For science fiction fans and classic TV buffs, today is a big day. It was half a century ago today that one of television’s most famous series made its debut right here on LIVE 5 WCSC.
That show was THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
The science fiction anthology series ran for just five seasons on CBS, but it is still a favorite and is regularly mentioned among the most favorite shows of all time.
The premiere episode was called, “Where is Everybody?” and starred Earl Holliman as an astronaut who finds himself in a deserted town desperate to find any signs of life. As his fear turns into paranoia, it is then revealed that it was all a delusion spawned by excessive time in solitary confinement, an experiment designed to test the affects of lonliness on a future astronaut as he travels into outer space.
Reliving the magic of creater Rod Serling’s series is as easy as going online! CBS offers full episodes available any time for free. Visit this page to take a trip into the Twilight Zone!
Which episode was your favorite?
My favorite was “A Stop at Willoughby.” A busy ad exec wants to escape his pressure-cooker existence and dreams of a train stop called Willoughby on his way home from work on a commuter train. Willoughby looks like a little town right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
When he finally works up the nerve to get off at that stop, it turns out he’s actually sleepwalking and falls off the train to his death. The final shot is of his body being loaded into a hearse labelled “Willoughby and Sons Funeral Home.”