The Twilight Zone Companion

Zicree bleeds his own opinion on every page.

Was not 3rd edition

Really, this book is a four and a half stars. I give it a half-"Brown Dwarf"-star because Zicree is overly critical of many of the TZ episodes. As a writer (he wrote the Roswell episode of "Deep Space Nine"), he needs to know when an episode goes good and why it goes bad. However, form the point of view of a casual fan, this annoys. Yes, not every TZ is a Shakespeare-but the Bard had a few of his own bombs (Titus Andronicus?). Furthermore, a mediocre episode of TZ is still better than most of the rot on television-then or now. Aside form the overly-critically reviews of SOME of the episodes, this books is as close to perfection as you could hope for. In fact, I believe it should be used as a templette for future TV series companions. Even if you are nominal fan-that is, you have seen four episodes in a row during a marathon-then get this book. So here is the book's format: The books has an intro with a bio on Serling, and a view with what he did prior to TZ, the road to TZ, and his original pitch and the deal. The center of the book is divided up into the shows five season. Each season is divided up into the episodes. The entry for the episode has the title, air date, cast and crew listing, a paragraph-long episode summery, plus Serling's opening and closing narration. Depending on the episode, Zicree either gives a personal reaction (which generally is critical), trivia, and behind the scenes factoids. Zicree went whole-hog with the research. He interviewed actors Billy Mumy, Burgess Meredith, and several of the writers. Of particular interests was about Ray Bradbury's non-role in the series (p. 271ff). He also puts his finger on why TZ resonates with us-it is about the human condition, the possible human condition, and about the universal "fear of the unknown working on you." (p. 62). How many of TZ contemporaries can oyu name, or have been revived twice, and turned into a radio series? There is something special about what Serling did. Zicree rounds out the book with a section on the cancellation of TZ, and the unused pitch called "Rod Serling's Wax Museums," which later morphed into "Night Gallery." In the Second Edition, he included an Addendum that covered the TZ movie, and the revival series (1985-1989). Zicree is critical of both. I think this criticism is well placed for the film. Spielberg, who directed one segment for the "Night Gallery" pilot, did change the tenor of the stories from the gritty, dreadful, and sometimes nihilistic edge that TZ had, to a more kid-friendly, schmaltzy, and Spielberg-ized film that had a happy ending to the bizarre settings. It was like the film "AI"-neither Spielberg fish nor Kubrick fowl, and was carried over to his rival series "Amazing Stories." If Zicree ever does a third revision, I would like to see what he thought about the UPN TZ revival, and the TZ radio programs. I have not see any of UPN's third revival (we can all guess what Zicree would probably think), but have heard some of the TZ r

Having read and been extremely disappointed with a couple of other "guides" on some of my favorite shows (e.g. Blackadder) I was REALLY thankful to see that someone had done right by my favorite television series of all time.Zicree's Twilight Zone companion is one of the best organized guides to a show I've ever seen. It's put together perfectly to compliment the show and it's many facets. It covers everything about the show in a clear consice pattern.Each episode section begins with -A screenshot of the episode -A full cast listing-Serlings verbal introduction-An overview of what happens in the episode-Serlings verbal exit-Discussion, quotes, and interviews regarding that particular episodes production.There is also a large amount of biographical information on several of the shows' writers, directors, and cast such as Rod Serling and Richard Matheson.At the begining and end of each season there is even more production information regarding how the show did for the season, ratings and pretty much anyhing you would want to know about the show and what surrouds it.Additionally Zicree does an exceptional job of interviewing and quoting important people that were working on the show.This is a wonderful book for fans of the series that explains and expounds alot on the genius that was Rod Serling.A MUST BUY!

I've referred to this book so often when watching old episodes that it's frayed on the edges! It's a great source of info and helps viewers get more in depth with each show. Also offers behind-the-scene tidbits of interest to die hard fans. I enjoyed the "dictionary" style which lists each episode by title, making it easy to look up your favorite shows. For any Twilight Zone fan, this is a great addition to your bookshelf.

I made the mistake of lending my only copy of this book to a Serling-phile who never returned it back in the late 80s. Pat, if you're reading this, be a mensch and return it. It's easy to see why he kept it. Not only is the book a fascinating read because it gives the behind-the-scenes dish on particular episodes in terms of actors, writers, and myriad scholarly details, it also has all the Rod Serling introductory remarks for each episode as well as the closing remarks. Before Pat stole my copy, I had memorized several (a great thing to come up with, by the way,when someone shoves a video camera in your face and expects you to "perform"). Give them a little Rod, and it makes for a good time. Who could forget some of those gems? Case in point: "In just a moment, this sad-faced perennial punching bag, who missed even the caboose of life's gravy train, will take a short constitutional into that most upredictable region we refer to as .... the Twilight Zone." Great stuff. And the book goes a long way to show Serling's own craftsmanship and his respect for the written word and the people who labored for this unusual program trying to capture something about the human condition. Do yourself a favor: buy this book and a copy of "Night of the Meek" for someone you love this Christmas. Art Carney plays a good-hearted, down-on-his-luck department store Santa Claus who gets ahold of some Christmas magic courtesy of the Twilight Zone, where all things are possible.

Widely regarded as the best anthology TV series ever, as well as perhaps the best Science Fiction show, the Twilight Zone has many fans. This book lists every episode, and includes the story introductions and concluding monologues, as spoken by Rod Serling on the show. Marc Scott Zicree also reviews all the episodes, as well as provides interviews and backgrounds by some of those that worked on the show, including the writers and directors. Also included is some dialog from the series, and some biographical information on Serling. The updated version includes information on the new series, and an expanded index. A must-have for fans of the series and of Rod Serling.