Amph Bryan Singer To Develop Twilight Zone Reboot For CBS

The fourth incarnation of the series may or may not actually be on the network itself:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/19/3785626/the-twilight-zone-remake-in-early-stages

Let's hope it's better than the 2002 reboot, and at least as good as the 1985 one!

 

I see 0 need for another Twilight Zone re-boot. What we have so far is enough. In the past several years I've made a point of re-watching (or watching for the first time) the entire original '60's series, as well as the '80's version & the 2002 version, and actually liked all of them.

Of course, the original b&w '60's series is the best & most iconic. Classic stuff, and some of my favorite TV episodes of all time.

That being said, the '80's series is the one I have the most nostalgia for, since I was in school at the time and was watching these as they came out (unlike the '60's series, which I saw in re-runs). In any case, this '80's series was excellent, and I liked how they re-did some of the '60's episodes (the one with Santa Claus, the one with the maneqquins coming to life in the department store, etc.), while giving the show an appropriate modern (at least by '80's standards) tone/vibe. Also, I really liked the intro to this series, much more than the '60's intro - the creepy doll head, spider, then the last brief glimpse of the "ghost" of Rod Serling was extremely memorable, and is IMHO more iconic (at least to me) than the original opening sequence.

I didn't see the 2002 version when it came out, but caught the entire series on DVD much later. Decent show, with some stand-out episodes. However, IMHO this wasn't nearly as good as the previous two series...

 

I've never seen it ... but it just sounds like they're running out of ideas.

 

Twilight Zone, the originals was like 50 years ahead of its time...

Some of those episodes are so freaking brilliant it makes your head spin.. and the acting is legit in so many episodes.

 

"But there was supposed to be time now...."

(My dad's favorite classic Twilight Zone episode)

 

yeah its such an amazing episode...


I always liked the silent episode where the woman in an old cottage is attacked by tiny tiny men from outer space.. At the end she destroys their ship and the viewer see's it was travelers from Earth she killed.

she was a giant and we were like small mice to her.. such a cerebral episode

 

The first season of the '85 iteration was actually excellent until creative consultant Harlan Ellison left. Lots of great episodes, like Shatterday, A Little Peace and Quiet and the William Friedkin-directed Nightcrawlers.

Some have critiqued the show for lacking a unified vision, but a number of the episodes made an effort to attack facets of the Reagan revolution.

 

I've got all the original Twilight Zone on DVD. Simply some of, if not the best, television ever made.

 

I am not sure but that Walking Distance may be the finest half-hour of network television ever produced. Even with the great story and concept and performances, it would still be easy to draw a totally different, less thoughtful conclusion from the episode. But Serling goes a layer deeper to just really get inside the modern mind. It's just as timely now as it was then.

 

Walking Distance is superb, but I'm more of a Stop at Willoughby kinda guy. TZ's finest hour--the sheer desperation and alienation of the piece hits me harder with every passing year.

 

It looks like this may be turning into a TZ discussion thread - Thanks for all of the responses.

Re: the original, yes - I agree that Walking Distance & Stop at Willoughby are excellent. Walking Distance is especially meaningful to me as I get older - very moving story.

Some of my other favorites include:

- The Hitchhiker; possibly my favorite episode - very creepy, with a great ending.
- The Monsters are Due on Maple Street - Amazing.
- The Midnight Sun - I first watched this in the heat of the summer; very appropriate.
- Five Characters in Search of an Exit
- To Serve Man - classic!
- Where is Everybody? - very disturbing

Here's an interesting link - though I don't agree these are the 14 best episodes of the series, I do like all of them:

http://www.popcrunch.com/the-14-best-classic-twilight-zone-episodes/

As I mentioned earlier, I am a huge fan of the '80's TZ - though the original is definitely the most iconic, I remember this second series with the most fondness. I still remember the debut in Fall 1985 & how much I was looking forward to this at the time. Great stuff, the first season especially:

-Paladin of the Lost Hour
-Shatterday
-Nightcrawlers
- A Little Peace & Quiet (terrifying, especially during the height of the cold war)
- Dead Run
-One life, Furnished in Early Poverty; this reminded me somewhat of "The Walking Distance"
- Button, Button - IMHO, much better than the recent film with a similar plot...

And, who else out there remembers the b&w Twilight Zone anthology magazine that came out around the same time as the '80's show? This had a lot of original stories, as well as some stories that were on the show. I remember actually reading "Paladin of the Lost Hour" (by Harlan E.) in the mag. right before seeing that episode.

The 2nd & 3rd seasons of the '80's series are very underrated & have some good episodes as well, i.e. The Hellgramite Method, The Mind of Simon Foster, Something in the Walls, etc. Obviously, however, these didn't come close to the briliance of the first season. IIRC, these later seasons were not on network TV & instead were on syndication, so they got less promotion. I don't remember being that aware of these later seasons, though I did watch them all on DVD years later.

 

I've watched a handful of the black & white version, but I couldn't tell you what episodes I watched since I don't really remember.

 

Aww... I was hoping for 'The Scary Door'.

 

The Howling Man is a favorite for sheer entertainment. Night Call is the one that I think really scares me the most.

 

Cursed by his ow hubris!

 

When this was announced back when my reaction basically went:

Possibly...

YES!

 

I don't have an issue with the potential network. The main problem I have with this is, why do we even need a TZ re-boot?

There are already three TZ series out there, and though the most recent 2002 series was not horrible & did have some stand-out episodes (the time travel one with Eriq L.S. was superb, but that was the exception to the rule) most of it was just average.

So, why dilute the franchise even more with a fourth series? Anyway, we'll see if this even happens...