What do you think?
Rate this book
The Twilight Zone Scripts
The Twilight Zone Scripts, Volume 1
Apart from Rod Serling, screenwriter Richard Matheson wrote more teleplays for the cult classic The Twilight Zone than any other writer. Many of these episodes became the series' most acclaimed and most frequently aired. Published here for the first time are eight original scripts. Each is preceded by an introduction and commentary that lends insight into Matheson's creative process, how he felt about the adaptation of his scripts, and his relationship with Rod Serling. Information about the fate of two "lost" scripts and suggestions for further reading and viewing are also included. Volume Two includes the final six complete Twilight Zone scripts Matheson wrote for the show.
392 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2001
77 people want to read
About the author
Richard Matheson
759 books4,798 followersBorn in Allendale, New Jersey to Norwegian immigrant parents, Matheson was raised in Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1943. He then entered the military and spent World War II as an infantry soldier. In 1949 he earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and moved to California in 1951. He married in 1952 and has four children, three of whom (Chris, Richard Christian, and Ali Matheson) are writers of fiction and screenplays.
His first short story, "Born of Man and Woman," appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1950. The tale of a monstrous child chained in its parents' cellar, it was told in the first person as the creature's diary (in poignantly non-idiomatic English) and immediately made Matheson famous. Between 1950 and 1971, Matheson produced dozens of stories, frequently blending elements of the science fiction, horror and fantasy genres.
Several of his stories, like "Third from the Sun" (1950), "Deadline" (1959) and "Button, Button" (1970) are simple sketches with twist endings; others, like "Trespass" (1953), "Being" (1954) and "Mute" (1962) explore their characters' dilemmas over twenty or thirty pages. Some tales, such as "The Funeral" (1955) and "The Doll that Does Everything" (1954) incorporate zany satirical humour at the expense of genre clichés, and are written in an hysterically overblown prose very different from Matheson's usual pared-down style. Others, like "The Test" (1954) and "Steel" (1956), portray the moral and physical struggles of ordinary people, rather than the then nearly ubiquitous scientists and superheroes, in situations which are at once futuristic and everyday. Still others, such as "Mad House" (1953), "The Curious Child" (1954) and perhaps most famously, "Duel" (1971) are tales of paranoia, in which the everyday environment of the present day becomes inexplicably alien or threatening.
He wrote a number of episodes for the American TV series The Twilight Zone, including "Steel," mentioned above and the famous "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"; adapted the works of Edgar Allan Poe for Roger Corman and Dennis Wheatley's The Devil Rides Out for Hammer Films; and scripted Steven Spielberg's first feature, the TV movie Duel, from his own short story. He also contributed a number of scripts to the Warner Brothers western series "The Lawman" between 1958 and 1962. In 1973, Matheson earned an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his teleplay for The Night Stalker, one of two TV movies written by Matheson that preceded the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Matheson also wrote the screenplay for Fanatic (US title: Die! Die! My Darling!) starring Talullah Bankhead and Stefanie Powers.
Novels include The Shrinking Man (filmed as The Incredible Shrinking Man, again from Matheson's own screenplay), and a science fiction vampire novel, I Am Legend, which has been filmed three times under the titles The Omega Man and The Last Man on Earth and once under the original title. Other Matheson novels turned into notable films include What Dreams May Come, Stir of Echoes, Bid Time Return (as Somewhere in Time), and Hell House (as The Legend of Hell House) and the aforementioned Duel, the last three adapted and scripted by Matheson himself. Three of his short stories were filmed together as Trilogy of Terror, including "Prey" with its famous Zuni warrior doll.
In 1960, Matheson published The Beardless Warriors, a nonfantastic, autobiographical novel about teenage American soldiers in World War II.
He died at his home on June 23, 2013, at the age of 87
http://us.macmillan.com/author/richar...
His first short story, "Born of Man and Woman," appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1950. The tale of a monstrous child chained in its parents' cellar, it was told in the first person as the creature's diary (in poignantly non-idiomatic English) and immediately made Matheson famous. Between 1950 and 1971, Matheson produced dozens of stories, frequently blending elements of the science fiction, horror and fantasy genres.
Several of his stories, like "Third from the Sun" (1950), "Deadline" (1959) and "Button, Button" (1970) are simple sketches with twist endings; others, like "Trespass" (1953), "Being" (1954) and "Mute" (1962) explore their characters' dilemmas over twenty or thirty pages. Some tales, such as "The Funeral" (1955) and "The Doll that Does Everything" (1954) incorporate zany satirical humour at the expense of genre clichés, and are written in an hysterically overblown prose very different from Matheson's usual pared-down style. Others, like "The Test" (1954) and "Steel" (1956), portray the moral and physical struggles of ordinary people, rather than the then nearly ubiquitous scientists and superheroes, in situations which are at once futuristic and everyday. Still others, such as "Mad House" (1953), "The Curious Child" (1954) and perhaps most famously, "Duel" (1971) are tales of paranoia, in which the everyday environment of the present day becomes inexplicably alien or threatening.
He wrote a number of episodes for the American TV series The Twilight Zone, including "Steel," mentioned above and the famous "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"; adapted the works of Edgar Allan Poe for Roger Corman and Dennis Wheatley's The Devil Rides Out for Hammer Films; and scripted Steven Spielberg's first feature, the TV movie Duel, from his own short story. He also contributed a number of scripts to the Warner Brothers western series "The Lawman" between 1958 and 1962. In 1973, Matheson earned an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his teleplay for The Night Stalker, one of two TV movies written by Matheson that preceded the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Matheson also wrote the screenplay for Fanatic (US title: Die! Die! My Darling!) starring Talullah Bankhead and Stefanie Powers.
Novels include The Shrinking Man (filmed as The Incredible Shrinking Man, again from Matheson's own screenplay), and a science fiction vampire novel, I Am Legend, which has been filmed three times under the titles The Omega Man and The Last Man on Earth and once under the original title. Other Matheson novels turned into notable films include What Dreams May Come, Stir of Echoes, Bid Time Return (as Somewhere in Time), and Hell House (as The Legend of Hell House) and the aforementioned Duel, the last three adapted and scripted by Matheson himself. Three of his short stories were filmed together as Trilogy of Terror, including "Prey" with its famous Zuni warrior doll.
In 1960, Matheson published The Beardless Warriors, a nonfantastic, autobiographical novel about teenage American soldiers in World War II.
He died at his home on June 23, 2013, at the age of 87
http://us.macmillan.com/author/richar...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 27, 2020
The original episodes of “The Twilight Zone” are not only a most amazing collection in the realm of the television medium, but the title of the show itself has entered the world’s lexicon describing any strange, highly unusual, unexplainable or unnerving situation. (Others are content with humming the first few opening bars of the first season’s title song.)
I was very young when “The Twilight Zone” originally aired, but as it ran from 1959 to 1965, I eventually “grew” into being able to watch it. It and “The Outer Limits” were must-watch shows (along with “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” “The Wild, Wild West,” “The Avengers,” and “Jonny Quest”). It was a great time for television with my imaginative mind!
According to this book, Rod Serling was required to write about 90% of the produced scripts every season. That is a staggering amount of output. There were “one off” stories used, but most of the remaining teleplays came from Charles Beaumont, Earl Hamner, and Richard Matheson. Serling’s scripts often offered a hidden commentary about his concerns with how people treated one another. Beaumont’s stories tended to be dark with a strong sense of the supernatural. Hamner did gently eerie tales filled with character development. And Richard Matheson had a knack for taking disturbing incidents and turning them into shows that you just had to watch until the end. (He wrote highly-rated “TV Movies of the Week” such as “Duel,” “The Night Stalker,” and the Zuni Warrior segment of “Trilogy of Terror.”)
I’ve purchased collections of scripts from “The Twilight Zone” over many years, but I hadn’t read them. Some recent exchanges with GoodReads contributor, Steve Payne, convinced me that I needed to correct that omission.
It was a real treat to read these teleplays. In fact, it brought to mind many visuals from the episodes because the Richard Matheson ones received minimal editing. The most extensive rewrite was of “Once Upon A Time.” Each script has an introduction that often includes comments from Matheson.
Here’s what’s included:
* “The Last Flight” - A lost World War I fighter plane enters a cloud and lands at a military air base in the 1950’s.
* “A World of Difference” - A business executive discovers that his life is a scripted television show.
* “A World of His Own” - A writer’s characters come to life when he speaks their descriptions into a tape recorder.
* “Nick of Time” - One of the two great William Shatner episodes. In this one, a honeymooning couple are waylaid by a restaurant’s fortune telling machine that has uncanny accuracy.
* The Invaders” - Who doesn’t remember seeing Agnes Moorehead as a lone woman in a country cabin at night, fighting off creatures from outer space?
* Once Upon A Time” - A time traveling comedy specifically written for the talents of Buster Keaton.
* Little Girl Lost” - Parents are awakened at night by their little daughter’s crying, but she has disappeared while only her voice is heard. Try telling me that the “Poltergeist” creators never saw this episode!
* “Young Man’s Fancy” - A newlywed couple have stopped to prepare the house of the deceased mother of the groom for sale. But, he doesn’t seem able to leave. This one has a really nasty twist ending that I didn’t see coming at all.
This book is marked as Volume One. I never purchased Volume Two, so my assumption is that it contained Matheson’s most famous episode of the series, “Nightmare At 20,000 Feet” (the other great William Shatner episode with the gremlin on the wing of a passenger plane).
But, no matter. This is a fine collection and I zipped through it in a day. (Ah, the curse of saying, “Oh, just one more.”
This book is highly recommended for fans of “The Twilight Zone.”
I was very young when “The Twilight Zone” originally aired, but as it ran from 1959 to 1965, I eventually “grew” into being able to watch it. It and “The Outer Limits” were must-watch shows (along with “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” “The Wild, Wild West,” “The Avengers,” and “Jonny Quest”). It was a great time for television with my imaginative mind!
According to this book, Rod Serling was required to write about 90% of the produced scripts every season. That is a staggering amount of output. There were “one off” stories used, but most of the remaining teleplays came from Charles Beaumont, Earl Hamner, and Richard Matheson. Serling’s scripts often offered a hidden commentary about his concerns with how people treated one another. Beaumont’s stories tended to be dark with a strong sense of the supernatural. Hamner did gently eerie tales filled with character development. And Richard Matheson had a knack for taking disturbing incidents and turning them into shows that you just had to watch until the end. (He wrote highly-rated “TV Movies of the Week” such as “Duel,” “The Night Stalker,” and the Zuni Warrior segment of “Trilogy of Terror.”)
I’ve purchased collections of scripts from “The Twilight Zone” over many years, but I hadn’t read them. Some recent exchanges with GoodReads contributor, Steve Payne, convinced me that I needed to correct that omission.
It was a real treat to read these teleplays. In fact, it brought to mind many visuals from the episodes because the Richard Matheson ones received minimal editing. The most extensive rewrite was of “Once Upon A Time.” Each script has an introduction that often includes comments from Matheson.
Here’s what’s included:
* “The Last Flight” - A lost World War I fighter plane enters a cloud and lands at a military air base in the 1950’s.
* “A World of Difference” - A business executive discovers that his life is a scripted television show.
* “A World of His Own” - A writer’s characters come to life when he speaks their descriptions into a tape recorder.
* “Nick of Time” - One of the two great William Shatner episodes. In this one, a honeymooning couple are waylaid by a restaurant’s fortune telling machine that has uncanny accuracy.
* The Invaders” - Who doesn’t remember seeing Agnes Moorehead as a lone woman in a country cabin at night, fighting off creatures from outer space?
* Once Upon A Time” - A time traveling comedy specifically written for the talents of Buster Keaton.
* Little Girl Lost” - Parents are awakened at night by their little daughter’s crying, but she has disappeared while only her voice is heard. Try telling me that the “Poltergeist” creators never saw this episode!
* “Young Man’s Fancy” - A newlywed couple have stopped to prepare the house of the deceased mother of the groom for sale. But, he doesn’t seem able to leave. This one has a really nasty twist ending that I didn’t see coming at all.
This book is marked as Volume One. I never purchased Volume Two, so my assumption is that it contained Matheson’s most famous episode of the series, “Nightmare At 20,000 Feet” (the other great William Shatner episode with the gremlin on the wing of a passenger plane).
But, no matter. This is a fine collection and I zipped through it in a day. (Ah, the curse of saying, “Oh, just one more.”
This book is highly recommended for fans of “The Twilight Zone.”
April 4, 2020
I picked up this paperback around the time it was first published, in 2001. I had just picked up a copy of Robert McKee’s Story and wanted to have a number of short scripts to read and engage with while thinking about the concepts McKee presented in his book. I have a long-time love of the original Twilight Zone television series, and I had only recently become aware of Richard Matheson’s writings, so it seemed like a great place to start. At that time I was transitioning from graduate school and plans to become a professor to . . . whatever my next job would be. I had been working with a home video camera a lot at that time and I definitely wanted to write some scripts with the intention of learning the art of filmmaking while turning those scripts into some short films. That’s not the path I ended up following, but my love of films, scripts, and scriptwriting has never faded.
I am currently reading Linda Cowgill’s Writing Short Films, so I pulled out Matheson’s scripts again as my go to short film script collection. I found notecards from my first read-through, breaking down the scripts and the characters, the arcs and the scene beats. I love discovering old notes and receipts in my old books, so it was a real treat to re-encounter these stories with the me from nearly 20 years ago.
This collection of scripts is a neat read. Each script is preceded by a short (usually two-page) history of the origin of the story and script, born from Stanley Wiater’s interviews with Richard Matheson. There must not have been much of a system for editing with the book because there are plenty of typographical errors in the script themselves (presumably they are new errors and not original errors in the script, but who knows), and there are even some layout errors. In one of the scripts, the first one no less, there is a repeated page and a half that randomly appears in the middle of the script, and in the “Nick of Time”’s script, it’s clear that half a page of the script has been accidentally omitted.
What was great this time around, which wasn’t available to me when I first read the scripts, was the ability to rewatch the episodes via Netflix after reading each script. It was great to be able to see how the scripts were interpreted, where they were changed, and how my mental image and faulty memory was different from the finished products.
Matheson is an expert at pacing and building a story in logical and causal parts that lead to the inevitable climax. Reading these scripts and following how they work is both educational and great fun. Only one script was work to read (“The Invaders”), and two of the scripts surprised me in that they felt flat on the page, but worked much more successfully in the show (“Little Girl Lost” and “Young Man’s Fancy”)
If you’re interested in script writing, story construction, and the interpretation of scripts into film, this is a quick and fun way to get all three.
I am currently reading Linda Cowgill’s Writing Short Films, so I pulled out Matheson’s scripts again as my go to short film script collection. I found notecards from my first read-through, breaking down the scripts and the characters, the arcs and the scene beats. I love discovering old notes and receipts in my old books, so it was a real treat to re-encounter these stories with the me from nearly 20 years ago.
This collection of scripts is a neat read. Each script is preceded by a short (usually two-page) history of the origin of the story and script, born from Stanley Wiater’s interviews with Richard Matheson. There must not have been much of a system for editing with the book because there are plenty of typographical errors in the script themselves (presumably they are new errors and not original errors in the script, but who knows), and there are even some layout errors. In one of the scripts, the first one no less, there is a repeated page and a half that randomly appears in the middle of the script, and in the “Nick of Time”’s script, it’s clear that half a page of the script has been accidentally omitted.
What was great this time around, which wasn’t available to me when I first read the scripts, was the ability to rewatch the episodes via Netflix after reading each script. It was great to be able to see how the scripts were interpreted, where they were changed, and how my mental image and faulty memory was different from the finished products.
Matheson is an expert at pacing and building a story in logical and causal parts that lead to the inevitable climax. Reading these scripts and following how they work is both educational and great fun. Only one script was work to read (“The Invaders”), and two of the scripts surprised me in that they felt flat on the page, but worked much more successfully in the show (“Little Girl Lost” and “Young Man’s Fancy”)
If you’re interested in script writing, story construction, and the interpretation of scripts into film, this is a quick and fun way to get all three.
March 3, 2010
Matheson's a master!
July 30, 2011
Next to Rod Serling himself, the best collection of TV spec fiction ever written.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews