I'm going to talk mostly about the '85 version but mention the original 60's version in comparison (the 2002 second re-make worked on it's own fine but I don't really count it as a Twilight Zone series.) I like all of them (though I haven't watched all of the originals yet) but the '85 version is my favorite. Why? The original is great but the 60's had this weird vibe that somehow always sticks out to me. 80's had it too but it's more familiar being born around that time.
So... Serling was already dead at this time and the re-make didn't have his touch on it. I may get a lot of shit for saying this but I don't think it mattered. I think they still captured what Serling was going for in the original series not only by doing couple of straight re-makes and sequels but capturing Serling in their own episodes. Which were great... for one and a half seasons.
Let's talk about cancelling series. This is sadly one of the horrible examples what can happen to a wonderful show when it's cancelled. The first season is one of the most imaginative things I have ever seen. Every show had a moral at the end and it left you wondering what you would have done in a similar situation. Then things turn to shit when you're cancelled. You can do one of 5 things. 1. Think a great way to end the series. Tie the loose ends and give a conclusion to everything. Perfect. 2. Leave things open and for the audience to decide. Can work in some cases. 3. Don't think and just end. Not Good. 4. Be oblivious and just be cancelled in the middle. No time to do anything. 5. Say "Fuck it!" and do whatever you like. This hardly ever works. Twilight Zone apparently chose the last option because the last season is preposterous. The morals are gone and replacing them are demons and morons. I liked the slight paranormal or science-fictiony edge on most of the series. Not straight out fairy tales.
Still this series leaves a happy feeling after I watched it. Probably just because the first season is SO good.
It's hard to choose favorite episodes but I'll try. The episode that most sticks out to me is "Children's Zoo". The writers captured so wonderfully the thought that every child has probably had sometimes: "What if I could take my parents somewhere and switch them to better ones?" Another very similar one is "The Uncle Devil Show". Children in the the 80's being the first generation raised by television, parents not paying attention and a tv-show that can make all yours dreams come true. "Her Pilgrim Soul" and "A Message From Charity". Again, two very similar shows. First one has a woman who appears in a computer hologram and after realising that she is a soul of a woman who lived in the 20's, the scientist founds out that he is a reincarnation of her husband. The woman died in childbirth at a young age and came back to live a full but sped up life with her greatest love. (Romantic as hell!) The second one has a teenage boy in the 80's and a girl in puritan times who both suffer from a bacterial disease that somehow allows them to see with each others eyes.
There are more great episodes but I can't list every one if them. Those are the ones that always come to mind first.
Maybe I sometime talk about the other versions in depth but this time I think I just leave it at that.
Ooh, also watch the 1983 Twilight Zone movie. That's great too.
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