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Ambrose Tardive is an editor on ScreenRant's Comics team. Over the past two years, he has developed into the internet's foremost authority on The Far Side. Outside of his work for ScreenRant, Ambrose works as an Adjunct English Instructor.
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The Twilight Zone still has a strong case for the GOAT TV show. Rod Serling's sci-fi anthology first aired nearly seventy years ago, and it could only have been a product of its time and place. Yet since then, Twilight Zone has thoroughly transcended its era, standing out as the most timelessly relevant material the television medium has ever produced.
Television was still a fledgling enterprise in 1959 when Twilight Zone debuted. Nobody took advantage of that wide open creative frontier like Rod Serling.
So many years later, when it seems like The Twilight Zone should feel dated, it holds up. As such, it has had a claim to the "best TV show" title longer than any other series.
The Twilight Zone Revolutionized Genre Television In Order To Tell More Meaningful Stories
How Rod Serling Got His Revolutionary Stories On The Air
It's impossible to talk about the history of television without talking about two things: censorship and capitalism. Up until the 21st-century, TV was a heavily censored medium. It has also always been a business, meaning things like network sponsors have always had an influence on what makes it on screen, or doesn't.
The brilliance of The Twilight Zone started even before a single script was written. Series creator Rod Serling realized that if he wanted to tell meaningful stories, he needed to almost "Trojan Horse" them onto the screen. Serling smartly realized that genre, particularly science fiction, was the way to do this.
Through sci-fi and horror, as well as the occasional Western or crime story, Twilight Zone managed to address difficult themes that were difficult to get past the Standards & Practices department in a straightforward drama. This allowed Serling to push the boundaries of TV's potential for satire and allegory with The Twilight Zone.
Rod Serling Has No Equal As TV's Greatest Moralist Screenwriter
The Twilight Zone Became Infamous For Teaching Viewers A Lesson
Every generation has its Twilight Zone reboot, which invariably fails to capture the magic of the original. There have been plenty of imitators, from ABC's The Outer Limits, which began airing while the OG Twilight Zone was still on, up to Black Mirror today. There is one thing about The Twilight Zone that no other TV series has managed to replicate.
That is, Rod Serling's strength as a moralist. In the annals of TV writing, Serling is singular in his ability to instill his stories with a clear moral message. Though not always, the horrible and strange fates suffered by The Twilight Zone's characters often served to make a point to the audience.
It's true that Twilight Zone's special effects, its pacing, and even its dialogue might feel increasingly archaic with time. Still, the points of many Twilight Zone episodes, what Rod Serling was saying with his stories, feel as urgent as ever. It's hard to say whether any other GOAT TV show candidates will feel as relevant 70 years from now.
The Legacy Of The Twilight Zone Is More Impactful Than Any Other TV Series
How Rod Serling's Show Grew Its Audience After Cancellation
The Twilight Zone aired for five seasons, from 1959 through 1964. Here's another timeless thing about it: the show aired to rave reviews, but its network, CBS, was never satisfied with its ratings. Forty years later, The Wire would be perennially on the verge of cancellation between each of its own five seasons.
Nobody quite fully understood what they had on their hands with The Twilight Zone during its run, not even Rod Serling. In this way, it set yet another precedent. Twilight Zone became one of the first shows to become truly iconic in syndication, as new viewers discovered the show when repeats aired.
For 30+ years, Syfy Channel's New Year's Twilight Zone marathon has indoctrinated generations of fans. Now, the show is more accessible than ever thanks to streaming. Its pioneering twists, innovative techniques, and timeless themes continue to blow the minds of new viewers, despite its occasionally archaic qualities. The show's longevity is nothing short of remarkable.
The Twilight Zone Has Stuck In The Minds Of Generations Of TV Viewers Like Nothing Else Before Or Since
Rod Serling's Writing Is What Makes Twilight Zone A Generational Series
Following Twilight Zone's cancellation, Rod Serling was reticent to be pegged as "the supernatural TV guy." He did eventually return with a successor series for NBC, Night Gallery, but Serling's vision for the series was compromised by interference from the network. Night Gallery contains sparks of Serling's brilliance, but never reached the heights of Twilight Zone.
Frustratingly for Serling, the TV networks of his day wanted him for his knack for monsters and the macabre, rather than his morality plays. But while Twilight Zone has its share of memorable creatures and sci-fi concepts, it is usually the point Serling used them to make that has made them stand the test of time.
The Twilight Zone's ability to imprint on the minds of viewers with striking visuals and even more urgent ideas is what makes it the greatest show of all time. As technology and TV-making have become more sophisticated, there have maybe been stronger shows, but none has equaled the true importance of Twilight Zone in the canon of television.
Release Date 1959 - 1964
Showrunner Rod Serling
Directors John Brahm, Buzz Kulik, Douglas Heyes, Lamont Johnson, Richard L. Bare, James Sheldon, Richard Donner, Don Medford, Montgomery Pittman, Abner Biberman, Alan Crosland, Jr., Alvin Ganzer, Elliot Silverstein, Jack Smight, Joseph M. Newman, Ted Post, William Claxton, Jus Addiss, Mitchell Leisen, Perry Lafferty, Robert Florey, Robert Parrish, Ron Winston, Stuart Rosenberg
Writers Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Earl Hamner, Jr., George Clayton Johnson, Jerry Sohl, Henry Slesar, Martin Goldsmith, Anthony Wilson, Bernard C. Schoenfeld, Bill Idelson, E. Jack Neuman, Jerome Bixby, Jerry McNeely, John Collier, John Furia, Jr., John Tomerlin, Lucille Fletcher, Ray Bradbury, Reginald Rose, Sam Rolfe, Adele T. Strassfield
English (US) ·