The Twilight Zone

"We submit for your approval this and other frozen moments of nightmare placed on canvas." November 8, 1969: The Night Gallery pilot movie debuts. Includes Steven Spielberg's directorial debut, "Eyes." The series followed a year later. Happy 57th birthday, NG!

November 8, 1963: Twilight Zone's "The Old Man in the Cave" airs. A town struggling to live in the after-effects of a nuclear war (in 1974!) depends on an unseen "old man" to survive—until an outside group calls his methods into question. Stars John Anderson and James Coburn.

"When I told you no man is held at the hermitage, I was being honest. What you saw is not a man. It is the Devil himself!" #S2E5 Twilight Zone's "The Howling Man" by Charles Beaumont stars stars H.M. Wynant, John Carradine and Robin Hughes.

"When those eyes look at you, you'd better start thinking happy thoughts, because the mind behind them is absolutely in charge." Twilight Zone's "It's a Good Life," the tale of a tiny tyrant with godlike powers (played by Billy Mumy), debuted 65 years ago today (Nov. 3, 1961).

Erich: "So you have feelings?" Talky Tina: "Doesn't everything?" November 1, 1963: Twilight Zone's "Living Doll" airs. A man's life is turned upside down when his stepdaughter's new doll takes a fierce dislike of him. Stars Telly “Kojak” Savalas. #TinaDoesntLoveYaBaby

Happy Halloween, everyone! Anyone watching a Twilight Zone or a Night Gallery tonight? If so, which episodes are on your list?

October 30, 1959: Twilight Zone's "Walking Distance," airs. A harried executive visits his hometown years later and finds it unchanged — and ends up meeting himself as a boy, along with his late parents. Stars Gig Young and Frank Overton, with a lovely score by Bernard Herrmann.

October 29, 1972: Night Gallery's "Spectre in Tap-Shoes" airs. A woman's twin sister is dead and buried ... or is she? Sandra Dee stars in the second of two Gallery eps. Good for Halloween! 🎃 You can watch it uncut on disc: amzn.to/3EvBM8m

"Things have been happening. Very odd things. That television in there goes on late at night and wakes me up. Just goes on all by itself. That radio I kept in the bedroom, that went on and off too — just when I was going to sleep." #S2E4 Twilight Zone's "A Thing About Machines"

The October 27, 1971 episode of Night Gallery features: — "A Question of Fear" (a man accepts a $15,000 bet that he won't spend a night in a haunted house) — "The Devil is Not Mocked" (a short "vampires vs. Nazis" story) On disc: amzn.to/3pNaHtg

October 27, 1961: Twilight Zone's "The Grave" airs. A gunslinger is challenged to plant a knife in the grave of a dead rival to prove he's not scared. Perfect for Halloween! And what a cast: Lee Marvin, James Best, Lee Van Cleef, Strother Martin, Stafford Repp and Elen Willard.

October 23, 1959: Twilight Zone's "The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine" airs. A movie queen who pines for the old days finds a unique and supernatural way to rejoin her former co-stars. Stars Ida Lupino, who later directed "The Masks" — the only star to helm a TZ *and* the only woman.

October 22, 1972: Night Gallery's "Rare Objects" stars Mickey Rooney as a gangster targeted for a hit — until a mysterious benefactor (Raymond Massey) offers a unique solution. You can read Serling's short-story version in his "Night Gallery 2" paperback: amzn.to/37vvHM0

October 20, 1961: Twilight Zone's "The Mirror" airs. Peter Falk plays a despot who keeps seeing the faces of his assassins in a strange mirror. It's often deemed a misfire. But while it's no classic, I think it teaches a valuable lesson about the destructive nature of power.

October 16, 1959: Twilight Zone's "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" airs. A mysterious peddler in the Old West gives an alcoholic gunslinger a unique chance at redemption. Written by Rod Serling. Stars Dan Duryea, Jeanne Cooper, and Martin Landau.

October 13, 1961: Twilight Zone's "A Game of Pool" airs. A pool player gets his wish: to play the long-dead legend Fats Brown. The stakes: life or death. Written by George Clayton Johnson, this classic episode stars Jack Klugman and — in a rare dramatic role — Jonathan Winters.

"Mr. Wilson has just been discharged from a sanitarium, where he spent the last six months recovering from a nervous breakdown." #S5E3 Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" by Richard Matheson debuted on October 11, 1963.

"Steel" (October 4, 1963), a Season 5 Twilight Zone episode about a future when only robots can box, represented a second trip to the fifth dimension for both of its main stars. Joe Mantell was in "Nervous Man in a Four-Dollar Room," while Lee Marvin was in "The Grave."

"Best wishes for success as Twilight Zone premieres on CBS." — @CBS head Frank Stanton in an October 2, 1959 telegram to Serling The groundbreaking series premiered 67 years ago today with "Where is Everybody?" starring Earl Holliman. Hope can enjoy some TZ today!