Picture if you will: a brilliant writer ahead of
his time; a man who would alter television forever; a
genius who would be responsible for some of the best-known
stories of all time. You have just entered…The Serling
Zone.
Rodman Edward Serling was born on Christmas Day,
1924 in Syracuse, New York and was raised in the small
upstate community of Binghamton. Graduating high school in
1942, he then served as a U.S. Army paratrooper in the
Pacific during World War II before attending Antioch
College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
During his senior year at Antioch, Serling not only
married Carolyn Kramer (who would remain his wife for the
rest of his life) but won a television writing award that
encouraged him in his further efforts. From there the
Serlings moved to Cincinnati in pursuit of bigger dreams.
Through the early 50's Serling wrote various pieces
for radio and TV before the airing of his breakthrough
teleplay Patterns in 1955. Due to the popularity of the
NBC telecast, Patterns became the first television program
in history to be broadcast a second time.
Continuing to write highly-acclaimed dramas such as
Requiem for a Heavyweight, Serling built a reputation as
one of the finest writers television had ever seen. But
praise alone was not enough to save him from the criticism
and restrictions wielded by conservative thinkers who ran
TV at the time.
Wisely turning to science fiction and fantasy writing in
order to express himself by way of metaphor and parable,
Serling found a platform from which he could express his
views on controversial issues such as racism and general
narrow-mindedness. But constrictions on his writing
content would continue to haunt him for the rest of his
life, forcing him to convey ideas through use of thinly
disguised morality tales that became his trademark.
In 1957, CBS purchased a teleplay from Serling titled The
Twilight Zone: The Time Element. Foolishly thwarting his
plans to use the production as a pilot episode for an
anthology series he had been planning, the network didn't
air it until 1958.
After an overwhelming response to The Time Element,
Serling assembled a group of talented writers and
television pros including Buck Houghton, Charles Beaumont
and Ray Bradbury. Employing himself as writer, narrator
and primary creative force, Rod Serling was given the
green light to produce a television series that would be
called The Twilight Zone.
Becoming one of the most famous series of all time, The
Twilight Zone became a landmark program that can still
seen in re-runs today. It ran from 1959-1964, aired 156
episodes (92 written by Serling) and netted 3 Emmy awards
for the prolific writer.
Attempts at remaking The Twilight Zone over the past many
years have provided entertaining fare but have paled in
comparison to the original. Without the genius of Rod
Serling (whose later efforts would include television's
Night Gallery and the big screen's Planet of the Apes)
later incarnations of the legendary series failed to
measure up.
Falling victim
to stress and incessant cigarette smoking, Rod Serling's body died
in 1975. As for his imagination? Perhaps it is still living in a
place called The Twilight Zone.
