Twilight Zone
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | Twilight Zone |
| Original title | The Twilight Zone |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Year (s) | 1959–1964, 1985–1987, 2002–2003, since 2019 |
| length | 24-50 minutes |
| Episodes | 285+ in 10+ seasons (total)
|
| genre | Mystery , science fiction |
| idea | Rod Serling |
| First broadcast | October 2nd, 1959 (USA) on CBS |
| German-language first broadcast |
October 25, 1961 on German television |
| occupation | |
|
Narrator / host:
| |
The Twilight Zone ( Subtitles : Unlikely Stories , Unknown Dimensions ) is an American anthology television series with elements of mystery and science fiction as well as an innovative and groundbreaking concept at the time. The punch lines are often psychologically ambiguous, sarcastic, and sometimes macabre. Another characteristic of Twilight Zone is the brevity in which the stories are told: the average episode length is 25 minutes. The series began in 1959 and has continued until today with a few breaks.
production
The creative mind behind the series was television producer and six-time Emmy award winner Rod Serling . Serling wrote over half of the scripts for the original series himself. He also introduced the stories as a narrator. A total of 156 episodes were produced from 1959 to 1965.
In 1958 Serling shot the hour-long pilot film The Time Element , which already contained the essential elements of the series. After the successful first broadcast, he was finally able to start production of the series The Twilight Zone .
The thematic range of The Twilight Zone was just as broad as the locations, places and times.
Richard Donner directed, among others . The cast also includes many well-known names such as Robert Redford , Dennis Hopper , Charles Bronson , Peter Falk , Donald Pleasence , Martin Landau , Lee Marvin , Robert Duvall , Jack Klugman , Buster Keaton , William Shatner , Rod Taylor , Burt Reynolds , Anne Francis , Ida Lupino , Elizabeth Montgomery , Dick York , James Doohan , William Windom , James Gregory , Dean Stockwell , Roddy McDowall , Barry Morse , John Hoyt , James Daly and Fritz Weaver . For some, the Twilight Zone was the stepping stone to a Hollywood career.
The Twilight Zone enjoys cult status today and inspired many later mystery and science fiction series such as B. Tales from the Shadow World , Invasion of the Vega , The Outer Limits , Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond , The X-Files , X-Factor , Black Mirror and many more. Serling's follow-up project was Night Gallery , which followed a similar concept.
German broadcast and dubbing
In 1961 the episode The Empty City was broadcast on German television ; then the series initially disappeared again. From 1967 to 1969 ZDF then broadcast 13 episodes that were edited by Berliner Synchron . Joachim Cadenbach can be heard as the narrator in these episodes.
24 more episodes followed on Bavarian television in 1971 , and Interopa Film was responsible for the German version . The narrator's texts are spoken by Joachim Nottke in these episodes .
A further 33 episodes were then first broadcast by ProSieben from 1991 to 1992 . The German dubbed version was made by DEFA -Synchron GmbH in Johannistal. From 1996 to 1997 another 58 episodes followed on TV Munich , which had also been edited by DEFA-Synchron GmbH in the early 1990s. An episode that had already been edited (5.06 The Revenge of the Doll ) was re-dubbed. Arno Wyzniewski speaks the narrator in these episodes. Even if these episodes were only edited after German reunification , almost all actors and voice actors from the former GDR can be heard, most of whom had already worked for DEFA . Speakers include: Klaus Piontek , Wolfgang Dehler , Helga Göring , Ernst Meincke , Günter Schubert , Jürgen Frohriep , Roland Hemmo , Herbert Köfer , Gunter Schoß , Joachim Siebenschuh , Michael Telloke , Peter Groeger , Lutz Riemann , Annekathrin Bürger , Barbara Dittus , Christel Peters , Helga Sasse , Wolfgang Winkler , Michael Narloch , Wilfried Ortmann , Alfred Struwe , Helmut Müller-Lankow , Susanne Schwab , Werner Ehrlicher , Horst Lampe , Andrea Aust , Heidrun Bartholomäus , Karl Sturm , Werner Kanitz .
The episodes of the fourth season, which are all 50 minutes long, were not dubbed in German. A German version was created for 129 of the 156 episodes.
In the ProSieben opening credits of the German dubbed version, for which the turning spiral was cut from the original opening credits of the third season with the opening credits of the fourth and fifth seasons, Alexander Allerson gives the following introduction to the theme music by Marius Constant : There is a fifth dimension beyond of human experience - a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as eternity. It is the intermediate realm where light turns into shadow, science meets superstition. It lies between the pitfalls of our fear and the bright peaks of our knowledge. This is the dimension of fantasy, the realm of twilight - the Twilight Zone.
In the original version, however, there are four different opening credits.
The series ran in Germany under the title Unlikely Stories and Stories That Ca n't Be Explained .
Episodes
Feature films and other television series
Pilot film
The original pilot The time element ( The Time Element ) in the series on Nov. 24, 1958 Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse aired and has a length of 55 minutes. It is included in the original English version with German subtitles in Season 1 in the DVD and Blu-ray Disc set (published by Koch Media ).
Unofficial film 1972
- Demon over the Atlantic ( The Horror at 37,000 Feet ), USA 1972, with William Shatner and Roy Thinnes ; This feature film was inspired by the classic Twilight Zone episode Nightmare at 20,000 Feet , in which William Shatner also starred. The film was released on March 5, 2015 on Paramount on DVD under the title Horror at 37,000 Feet .
Twilight Zone in the cinema: Eerie shadow lights
1983 came a feature film called Unheimliche Schattenlichter ( Twilight Zone: The Movie ) in the cinemas, in which the episode concept was retained. Four stories about half an hour long were shown. The ideas for three of these stories came from the original series, slightly modified. Directed by John Landis , Steven Spielberg , Joe Dante and George Miller . It starred, among others, Dan Aykroyd , Albert Brooks and Vic Morrow , who died together with two child actors in a helicopter accident while filming the episode directed by Landis .
Episodes:
- Segment 1: Time Out (new story)
- Segment 2: Kick the Can ( remake )
- Segment 3: It's a Good Life (remake)
- Segment 4: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (remake)
New series in the 1980s
In 1985, ten years after Rod Serling's death, the series was reissued. The opening credits continued to mention Serling as the show's creator and now also showed a distorted picture of him. Stephen King , Ray Bradbury , Sidney Sheldon , Alan Brennert and Joseph Michael Straczynski were the scriptwriters this time . Hollywood greats like Wes Craven ( Scream! ), William Friedkin ( The Exorcist ) and John Milius ( Conan the Barbarian ) were at the control desk . Up to 1987 there were about 64 new episodes, depending on the editing. The theme music for the color series comes from Merl Saunders and Grateful Dead . Bruce Willis appeared as a guest on the series.
TV movie 1994
Horror Beyond: Rod Serling's Lost Classics ( Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics )
Episodes:
- Segment 1: Cinema of horror ( The Theater )
- Segment 2: Island of the Dead ( Where the Dead Are )
Another TV series in 2002
Another attempt to revive the concept was launched on US television in 2002. The range of motifs came very close to the original series, in the opening credits one explicitly referred to Rod Serling. The renowned actor Forest Whitaker acted as host . However, only one season came about. From May 2005, the episodes were shown on RTL II .
TV series since 2019
In November 2017, another television series of the Twilight Zone by Simon Kinberg, Marco Ramirez and Jordan Peele was announced for the first time. The latter appears in this as the narrator. The first season of 10 episodes was published in the USA from April 1 to May 30, 2019 on CBS All Access and in Germany on February 2, 2020 on TVNOW . The second season was fully released on June 25, 2020.
Feature film remakes of television episodes
- 2009: The Box - You are the experiment (Twilight Zone episode Just the Push of a Button after the short story Button, Button by Richard Matheson )
- 2011: Real Steel (Twilight Zone episode A Steel Light Heavyweight based on the short story Steel by Richard Matheson)
The original black and white series from 1959 experienced a renaissance in many arthouse cinemas and at fantasy film festivals in the 1990s.
comics
- From 1961 to 1982 the comic series The Twilight Zone was published in the USA under the labels Dell, Gold Key and Whitman up to issue no. 92. Some very successful artists worked for the series, e. B. Frank Bolle ( Doctor Solar Draftsman ), Crandall, Orlando, Torres, Williamson McWilliams and George Wilson , who created many of the covers.
- From 1990 to 1992 NOW Comics published new stories in issues 1 to 11. In 1992, more issues with numbers 1 to 4 and an anniversary special were published . The Annual and Science Fiction Special followed in 1993 .
- In Germany, a single booklet was published in 1967 under the title Twilight Zone at Bildschriftverlag .
Video
- The movie Unheimliche Schattenlichter was released in Germany by Warner on VHS (March 1, 1990) and DVD (December 7, 2007). A Blu-ray Disc was also released in the United States.
- The television film Horror from the Beyond - Rod Serling's Lost Classic was released in Germany in 1994 by EAT Mediengruppe / AVU on VHS and on July 14, 2016 by Schröder Media on DVD.
- Koch Media publishes the classic black and white series The Twilight Zone - Improbable Stories on DVD and Blu-ray and the color series The Twilight Zone - Unknown Dimensions on DVD in Germany.
- The Twilight Zone - Improbable Stories - Season 1 was released on November 22, 2013 on six DVDs with 36 episodes and a length of about 892 minutes.
- The Twilight Zone - Improbable Stories - Season 2 was released on March 20, 2014 on six DVDs with 29 episodes and a length of approximately 727 minutes.
- The Twilight Zone - Improbable Stories - Season 3 was released on December 4, 2014 on six DVDs with 37 episodes and a length of approximately 912 minutes.
- The Twilight Zone - Improbable Stories - Season 4 was released on April 23, 2015 on six DVDs with 18 episodes and a length of approximately 904 minutes (the fourth season has episodes that were twice as long as the previous seasons).
- The Twilight Zone - Improbable Stories - Season 5 was released on September 10, 2015 on six DVDs with 36 episodes and a length of about 879 minutes.
- The Twilight Zone - Unknown Dimensions - Part 1 on four DVDs was released on March 24, 2016 and contained twelve episodes or 29 stories of the first season.
- The Twilight Zone - Unknown Dimensions - Part 2 on four DVDs was released on June 28, 2016 and contained twelve episodes or 30 stories from the first season.
- The Twilight Zone - Unknown Dimensions - Part 3 on four DVDs was released on September 22, 2016 and contained the entire second season.
- The Twilight Zone - Unknown Dimensions - Part 4 on four DVDs was released on March 9, 2017 and contained the entire third season.
Others
- According to his own statements, Commissioner 00-Schneider comes from the time of the Twilight Zone .
- In the early 1990s, the Bally company manufactured a pinball machine called the Twilight Zone , which is thematically attached to the original series.
- The free-fall attraction Tower of Terror in the Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, in the Walt Disney Studios at the Disneyland Resort Paris and in the Disney's California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort in California is based on the television series.
- In the science fiction animated series Futurama , the characters watch a TV series called The Scary Door , which is a direct parody of The Twilight Zone , in multiple episodes . The mystery of the series is often overused to the point of being ridiculous. The last man on earth, a bookworm, not only loses his glasses, as in the episode All the Time in the World (1.08), but also his eyes and hands (since he could read Braille ) and finally his entire body falls apart. Furthermore, elements of different Twilight Zone episodes are combined in one episode : Nobody believes a man on the plane because everyone else sees him as Adolf Hitler , Eva Braun sitting next to him is actually an oversized fly.
- One of the Futurama comics (volume # 30) also uses various motifs from the original series, including Time Enough at Last .
- In the television series The Simpsons , numerous episodes are parodied in the Treehouse of Horror episodes.
- In the television series Star Trek: Enterprise , Twilight Zone is mentioned as an old television series in the episode Carbon Creek .
- In the computer game Alan Wake , released in 2010, televisions can be found showing the series Night Springs , a homage to the series Twilight Zone .
- In May 2012, Entertainment Earth published the Kanamit Cookbook Journal .
- In June 2012, the series was released under the title The Twilight Zone: The Complete Collection in the United States on Blu-ray .
- In Dan Simmons' book "Summer of the Night", which is set in the 1960s, one of the protagonists hums the theme music from Twilight Zone. A new television series.
History of origin
Frank Tower , the stoker with Cpt. EJ Smith and Thomas Andrews, who examined the damage to the RMS Titanic and which is said to have survived its sinking, signed on two years after the disaster on the Empress of Ireland , which also sank. He is said to have practically survived this downfall as the only one. After surviving a torpedo attack on the Lusitania , it was said that from now on he had vowed to become a farmer.
This story led to the script for the television game Lone Survivor , the success of which inspired Rod Serling to create the Twilight Zone .
Web links
- Twilight Zone in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Twilight Zone at Fernsehserien.de
- Episode guide 2002 new edition ( Memento from November 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- Twilight Zone on wunschliste.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Time Element on IMDb.de
- ↑ The Time Element on tvparty.com (Eng.)
- ↑ Guest stars of the 1st season on dvdbeaver.com
- ↑ Guest stars of the 2nd season on dvdbeaver.com
- ↑ Guest stars of season 3 on dvdbeaver.com
- ↑ Guest Stars of Season 4 on dvdbeaver.com
- ↑ Twilight Zone. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Broadcast data on fernsehserie.de
- ↑ Vera Tidona: Start date for "The Twilight Zone", end for horror series "Tell Me a Story" decided . In: Fernsehserien.de . May 12, 2020. Accessed May 13, 2020.
- ↑ San Diego Comic-Con 2012: Bif Bang Pow Twilight Zone Exclusives
- ↑ Charles Pellegrino: The Last Voyage of the Titanic - A legend reveals its secret . Knaur, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-426-61130-9 , p. 55