Recession and The Architects of Fear
There are stimulus plans, and then there are stimulus plans. In one of the strangest intersections between the fantastic in popular culture and politics, an economist is drawing upon the idea of alien invasion to get us out of the recession. As an opinion piece in The Week writes: There’s no shortage of ideas on [...]
Leslie Dale Feldman: Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone and Politics
I am always on the lookout for good books that probe various aspects of the fantastic in popular culture in depth. Not long ago I came across such a book that looked at the political views of Rod Serling as expressed in his television show The Twilight Zone. The book is Spaceships and Politics: The [...]
PBS Pioneers of Television: Science Fiction, Airs January 18
PBS is beginning the second season of Pioneers of Television with four episodes. The first will look at science fiction, including Lost in Space, Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, and those who helped create them and make them pioneering. It’s no wonder that Gene Rodenberry, creator of “Star Trek,” turned to science fiction when he [...]
Charles Beaumont: The Short Life of Twilight Zone’s Magic Man
Not long ago I was given the opportunity by JaSunni Productions to watch a review/screener copy of the new documentary Charles Beaumont: The Short Life of Twilight Zone‘s Magic Man. The film tells the story of Beaumont who was a part of an elite group of science fiction writers that helped put the genre on [...]
On the 50th Anniversary of The Twilight Zone’s “The Eye of the Beholder”
Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of “The Eye of the Beholder,” the quintessential episode of the legendary TV series The Twilight Zone, created by Rod Serling, on Thursday, November 11th, 7-9 PM, screened with THE TWILIGHT ZONE FOREVER, a live multimedia presentation by Arlen Schumer, author of Chronicle Books’ VISIONS FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE. Written by [...]
THE TWILIGHT ZONE FOREVER: On the release of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Seasons 1 & 2 on Blu-ray (Part 4)
We continue with the final entry in our series of posts by Arlen Schumer exploring The Twilight Zone. (Part 1 can be read here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here). In Part 4, Schumer continues his exploration of themes of the series, including “the time element,” and “obsolete man”: THE TIME ELEMENT The time [...]
THE TWILIGHT ZONE FOREVER: On the release of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Seasons 1 & 2 on Blu-ray (Part 3)
We continue with our series of posts by Arlen Schumer exploring The Twilight Zone. (Part 1 can be read here and Part 2 here.) In Part 3, Schumer continues his exploration of themes of the series, including “suburban nightmares,” and “science & superstition”: SUBURBAN NIGHTMARES “It was the ‘twilight zone’ of the American culture. It [...]
THE TWILIGHT ZONE FOREVER: On the release of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Seasons 1 & 2 on Blu-ray (Part 2)
One week ago saw the first of a series of posts by Arlen Schumer exploring The Twilight Zone. (Part 1 can be read here.) Here in Part 2 Schumer continues his analysis, looking at the influence of the series on television past and present, and beginning an exploration of themes of the series: Star Trek [...]
THE TWILIGHT ZONE FOREVER: On the release of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Seasons 1 & 2 on Blu-ray (Part 1)
The Twilight Zone is one of the classic examples of fantasy, thriller, science fiction television, with a legacy that continues into the present day. Next month will see the release of The Twilight Zone season 1 & season 2 on Blu-ray DVD. In order to celebrate this event, TheoFantastique will explore The Twilight Zone in [...]
