The Twilight Zone

Even though I haven’t seen every episode, I consider myself to be a big fan of the Twilight Zone. I first encountered reruns of the original series as a kid, and then found myself completely won over by the 1980s series. Since then, I have watched a lot more of the original episodes, and watched every new iteration of the series. News that CBS would be producing a new series for their CBS All Access streaming service really excited me. Having seen seven episodes from the first season, I am once again really enjoying the Twilight Zone. 

Filmmaker Jordan Peale is getting a lot of credit for this version of the show, and acts as host, in place of the late Rod Serling. I’ve never seen any of his movies, and I’m hesitant to subscribe to the auteur theory for a show created by an entire staff, but if his name brings attention to the show, that’s fine. To me, the important thing is that the series tells compelling stories, regardless of who is producing them, and this series is definitely doing just that.

I know from books Marc Scott Zicree’s Twilight Zone Companion that Serling created the original series as a vehicle to tell the sorts of stories he couldn’t tell as ordinary dramas. By couching social issues, concerns, and anxieties in science fiction terms, he could address subjects that would be too controversial to tackle head on. This new series has picked up that baton and run with it.

So far, we have seen episodes acting as metaphors for how sharing too much about your life on social media leads to a loss of the things in your life that are important. This Twilight Zone has tackled the issue of police harassment of young black men. We’ve seen the notion of how paranoia by the media can turn fears into a self-fulfilling prophecy. The show has even shown us the potential dangers of having an 11-year old child elected into the White House.

My wife and I have found each episode to be genuinely unsettling, not only because the stories are pretty creepy, but also because the parallels to real life aren’t as far away as we would like, After the episode about the child president, I asked my wife if she enjoyed it. She said she thought it was a well-made story, but she didn’t like how it made her feel. Watching the young child demand that everyone do things his way or else, and framing a dissenting advisor for an assassination attempt, was a little too close to reality for comfort.

A friend of mine told me he wasn’t enjoying the show because he felt like the social commentary was too forced. Personally, I feel like the episodes have pretty accurately depicted things that are happening in our society today, with a thin veneer of Twilight Zone-fantasy overlaid on top, just enough to provide that slight amount of distance. Young, innocent black men are being shot by police with impunity. The White House is occupied by someone who behaves like an out-of-control child. Women are genuinely threatened, hurt, and killed by toxic masculinity run wild. I don’t believe there’s any point in whispering about these things subtly when the fact that they are blatantly happening in the real world on a regular basis isn’t enough to stop them.

Having said that, we keep watching it, week after week. I am a particular fan of anthology shows—I’m looking forward to the revival of Amazing Stories on Apple’s streaming service—because they can’t rely on the crutch of an ongoing narrative. Don’t get me wrong; I love long-form stories as much as anyone. But there’s something to be said for telling a story in 45 minutes or so, without being able to continue any elements into next week. That’s also a challenge in terms of retaining an audience, because they won’t be coming back to visit regularly with favorite characters. Instead, the format requires that the stories be good enough that the audience wants to see what this creative team does next week.

So far, they’ve made us want to return week after week. And apparently not just us; I’ve read that the premiere of this series had the largest audience of any CBS All Access original series premiere. Even bigger than the Star Trek: Discovery premieres, for either season. It’s already been renewed for a second season, which is great news. (We’re still waiting to hear the fate of Doom Patrol.) I only wish the seasons were longer, so we could maybe get more stories dealing with general human behavior, instead of so many focused on contemporary issues. (Although I doubt the issues-oriented ones will feel particularly dated in years to come, no more so than the issues-oriented episodes of the original series.)

That’s it for this week! Next week is my birthday, so no guarantees that I will be able to post anything that weekend. But I’ll do my best! Otherwise, I will see you back here in two weeks!