A Critical History of Television's the Twilight Zone, 1959-1964 (Library Binding)

by Don Presnell (Author), Marty McGee (Author) "The Twilight Zone." The words connote anything strange, unusual, or just plain weird..." (more)
Key Phrases: Rod Serling, Film Editor, Art Direction (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"a solidly researched, thorough history of the series, from its idea to its demise after five seasons. ...an exceptionally well-documented chronicle" -- The Villadom Times

"all 156 original (59-64) episodes are here with credits, plot and comments. Appendices include writer and contributor bios and credits, actor TZ credits and a look at unfilmed stories" -- Psychotronic

"appendices provide biographies of the writers, with their credits, listings of directors and actors, information on unfilmed and 'lost' episodes, and a break down by genres and themes" -- Classic Images

"comprehensive...authors provide a commentary and an analysis of each of the 156 Twilight Zone episodes" -- The Intelligencer Record

"for serious film libraries...pairs a complete history of the show with critical comments and analyses...[a] fine reference" -- Reviewer's Bookwatch

"very thorough, well-written...contains a massive amount of information...every Twilight Zone fan should have it" -- John's Twilight Zone Page

"well-researched...provides a fascinating history of the series and a thorough guide to episodes. ...recommended to television history collections in college and public libraries. Fans of the series will certainly wish to purchase a copy" -- ARBA

Product Description
Rod Serling's anthology series The Twilight Zone is recognized as one of the greatest shows of all time. Ostensibly science fiction, the show was that and much more; always intelligent and thought-provoking, it used conventions and techniques of several genres-science fiction, fantasy, Westerns, horror, and film noir, among others-to explore such universal human issues as violence, fear, prejudice, love, death, and individual identity.

This comprehensive reference work first gives a complete history of the show, from its beginning in 1959 to its final 1964 season. The authors then provide critical commentaries and incisive analyses of all 156 episodes, along with the most complete listing of casts and credits ever published. Biographical profiles of writers and contributors comprise the book's third main section. Detailed appendices-writers, directors, actors, genres, and a listing of all episodes in order of original airdate-are also included. An extensive bibliography and an exhaustive index conclude the work.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 282 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786404485
• ISBN-13: 978-0786404483
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,329,640 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They didn't DO anything at all to write this book!, February 25, 1999

By A Customer

I'll chime in here too. I guess from reading the "4 star" reviews below the authors aren't too lazy to promote this dog. They certainly were too lazy to do anything original. The #1 reason that I was so disappointed when I got this book, the AUTHORS WERE DOWNRIGHT LAZY!!! If this book is not a rehash, there has never ever been a book written that was!! While Zircee is often critized for the TZ Companion, Zicree did conduct his own interviews and gathered his own information. These guys didn't do JACK!! Presnell and McGee did not conduct even ONE interview. All of the information in this book came from other sources (and they relied HEAVILY on the Zicree TZ Companion throughout their book). Add the fact that it is all text based...not a single photo. They were too cheap to pay the publisher for any pictures. Now they want to charge you an arm and a leg for this really crappy rehash too....skip this one for CERTAIN!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your money..., December 17, 1998

By A Customer

I agree wholeheartedly with the first review posted above. I liked the book even less, and would be even more critical. I saw this book at one of the local book 'superstores' and spent at least an hour looking it over thoroughly. The TZ Companion by Zircee is a vastly better work. The authors take a scholarly tone, that often comes across as overly pompous. Their episode reviews and synopsis' are very poor, and although exhaustively indexed, are lacking sorely. There are some interesting appedices (such as everything Serling did, general themes covered in various episodes), most of which have been addressed long ago online. Also disappointing was a complete lack of pictures. This book does not have a SINGLE photo. Just a text based rehash of the TZ Companion......very disappointing in my opinion.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Been There, Done That, October 27, 1998

By A Customer

A poor rehash of the Companion. Fans who have that book memorized will get a sense of deja vu from this tome. Not enough hard work went into this piece of literature, and the cover price is way too high to justify. Trust me, take a pass.