Well Another Holiday season has come and Gone and I have to
say that it was not a bad one This year. Usually I am in quite a mood during this
time of year but I am feeling in a mood to celebrate this past year. There are
many plans that I have and small successes and wins that I am quite proud of
I have Goals that I mean to accomplish and a new business
plan to work and a series of projects to bring you in the coming year.
Let us face It I have had some rough ones lately and it is
no time to dwell in the past but to look forward to the future.
Now it is ironic that I make that statement considering that
I am looking forward to one of my favorate traditions.
For the Past two decades the Sci-Fi Channel now known simply
as SyFy has been showcasing their annual marathon of another world created by
Rod Serling, the 5th dimension known as The Twilight Zone.
The Zone has been a pioneer in the Sci-Fi/Horror Genre for
half a century and has showcased works from the greatest writers and actors in
the industry featuring established stars as well as up and comers who are now
industry leaders The Twilight Zone is often imitated but despite two attempts
at revival has never been duplicated.
A former Boxer and WWII Soldier himself before becoming a
pioneer in television writing, Rod Serling has taken us to a universe with
tales of an Airman searching a town where he is the only living being wondering
“Where is Everybody” to a Bewitching Pool that is the portal for
children feeling unloved can find a place to belong and thrilling us with tales
of passengers seeing monsters on the sides of planes in a Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, and beauty in a world of ugliness which
is all in the “Eye of the Beholder”.
This year the marathon is changing as it goes to a new
format covering four days and all episodes of the zone in the order of airing.
Granted I admit I prefer the older format with the shuffling of episodes but
this is a treat for fans of the zone.
I feel the need to give you my Top 10 Favorites of Zone
episodes Submitted for your approval. I know that there will be some shocking
picks in my list as these are my episodes that I love the most and I am sure
that many of you have your own.
I am not going to go into too much detail in theses episodes
as I will recommend the Twilight Zone Companion by Marc Scott Zicree for your
reading pleasures.
I will begin with the second episode in the series One for
the Angels starring Ed Wynn and Murray Hamilton where a street pitchman meets
Death himself and takes on the task of saving the life of an 8 year old girl.
My next pick is Mr Bevis also from the 1st
season. Following Henry Bevis the local “Oddball” after a bad day in
his life he meets his guardian angel who seeks to give him a better life and
adventages by molding him into someone that he does not want to be.
Walking Distance
takes on a theme that Serling often visits is the nostalgia of the past where
an Add executive running from his life in the city walks to his hometown and
transports back intime to a summer of his childhood.
What you Need
where a man that can see the future is bullied by a man who wants to exploit
his abilities for his own gain.
Another pick is Two
where Charles Bronson and Elizabeth Montgomery are two wartime rivals who are
the last man and woman on earth after the fallout of a war.
The Masks where a
wealthy Dying man puts his greedy family in their place by showing them their
real faces.
The Hunt where a
man and his loving dog die while on a coon hunt and while reacting to their
families and friends have to go on Eternity Road to meet their destination.
The Shelter which
features no Science Fiction element just the primal instincts of human nature
at it’s worst where a Doctor and his family have to face their friends and
neighbors inside their bomb shelter.
Passage on the Lady
Ann which also feature no Science Fiction element where a Married couple
find romance once again onboard a cruise ship and their elderly passangers who
seem to not want them there.
Finally No Time like
the Past starring Dana Andrews as a time traveling scientist who after
failing to stop events in history resides himself to a small town in the past
but can’t avoid history.
Do you agree with my choices please feel free to comment
with your picks.
