The New Twilight Zone is the popular nickname for the 1985 revival of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1950/60s television series, The Twilight Zone; it was officially titled the same as the original. It ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This is a list of television-related events in 1985. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Rodman Edward Rod Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, most famous for his science fiction anthology television series, The Twilight Zone. ... The Twilight Zone is a television series created by Rod Serling. ... CBS is one of the largest radio and television networks in the United States. ... is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (106th in leap years). ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... Rodman Edward Rod Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, most famous for his science fiction anthology television series, The Twilight Zone. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... The Twilight Zone title. ... CBS is one of the largest radio and television networks in the United States. ... In the television industry (as in radio), syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. ...

Series history

It was Serling's decision to sell his share of the series back to the network that eventually allowed for a Twilight Zone revival. As an in-house production, CBS stood to earn more money producing The Twilight Zone than it could by purchasing a new series produced by an outside company. Even so, the network was slow to consider a revival, shooting down offers from the original production team of Rod Serling and Buck Houghton and later from American filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. Their hesitation stemmed from concerns familiar to the original series: Twilight Zone had never been the breakaway hit CBS wanted, why should they expect it to do better in a second run? The Twilight Zone title. ... CBS is one of the largest radio and television networks in the United States. ... Buck Houghton was a television producer for The Twilight Zone, as well as many other television programs from the 1950s through the 1990s. ... Francis Ford Coppola (born April 7, 1939) is a five-time Academy Award winning American film director, producer, and screenwriter. ... The Twilight Zone is a television series created by Rod Serling. ...

The answers to this question began to surface in the early 1980s, as a new generation of writers and directors emerged from the very teenagers who formed the core of Twilight Zone's original audience. First came The Twilight Zone Companion by Marc Scott Zicree, an in-depth look into the history of the series that won critical accolade, a 1983 nomination for the American Book Award and a place on bestseller lists across the nation. Also encouraging were the new numbers from Nielsen and the box office alike. "We were looking at the success of the original series in syndication and the enormous popularity of the Steven Spielberg films," said CBS program chief Harvey Shepard. "Many of them (such as E.T. or Poltergeist) deal with elements of the show. Perhaps the public is ready for it again." This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Twilight Zone literature is an umbrella term for the many books and comic books which concern or adapt The Twilight Zone television series. ... Marc Scott Zicree (born 1955) is an American science fiction author, television writer, and screenwriter. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... The American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. ... Steven Allan Spielberg KBE (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director and producer. ... ET (or et) is Latin for and; it can also refer to: Estonian language (ISO 639 alpha-2, et) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the 1982 film, or the related video game extraterrestrials in general Eastern Time, both in standard time and daylight time Entertainment Tonight engineering technology elapsed time... The Poltergeist movies are a trilogy of horror films produced in the 1980s. ...

Despite lukewarm response to Twilight Zone: The Movie, Spielberg's theatrical homage to the original series, CBS gave The New Twilight Zone a greenlight in 1984 under the supervision of Carla Singer, then Vice President of Drama Development. "Twilight Zone was a series I always liked as a kid," said Singer, "...and at that point it sounded like an interesting challenge for me personally." These sentiments were seconded by a number of young filmmakers eager to make their mark on a series which had proved influential to their life and work—people like writers Harlan Ellison, J. Michael Straczynski, George R. R. Martin and Rockne S. O'Bannon and directors Wes Craven and William Friedkin. Casts featured such stars as Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Martin Landau, Jonathan Frakes, and Fred Savage. New theme music was composed by Jerry Garcia and performed by The Grateful Dead. Twilight Zone: The Movie was a 1983 movie produced by Steven Spielberg as a theatrical version of The Twilight Zone, a long-running early TV series. ... To greenlight a project, in the context of the movie business, is to formally approve production finance, thereby allowing the project to move forward from the development phase to pre-production and, barring disasters, principal photography. ... Year 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar). ... Harlan Jay Ellison (born May 27, 1934) is a prolific American writer of short stories, novellas, essays, and criticism. ... Joseph Michael Straczynski (born July 17, 1954) is an award-winning American writer/producer of television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. ... George Raymond Richard Martin, sometimes called GRRM, born September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey is an American author and screenwriter of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. ... Rockne S. OBannon (born January 12, 1955) is a television producer and writer. ... Wesley Earl Craven (born August 2, 1939 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American film director and writer best known as the creator of many horror films, including the famed Nightmare on Elm Street series featuring the redoubtable Freddy Krueger character. ... William Friedkin (born August 29, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American movie and television director, producer, and writer best known for directing The Exorcist and The French Connection in the early 1970s. ... Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is an American actor and singer. ... For the Dawsons Creek director, see Morgan J. Freeman. ... Martin Landau in North by Northwest. ... Jonathan Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director best known for his portrayal of Commander William T. Riker in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Frederick Aaron Savage (born July 9, 1976) is an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award-nominated American actor and television director. ... Jerome John Jerry Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician, songwriter, and artist perhaps best known for being the lead guitarist and vocalist of the psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead. ... Jerry Garcia later in life The Grateful Dead was an American rock band, which was formed in 1965 in San Francisco from the remnants of another band, Mother McCrees Uptown Jug Champions. ...

Filling in for Serling as narrator and host was Charles Aidman, himself the star of two classic Twilight Zone episodes. The New Twilight Zone ran for two seasons (in an hour format) on CBS. An additional season of half-hour programs was produced in 1988 to "pad" the series' syndication package. Robin Ward replaced Aidman as the narrator of these Canadian-produced episodes. Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Robin Ward (born 1944) is a Canadian actor and television personality. ...

First season (1985-1986)

The Twilight Zone debuted the night of September 27, 1985 to a generally warm reception: it would win its Friday-night time slot four of its first five weeks. Episodes featured adaptations of stories by Greg Bear, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Harlan Ellison, Robert McCammon and Stephen King. A new batch of scripts was supplemented with remakes of classic Twilight Zone episodes like "Dead Man’s Shoes", "Shadow Play" and "Night of the Meek". Though the production crew was convinced that they were making all of the right decisions, ratings began to slide as the novelty of the show wore off. "You have not known humiliation until you have been beaten by Webster and Mr. Belvedere," said executive story consultant Alan Brennert. Then came the "Nackles" incident. is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... Gregory Dale Bear (born August 20, 1951) is a science fiction author. ... Ray Douglas Bradbury (born August 22, 1920) is an American literary, fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer best known for The Martian Chronicles, a 1950 book which has been described both as a short story collection and a novel, and his 1953 dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451. ... Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (born December 16, 1917) is a British science-fiction author and inventor, most famous for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, and for collaborating with director Stanley Kubrick on the film of the same name. ... Harlan Jay Ellison (born May 27, 1934) is a prolific American writer of short stories, novellas, essays, and criticism. ... Robert R. McCammon is an American novelist from Birmingham, Alabama. ... Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of over 200 stories including over 50 bestselling horror novels. ... A mobster dies, when a bum puts on the dead mobsters shoes the mobster takes over the bums body. ... “Shadow Play” is an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone. ... “Night of the Meek” is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. ... Webster was a sitcom produced by Paramount Television which premiered on ABC on September 16, 1983, and ran on that network until September 11, 1987, but continued in first-run syndication until 1989. ... Mr. ... Alan Brennert(born 1954 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American TV producer and scriptwriter. ...

That the show's producers had ever managed to hire Harlan Ellison was considered by many to be nothing short of miraculous; Ellison was an extremely vocal critic of television who had already published two collections of essays on the subject, “concluding that to work in television is akin to putting in time in the Egyptian House of the Dead.” These feelings surfaced once again when the script he submitted for Twilight Zone's Christmas special – an adaptation of Donald E. Westlake's 1964 story "Nackles", in which a bigot frightens minority children with stories of a malicious anti-Santa Claus - was rejected by CBS' West Coast Program Practices. The segment, which was to be Ellison's directorial debut, was halted in mid-production. This cost the program between $150,000 to $300,000 and Ellison’s services as a creative consultant. “[Their] suggestions were vile, infamous!” Ellison recalled of his aborted attempts to change the network’s mind. Harlan Jay Ellison (born May 27, 1934) is a prolific American writer of short stories, novellas, essays, and criticism. ... The Book of the Dead comd A Section of Plate 3 from the Papyrus of Ani. ... Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. ... Donald Edwin Westlake (born July 12th, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York), is a prolific American writer, with over a hundred books, specializing in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional bit of science fiction. ... A typical depiction of Santa Claus. ...

The "Nackles" incident generated a flurry of press which ultimately proved inadequate to revive public interest in the series. "I can see why people who were expecting The Twilight Zone were disappointed with it," said staff writer Michael Cassutt of the show's low ratings. "...our show always seemed uneven to me. There were episodes perfectly in keeping with The Twilight Zone spirit, and then others that could have been from The Outer Limits or from anything." Among the episodes frequently cited as the series' best were "Her Pilgrim Soul", "Nightcrawlers", "Profile in Silver" and "Dead Run", all produced in the first season. Thanks to such successes and despite poor ratings, The New Twilight Zone was renewed for a second season in early 1986. The Outer Limits is an American television series. ... Her Pilgrim Soul is an episode of the television series The New Twilight Zone. ... Nightcrawlers is an episode of the television series The New Twilight Zone. ... Lane Smith is a professor in history from the future. ... Dead Run is an episode of the television series The New Twilight Zone. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ...

Second season (1986-1987)

Unlike episodes from the first season, several episodes contained only one long segment, as opposed to 2 or 3 smaller segments. Season 2 only ran for 11 episodes because CBS canceled it in the middle of the season. Several of the unaired/unfinished episodes would be finished for season 3.

Third season (1988-1989)

CBS got rid of the original production team, and brought in a new group (led by J. Michael Straczynski) to do thirty half-hour episodes for the third season; this way they could have enough episodes to sell the series into syndication. Robin Ward replaced Aidman as the narrator of these Canadian-produced episodes. Joseph Michael Straczynski (born July 17, 1954) is an award-winning American writer/producer of television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. ... Robin Ward (born 1944) is a Canadian actor and television personality. ...

DVD Release

The New Twilight Zone was released on DVD, in Region 1, for the very first time by Image Entertainment. Season 1 was released on December 28, 2004 and Seasons 2 and 3 were released together in a 6-Disc DVD on June 28, 2005.
The series was released in Region 2 in the UK by Cinema Club UK. Season 1 was released on September 19, 2005 on 6 DVDs, season 2 on December 23, 2005 on 4 DVDs and season 3 on May 12, 2006 on 4 DVDs. Image Entertainment is a major home video and television distribution company that has handled digital media distribution of television programs, public domain and copyrighted feature films, and music concerts. ... Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see number 28. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see number 28. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

See also

• Postcards from the Zone New Twilight Zone episode guide/blog with in-depth reviews and opinions
• List of The Twilight Zone episodes
• The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)

This is a list of The Twilight Zone episodes. ... The Twilight Zone is a television series created by Rod Serling. ...

References

• Ellison, Harlan: "The Deadly "Nackles" Affair". The Twilight Zone Magazine, February 1987
• Graham, Jefferson: "The Twilight Zone Returns". The Twilight Zone Magazine, April 1985.
• Zicree, Marc Scott: The Twilight Zone Companion. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition)