Visions from "the Twilight Zone"

by Arlen Schumer

The first book licensed to reproduce the classic imagery and words of this popular television series in an illustrated format, Visions from the Twilight Zone apirs the show's stark images with poetic prose from various episodes to capture the essence of "The Twilight Zone" experience.

Paperback

First published February 1, 1991

Reviews

[Chris Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was life changing for me as a teenager. I picked it up when I was seventeen in London in a gap between a boring history conference with my most hated teacher I ever had (and attended by dull Elizabethan historian JJ Scarisbrick) and going to see Diana Rigg in Medea a few hours later with the classics department. I was essentially allowed to be in London for the first time by myself and, obviously, spent that time in bookshops. This I picked up in Forbidden Planet and it was a revelation for me. I’d been a childhood Doctor Who obsessive but had slowly been sliding towards cult TV generally and love of cinema, and this was - with the Carrazé and Oswald Prisoner book - something which started in territory I was familiar with but nudged me into something unfamiliar

As a Doctor Who fan, the most taxing book you’d ever get was The Unfolding Text which was a dry academic work (that the show would infamously mock in Dragonfire), but the Carrazé and Oswald book took familiar territory and began to expose me to more theoretical ways of looking at the media. The Schumer book developed that even further, being as much a tonal essay on the series visually as it in terms of text. The decision to use images as they would be displayed *at the time* adds hugely to the effect, which is dreamy and strange and very much reminds me of the times I’d stay up at a weekend until stupid o’clock to watch The Twilight Zone on Channel Four. The whole book has this approach which revels in the status of the show as artifice and as popular surrealism, and it’s rare to get something celebrating art that manages to become art in and of itself. It’s aged beautifully, and feels as strange and powerful and unique as it did for me as a teenager

It was not the book I was expecting, but it was the book I ended up needing. It nudged me considerably along the road towards someone who took film and cinema seriously as an art form, and the gap between my schooling and my developing interests had never felt bigger. I’m so glad it’s as great now as it was then

[John Peel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plenty of low-quality screen shots and puzzling quotes from various episodes are pretty much all you'll get from this book. Really not worth it.

[D.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love The Twilight Zone. I was able to get the entire series when it (finally) came out on DVD recently. Before that, however, this book was pretty much the only outlet to be able to easily immerse oneself in the feel of the show anytime(the Companion book is pretty dry, though great, and the pinball machine is...well, it's a pinball machine).
This is a nearly perfect example of a 'coffee table book': great graphics with huge, eye-catching quotes, on a subject that nearly everyone at least recognises. The little bit of full text is pushed all the way to the ends (an intro from Schumer about the personal importance of the shwo to him; an insightful, too-brief essay on the cultural significance of the Zone by Village Voice critic J. Hoberman; and a shorter piece from Rod Serling's widow Carol about her late husband). Otherwise, it's just page after page of the gorgeous black & white imagery from the show (as shot from an old television), liberally sprinkled with quotes from the show (in the same font as the original closing credits!). Also included is ep 'Eye of the Beholder' (aka 'Private World of Darkness'), in its entirety in pictures and words. A lovely final touch is the thorough crediting of images and words at the book's end.
Visions... would be the perfect gift for a Twilight Zone fan, but also a fine addition to any pop-culture buffs table-library.

[Jessi Brookshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect coffee table book! Located in the average looking living room ...of the Twillight Zone. I love how this book captures the spirit of the show but with an artistic flair via TV stills, quotations and typography. 100% loved this, very intriguing homage.

[Fishface · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful homage to the classic TV series. More of a visual experience than something you sit down and read. Packed with haunting images off the small screen.