Remember this picture. Do any of you watch the Twilight Zone?
I watch the marathon the 31st of each December while sipping wine and eating pizza, and each time I do, I find myself in awe of the writers.
It is the best Sci-Fi/Fantasy combo I've ever seen. Before Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5 came Twilight Zone.
The twists keep you at the edge of your seat. What luscious imagination. It moves me. The belief that there is something out there aside from reality as we know it has always rendered me speechless...and that's hard to do.
This particular episode is one of my favorites. "The Eye of the Beholder". This poor girl is beside herself with grief because she looks nothing like the majority of the other inhabitants of her planet. They're all ugly creatures with pig noses, so they send her off to a colony of gorgeous people to live in exile. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Another of my favorites is about a writer who brings characters to life just by writing. They materialize before his eyes. He's been married to a woman all his life...and he made her up. Wouldn't that be totally awesome?! I write, therefore I am...and so is he, and she, etc.
That's what I'd like to achieve in my writing, to make the story so real that the reader will get sucked in and not ever want to leave.
Honestly, no one writes like the Twilight Zone any longer. The main concern of each writer is with the market. How can we get out books out there? What do we have to change? How many hoops do we have to leap through? Is the market going to crash altogether and leave us using our manuscripts for wallpaper? What happened to just write and darn good story?
So, any thoughts? Any favorite episodes that spark your imagination? Any bit of info you'd like to supply about anything? Do you just want to chat? It's been two days. I'm jonesing. :)
Have a great day everyone!
The one TZ episode I remember is the one about the guy who always has his nose in a book. Everything else is just a distraction for him. Then one day, he's caught in the bank vault (at work?) when the world outside is destroyed (nuclear bomb?). He escapes the vault & rambles around the destruction & sees that everyone else is gone. He's not sure what to think until he finds the remains of a library (book store?). Now he's the happiest he's ever been because he has all these books & no distractions. Just all the time in the world to read. Then he drops & shatters his coke-bottle glasses & he can no longer see well enough to read. He's destroyed.
ReplyDeleteThat episode ALWAYS stayed with me.
I agree wholeheartedly. Great show. I'll always remember William Shatner on the plane episode, of course.
ReplyDeleteOne that I recall, and memory clouds a lot of the details, is about a writer who uses magic to try to call up William Shakespeare.
You mentioned wine and pizza. That brought to mind the old days when some friends and I would gather to watch "Mystery Science Theatre." Gawd, I would laugh so hard I would cry.
I digress. Forgive me.
@Nancy. I remember that episode. I'ts my husband's favorite. I felt so sorry for the guy with his glasses breaking. It's bad enought to be the last person on Earth. :)
ReplyDelete@Bryce. I don't think I ever watched the Shakespeare one. I'm assuming you used to drink wine and eat pizza while you watched Mystery Science Theater. Go ahead and digress if you must. :)
I have no Twilight Zone memories. I know I watched it as a kid, but all I remember is Rod Serling and the music. I would have liked an episode about conjuring up Shakespeare, though. :)
ReplyDelete...Now I can't stop thinking about the Tower of Terror! :P
ReplyDeleteYou know, I wouldn't mind bringing some of my characters to life. (Just not all of them, lest there be some kind of global conspiracy. lol) Great post today! :)
I have no Twilight Zone memories either although I know I watched it. But I've been sucked into many great stories over the years. There is a series that I read over and over again--Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I've read the first four books about four times in the last 16 years. Actually I never did read the fifth book onward because every time I go to read them I realize I have to catch back up and I start the series all over again. The books are like 1,000 pages each so it takes awhile. Then inevitably I'm thrown off track by something! I actually wanted to re-read them again soon but have to wait until I know there will be few distractions. Those books suck me in like nobody's business! Also I felt that way about LOST when it was on. I was completely obsessed. That's what great writing does. And I LOVED Mystery Science Theater! I used to love wine too until I had a baby and developed an allergy to alcohol. That blows.
ReplyDeleteI never actually watched the Twilight Zone, but I'm thinking I may have to now. :) I think it's great that the writers tried something new and weren't afraid to let their imaginations go wild. That can be the best writing!
ReplyDelete@L.G. There's nothing quite like the narration in the Twilight Zone. I make everyone hush up just so I can listen to Rob Serling at the end.
ReplyDelete@Carrie. Wouldn't that be fun? I'd love to bring my characters to life. Girl, would I have a blast. ;) Yeah, I'm just glad to be able to post.
@Lisa. I have books I read over and over again too, but they're usually romance. I was addicted to LOST. My favorite character eventhough he turned bad, was John Locke. :)
@Bethany. You should check it out. There are some amazing episodes out there. The Doll House is a cool one too. :)
I didn't watch it a LOT, but I did love the show when I was young. The show that stuck with me is one about a guy who died and went to what he thought was heaven--he partied, drank profusely, had gorgeous girls attending to him, etc. He soon got way tired of that lifestyle, and remarked that he'd rather not be in heaven, and wondered if hell was better. The guide to the place replied, "Where do you think you ARE?" (cue evil laughter) And the guy was stuck with meaningless partying for eternity. ;o)
ReplyDeleteThat IS cool, about bringing our writing to life. We as writers can do that, in a slightly diff way! To be real in the minds of our readers.
Loved the twilight zone, it was like a twisted screen version of Aesop's fables.
ReplyDeleteI remember the episode Nancy described - it's powerful. And Lisa mentioned MST3K - awesome show! Now I want to go watch one...
ReplyDelete@Carol. I emailed you already, was away from my PC. Your episode reminded me of the man with the dog who though he was going to Heaven and opted out because they didn't accept dogs. Then he discovered that was actually the entrance to hell. :)
ReplyDelete@Julie. I never thought of it like that, but yeah. It's the twisted part that I love though. :)
@Alex. You have Netflix, go for it. If I weren't so addicted to watching the Dead Zone right now, I'd be watching it too. :)
I liked some of the newer Twilight Zones stories, like the Blue People one. (and this was pre-Avatar, obviously).
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen it in years, but I remember this episode because it was the first time I saw Donna outside of the Beverly Hillbillies.
ReplyDeleteMy childhood nightmares seemed to all come from episodes of The Twilight Zone. =D
ReplyDeleteI hate the idea of having to write to formula. I that completely kills creativity.
Wonderful post.
@Lydia. I know I emailed you. I still can't place the blue people. Going to have to watch the movie again. :)
ReplyDelete@Joylene. That's right...that was her. I didn't put two and two together. I always thought she was so pretty, and her voice was screechy in the Beverly Hillbillies. :)
@Donna. I hear you. If I were loaded I'd go self-pub and pay people to market me. Isn't that terrible? Creativity has a right to survive. :)
I remember the guy in the vault with the broken glasses. I have very poor eyesight and the memory of that episode always makes me want to sleep in my glasses.
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