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TV Milestones
The Twilight Zone
CBS's The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) remains a benchmark of serious telefantasy and one of the most iconic series in the history of American television. Barry Keith Grant carefully situates The Twilight Zone within the history of broadcast television and American culture, both of which were changing dramatically during the five seasons the series originally aired. At the same time, the genres of science fiction, horror, and fantasy were moving from marginal to mainstream, a cultural shift that The Twilight Zone was both part of and largely responsible for.
Grant begins by considering The Twilight Zone's use of genre conventions and iconography to craft its pithy parables. The show shared visual shorthand that addressed both older audiences familiar with Hollywood movies but unfamiliar with fantasy and science fiction as well as younger audiences more attuned to these genres. Rod Serling looms large in the book as the main creative force of The Twilight Zone, and Grant explains how he provided the show's artistic vision and its place within the various traditions of the fantastic. Tracing motifs and themes in numerous episodes, Grant demonstrates how The Twilight Zone functioned as an ideal example of collective authorship that powerfully expressed both timeless terrors and the anxieties of the age, such as the Cold War, in thought-provoking fantasy.
Grant argues that the imaginary worlds offered by the show ultimately endorse the Americanism it simultaneously critiques. The striking blending of the fantastic and the familiar that Grant identifies in The Twilight Zone reflected Serling's goal of offering serious stories in a genre that had previously been targeted only to juvenile television audiences. Longtime fans of the show and new viewers of Jordan Peele's 2019 reboot alike will enjoy this deep dive into the original series' history, style, and significance.
Grant begins by considering The Twilight Zone's use of genre conventions and iconography to craft its pithy parables. The show shared visual shorthand that addressed both older audiences familiar with Hollywood movies but unfamiliar with fantasy and science fiction as well as younger audiences more attuned to these genres. Rod Serling looms large in the book as the main creative force of The Twilight Zone, and Grant explains how he provided the show's artistic vision and its place within the various traditions of the fantastic. Tracing motifs and themes in numerous episodes, Grant demonstrates how The Twilight Zone functioned as an ideal example of collective authorship that powerfully expressed both timeless terrors and the anxieties of the age, such as the Cold War, in thought-provoking fantasy.
Grant argues that the imaginary worlds offered by the show ultimately endorse the Americanism it simultaneously critiques. The striking blending of the fantastic and the familiar that Grant identifies in The Twilight Zone reflected Serling's goal of offering serious stories in a genre that had previously been targeted only to juvenile television audiences. Longtime fans of the show and new viewers of Jordan Peele's 2019 reboot alike will enjoy this deep dive into the original series' history, style, and significance.
- GenresNonfiction
132 pages, Paperback
Published February 4, 2020
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About the author
Barry Keith Grant
74 books7 followersBarry Keith Grant is Professor in the Department of Communications, Popular Culture, and Film at Brock University. He is the author or editor of many books, including 100 Science Fiction Films, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and four editions of Film Genre Reader.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 11, 2024
Series, such as TV Milestones, or Devil’s Advocates, can be a real boon for university presses. For the curious reader who has neither the time, nor the inclination to delve deeply into media studies, such books provide, if done well, the essentials about either television or film (what I call telinema). Barry Keith Grant’s volume on The Twilight Zone is done well. Since the show had no continuing plot or recurring characters, it’s difficult to summarize.
After an introduction demonstrating the incredible influence of the show, Grant tackles the issue of the show’s genre in the first chapter. Or better, genres. While “speculative” might be the closest we might come to putting all the episodes together, this chapter shows how science fiction, horror, and fantasy blend and even use other genres, such as westerns and noir, to create a heady mix. The next chapter considers who wrote what. (This is not comprehensive, being a brief volume.) And how Serling really created the show. The last content chapter looks at Serling’s social consciousness—the morals left at the end of many episodes.
My blog post on this book (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World) is a more personal reflection since The Twilight Zone loomed large over my childhood. While not Grant’s fault—it’s the limitation of a brief volume—it’s sometimes easy to get lost in which episode falls where. There is an index, however, for those who need to study and make a chronology of the Zone. This is a very good treatment of a complex television series that leaves you wanting more.
After an introduction demonstrating the incredible influence of the show, Grant tackles the issue of the show’s genre in the first chapter. Or better, genres. While “speculative” might be the closest we might come to putting all the episodes together, this chapter shows how science fiction, horror, and fantasy blend and even use other genres, such as westerns and noir, to create a heady mix. The next chapter considers who wrote what. (This is not comprehensive, being a brief volume.) And how Serling really created the show. The last content chapter looks at Serling’s social consciousness—the morals left at the end of many episodes.
My blog post on this book (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World) is a more personal reflection since The Twilight Zone loomed large over my childhood. While not Grant’s fault—it’s the limitation of a brief volume—it’s sometimes easy to get lost in which episode falls where. There is an index, however, for those who need to study and make a chronology of the Zone. This is a very good treatment of a complex television series that leaves you wanting more.
May 3, 2020
Excellent, compact study of this game-changing TV series, In just over 100 pages, Grant thoroughly explores many of the series' key qualities, selectively diving into a few key episodes to develop his points but also offering a fairly comprehensive survey (no mean feat, as there are more episodes of the show than there are pages in the book). I was glad to see images from key episodes included, as well. Easily accessible to any fan of the show, but also valuable for scholars. Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews