It looks like THE TWILIGHT ZONE movie is finally moving along. Yesterday it was announced that Jason Rothenberg has been brought on to write the Leonardo DiCpario-produced adaptation of the classic science fiction show. No word on the plot.
THE TWILIGHT ZONE is one of my favorite shows ever. I never miss the chance to watch an episode even though I’ve seen them all. I figured I would try and round up a few episodes that would make good cinema. The thing about THE TWILIGHT ZONE is that there is so much to work with, it’s a giant garden of stellar ideas. I have no idea if Rothenberg is going to adapt an old episode (or several) or try his hand at a new story under the TWILIGHT ZONE banner. Whatever he does, I hope he’s careful. Don’t screw this up, Rothenberg!
Submitted for your approval, five TWILIGHT ZONE episodes that would make great movies.
THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Season: 3
Year: 1961
Perhaps my favorite TWILIGHT ZONE episode ever is THE MIDNIGHT SUN. Written by Serling and directed by Anton Leader, the episode shows us a world that is hurling towards the sun. In fact, the entire planet will burn up within days. Until then Norma is living in an apartment with her landlady, Mrs. Bronson, as the streets empty in anticipation of the end to all things. The two are just waiting for their inevitable, scorching death. But things get complicated when a desperate burglar arrives.
This episode has one of the best twists in the series but is also a taut, thrilling thirty minutes. Best yet, it has enough plot to last over two hours. And the setting doesn’t hurt, who doesn’t want to see people fighting for their lives in 100 degree heat?
An end of the world tale from Rod Serling – it doesn’t get much better than that.
I AM THE NIGHT – COLOR ME BLACK
Season: 5
Year: 1964
An innocent man is about to be hanged in a small town. The townsfolk are actually excited to see the prisoner die as they gather in towns square. Yet, a strange thing is happening in this little burg – the sun isn’t rising, even in the middle of the day. Does the black sky have to do with the injustice about to be delivered and the city’s insatiable appetite for blood? Even more importantly, will the townsfolk see the err of their ways and free the man or will they let him die, even if it means they may never see sunlight again.
Rod Serling made no secret of his political and social views and I AM THE NIGHT – COLOR ME BLACK is one of the best examples of that. Not only is it a stinging allegory for the civil rights and peace movement, it’s also great drama. And it’s tough with an ending that hits you in the stomach.
THE MONSTERS ARE DUE ON MAPLE STREET
Season: 1
Year: 1950
It’s one of the most beloved episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE and with good reason. THE MONSTERS ARE DUE ON MAPLE STREET is the classic paranoid thriller set in a small neighborhood after a power outage. Panic builds and people start turning on one another, pointing fingers and accusing them of terrible things. While everyone knows the twist at the end of THE MONSTERS ARE DUE ON MAPLE STREET, there is so much ample story in this one that I could easily see it as a full-length movie. Plus, the huge cast calls for an all-star billing. We could pair DiCaprio against, say, Mark Wahlberg!
Too many modern day thrillers focus on big, boisterous action. This plot keeps things at a constant simmer until it all boils over in the last few minutes. It’s amazing storytelling. THE MONSTERS ARE DUE ON MAPLE STREET is recalled time and time again for a simple reason: it’s all too believable.
THE SHELTER
Season: 3
Year: 1961
Ah neighbors, don’t you just love them?
In another instance of neighbor turning on neighbor, THE SHELTER gives us a small group of friendly citizens who go totally batshit when Civil Defense says nuclear bombs are falling. One character, Dr. Stockton, has a fallout shelter for him an his family. Not so quickly, Dr. Stockton. All his supposed friends and neighbors try to claw, break and kick their way into the little shelter, doing whatever it takes to survive.
This is another intense, tough episode. It says a lot about what we become in a time of disaster. While the original was written during The Cold War and the constant threat of nuclear attack, an adaptation could be about the terrorist age we live in and the fear of a dirty bomb or biological attack. It’s not the attack that matters, it’s the actions of the the friends as they turn on one another and do despicable things, all in order to save themselves. That next block party will be awkward.
TO SEE THE INVISIBLE MAN
Season: 1
Year: 1986
This an episode from the 1980′s reprisal of THE TWILIGHT ZONE but it ranks up there among the early stories for me. It takes place in a parallel world where Mitchell Chaplin is a complete and unquestionable jerk. A jury from the State decides that Chaplin’s coldness earns him one year of being “invisible”. He is injected with a visible implant on his forehead and followed by a security drone. Every citizen in the country is ordered not to speak or acknowledge his presence, as if he really were a ghost. At first Chaplin acts like he can take it, a little time to himself without other people pestering him. But that’s not the case. Soon he starts to crack.
TO SEE THE INVISIBLE MAN would be a one-man powerhouse of a movie for an actor with some serious chops (Hello, Leo!). Though there are countless people in this episode, none of them speak with Mitchell and it really makes him feel like he doesn’t exist. It’s terrifying in a completely new way. It’s a bizarre, unique and heartbreaking idea that makes for a fantastic story. If lengthened into a complete movie, there’s a lot more that could be explored. For now, it’s just brilliant TV.
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There’s much, much more from the mind of Rod Serling. DiCaprio and his team have their work set out for them. While I doubt they’ll take my ideas into consideration, you should. Go rent or buy some TWILIGHT ZONE DVDs and marvel at the genius of Rod Serling and his writers. For every great TWILIGHT ZONE episode, there are ten more just as good.
