREEN HORNET has been well-received by critics. Martin is an active member of SPERDVAC, research consultant for a major film magazine and volunteers his time to help the Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention held annually in Maryland every September.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OMG! The door has been opened . . ., September 23, 2008

By 

Malcolm Dolan "Malcolm Dolan" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic (Paperback)

The shelf in my bedroom is inundated with all things Twilight Zone. I have every book, magazine and DVD featuring Twilight Zone. I am highly qualified to judge a good book versus bad bearing the Twilight Zone name. And I am proud to say this is the best d*** book ever written on the subject. As far as price goes, it made my wallet creak, but I just ordered a second copy because I know I am going to wear this out.

In his introduction, the author makes it apparent that this is not a biography about Rod Serling. It focuses solely on Twilight Zone. Chapter One begins with Serling winning the "Dr. Christian" script writing contest, featuring in script form the dialogue exchange between Jean Hersholt and Serling on the May 18, 1949 broadcast. From there the history picks up momentum.

The detail level is freakin' exceptional. Proposed summer rerun schedules. CBS contract terms. Short stories and plot summaries proposed and purchased that never became Zone episodes. Day-by-day chronology of Serling's publicity tours. Neilsen ratings. Hugo Awards. Sponsor contracts. The contents of each 60s and 70s comic book. List of network affiliates. Telegrams and letters from Theodore Sturgeon, Steve Allen, Phil Baker and others are reprinted. (As far back as 1958, Sturgeon suggested "To Serve Man" to Serling for adaptation!)

While this kind of detail may not interest casual fans, the trivia will. Why the first season features two different openers. The battle between Kuppenheimer and Eagle Clothing for wardrobe credit. Community Fund spots and radio promos. How "Playboy" magazine got involved. Details behind the six taped shows in the second season. Serling's failed attempt to bring "The Time Element" to the big screen with Kirk Douglas. Why Hirschman quit producing the hour-long season (he was fired, if one wants to call it that). Why Republic Studios was considered a prime source for wardrobe, props and sets. Censorship battles. Princess Twilight Zone on tour in 1963 was apparently interviewed with great behind-the-scenes stories. Reprints of comic strips spoofing Twilight Zone.

The best part of the book is the episode guide. Each entry in detail with production costs (broken down -- director fees, talent fees, script fees, etc.). Dates each episode was filmed and rehearsed. Complete cast lists (who played who) includes actors not credited onscreen. Studio lots and sound stages. Production credits. All of the music scores and cues, names of composers, length of time, in the order they appear. Props and costumes that were reused for multiple episodes. Proposed casting that was never assigned. In-jokes that can be found on screen. Bloopers and microphones that appear on screen.

Serling wrote an unproduced screenplay in the mid-sixties based on "The Lonely." A casting call sheet is reprinted. Explanation why "Eye of the Beholder" also features the onscreen title of "A Private World of Darkness." Lawsuits brought about from various episodes. The automobile featured in "Third From the Sun" was a George Barris custom initially created for "The Time Machine." The 1951 radio script, "The Button Pushers" was the influence for "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street." "The Mighty Casey," "To Serve Man" "No Time Like the Past" "It's a Good Life" and "I Sing the Body Electric" were refilmed after rough cuts were viewed, adding further expense to ensure quality. Robert Cummings loved "King Nine Will Not Return" so much he was disappointed when it was not submitted to the Academy for the Emmy Awards, losing Serling's chance to feature Cummings as the star of "The Loner." The space ship in "Probe 7 - Over and Out" was originally constructed for "Specimen: Unknown" on "The Outer Limits." Origin of stock footage. Why Bernard Herrmann composed the music score for "Little Girl Lost" from Paris, France. Story origins that remained a mystery are finally revealed.

The book was clearly written with a labor of love. Serling's generosity as an exceptional human being shines. When a viewer in New Jersey wrote to him asking for the chance to learn how involved set decoration was, and promised to arrive in California once she graduated from art school, he mailed her his personal home number and arranged with set decorator Ralph Nelson to give her the required tour. When Theodore Bikel was verbally attacked on a talk program, Serling as a guest the week after on the same program defended Bikel in a manner that would make any racist blush. I always thought the Zicree book was the closest thing to a complete reference guide, even with the errors. I was wrong. This is the best book ever written and it will never be surpassed.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Definitive . . . to a fault, April 11, 2009

By 

Nicholas M. Parisi (Brentwood, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic (Paperback)

Right off the bat in Grams' book, he takes pains to establish that he's written this book to correct the many errors contained in other TZ books, including Marc Scott Zicree's Twilight Zone Companion. In the first page of his introduction he offers an example: "The TZ Companion had producer William Froug recall purchasing . . . An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge for $10,000. The fact is . . . the film was purchased for $20,000 plus an additional expense of $5,000 for editing and sound fees."

If you find this the type of error that could not possibly stand going uncorrected, this is the book for you!

Echoing many others here: This is easily the most exhaustive and "definitive" compilation of Twilight Zone lore ever published - but that isn't necessarily a good thing. Reading this, one gets the impression that Grams did not leave a single WORD on the cutting room floor (so to speak). This book isn't for die hard fans, it's for DIE HARD fans . . . and maybe not even for them. (The usual testimonial: I am a HUGE fan of Serling and TZ and I've read Zicree's TZ Companion so many times that my copy looks like something Burgess Meredith found in the rubble.) In his quest to include literally every piece of information he's uncovered, Grams has almost completely sacrificed readability. Add to this that Grams is nowhere near the writer that Zicree is, and this can sometimes be a very long slog. Paragraphs are sometimes complete non-sequitors from what has come before, the chronological sequence in which certain info is presented is often haphazard, and the general organization of the book itself (photos show up with absolutely no relation to the surrounding text) is a mess.

Having said all that, I am amazed with how much "new" information Grams presents us with. For one thing, it seems Grams must have had access to every piece of correspondence Rod Serling ever wrote or received in his entire life! The full text of a letter written by Theodore Sturgeon to Serling before the start of the series is included. A constant stream of correspondence from actors and agents suggesting stories for inclusion is offered and it's fascinating stuff (it provides a constant "what if" exercise about what TZ could have been had different stories been chosen and produced). But probably the biggest revelation surrounds letters sent to and/or from Serling, Charles Beaumont and Ray Bradbury.

It's old news that charges of plagiarism dogged Serling throughout the course of the Zone. Here, for the first time, I realize the full extent of those accusations, the full toll they took on Serling. When Charles Beaumont (one of Serling's fellow TZ writers) writes to Serling to say that he's become exhausted in defending Serling from these accusations, and pointedly tells Serling that it is "clear" that he's lifted ideas from other writers, my eyes almost fell out of my head! For this sequence alone (Serling's response, and the following exchange with Bradbury), this book is necessary reading for any Serling and TZ fan.

Again, I would still recommend Zicree's TZ Companion to 9 out of 10 people. If you're a Zone fanatic like I am, and you've already read Zicree's book, then I do recommend reading this as well.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take This For a Spin Around the Solar System, November 29, 2008

By 

Michelle Smith "Michelle Smith" (Chambersburg, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic (Paperback)

I fell in love with The Twilight Zone when I majored in television in UCLA. My fascination for the series has grown because of this book. This is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill fan book with glossy, slick pages and huge color pictures. Instead, the author provided an extremely detailed look of the show with detail level that exceeds anything ever done on Twilight Zone. At 800 pages in length, this book is the best thing that you will ever read about The Twilight Zone.

To be honest I am half way through. I am watching one episode every night from the DVD box set and then consulting the trivia under each episode entry. What have I learned so far? Let's see... bloopers I missed warranted reviewing the same episode twice. The great Theodore Sturgeon wrote a letter congradulating Serling for his success and the letter is reprinted. What a letter! The car engines in "Third From the Sun" are jet engines... clever! John Anderson recalls how Jack Klugman ruined his chance of playing the trumpet realistic in "A Passage for Trumpet". The stories from the cast, writers and directors are great.

Bad news: very few photos and none in color.

Good news: the lack of tons of photos is made up for with detail and trivia that surpasses anything ever written on the subject.

Closing note: This book surpasses even the detail level in The Outer Limits Companion and since that book went out of print it goes for about $190. Buy this book as an investment.