Celebrating Rod Serling’s 100th Birthday… in “The Twilight Zone”

Posted on December 23, 2024

by Eric S

“You are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, ‘The Twilight Zone.’”

Few television openings are as iconic as this one. Created by Rod Serling, who would have turned 100 this week, “The Twilight Zone” debuted in 1959 and quickly became a platform for talented up-and-coming stars while delivering thought-provoking science fiction to millions of weekly viewers. The show often featured a memorable, O. Henry-like twist that lingered long after the credits rolled. Today, Serling’s masterpiece is such a pervasive cultural touchstone that it’s shorthand for anything bizarre or out of the ordinary. Have you ever said it felt like you were “living in ‘The Twilight Zone’”?

Rod Serling was more than the creative force behind one of television’s most important shows. He began his career in radio, honing his writing skills before transitioning to television. Later in life, he taught courses on writing, drama, and the media’s significance. Beyond his creative achievements, Serling was a staunch opponent of censorship, war, and racism—views cleverly woven into his major works. Above all, he championed a world that values human beings, placing importance on independent thought and the search for meaning through art.

Celebrate the legacy of this legendary writer, producer, and activist with some of our favorite works by and about Rod Serling on his centennial.

I’ll leave you with one of Serling’s most famous outro monologues, from the episode “I Am the Night—Color Me Black” of “The Twilight Zone”:

A sickness known as hate; not a virus, not a microbe, not a germ – but a sickness nonetheless, highly contagious, deadly in its effects. Don’t look for it in the Twilight Zone – look for it in a mirror. Look for it before the light goes out altogether.

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