The Twilight Zone episode "Mirror Image" airs 1960

Mirror Image, the twenty-first episode of the first season of The Twilight Zone aired February 26, 1960.  It starred Vera Miles as Millicent Barnes, waiting at a bus stop for the bus to Cortland, but due to bad weather, it is half an hour late. 

When she asks the station clerk about when it will arrive, he scolds her for constantly asking him, even though she thinks it's the first time she's asked him.  When she goes into the ladies' room, the cleaning woman suggests she was just in there.  She sees a bag that resembles hers behind the counter.  The gripey clerk insists she just checked it, but when she turns around her back isn't there.

Creepy things continue to happen.  Then a man, played by Martin Milner, tries to help her figure out what's going on.  Until strange things start happening to him.  

Do we all have an evil doppelganger?

Twilight Zone episode "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" airs 1964

A bit of a departure from the usual Twilight Zone fare, Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge was a short film presented at a French film festival, in which Rod Serling was in attendance. It is reported that he hunted down the producers and bought it for a one-time showing on the Twilight Zone.  The film is based on a short story written by Ambrose Bierce, originally published in 1890. The film won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject.

The story, set during the Civil War, a Confederate prisoner is due to be hanged.  French actor Roger Jacquet plays the prisoner Peyton Farquhar.  The Twilight Zone episode aired February 28, 1964. 

I've only seen it a couple of times but it is one of my favorites.

Twilight Zone, Rod Serling win Emmy Award 1961

Rod Serling won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama for The Twilight Zone at the 13th ceremony, held May 16, 1961.  The Twilight Zone was also nominated for Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Drama.

Celebrating Asian-American Heritage Month: George Takei, celebrity icon and Star Trek actor

George Takei, born April 20, 1937 in Los Angeles, California, is one of the most beloved actors in all of moviedom.  He has played Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek universe since 1966.  He appeared in 52 episodes of the original series, provided the voice for Sulu in the animated series, starred in Star Trek: Voyager, and all six Star Trek movies with the original cast.

He provided voices for the English versions of Godzilla Raids Again and Rodan.  He appeared in the original series of The Twilight Zone, The Six Million Dollar Man, Hawaii Five-O (both series), and Murder, She Wrote with Angela Lansbury.  

He got a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame in October 1989. 

Celebrating Black History Month: Kim Hamilton, actress, only African-American to appear in "Leave it to Beaver"

Kim Hamilton, born September 12, 1932 in Los Angeles, was an actress that broke down race barriers in television.  She is the only African-American to appear in that bastion of whiteness, Leave it to Beaver.  She also starred in the Twilight Zone and Star Trek: The Next Generation.  

She also appeared in the B-movie The Leech Woman.

She was married to Werner Klemperer (Hogan's Heroes) from 1998 to 2000, when he passed away.  Hamilton passed away in September 2013 of natural causes at 81.  

Remembering Cloris Leachman (1926-2021)

So sad tonight.  One of my favorite actresses/comediennes Cloris Leachman has passed away in her sleep from natural causes.  She has made me laugh for most of my life and I am heartbroken.  

She has almost 300 acting credits.  She appeared in the Twilight Zone episode It's a Good Life and reprised her role with Bill Mumy in the reboot in 2003.  She appeared in The Last Picture Show, which won her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.  One of my favorite roles, she was Frau Blucher in Young Frankenstein.  She played Queen Hippolyta in the pilot movie for Wonder Woman with Lynda Carter.  She played Phyllis Lindstrom in the Mary Tyler Moore Show and then in her own series.

She starred in High Anxiety and The North Avenue Irregulars.  Too many to count.  She's won a BAFTA (British Academy Award), a Daytime Emmy, a Golden Globe and eight Primetime Emmys.  

She will be sorely missed.

The Twilight Zone episode "The Midnight Sun" airs 1961

The tenth episode of the third season of The Twilight Zone, The Midnight Sun, aired November 17, 1961.  Norma (Lois Nettleton) and her neighbor Mrs. Bronson (Betty Garde) suffer from an increasingly oppressive heat wave, caused when the Earth falls out of orbit and begins getting nearer to the sun.  

The threat of nuclear apocalypse was a recurring theme in the Twilight Zone, since the Cold War was at its height during this time, but this episode is pure science fiction.  

It also has one of the best twists at the end of any episode.

The Twilight Zone episode "Living Doll" airs 1963

The Twilight Zone episode Living Doll aired November 1, 1963 and is responsible for all the Chucky, Annabelle and the Conjuring movies. 

It starred Telly Savalas as an overbearing, abusive stepfather to his wife and her daughter.  When the wife (played by Annabelle(!) Streator) brings home Talky Tina for her daughter (Tracy Stratford, Lucy in a Charlie Brown Christmas), the doll wages war against Telly, protecting the little girl from her bully of a stepfather.

This episode is often cited as one of the best of the entire series.

The Twilight Zone episode "The Shelter" airs 1961

One of the best Twilight Zone episodes, The Shelter, aired September 29, 1961.  The episode followed a dinner party with a group of friends that is interrupted by a news bulletin that the country is under a nuclear attack.  One family has installed a bomb shelter under their house.  Their friends helped them build it, but when the crisis occurs, the friends turn against them.

Actor Joseph Bernard, who played Marty Weiss, also appeared in the Star Trek episode Wolf in the Fold.  It was kinda gutsy at the time, but that was usual for the Twilight Zone, for its depiction of racism and paranoia.

The Twilight Zone episode "Two" airs 1961

The season opener for the third season of The Twilight Zone, Two, aired September 15, 1961.  It starred Elizabeth Montgomery and Charles Bronson in a post-apocalyptic world where they are the only survivors.  Unfortunately, they were on opposite sides of the conflict.  

Susan Oliver, Star Trek actress, born 1932

Susan Oliver, born February 13, 1932 in New York City, New York, gained a minor cult following after her appearance in the original Star Trek pilot, The Cage.  The pilot was not approved and another pilot show was filmed.  The Cage was later edited and inserted into the Star Trek episode, The Menagerie. 

It was her only role in the Star Trek universe but she did appear in the Twilight Zone and Murder, She Wrote.

She passed away from lung cancer in May 1990.

Actor Rod Taylor born 1930

Handsome actor Rod Taylor, born January 11, 1930, in Sydney, Australia, had his break-out role in H. G. Well's Time Machine in 1960.  He had a ppeared in an episode of the Twilight Zone in 1959.  He would go on to star in one of my favorites, The Birds. 

He won 5 awards as part of the ensemble cast for Inglorious Basterds, of which his role as Winston Churchill would be his last.

He was considered for Col. George Taylor in Planet of the Apes but the part went to Charlton Heston.  He was also considered for Roper in Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee, but John Saxon got that role.

Taylor passed away in January 2015 from a heart attack after a fall.

Happy birthday, Dyna Girl!

Judy Strangis, known to us 70's kids as Dyna Girl, was born December 23, 1949 in Los Angeles, California.  She starred with Diedre Hall as the female superhero duo Electro Woman and Dyna Girl, a cheesey but entertaining Saturday morning show. 

Strangis also appeared in episodes of the Twilight Zone, Bewitched, and the A-Team.  She stopped work in front of the camera after someone began stalking her.  She focused on doing voice-overs.


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The Twilight Zone episode "Twenty-two" airs 1961

One of my most favorite episodes of the Twilight Zone, Twenty-two aired February 10, 1961.  The story follows Liz Powell, a professional dancer who is in the hospital suffering from nervous fatigue.  She has a recurring nightmare, where she wakes up in the middle of the night, the clock on the wall is ticking loudly.  She reaches for a glass of water but knocks it on the floor instead, breaking it.  Just after, she hears footsteps passing by her door.  She looks out of her room and sees a nurse walking to the elevator, taking it to the basement.  Liz follows her and finds the morgue, Room 22.  The nurse appears from the morgue and says, "Room for one more, honey." Liz screams hysterically and runs back to her room.

That's all I'm going to say because the ending was a surprise to me the first time I saw it.  Which is why it's one of my favorites.

Barbara Nichols plays the tormented Liz Powell.  Jonathan Harris of Lost in Space fame plays the doctor.  Arlene Martel, who later went on to play Mr. Spock's wife T'pring in an episode of Star Trek, is the sinister nurse.

My 10 favorite "Twilight Zone" episodes

The Twilight Zone premiered October 2, 1959 so I decided I would post my favorite 10 episodes of the awesome show.  They don't make them like they used to!

In no particular order (Warning: some clips contain spoilers):

1. Ring-A-Ding Girl


2. Twenty-two


3. The Invaders (starring the incredible Agnes Moorehead)


4. The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street


5. I Am the Night - Color Me Black


6. And When the Sky Was Opened.


7. After Hours


8. The Shelter


9. Passage on the Lady Anne


10. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (iconic episode starring William Shatner).

Bewitched premieres 1964

The first episode of Bewitched aired September 17, 1964.  The series which lasted 8 seasons starred Elizabeth Montgomery, Agnes Moorehead and Dick York as the original Darrin.  After health problems forced him to quit, Dick Sargent took over the role. 

The opening episode involved Samantha telling Darrin on their wedding night she was a witch.  It spawned a short-lived series Tabitha, and was remade into a movie, Bewitched in 2005.

Nearly all of the principal characters were veterans of the Twilight Zone.

Twilight Zone episode "Passage on the Lady Anne" airs 1963

I probably would not have liked this episode so much if I didn't enjoy cruising,  but I kinda relate to the characters in Passage on the Lady Anne, a Twilight Zone episode which aired May 9, 1963. 

A young couple book a 13-day cruise on the Lady Anne from New York City to London.  The wife, Ellen Ransome, hopes the long voyage will help rekindle the romance in her marriage to Alan (married to his job).

Her plans don't work out and they agree to separate once they reach London, but the Lady Anne has other plans.  Ellen and Alan are first met with hostility since the older passengers can't understand how they were able to book passage.  And the Lady Anne hasn't had new passengers in years.  She is going to be retired once they reach London.

The old passengers are devoted to the ship, and speak as if she is a living being.  She might be considering some of the strange events that happen on board, which ultimately lead to Alan and Ellen finding romance once again.

Finally,  the captain Alfred Pennyworth...oops, I mean, the captain (played by Alfred Pennyworth) forces the Ramones off the ship at gunpoint, but promises they will be  picked up in a few hours.

The Ramones are rescued and they try to find news of the Lady Anne, but she and her passengers have disappeared without a trace.

I suppose I would be  like the old passengers on a beloved cruise ship, knowing that she would take care of us forever in the Twilight Zone. 

Twilight Zone episode "I am the night, color me black" airs 1964

Probably one of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone, not because of its creepiness, but because its message is still relevant today, over five decades later.  Have we learned anything since then?

I am intrigued by Rod Serling's choice of Ivan Dixon as the priest.  The only non-stereotypical role was given to a black man.  Certainly interesting given the premise of the episode.  Also, Serling's choice to cast George Lindsey, ever lovable Goober, as the hate-filled deputy.

This is one to watch over and over.  And take a lesson.

The Twilight Zone episode "The Masks" airs 1964

Ida Lupino directed this classic episode of the Twilight Zone, The Masks which first aired March 20, 1964.  It is the only episode directed by a woman and Lupino is the only person to have appeared in an episode and to direct an episode. 

Wealthy Jason Foster is dying in his New Orleans mansion no Mardi Gras, and has his considerably-less-than-loving family to be with him.  He makes them wear hideous masks until midnight or they lose out on their inheritance.  Each mask mirrors their own deplorable personalities.  I won't put any spoilers here but one can see where this is headed when the family is allowed to remove their masks.

The Masks keeps appearing on lists of the best episodes or the scariest episodes of the Twilight Zone.  Interestingly, the son is played by Alan Sues, who plays a sadistic thug, but went a few years later went on to star in the over-the-top comedy Laugh-In.

The Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" airs 1960

The Twilight Zone episode The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, the twenty-second episode of the first season, aired March 4, 1960.  I always enjoyed this one because of how easily it can be for people to turn on each other for the smallest things.

The residents of Maple Street hear a loud noise and think it was a meteor.  Tommy, a youngster, tells them about a science fiction story he read where aliens lived among humans before they launch an invasion.

Power goes out, engines stop running and people try to discover a cause, but when lights in a home come on, paranoia sets in.  Neighbors turn on neighbors, then a shot rings out and friend is dead.

Spoiler alert!

Two aliens are messing with people, by turning the power on and off, letting Earthlings deteriorate to the point they will be easily taken over.

The ease at which they are able to sow panic and paranoia seem a little close to the truth.