Rod Serling: The Dreams and Nightmares of Life in the Twilight Zone: A Biography

by Joel Engel

A biography of the creator, primary writer and narrator of "The Twilight Zone" draws on interviews, revealing the tormented and doubtful side behind the gregarious public man

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

353 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Joel Engel authored or co-authored more than 15 books (including a New York Times bestseller)—narrative nonfiction, essays, sports, satire, pop culture, biography, and autobiography. As a journalist for the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, among other papers and periodicals, Engel reported on everything from politics to hot-air ballooning, pregnancy to cancer research, pop culture to business. Engle has also sold several feature-film scripts to Hollywood and produced about 60 hours of (cable) television.

Reviews

[Nicholas Parisi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had skimmed this book several times over the years and had always found it overwhelmingly negative. In the midst of more in-depth research on Serling, I was forced to read it cover to cover. There is not a page of this book that does not ooze bias or downright maliciousness. One truly has to wonder what Engel's agenda was. A few examples (of many):

When Engel characterizes Serling's early drafts of Planet of the Apes as "My Dinner with Andre, the Chimp," this can possibly be excused as a matter of opinion (a grossly inaccurate opinion, but opinion nonetheless). But when Engel somehow attributes Planet of the Apes' twist ending to Michael Wilson and not Serling, this is inexcusable. The twist ending involving the discovery of the Statue of Liberty is in Serling's drafts, years before Wilson became involved in the project. How could Engel have missed this? The answer is, if he read those drafts, he couldn't have missed it. So did he lie about it deliberately? Well, consider how Engel described Serling's unproduced screenplay, No Blade of Grass. Engel outlines the supposedly ludicrous plot of the story and then writes that the studio executives "passed around Serling's script by hand and . . . would have laughed heartily" had they not invested so much money in the project. They "demanded a rewrite." Let's take this apart piece by piece:

1. The writing here is blatantly manipulative, intended to paint a picture of studio executives carelessly tossing around Serling's script and laughing at his work. "Would have" does not mitigate this.

2. "Demanded a rewrite?" You mean, the way studio executives have "demanded a rewrite" of every script ever written in the history of motion pictures? Had Serling submitted a first draft that was ready for production untouched, he would have been the first to ever accomplish the feat.

3. Engel never mentions that No Blade of Grass is an adaptation of a novel by John Christopher. I have not read Christopher's novel. But if you're going to make such a point about a plot being nonsensical, wouldn't it be germane to mention whether this plot existed in the source material that Serling was working from? If it did, then Serling is guilty only of not recognizing an implausible plot - not for inventing it.

Why would Engel not mention the original novel? Because that would have interfered with his agenda to paint Serling as a no-talent hack. The same reason that giving him credit for having written one of the most memorable twist endings in cinema history would have interfered with this agenda.

Only in Engel's book can you learn that Serling likely plagiarized Requiem for a Heavyweight, possibly his finest work. Only in Engel's book can you learn that Serling plagiarized A Storm in Summer (the amount of space Engel devotes to this baseless claim is disgraceful). Only in Engel's book can you learn that Serling plagiarized . . . well, every story he ever wrote. Even Serling's screenplay for Seven Days in May, an undisputed classic, is presented as having been "put together over the phone" with his secretary, who jokes that she should have received a co-writing credit. Yes, Engel writes "she joked" but the implication is clear - there's no way a hack like Serling could have written such a great screenplay by himself. And Engel does not even acknowledge the quality of Seven Days in May, in any case. In fact, it's hard to find an example of Engel recognizing the quality of anything Serling wrote.

Oh, and Serling also exaggerated (if not outright lied) about wounds he suffered in World War Two.

This is a shameful hit job on a man who did not deserve it. Gordon Sander's Serling biography is a love letter by comparison.

Spare yourself reading either.

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I wasn't sure what to think of this - wasn't sure if Engel was looking to torpedo Serling or not. However, this turned out to be a highly informative (albeit tragic) look at a writer whose impact ended up being far more monumental than he ever could've imagined. What I thought to initially be Engel setting out to tarnish Serling's reputation turned out to be a very balanced look at how complex a man Serling was. This and AS I KNEW HIM, MY DAD, ROD SERLING by Anne Serling could easily be bookends, with one discrepancy: Anne Serling's memoir shows us the father that Engel apparently believes Serling failed at being. But Engel's aim wasn't necessarily to look at Serling's fatherhood, but at his complex nature as a writer, and his career. I recommend both these memoirs/biographies to give a full view of the man Rod Serling was. And regardless of his faults, I - like thousands of others, I'm sure - am thankful for the legacy he left behind.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rod Serling was such an intriguing figure and I really liked the sound of this biography, Rod Serling: The Dreams and Nightmares of Life in the Twilight Zone by Joel Engel. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of the author's writing style or tone. Perhaps I was expecting a higher level of professionalism.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting biography of Rod Serling, but perhaps somewhat overlong. And while details of Serling's business dealings dragged on and on, personal descriptions were short and general. The author did considerable speculating on Serling's motivations for his writings, but somehow I didn't feel involved. As I read this book, I kept thinking, "This is why I prefer AUTObiographies over biographies." Unfortunately, Mr. Serling didn't write an autobiography. However, I am tempted to read his daughter's book, "As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling" in hopes of more personal insight.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed how it covered so much of his life and his process and his... I guess the best way to describe it is his human contradictions. He had character and morals but so often he got carried away with the Rat Race of the entertainment industry that he was quick to 'sell-out' because he felt he had too. He felt like he had to prove himself constantly but that pressure made it so hard for him to continue to do good work. The author portrayed Rod's life as one big ironic TwilightZone-y tragedy and I'm really curious how other accounts will differ.

I do however wish there was more explanation at a few events that don't add up between the different points of view that he collected. Did he have a war injury? Was he a liar about that or overexaggerating?

Also so little of his life with his daughters is described it seems a shame. Obviously his years on the Twilight Zone are what made him interesting and historical, but he was still a man with a family. Even if he didn't see them as often as one might hope, they still had some sort of relationship...

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what Joel was up to here...but all that cheesy motivational analysis he indulged in began to sound after a while like it was coming straight out of Lucy Van Pelt's 5-cent psychiatric booth. Giving the guy three stars here is pretty charitable; yet another biographer who seems to have little but contempt for his subject.

[Gossymotto · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, but a sad story. After reading this biography I feel Rod Serling was mostly unsatisfied with his accomplishments. I would have liked to read an autobiography.

[Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting study of a man who died too young. Serling wrote teleplays about taboo topics in the late fifties and sixties - he got past the censors and sponsors because he couched his themes in science fiction and fantasy.

[F. John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised. I didn't realize how insecure he was. In a way, he was one of his own stories.

[Tom072805 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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