There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Twilight Zone.—Rod Serling
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series (1959-1964) that was created by Rod Serling. Each episode (156 in the original series) is a mixture of self-contained drama, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist. The Twilight Zone entertained you, touched you, left its mark and presented a universe of possibilities and options.
What made the show so great was the characters inhabiting The Twilight Zone were average, ordinary people: bank clerks, teachers, petty hoods, salesmen, executives on the rise or decline. We could identify ourselves with these frail and vulnerable souls and imagine some slight tangent from the reality of the ordinary routine, as what happened to these characters might very well happen to us.
The Twilight Zone was the first, and possibly only, TV series to deal on a regular basis with the theme of alienation, particular urban alienation. Starting with first episode, “Where Is Everybody”, Rod Serling’s fear of the unknown, which you cannot share with others, was working on you. The message is clear: The only escape from alientaion lies in reaching out to others, trusting in their common humanity. But if you give in to the fear, then you are lost.
Meanwhile, in the real world, the Korean War was over, but the United States was in the midst of the Cold War. The Russians had launched Sputnik and gotten off to an early lead in the space race, and the US lost young, charismatic President Kennedy who had set the nation’s new horizon on the moon. At home, Americans were in the middle of a social revolution that would bring an end to segregation, stay-at-home moms, and the black and white world of “Father Knows Best” and “Let it to Beaver”.
It was in this world of uncertainty, anxiety and great promise that Serling wove his stories that captured my young imagination and have held me as a lifelong fan.
Serling and his talented co-writers delivered potent scripts which were translated to the small screen by potent actors. Burgess Meredith (the original penguin on TV’s Batman, and Rocky Balboa’s trainer Mickey) and Jack Klugman (Odd Couple) come first to mind, as they are tied for the most appearances with four each. What is extraordinary is that what those men deliver in most if not all those performances is frequently potent. Klugman floors me with what he brings to “A Game of Pool,” “In Praise of Pip,” and “A Passage for Trumpet,” while the late Mr. Meredith is renown for “Time Enough at Last” and should be equally so for “The Obsolete Man.” They are hardly alone, though. There is Art Carney in “The Night of the Meek,” Elizabeth Montgomery and Charles Bronson in “Two,” an amazing yet young Billy Mumy in “It’s a Good Life,” and Joe Mantell in “Nervous Man in a Four-Dollar Room.” For a show which had no repeating characters and no continuing theme, other than the exercise of imagination, The Twilight Zone came up with an astonishing number of truly memorable performances.
I remember the first episode I ever saw as a child of the The Twilight Zone was “To Serve Man”. 
The story is about one man who had to decipher a book called ”To Serve Man” left by the Kanamits (9ft tall aliens who arrive to earth). The aliens promise to bring an end to war, to famine and to the other ills that have plagued humanity throughout history. But if you don’t know by now, “To Serve Man”, turns out to be a recipe book to cook humans. Wow! After that episode, I was hooked, and up until a few years ago, have watched every single episode.
So, today I am grateful to Rod Serling and his creation of The Twilight Zone. He was so ahead of his time. Serling’s brand of storytelling influenced the popular culture that came after with stories that bend the rules of reality as we know them, while asking that we remain calm, logical and rational when confronting the unreal, supernatural or paranormal. Today, in our ever evolving world of super connectivity, the 24-hour news cycle, viral videos of UFOs and real executions, the Twilight Zone’s stories of isolation, alienation and inhumanity are both eerily haunting and comfortably familiar.
I end this post by asking you to “enter a dimension of not only sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination … at the signpost up ahead, your next stop … the Twilight Zone.”
I definitely remember the To Serve Man one.
Yes, To Serve Man is a awesome episode! And I was totally not prepared for the ending. Did you know the big tall alien is Richard Kiel, who later became famous as “Jaws” in the James Bonds films -(The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker)
No, I didn’t, but I’ve never really been into James Bond movies. I am into sci-fi quite a bit though, especially Star Trek. I’m fortunate in that my husband and I like most of the same stuff.
For my c word in the A to Z Blog challenge I’m probably going to write about Cylons. Although if a different c comes up it might also come under f for me.