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Know Your Twilight Zone Writers
Posted by Billy on Nov 13th 2015 at 12:23 pm
Cayuga Productions / CBS Productions
The Twilight Zone ran for 157 episodes, a solid binge by any measurement, but the number of writers to whom the episodes are credited is surprisingly low: seventeen in total. It helped that Rod Serling, the creator of the show, penned or co-penned 99 of the episodes himself. For the first year that the show was on the air, all but one of the episodes (“The Chaser†by Robert Presnell, Jr.) were written by Serling, Richard Matheson, or Charles Beaumont – three giants of the science fiction genre and the minds behind arguably all of Zone’s most iconic episodes.
Take Charles Beaumont’s “Long Distance Call†and “The Howling Man,†two chilling must-sees from the second season. Or how about “Number 12 Looks Just Like You� – the one about the society in the future where plastic surgery is a coming-of-age rite. His sci-fi writing is prolific, and his work on Twilight Zone is superb.
Perhaps just as superb as Beaumont’s episodes are the episodes written by Richard Matheson, whose other work includes the novels I Am Legend, The Shrinking Man, and What Dreams May Come. Matheson’s list of credits on Twilight Zone is solid, rounded out by three greats: “Nick of Time,†“Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,†and “The Invaders.â€
Like Matheson, Ray Bradbury is widely known for his science fiction novels – namely Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles. Both books are top-self speculative fiction, and Bradbury’s Zone episode “I Sing the Body Electric†does a good job of living up to expectations.
Somewhat less widely known than Matheson and Bradbury, George Clayton Johnson is another TZ alumnus who’s worked in literature, co-writing Logan’s Run with William F. Nolan. Clayton Johnson’s most notable episode is by far “Kick the Can,†which Steven Spielberg re-made for Twilight Zone: The Movie. Remember it had Scatman Crothers in it?
Earl Hamner wrote eight episodes, among them “Stopover in a Quiet Town,†which now plays very much like any don’t-drink-and-drive ad you’d see on TV today. Outside Zone, Hamner is most notable as the author of Spencer’s Mountain. Spencer’s Mountain was a successful novel that went on to become The Waltons, for which Hamner also did the voiceover narration.
Montgomery Pittman was a failed actor-turned-writer-director whose other TV credits came from the series Sugarfoot, 77 Sunset Strip, and The Deputy.
Martin Goldsmith was known for writing film noir in the 1940s and 50s, most notably The Narrow Margin, which was nominated for an Oscar.
John Furia, Jr. served as President of the Writers Guild of America from 1973 to 1975, and additional credits include Bonanza and Hawaii Five-O. Later in life he was a professor at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema and Television.
Reginald Rose’s episode “The Incredible World of Horace Ford†was first produced on the series Studio One. Rose’s best-known work, however, is the classic film 12 Angry Men.
Bernard C. Schoenfeld, whose sole credit is for the final-season episode “From Agenes with Love,†was an otherwise prolific writer, and he was also the father of Maurice Schoenfeld, the founder of CNN.
Jerry McNeely, creator of the series Owen Marshall, wrote for numerous hit series such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Virginian. Before finding success as a writer, McNeely worked on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, and in an unusual move, he continued to teach for many years after he had established his career in Hollywood.
Of Richard De Roy, another one-hit-wonder, Stephen W. Bowie ofclassictvhistory.com had this to say: “It would be difficult to overstate the value of the contributions [he] made to a variety of shows now mostly dismissed, fairly or not as junk TV: SurfSide 6, Checkmate, Peyton Place, The Flying Nun, The Partridge Family.â€
Robert Enrico, on the other hand, shifted into Twilight Zone from arguably higher-brow material, having adapted Ambrose Bierce’s short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge†into an Oscar-winning short film.
Adele T. Strassfield, who was working as a producer’s secretary at the time, is the sole woman with a Twilight Zone screenwriting credit, for the episode “Caesar and Me,†which wass well-received for a late episode.
Anthony Wilson on the other hand was a career TV writer whose lone Zone effort has received mixed reviews.
But towering over all of these talented writers is Rod Serling, the creator and the host of The Twilight Zone. Highlights of Serling’s Zone credits include “Third from the Sun,†“The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,†“The Eye of the Beholder,†“Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?,†“To Serve Man,†“The Masks,†and “A Stop at Willoughby.†Both the face and the spirit of the series, Serling’s best screenplays are what separates Twlight Zone from all of the other quality sci-fi anthology series. His is the name to know because his are the episodes to see.
How long does it take to watch every episode of The Twilight Zone (1959)?
http://www.cbs.com/shows/the_twilight_zone/