Acting as the first revival of the series, but certainly not the last, after Rod Serling decided to sell his show back to CBS, a new generation of cast and crew grew interested in creating the 1985 Twilight Zone revival. After all, these very directors and screenwriters were the original children that sat down to watch the program each Thursday evening. 

Despite earning mass amounts of money producing the series, CBS was hesitant to produce a remake of the show as they believed the first one wasn’t as big of a success as they dreamed it would be. They weren’t wrong. 

Although it maintained quite a cult following and gave us episodes such as season one’s “To See the Invisible Man” and “Aqua Vita” from season 2, the show didn’t seem to be as groundbreaking as the original. 

Not to mention Rod Serling’s death in 1975 at the age of 52, which came as a shock to many fans. Without Serling’s vision and iconic narrations at the beginning of each episode, many viewers decided to call it quits and immediately hated the newer series. He was soon replaced with Charles Aidman, who starred in two of the classic episodes: “Little Girl Lost” and “And When the Sky Was Opened,” but this wasn’t the same. The damage was done.

I agree with most in saying the original series beats out the 1985 remake and certainly holds the hearts of most fans of the show. Additionally, Rod Serling himself appeared to be running out of ideas, as each additional season of the original series seemed to be dipping in quality and originality, new screenwriters had to come up with relatively new ideas. 

If I went up to other students on campus and asked them if they knew of the original Twilight Zone, I honestly have no idea what they would say. 

But for me and many current viewers of the show, whatever age that may be, each episode allows you to take a brief step away from reality and submerge yourself in diverse storylines.

Even though I wasn’t alive when the classic episodes made their debut or the first remake for that matter, I still feel as connected as the viewers at home did when the classic episodes aired in the 50s and 60s. 

The original came out in a simpler age in television history, but Rod Serling’s vision would challenge the status quo, and perhaps that’s why I remember it today. Maybe we will see a new show one day that will transport us from our current status quo, to the darkest and most mysterious corners of The Twilight Zone.