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The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series)
| The Twilight Zone | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Rod Serling, based on his previous 1959 TV series |
| Narrated by | Charles Aidman (1985–87) Robin Ward (1988–89) |
| Theme music composer | Jerry Garcia Bob Weir Brent Mydland Phil Lesh Mickey Hart Bill Kreutzmann Merl Saunders Marius Constant (original theme) |
| Opening theme | Performed by The Grateful Dead |
| Country of origin | United States Canada |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 110 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 45–48 min. (Season 1) 22 min. (Seasons 2–3) |
| Production company(s) | CBS Productions (1985–87) Persistence of Vision (1985–87) London Films (1985–89) CBS Broadcast International(1988–89) Atlantis Films (1988–89) |
| Distributor | MGM/UA Telecommunications(1988–89) CBS Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS (1985–87) First-run syndication (1988–89) |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Audio format | Stereo, Mono |
| Original release | September 27, 1985 – April 15, 1989 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Twilight Zone (1959 series) |
| Followed by | The Twilight Zone (2002 series) |
The Twilight Zone (1985) is the first of two revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1959–64 television series of the same name. It ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication.[1]
Contents
[hide]Series history[edit]
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: The Twilight Zone had never been the breakaway hit CBS wanted, so they should not expect it to do better in a second run. "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."
Despite the 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. "The 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, George R. R. Martin, Rockne S. O'Bannon, Jeremy Bertrand Finch, Paul Chitlik and directors Wes Craven and William Friedkin. Casts featured stars including Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Season Hubley, Morgan Freeman, Martin Landau, Jonathan Frakes, and Fred Savage.
New theme music was composed and performed by The Grateful Dead with Merl Saunders, interpolating elements of the classic theme to the original Twilight Zone by Marius Constant (used in seasons 2–5). In addition, The Grateful Dead would go on to provide incidental music for a number of episodes in the series.[2][3]
Filling in for Serling (who died in 1975) as narrator was Charles Aidman, himself the star of two classic Twilight Zone episodes. The Twilight Zone ran for two seasons on CBS. For most of the network run the series was one hour in length, but occasionally (and in a departure from the original series), presented two or three stories within the one-hour time slot. For part of season 2, the show presented half-hour episodes.
An additional third 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. Unlike Serling (whose image appears fleetingly in the revival's opening credits) and Forest Whitaker, host of the 2002 revival, neither Aidman nor Ward appeared on screen.[1][4][5]
First season (1985–86)[edit]
The Twilight Zone debuted the night of September 27, 1985 to a generally warm reception: it would win its Friday-night time slot in four of its first five weeks. Episodes featured adaptations of stories by Harlan Ellison (whose "Shatterday" launched the new series), Greg Bear, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert McCammon, and Stephen King.[6] 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.[7]
Wes Craven directed several episodes including "Shatterday",[6] "A Little Peace and Quiet",[8] "Wordplay", and [9] "Chameleon".[10]
Other Season One episodes included "Healer",[11] "Dreams for Sale",[12] "Examination Day",[13] "Children's Zoo",[14] "Kentucky Rye",[15] and "Nightcrawlers".[16]
The DVD release includes several episode commentaries by Executive Producer Philip Deguere. On these DVD extras, he states that CBS initially told him the show would air at 10 PM and therefore the earliest episode were written with that time slot in mind. The late and unexpected rescheduling of the show to the 8 PM family viewing time slot resulted in the broadcast of the first six episodes in a time slot Mr. Deguere states were inappropriate for their content. He attributes the intensity of the earliest aired episodes, considered by him as not the best fare to be broadcast during family viewing time slot, as the reason why the series ratings dropped and never recovered.
That the show's producers had even 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 an obnoxious and mean-spirited drunk frightens his 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 and $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. On the DVD release, Mr. Ellison further expounds on his experiences during four audio commentaries to four of his stories that were adapted for the show.
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 Limitsor from anything." Thanks to such successes and despite poor ratings, The Twilight Zone was renewed for a second season in early 1986.
Second season (1986–87)[edit]
The series debuted in an hour-long format, but was put on hiatus only a few weeks into the season. CBS had moved the series to Saturday nights, which led to falling ratings. When The Twilight Zone returned in December, the episodes were half-hour shows, and generally contained only one story. The series was cancelled by February, with remaining episodes being aired over the summer as hour-long multi-story episodes. Season 2 only ran for 11 episodes; several of the unproduced episodes would be filmed for season 3. In regard to writing for the episode "The Girl I Married", J. M. DeMatteis commented "I have a feeling that the show that appears will not bear much relation to what I wrote. What I've found out is that this season—unlike last, where the script was pretty much regarded as sacrosanct—the network is really interfering a lot. [...] Regardless, I know I did a good job and it was a real satisfying experience."[17][18]
Third season (1988–89)[edit]
CBS replaced the original production team, and set out to do thirty 22-minute 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, and he also re-recorded Aidman's narration when the CBS episodes were edited for inclusion in the syndication package. To lead the writing team, the producers brought in a new group led by executive producer Mark Shelmerdine (I, Claudius) and supported by story editors Paul Chitlik, Jeremy Bertrand Finch, and J. Michael Straczynski. Straczynski authored more episodes that season than anyone else on staff. The producers named Straczynski the sole story editor following the release of Chitlik and Finch. Harlan Ellison was coaxed back to The Twilight Zone in the third season, and wrote what would be the third-to-last episode of the series, titled "Crazy as a Soup Sandwich."[19]
DVD releases[edit]
Image Entertainment has released The Twilight Zone on DVD in Region 1. Season 1 was released on December 28, 2004 and Seasons 2 and 3 were released together in a 7-Disc DVD on June 28, 2005. The company re-released all three seasons as a boxed set on August 26, 2014.[20]
In Region 2, Cinema Club UK has released all three seasons on DVD in the 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.
In Region 4, Shock Entertainment has released the entire series on DVD in Australia. All 3 seasons were released on June 1, 2011. On October 3, 2012, Shock released a complete series box set.
Alan Brennert, one of the writer-producers who contributed to the series, wrote that the picture quality of the DVD set was "NOT a 'bad transfer'" but rather that the episodes were "shot on film, but edited on video. In other words, the raw footage was 35 mm film, which was then transferred to videotape. Editing, dubbing, special effects—everything was done on video. We were in fact the first drama series on television to do this. So unlike the original Rod Serling TZ, there are NO original film negatives from which Image could strike new prints for transfer. All that exist are the old one-inch master tapes, and the unfortunate reality is, videotape does deteriorate some over time. Image has, in my opinion, done a superb job packaging our series, and it is to them that I award the five stars in this review! If not for their interest in bringing this show to DVD, those one-inch masters might eventually have eroded into so much static (as my 3/4-inch tapes of the show already have)." He concluded by saying "If you enjoyed this series, just be grateful it's been preserved!"[21]
Series overview[edit]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 59 | September 27, 1985 | April 11, 1986 | |
| 2 | 21 | September 27, 1986 | July 17, 1987 | |
| 3 | 30 | September 24, 1988 | April 15, 1989 | |
Episodes[edit]
Season One (1985–1986)[edit]
Season One consisted of two or three segments within each episode. [4]
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Shatterday" "A Little Peace and Quiet" | Wes Craven | Teleplay by: Alan Brennert Based on the Short Story by: Harlan Ellison James Crocker | September 27, 1985 |
A man (Bruce Willis) accidentally dials his own phone number, which is answered by his alter ego.[5] A housewife (Melinda Dillon) discovers a necklace that gives its owner the ability to freeze time.[6] | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "Wordplay" "Chameleon" | Wes Craven Wes Craven | Rockne S. O'Bannon Joe Gannon James Crocker | October 4, 1985 |
An overworked businessman (Robert Klein) thinks everyone is speaking gibberish.[7] At a picnic, a woman (Meg Foster) sees the same events repeating over and over again.[8] A group of NASA technicians encounter a strange alien life form.[9] | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "Healer" "Kentucky Rye" | Sigmund Neufeld John Hancock | Michael Bryant Chris Hubbell & Gerrit Graham Richard Krzemien & Chip Duncan | October 11, 1985 |
A loser (Eric Bogosian) profits from the healing powers of an Indian artifact he stole.[10] A girl brings her bickering parents (Lorna Luft, Steven Keats) to the Children's Zoo.[11] An alcoholic (Jeffrey DeMunn) is offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance to buy a roadside inn called the Kentucky Rye for a very low price.[12] | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "Little Boy Lost" "Nightcrawlers" | Tommy Lee Wallace Rick Friedberg William Friedkin | Lynn Walker Teleplay by: Philip DeGuere Based on the Short Story by: Robert R. McCammon | October 18, 1985 |
A photographer (Season Hubley) spends time with a little boy (Scott Grimes) who seems oddly familiar.[13] A woman (Dee Wallace-Stone) tries to cash in three wishes at a most unusual bank.[14] A veteran (Scott Paulin) of the Vietnam War shares his nightmares with the patrons of an all-night diner.[15] | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "If She Dies" "Ye Gods" | John Hancock Peter Medak | David Bennett Carren Anne Collins | October 25, 1985 |
The ghost of a little girl convinces a man (Tony Lo Bianco) - whose daughter is in a coma - to buy a bed from an orphanage.[16] A man (David Dukes) finds himself up against the ancient gods when he's struck by Cupid's (Robert Morse) arrow.[17] | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "Examination Day" "A Message from Charity" | Paul Lynch | Teleplay by: Philip DeGuere Based on the Short Story by: Henry Slesar Teleplay by: Alan Brennert Based on the Short Story by: William M. Lee | November 1, 1985 |
A 12-year-old boy (David Mendenhall) must go for mandatory intelligence testing. A teenage boy (Robert Duncan McNeill) with a fever finds himself in telepathic contact with a girl (Kerry Noonan) living in colonial New England.[18] | |||||
| 7 | 7 | "Teacher's Aide" "Paladin of the Lost Hour" | B.W.L. Norton Gilbert Cates (credited as Alan Smithee) | Steven Barnes Teleplay by: Harlan Ellison Based on His Short Story Paladin | November 8, 1985 |
A teacher (Adrienne Barbeau) at a gang-filled school is possessed by a mysterious gargoyle. Mr. Gaspar (Danny Kaye) is the protector of a magical timepiece, a pocket watch that holds The Last Hour. | |||||
| 8 | 8 | "Act Break" "Dealer's Choice" | Theodore J. Flicker J.D. Feigelson Wes Craven | Haskell Barkin Teleplay by: J.D. Feigelson Donald Todd | November 15, 1985 |
A playwright (James Coco) uses an ancient relic to make a single wish. A woman (Piper Laurie) and her nephew pick up a hitchhiker who warns of danger ahead. A group of friends (Barney Martin, Garrett Morris, M. Emmet Walsh and Morgan Freeman) playing cards suspect that their guest (Dan Hedaya) is the Devil. | |||||
| 9 | 9 | "Dead Woman's Shoes" "Wong's Lost and Found Emporium" | Peter Medak Paul Lynch | Teleplay by: Lynn Barker Based on the Story and Teleplay by: Charles Beaumont Teleplay by: Alan Brennert Based on the Story by: William F. Wu | November 22, 1985 |
In this version of "Dead Man's Shoes", a shy woman (Helen Mirren) tries on a pair of high heels at a thrift store that make her assertive, self-confident—and send her on a murderous mission. An Asian man (Brian Tochi) and an old white woman search for a mysterious shop that holds the secret to gaining back their lost emotions. | |||||
| 10 | 10 | "The Shadow Man" "Opening Day" | Joe Dante John Milius | Rockne S. O'Bannon Donald Todd Gerrit Graham & Chris Hubbell | November 29, 1985 |
The Shadow Man (Jeff Calhoun), a mysterious entity made of darkness, defends a boy (Jonathan Ward) in exchange for being allowed to stay under his bed. A boy learns strange magic tricks from a bizarre kids' show. A man (Jeffrey Jones) is targeted for murder on the opening day of duck hunting season by his wife and her lover. | |||||
| 11 | 11 | "The Beacon" "One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty" | Gerd Oswald Don Carlos Dunaway | Martin Pasko & Rebecca Parr Teleplay by: Alan Brennert From a Short Story by: Harlan Ellison | December 6, 1985 |
A young doctor (Charles Martin Smith) stumbles into a strange town where the citizens fear and worship a lighthouse. A man (Peter Riegert) who returns to his childhood home is transported to his past. | |||||
| 12 | 12 | "Her Pilgrim Soul" "I of Newton" | Wes Craven Kenneth Gilbert | Alan Brennert Teleplay by: Alan Brennert Based on the Short Story by: Joe Haldeman | December 13, 1985 |
Two scientists (Kristoffer Tabori, Gary Cole) create a holographic projector that has a woman (Anne Twomey) appear in the display. A professor (Sherman Hemsley) attempting to solve a difficult math problem finds himself matching wits with a demon (Ron Glass). | |||||
| 13 | 13 | "Night of the Meek" "The Star" | Martha Coolidge Shelley Levinson Gerd Oswald | Teleplay by: Rockne S. O'Bannon Based on the Story and Teleplay by: Rod Serling Martin Pasko & Rebecca Parr Teleplay by: Alan Brennert Based on the Short Story by: Arthur C. Clarke | December 20, 1985 |
In this remake of "The Night of the Meek", a drunk, out-of-work department store Santa (Richard Mulligan) finds a magic gift-giving bag and becomes a real-life Santa Claus. An overworked secretary (Pam Dawber) is sent into a parallel reality by a malfunctioning Xerox machine. On an interstellar journey, far in the future, an astrophysicist (Donald Moffat) and a priest (Fritz Weaver) learn they have discovered a long-dead world that has been emitting a signal for eons. | |||||
| 14 | 14 | "Still Life" "The Little People of Killany Woods" "The Misfortune Cookie" | Peter Medak J.D. Feigelson Allan Arkush | Gerrit Graham & Chris Hubbell J.D. Feigelson Teleplay by: Steven Rae Based on the Short Story by: Charles E. Fritch | January 3, 1986 |
A professional photographer (Robert Carradine) discovers an old camera containing mysterious photos of a long-ago expedition. A story-telling town drunk (Hamilton Camp) has an encounter with little people. A food critic (Elliott Gould) receives fortune cookie messages that get fulfilled. | |||||
| 15 | 15 | "Monsters!" "A Matter of Minutes" | B.W.L. Norton Sheldon Larry | Robert Crais Carter Scholz & Alan Brennert Teleplay by: Rockne S. O'Bannon Suggested by the Story Yesterday Was Monday by: Theodore Sturgeon | January 24, 1986 |
A boy who loves monster movies has a strange neighbor (Ralph Bellamy) move in. An alien race that claimed to have invented mankind returns to judge them. A married couple (Adam Arkin, Karen Austin) awakens to find reality being constructed around them. | |||||
| 16 | 16 | "The Elevator" "Tooth and Consequences" | R.L. Thomas Robert Downey | Ray Bradbury Teleplay by: Steven Barnes Haskell Barkin | January 31, 1986 |
Two brothers (Stephen Geoffreys, Robert Prescott) searching for their father discover a factory full of giant animal bodies. An uncaring man (Cotter Smith) is sentenced to a year of social isolation. The Tooth Fairy gives a dentist (David Birney) what he wishes for. | |||||
| 17 | 17 | "Welcome to Winfield" "Quarantine" | Bruce Bilson Martha Coolidge | Les Enloe Teleplay by: Alan Brennert Story by: Philip DeGuere and Steven Bochco | February 7, 1986 |
Two people fleeing an agent of Death (Gerrit Graham) end up in an old west town. An ill weapons designer (Scott Wilson) is cryogenically frozen and awakened three centuries later. | |||||
| 18 | 18 | "Gramma" "Cold Reading" | Bradford May Peter Medak Gus Trikonis | Teleplay by: Harlan Ellison Based on the Short Story by: Stephen King Rockne S. O'Bannon Martin Pasko & Rebecca Parr | February 14, 1986 |
A young boy (Barret Oliver) is convinced his ailing grandmother is really a monster. A scriptwriter (Martin Balsam) suffering from writer's block is tormented by a group of small creatures. An actor (Larry Poindexter) gets a job on a popular radio show only to find that everything described on the show becomes real inside the studio. | |||||
| 19 | 19 | "The Leprechaun-Artist" "Dead Run" | Tommy Lee Wallace Paul Tucker | Teleplay by: Tommy Lee Wallace Story by: James Crocker Teleplay by: Alan Brennert Based on the Short Story by: Greg Bear | February 21, 1986 |
A vacationing leprechaun is forced to grant wishes to the three boys who captured him. A truck driver (Steve Railsback) accepts the job of delivering souls to Hell. | |||||
| 20 | 20 | "Profile in Silver" "Button, Button" | John Hancock Peter Medak | J. Neil Schulman Teleplay by: Logan Swanson (pen name of Richard Matheson) Based on the Short Story by: Richard Matheson | March 7, 1986 |
A history professor (Lane Smith) from the future is sent back to observe the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. A stranger gives a down-and-out couple (Mare Winningham, Brad Davis) a box with a button on it. He states that if they press the button, they would receive a large sum of money but also that someone would die. (This story was remade into the 2009 film The Box.) | |||||
| 21 | 21 | "Need to Know" "Red Snow" | Paul Lynch Jeannot Szwarc | Teleplay by: Mary Sheldon Story by: Sidney Sheldon Michael Cassutt | March 21, 1986 |
A government scientist/agent (William Petersen) sent to a small town to help investigate a bizarre outbreak of insanity which is spreading through the town. A KGB colonel (George Dzundza) is sent to a Siberian town to investigate the deaths of the local Communist Party officials. | |||||
| 22 | 22 | "Take My Life...Please!" "The Library" | Gus Trikonis Ben Bolt John Hancock | Gordon Mitchell Teleplay by: Robert Hunter Anne Collins | March 28, 1986 |
A successful comedian (Tim Thomerson) who steals a routine from another comedian (Xander Berkeley) ends up paying a high price. A group of friends in Victorian England find themselves haunted by an oath they took as young men. A woman (Frances Conroy) is hired to work in a private library and soon discovers that the books document the lives of everyone alive, updated instantly and in the smallest detail. | |||||
| 23 | 23 | "Shadow Play" "Grace Note" | Paul Lynch Peter Medak | Teleplay by: James Crocker Based on the Story and Teleplay by: Charles Beaumont Patrice Messina | April 4, 1986 |
In this remake of the 1961 Twilight Zone episode, a man (Peter Coyote) is convinced that reality as we perceive it is dependent on his staying alive. A young woman (Julia Migenes) gains a glimpse of her future. | |||||
| 24 | 24 | "A Day in Beaumont "The Last Defender of Camelot" | Philip DeGuere Jeannot Szwarc | David Gerrold Teleplay by: George R.R. Martin Based on a Story by: Roger Zelazny | April 11, 1986 |
After witnessing the landing of a flying saucer, a young couple (Victor Garber, Stacey Nelkin) find themselves in the midst of an alien invasion. In modern-day England, the last of King Arthur's knights (Richard Kiley) teams with Morgan le Fay (Jenny Agutter) to stop the return of Merlin (Norman Lloyd). | |||||
Season Two (1986–1987)[edit]
Season Two episodes were composed of one, two or three segments. The December 4-18, 1986 episodes wired in a one-half hour timeslot.[19]
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 1 | "The Once and Future King" "A Saucer of Loneliness" | Jim McBride John Hancock | Teleplay by: George R.R. Martin Story by: Bryce Maritano Teleplay by: David Gerrold Based on the Short Story by: Theodore Sturgeon | September 27, 1986 |
An Elvis impersonator named Gary (Jeff Yagher) travels back in time and meets the real Elvis Presley. A man finds a woman (Shelley Duvall) who earlier had encountered a mysterious saucer. | |||||
| 26 | 2 | "What Are Friends For?" "Aqua Vita" | Gus Trikonis Paul Tucker | J. Michael Straczynski Jeremy Bertrand Finch & Paul Chitlik | October 4, 1986 |
A child's (Fred Savage) imaginary friend (Lukas Haas) turns out to be more than just his friend. A woman (Mimi Kennedy) finds a method for eternal youth at a steep price. | |||||
| 27 | 3 | "The Storyteller" "Nightsong" | Paul Lynch Bradford May | Rockne S. O'Bannon Michael Reaves | October 11, 1986 |
A young woman (Glynnis O'Connor) finds that the secret to immortality resides in stories. A DJ (Lisa Eilbacher) must cope with the return of her lover after a 5-year disappearance. | |||||
| 28 | 4 | "The After Hours" "The World Next Door" | Bruce Malmuth Gus Trikonis Paul Lynch | Teleplay by: Rockne S. O'Bannon Based on the Story and Teleplay by: Rod Serling Teleplay by: George R.R. Martin Lan O'Kun | October 18, 1986 |
In this remake of the 1960 Twilight Zone episode, a young woman (Terry Farrell) is pursued by mysterious strangers. A woman's (Akosua Busia) possessions mysteriously vanish. A door in the basement leads two people (George Wendt, Bernadette Birkett) to enhance their lives. | |||||
| 29 | 5 | "The Toys of Caliban" | Thomas J. Wright | Story by: Terry Matz Teleplay by: George R.R. Martin | December 4, 1986 |
| A mentally challenged child (David Greenlee) has strange powers. | |||||
| 30 | 6 | "The Convict's Piano" | Thomas J. Wright | Teleplay by: Patrice Messina Story by: James Crocker | December 11, 1986 |
| A wrongfully-convicted convict (Joe Penny) discovers an old piano in his prison with special powers. | |||||
| 31 | 7 | "The Road Less Traveled" | Wes Craven | George R.R. Martin | December 18, 1986 |
| A draft-dodger (Cliff DeYoung) is haunted by the specter of a familiar-looking man in a wheelchair. | |||||
| 32 | 8 | "The Card" "The Junction" | Bradford May Bill Duke | Michael Cassutt Virginia Aldridge | February 21, 1987 |
A woman (Susan Blakely) with out-of-control spending habits finds her new credit card comes with unexpected penalties. A modern-day miner (William Allen Young) has an argument with his wife and then goes off to work in the local mine. A collapse traps him, but he finds another survivor - a miner who claims to be from 1912. The two men figure out that somehow they have become connected through time. | |||||
| 33 | 9 | "Joy Ride" "Private Channel" | Gil Bettman Peter Medak | Cal Willingham Teleplay by: Ron Cobb and Robin Love Edward Redlich | May 21, 1987 |
Four teens (Rob Knepper, Brooke McCarter, Heidi Kozak, and Tamara Mark) take a recently deceased man's classic car for a joyride. But the driver (Knepper) acts increasingly irrationally during the ride... A survivalist (Joe Mantegna) and his friend find themselves cut off in his shelter after a nuclear bomb detonation. After accidentally dropping his portable stereo in an airplane lavatory, a young man (Scott Coffey) discovers that it allows him to hear other people's thoughts. | |||||
| 34 | 10 | "Time and Teresa Golowitz" "Voices in the Earth" | Shelley Levinson Curtis Harrington | Teleplay by: Alan Brennert Based on a Short Story: Parke Godwin Alan Brennert | July 10, 1987 |
A Broadway composer (Paul Sand) accepts an offer from the Prince of Darkness (Gene Barry) and returns to his high school years to see his crush again. It's not as pleasant as he expected and soon, he sees a classmate who met a tragic end that night. He uses the opportunity to prevent the classmate's suicide. People return to a barren Earth to find that not everything had left when they thought it did. | |||||
| 35 | 11 | "Song of the Younger World" "The Girl I Married" | Noel Black Philip DeGuere | Anthony & Nancy Lawrence J. M. DeMatteis | July 17, 1987 |
In 1916 a girl (Jennifer Rubin) and a young man (Peter Kowanko) from a reformatory for wayward boys fall in love and try to get away from her father, the superintendent. He finds out and does not approve of their love, locking away his daughter and punishing the boy. Luckily, the girl has a secret plan to escape so she can be forever with the love of her life. An attorney (James Whitmore Jr.) and his wife (Linda Kelsey) have successful careers. They feel something is lacking in their marriage. Soon, they encounter younger versions of their mates. | |||||
Season Three (1988–1989)[edit]
Season Three was made up of half-hour episodes that aired individually.[20]
| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 1 | "The Curious Case of Edgar Witherspoon" | René Bonnière | Teleplay by: Haskell Barkin Story by: Haskell Barkin and J. Michael Straczynski | September 24, 1988 |
| An old man known as Uncle Edgar (Harry Morgan) is ordered by a mysterious voice to collect junk in his apartment to keep the world in balance. | |||||
| 37 | 2 | "Extra Innings" | Doug Jackson | Tom Palmer | October 1, 1988 |
| Ex-baseball player Ed Hamler (Marc Singer), lame from an injury and forced to retire early, is given a baseball card from the early 1900s that transports Hamler to the past to be the player he used to be. | |||||
| 38 | 3 | "The Crossing" | Paul Lynch | Ralph Phillips | October 8, 1988 |
| A stressed-out priest (Ted Shackelford) is haunted by the sight of a station wagon with a young girl inside that keeps crashing. | |||||
| 39 | 4 | "The Hunters" | Paul Lynch | Paul Chitlik & Jeremy Bertrand Finch | October 15, 1988 |
| A young boy falls into an undiscovered cave near a housing project. An archeologist (Louise Fletcher) studies strange paintings on its walls and then bizarre things begin to happen. Cave items move around and animals are killed and brought into the cave. | |||||
| 40 | 5 | "Dream Me a Life" | Allan King | J. Michael Straczynski | October 22, 1988 |
| A man (Eddie Albert) in a retirement home is trapped in the dreams of a catatonic widow. | |||||
| 41 | 6 | "Memories" | Richard Bugajski | Bob Underwood | October 29, 1988 |
| A hypnotist (Barbara Stock) who specializes in helping people relive their past lives tries to find her own history—and finds that everyone she ever helped hates their past lives. | |||||
| 42 | 7 | "The Hellgramite Method" | Gilbert Shilton | William Selby | November 5, 1988 |
| An alcoholic (Timothy Bottoms) goes through an extremely painful and potentially deadly cure for his drinking problem. He has to choose which is more important - the bottle or his life. | |||||
| 43 | 8 | "Our Selena is Dying" | Bruce Pittman | Story by: Rod Serling Teleplay by: J. Michael Straczynski | November 12, 1988 |
| A young woman (Terri Garber) and her dying mother switch bodies during a visit. | |||||
| 44 | 9 | "The Call" | Gilbert Shilton | J. Michael Straczynski | November 19, 1988 |
| A lonely man (William Sanderson) accidentally phones the wrong number and finds an intriguing female to whom he grows attached. When she refuses to meet him, he investigates and finds the phone in a museum next to the statue of a woman. | |||||
| 45 | 10 | "The Trance" | Randy Bradshaw | Jeff Stuart and J. Michael Straczynski | November 26, 1988 |
| A scam artist (Peter Scolari) purports to channel the spirit of Delos, a former inhabitant of Atlantis. Together with a partner, he makes a living off of it. The day of his big break, he channels another spirit, one who could cause him to lose everything. Is it punishment or a lesson from the Twilight Zone? | |||||
| 46 | 11 | "Acts of Terror" | Brad Turner | J. Michael Straczynski | December 3, 1988 |
| A battered wife (Melanie Mayron) living with her abusive husband finds the strength to leave him in the form of a statuette of a Doberman pinscher. | |||||
| 47 | 12 | "20/20 Vision" | Jim Purdy | Robert Walden | December 10, 1988 |
| Newly promoted bank loan officer Warren Cribbens (Michael Moriarty) cracks his eyeglasses and discovers he can see the future through them. Faced with seeing the future of the farmers whose farms he must foreclose on, Warren can't bring himself to foreclose. Right away he's torn between doing his job and standing up for the people he helps. | |||||
| 48 | 13 | "There Was an Old Woman" | Otta Hanus | Tom J. Astle | December 17, 1988 |
| A writer of children's books (Colleen Dewhurst) autographs a book for a sick young fan. Later, she starts hearing the sound of children in her house. | |||||
| 49 | 14 | "The Trunk" | Steve DiMarco | Paul Chitlik & Jeremy Bertrand Finch | December 24, 1988 |
| A young man (Bud Cort) at a motel discovers an empty trunk that grants any wishes. He uses it for popularity, but at a party he discovers who his true friends are. | |||||
| 50 | 15 | "Appointment on Route 17" | René Bonnière | Haskell Barkin | December 31, 1988 |
| After receiving a heart transplant, a man (Paul Le Mat) finds his personality has changed. He also discovers that he has a strange attraction to a waitress at a road diner. | |||||
| 51 | 16 | "The Cold Equations" | Martin Lavut | Teleplay by: Alan Brennert Based on a Story by: Tom Godwin | January 7, 1989 |
| A rescue pilot (Terence Knox) on the frontiers of space is faced with unpleasant prospects when he finds an innocent stowaway on his ship. | |||||
| 52 | 17 | "Stranger in Possum Meadows" | Sturla Gunnarsson | Paul Chitlik & Jeremy Bertrand Finch | January 14, 1989 |
| A young boy playing in a field meets an old man (Steve Kanaly) who is really an alien collecting specimens to bring back to his planet. | |||||
| 53 | 18 | "Street of Shadows" | Richard Bugajski | Michael Reaves | January 21, 1989 |
| While taking a walk in a wealthy neighborhood, an unemployed man (Charles Haid) living in a shelter experiences an unusual transformation. | |||||
| 54 | 19 | "Something in the Walls" | Allan Kroeker | J. Michael Straczynski | January 28, 1989 |
| A doctor (Damir Andrei) arrives at his new job in a sanitarium. He discovers the case of a woman (Deborah Raffin) who is terribly frightened of things that appear on her walls. | |||||
| 55 | 20 | "A Game of Pool" | Randy Bradshaw | George Clayton Johnson | February 4, 1989 |
| In a remake of the 1961 Twilight Zone episode, a pool champion (Esai Morales) has defeated everyone at his local pool hall, except for the long dead legend, Fats Brown (Maury Chaykin), who returns from the afterlife to challenge him to a high-stakes game. | |||||
| 56 | 21 | "Room 2426" | Ryszard Bugajski | Jeremy Bertrand Finch & Paul Chitlik | February 11, 1989 |
| Martin Decker (Dean Stockwell) is confined to a special room for acts and thoughts against the state. They want the formula for a weapon he does not want to reveal. Escape for Martin comes from the mind. | |||||
| 57 | 22 | "The Mind of Simon Foster" | Doug Jackson | J. Michael Straczynski | February 18, 1989 |
| In an impoverished future, Simon Foster (Bruce Weitz) goes to a pawnshop to sell some personal items to raise money for rent. The shop owner offers to buy some of his memories. In Simon Foster's life, what could possibly be valuable? | |||||
| 58 | 23 | "The Wall" | Atom Egoyan | J. Michael Straczynski | February 25, 1989 |
| A U.S. military experiment opens a portal to an unknown place. After sending through one team, the Army calls upon a career soldier (John Beck) to investigate, where he finds an idyllic planet. He has to decide whether to stay or go back to his old life. | |||||
| 59 | 24 | "Cat and Mouse" | Eric Till | Christy Marx | March 4, 1989 |
| A shy woman (Pamela Bellwood) finds that a cat is actually a cursed "Casanova." She falls for the man (Page Fletcher) but finds that her Prince Charming is actually a scoundrel. | |||||
| 60 | 25 | "Rendezvous in a Dark Place" | René Bonnière | J. Michael Straczynski | March 11, 1989 |
| An old woman (Janet Leigh) with an obsession with death attends funerals for entertainment. One night when an injured thief breaks into her home, she lets him die and waits for Death to come and collect him. | |||||
| 61 | 26 | "Many, Many Monkeys" | Richard Bugajski | William Froug | March 18, 1989 |
| An epidemic breaks out and many people (Karen Valentine, Jackie Burroughs, Ken Pogue) are struck blind. Something more happens, however: People have become cold and heartless toward each other. | |||||
| 62 | 27 | "Love is Blind" | Gilbert Shilton | Cal Willingham | March 25, 1989 |
| A man (Ben Murphy) plotting to murder his wife's lover meets a blind singer who seems to know all about his plans. | |||||
| 63 | 28 | "Crazy as a Soup Sandwich" | Paul Lynch | Harlan Ellison | April 1, 1989 |
| A man (Wayne Robson) sells his soul to a demon for some racing tips. After being terrified by the demon he goes for help from the criminal boss (Tony Franciosa) he borrowed the track money from. | |||||
| 64 | 29 | "Special Service" | Randy Bradshaw | J. Michael Straczynski | April 8, 1989 |
| A man (David Naughton) finds that his life has been on TV for the past five years. | |||||
| 65 | 30 | "Father and Son Game" | Randy Bradshaw | Jeremy Bertrand Finch & Paul Chitlik | April 15, 1989 |
| A 79-year-old man (Ed Marinaro) wants to keep on living so he transplants his brain into a younger body. His son (Eugene Robert Glazer), however, resents his father's continued life and tries to wrestle power from him. | |||||