Where can we find his pre-TZ television programs?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Rod Serling
fluffyburger — 16 years ago(July 17, 2009 03:32 PM)
More specifically, is5b4 there an outlet that has some of the shows he penned for Playhouse 90 and Studio One? Or any of his other 1 off specials? I'd love to see some of his more contemporary social writings that he abandoned in order to make the more entertaining Twilight Zone.
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mickeyone — 16 years ago(July 18, 2009 01:54 AM)
I would like to know this also! Remember, according to "The Twilight Zone Companion" at least, the main reason he did The Twilight Zone is because he had gotten sick of the sponsors putting restrictions on what he could do in his TV dramas (to make sure they didn't offend anyone). Isn't that incredible?! Probably tens of millions of people now believe that he was a science fiction/fantasy author, but was he really? What if history had been different and he could've gotten on the air anything he wanted to from the beginning. Would The Twilight Zone ever have happened? I don't think so
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fluffyburger — 16 years ago(July 23, 2009 02:35 AM)
Yeah, what turned me onto his work was watching an interview he did with Mike Wallace on youtube right before Twilight Zone came out. He talks disparagingly about the censors and advertisers, how they constantly meddled with his scripts, especially one about Emmett Till. It's interesting that today we view Twilight Zone as veiled social commentary, even though back then Serling was giving up his socially relevant scripts to write an entertaining sci-fi show! I guess he couldn't keep it contained. His social anger had a way of bubbling up.
But I did a little research and discovered that the Paley Center (formerly Museum of TV & Radio) in NY and LA has around 30 tv movies that he wrote! Since I live in LA, I've already watched Requiem for a Heavyweight, and I must say it is stunning television. Maybe even better than most Hollywood films I've seen from that era. Great writing and Jack Palance puts on a magnificent performance as the boxer. Anyway, I'd like to try and watch all the eps in the collection, even though that might take awhile. Do you know some of the gems or essential eps one should watch first? -
mickeyone — 16 years ago(July 27, 2009 06:20 AM)
I know almost noting about his pre-Twilight-Zone TV work. I have seen 'Requiem for a Heavyweight' (years ago) and agree that it is excellent. I have always wanted to see his 'Patterns' which is also supposed to be very good, 'Seven Days in May' (well, that was a later movie), 'The Time 1c84Element' since this was supposed to be sort of the genesis of Twilight Zone, and also just learned about 'The Dark Side of the Earth' which he penned but it was directed by a director I got interested in quite a while ago, Authur Penn (he directed a movie called 'Mickey One' and also 'Bonnie and Clyde'). But you just want to know the best episodes to watch and I'm afraid I can't help you with that except definitely you should see 'Patterns'. Oh and if you do see them, why not share what you thought of each one of them on this board so we can all know just what we are missing
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fluffyburger — 16 years ago(August 26, 2009 12:27 PM)
I just wanted to let you know that the Criterion collection is releasing a set in November called "The Golden Age of Television" that features 3 Serling penned teleplays. Patterns, Requiem for a Heavyweight, and The Comedian will be included (some say those were his best), along with some other great ones of the era including Marty by Paddy Chayefsky. Thank goodness we can always count on Criterion!
http://www.criterion.com/films/3560