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The Twilight Zone (radio series)

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The Twilight Zone
Genre
Running time40 minutes
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
StarringVarious
AnnouncerDoug James
Created byCarl Amari
Written byDennis Etchison
Directed byRoger Wolski
Narrated byStacy Keach
Original releaseOctober 2002 (2002-10) –
2012 (2012)
No. of seasons18
No. of episodes176

The Twilight Zone is a nationally syndicated radio drama series featuring radio play adaptations of the classic 1959–1964 television series The Twilight Zone. The series was produced for the British digital radio station BBC Radio 4 Extra airing for 176 episodes between October 2002[1] and 2012. In the United States, it aired on nearly 200 radio stations including WCCO, KSL, KOA, WIND, XM Satellite Radio channel 163 and Sirius XM Book Radio. Most of the stations aired two episodes each week, usually on the weekends and many times back to back.

Many of the stories are based on Rod Serling's scripts from the original Twilight Zone series, and are slightly expanded and updated to reflect contemporary technology and trends and the lack of a visual component. In addition to adapting all of the original episodes aired on the TV series, the radio series has also adapted some Twilight Zone TV scripts which were never produced, scripts from other Serling TV productions, and new stories written especially for the radio series. Taking Serling's role as narrator is Stacy Keach.[2]

Different Hollywood actors, such as Blair Underwood and Jim Caviezel, take the lead role in each radio drama. In addition, several stars who appeared on the original TV series, such as H.M. Wynant, Orson Bean and Morgan Brittany, appear, although purposely not in the roles they originated on television. The series features a full cast, music and sound effects and is produced in the flavor of classic radio dramas but using today's technology. In addition to being an homage to the original Twilight Zone TV series, the radio dramas pay tribute to the era of classic radio drama, including allusions to radio dramas such as Gunsmoke, the presence of radio legend Stan Freberg in many episodes, and the sons (Stacy Keach, Ed Begley Jr.) of radio drama personalities Stacy Keach Sr. and Ed Begley as stars in the series.

Licensed by CBS Enterprises and The Rod Serling Estate, The Twilight Zone radio series is produced by Carl Amari, CEO of Falcon Picture Group who hosts his own weekly nationally syndicated radio series, featuring classic radio, called Hollywood 360.[3] The scripts from the original Twilight Zone were adapted by Dennis Etchison and others, including one episode by Chas Holloway and several by British writer M. J. Elliott. New stories by Etchison and others that are not based on the original TV series are also featured.

The sound mix was produced at Falcon Picture Group studios and later at the Cerny Sound-to-Picture studio at Cerny American Creative in Chicago. The sound engineers that work on the series include Roger Wolski, Bob Benson, Craig Lee, Tim Cerny and Jason Rizzo. The episodes are produced and directed by Carl Amari.

Episodes

[edit]

The following episodes include stories that were adapted for radio from the original Twilight Zone television scripts, as well as original stories produced exclusively for this radio series.

Volume 1

[edit]
Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"A Kind of a Stopwatch" Lou Diamond Phillips Dennis Etchison Rod Serling[a]
"The Lateness of the Hour" Jane Seymour
and James Keach
Rod Serling
"The Thirty-Fathom Grave" Blair Underwood
"The Man in the Bottle" Ed Begley Jr.
"The Night of the Meek" Christopher McDonald
"The After Hours" Kim Fields
"Mr. Dingle, the Strong" Tim Kazurinsky
"A Stop at Willoughby" Chelcie Ross
"The Lonely" Mike Starr
"Of Late I Think of Cliffordville" H. M. Wynant Rod Serling[b]
  1. ^ Based on a story by Michael D. Rosenthal
  2. ^ Based on the short story "Blind Alley" by Malcolm Jameson

Volume 2

[edit]
Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"The Obsolete Man" Jason Alexander Dennis Etchison Rod Serling
"The Bard" John Ratzenberger
& Stacy Keach
"Back There" Jim Caviezel
"A Short Drink From a Certain Fountain" Adam West Rod Serling[a]
"Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room" Adam Baldwin Rod Serling
"The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" Frank John Hughes
"Mr. Garrity and the Graves" Christopher McDonald Rod Serling[b]
"Escape Clause" Mike Starr Rod Serling
"Four O'Clock" Stan Freberg Rod Serling[c]
"Uncle Simon" Peter Mark Richman
& Beverly Garland
Rod Serling
  1. ^ Based on a story by Lou Holz
  2. ^ Based on a story by Mike Korologos
  3. ^ Based on a story by Price Day

Volume 3

[edit]
Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"The Fear" Jane Seymour
and James Keach
Dennis Etchison Rod Serling
"The Parallel" Lou Diamond Phillips
"A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" Jim Caviezel
"One for the Angels" Ed Begley Jr.
"The Midnight Sun" Kim Fields
"The Rip Van Winkle Caper" Tim Kazurinsky
"A Most Unusual Camera" Mike Starr
"Twenty Two" Andrea Evans Rod Serling[a]
"Walking Distance" Chelcie Ross Rod Serling
"The Passersby" Morgan Brittany
  1. ^ Based on an anecdote from Bennett Cerf's "Famous Ghost Stories"

Volume 4

[edit]
Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"The Dummy" Bruno Kirby Dennis Etchison Rod Serling[a]
"No Time Like the Past" Jason Alexander Rod Serling
"Still Valley" Adam West Rod Serling[b]
"King Nine Will Not Return" Adam Baldwin Rod Serling
"I Am the Night—Color Me Black" John Ratzenberger
"The Incredible World of Horace Ford" Mike Starr Reginald Rose
"One More Pallbearer" Chelcie Ross Rod Serling
"The Little People" Daniel J. Travanti
"Cavender Is Coming" Andrea Evans
"Hocus-Pocus and Frisby" Shelley Berman Rod Serling[c]
  1. ^ Based on a story by Lee Polk
  2. ^ Based on a story by Manley Wade Wellman
  3. ^ Based on a story by Frederic Louis Fox

Volume 5

[edit]
Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"Living Doll" Tim Kazurinsky Dennis Etchison Jerry Sohl[a]
"The Big Tall Wish" Blair Underwood Rod Serling
"The Fever" Stacy Keach and
Kathy Garver
"The Last Night of a Jockey" Bruno Kirby
"A Thing About Machines" Mike Starr
"Mirror Image" Morgan Brittany and
Frank John Hughes
"The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" Richard Grieco
"The Long Morrow" Kathy Garver
"Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" Richard Kind Chaz Holloway and
Dennis Etchison
"The Trade-Ins" H. M. Wynant and
Peggy Webber
Dennis Etchison
  1. ^ Credited to Charles Beaumont

Volume 6

[edit]
Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"Time Enough at Last" Tim Kazurinsky Dennis Etchison Rod Serling[a]
"A Passage for Trumpet" Mike Starr Rod Serling
"I Shot an Arrow Into the Air" Chelcie Ross Rod Serling[b]
"The Brain Center at Whipple's" Stan Freberg Rod Serling
"The Grave" Michael Rooker Montgomery Pittman
"The Hitch-Hiker" Kate Jackson Rod Serling[c]
"Mr. Denton on Doomsday" Adam Baldwin Rod Serling
"Sounds and Silences" Richard Kind
"The Odyssey of Flight 33" Daniel J. Travanti
"The Changing of the Guard" Orson Bean
  1. ^ Based on a short story by Lynn Venable
  2. ^ Based on a story by Madeline Champion
  3. ^ Based on the radio play by Lucille Fletcher

Volume 7

[edit]
Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"Five Characters in Search of an Exit" Jason Alexander Dennis Etchison Rod Serling[a]
"The Arrival" Blair Underwood Rod Serling
"Queen of the Nile" Kate Jackson Jerry Sohl[b]
"I Dream of Genie" Hal Sparks John Furia Jr.
"It's a Good Life" Mike Starr Rod Serling[c]
"The Masks" Stan Freberg Rod Serling
"Mr. Bevis" Bruno Kirby
"Showdown with Rance McGrew" Christopher McDonald Rod Serling[d]
"The Old Man in the Cave" Adam Baldwin Rod Serling[e]
"Ninety Years Without Slumbering" Bill Erwin Richard De Roy[f]
  1. ^ Based on a story by Marvin Petal
  2. ^ Credited to Charles Beaumont
  3. ^ Based on a story by Jerome Bixby
  4. ^ Based on an idea by Frederic Louis Fox
  5. ^ Based on the short story "The Old Man" by Henry Slesar
  6. ^ Based on a story by George Clayton Johnson; radio version incorrectly credits Rod Serling as teleplay writer

Volume 8

[edit]
Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"The Howling Man" Fred Willard Dennis Etchison Charles Beaumont
"Caesar and Me" Jason Alexander Adele T. Strassfield
"The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross" Luke Perry Jerry McNeely[a]
"The Time Element"[b] Bobby Slayton Rod Serling
"The Mind and the Matter" Hal Sparks
"People Are Alike All Over" Blair Underwood Rod Serling[c]
"What You Need" Bruno Kirby and
Bruce Kirby
Rod Serling[d]
"Dead Man's Shoes" Bill Smitrovich Charles Beaumont and Ocee Ritch[e]
"What's in the Box" Mike Starr Martin Goldsmith
"Deaths-Head Revisited" H. M. Wynant Rod Serling
  1. ^ Based on a short story by Henry Slesar
  2. ^ Originally aired as part of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
  3. ^ Based on a short story by Paul W. Fairman
  4. ^ Based on a short story by Lewis Padgett
  5. ^ Credited solely to Charles Beaumont

Volume 9

[edit]
Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"To Serve Man" Blair Underwood Dennis Etchison Rod Serling[a]
"A World of Difference" Luke Perry Richard Matheson
"From Agnes—With Love" Ed Begley Jr. Bernard C. Schoenfeld
"Perchance to Dream" Fred Willard Charles Beaumont
"The Purple Testament" Michael Rooker Rod Serling
"Printer's Devil" Bobby Slayton Charles Beaumont
"Dust" Bill Smitrovich Rod Serling
"The Jeopardy Room" Stacy Keach
"The Fugitive" Stan Freberg Charles Beaumont
"The Silence" Christopher McDonald Rod Serling
  1. ^ Based on a short story by Damon Knight

Volume 10

[edit]
Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"Miniature" Lou Diamond Phillips Dennis Etchison Charles Beaumont
"The Jungle" Ed Begley Jr.
"The Mighty Casey" Paul Dooley Rod Serling
"Ring-a-Ding Girl" Sarah Wayne Callies Earl Hamner Jr.
"Mute" Wade Williams Richard Matheson
"Black Leather Jackets" Marshall Allman Earl Hamner Jr.
"A Quality of Mercy" Robert Knepper Rod Serling[a]
"Where Is Everybody?" John Schneider Rod Serling
"A Nice Place to Visit" Hal Sparks Charles Beaumont
"In His Image" John Heard
  1. ^ Based on an idea by Sam Rolfe

Volume 11

[edit]
Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" John Schneider Dennis Etchison Richard Matheson
"Elegy" Blair Underwood Charles Beaumont
"The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank" Robert Knepper Montgomery Pittman
"Spur of the Moment" Sarah Wayne Callies Richard Matheson
"He's Alive" Peter Mark Richman
and Marshall Allman
Rod Serling
"Long Distance Call" Hal Sparks Charles Beaumont
and William Idelson
"The Gift" Danny Goldring Rod Serling
"Gentlemen, Be Seated"[a] Stan Freberg
and Mike Starr
Charles Beaumont
"You Drive" John Heard Earl Hamner Jr.
"In Praise of Pip" Fred Willard Rod Serling
  1. ^ Written for The Twilight Zone but never produced

Volume 12

[edit]
Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"The Last Flight" Charles Shaughnessy Dennis Etchison Richard Matheson
"Long Live Walter Jameson" Lou Diamond Phillips Charles Beaumont
"Person or Persons Unknown" John Schneider
"The Whole Truth" Henry Rollins Rod Serling
"Stopover in a Quiet Town" Stephnie Weir Earl Hamner Jr.
"Judgment Night" Chelcie Ross Rod Serling
"The Chaser" Stephen Tobolowsky Robert Presnell Jr.[a]
"Shadow Play" Ernie Hudson Charles Beaumont
"Nick of Time" Marshall Allman
and Jamie Brown
Richard Matheson
"Static" Stan Freberg Charles Beaumont[b]
  1. ^ Based on a short story by John Collier
  2. ^ Based on a story by Ocee Ritch

Volume 13

[edit]
Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"Death Ship" John Schneider Dennis Etchison Richard Matheson
"Pattern for Doomsday"[a] Henry Rollins Jerry Sohl
"Nightmare as a Child" Bonnie Somerville Rod Serling
"And When the Sky Was Opened" Barry Bostwick Rod Serling[b]
"Little Girl Lost" Stephen Tobolowsky Richard Matheson
"Jess-Belle" Stephnie Weir Earl Hamner Jr.
"The Encounter" Stacy Keach
& Byron Mann
Martin Goldsmith[c]
"A World of His Own" Charles Shaughnessy Richard Matheson
"The New Exhibit" JoBe Cerny Dennis Etchison
and JoBe Cerny
Jerry Sohl and
Charles Beaumont[d]
"Valley of the Shadow" Chelcie Ross Dennis Etchison Charles Beaumont
  1. ^ Written for The Twilight Zone but never produced
  2. ^ Based on a short story by Richard Matheson
  3. ^ Radio version incorrectly credits Montgomery Pittman as writer for television version
  4. ^ Credited solely to Charles Beaumont

Volume 14

[edit]

This collection was only released as an online digital download, rather than on CD.

Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"Night Call" Mariette Hartley Dennis Etchison Richard Matheson
"Kick the Can" Shelley Berman
& Stan Freberg
George Clayton Johnson
"A Game of Pool" Wade Williams Dennis Etchison
and JoBe Cerny
"A Penny For Your Thoughts" David Eigenberg Dennis Etchison
"Free Dirt"[a] Eric Bogosian Charles Beaumont
"Number 12 Looks Just Like You" Bonnie Somerville &
Charles Shaughnessy
Charles Beaumont
and John Tomerlin
"On Thursday We Leave for Home" Barry Bostwick Rod Serling
"Third from the Sun" Fred Willard Rod Serling[b]
"The Trouble with Templeton" Michael York E. Jack Neuman
"The Mirror" Tony Plana Rod Serling
  1. ^ Written for The Twilight Zone but never produced
  2. ^ Based on a short story by Richard Matheson

Volume 15

[edit]

This collection was only released as an online digital download, rather than on CD.

Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"The Prime Mover" David Eigenberg Dennis Etchison Charles Beaumont[a]
"A Piano in the House" Michael York Earl Hamner Jr.
"The Four of Us Are Dying" Eric Bogosian Rod Serling[a]
"The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine" Kathy Garver Rod Serling
"The Shelter" Ernie Hudson
"Young Man's Fancy" Tony Plana Richard Matheson[b]
"Probe 7, Over and Out" Louis Gossett Jr. Rod Serling
"Two" Don Johnson Montgomery Pittman
"Who Am I?"[c] Sean Astin Jerry Sohl
"The Bewitchin' Pool" Karen Black Earl Hamner Jr.
  1. ^ a b Based on a story by George Clayton Johnson
  2. ^ Radio version incorrectly credits Rod Serling as teleplay writer
  3. ^ Written for The Twilight Zone but never produced

Volume 16

[edit]

This collection was only released as an online digital download, rather than on CD.

Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"The Hunt" Shelley Berman
& Karen Black
Dennis Etchison Earl Hamner Jr.
"Passage on the Lady Anne" Martin Jarvis
& Rosalind Ayres
Charles Beaumont
"Execution" Don Johnson Rod Serling[a]
"Steel" Louis Gossett Jr. Dennis Etchison
and JoBe Cerny
Richard Matheson
"The Amazing Dr. Kyle Powers" Sean Astin Barry Rickard
"Nothing in the Dark" Marshall Allman M.J. Elliott George Clayton Johnson
"There Goes the Neighborhood" Tim Kazurinsky Barry Rickard
"The Walk-Abouts" Mike Starr Steve Newby
"An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge"[b] Christian Stolte M.J. Elliott Robert Enrico[c]
"Now You Hear It, Now You Don't" Dee Wallace Dennis Etchison[d]
  1. ^ Based on a story by George Clayton Johnson
  2. ^ Originally produced in France
  3. ^ Adapted from a story by Ambrose Bierce
  4. ^ Based on a story by Carl Amari

Volume 17

[edit]

This collection was only released as an online digital download, rather than on CD.

Title Starring Adapted for radio by Originally written by
"Once Upon a Time" John Rhys-Davies M.J. Elliott Richard Matheson
"The Invaders" Kathy Garver Barry Rickard
"Beewinjapeedee" Sean Astin JoBe Cerny
"Eye of the Beholder" Virginia Williams Barry Rickard Rod Serling
"I Sing the Body Electric" Dee Wallace Dennis Etchison Ray Bradbury
"Mrs. Pierce is Praying for Me" Tim Kazurinsky Dennis Etchison[a]
"The Time of Your Life" John Rhys-Davies Matthew Elliott
"Ten Days" Ned Bellamy Mark Valente
"Snow Angel" Sean Astin JoBe Cerny
"The Nanobots" David Pasquesi Steve Newby
  1. ^ Based on a story by Robert Patterson

Volume 18

[edit]

This collection was only released as an online digital download, rather than on CD.

Title Starring Written by
"Two Thousand-Twelve" Christian Stolte Steve Newby
"...And Cauldron Bubble" Virginia Williams Christine Watson
"Missing, Presumed Dead" Danny Goldring Dennis Etchison
"Rest Stop" Brandon Eels Steve Newby
"The 25th Hour" Mike Nussbaum Dennis Etchison
"Another Place in Time" Malcolm McDowell Steve Newby

Releases

[edit]

CD and digital

[edit]

The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas were initially produced in 2002 and made available for sale on-line with the launch of the Twilight Zone Radio website.[4] They were originally available in audio cassette tape and CD "collections" of 4 episodes apiece. Eight episodes were produced in 2002, and eight more in 2003. By late 2004, after the first 24 episodes were released between 6 numbered collections, the series would no longer be made available on cassette and new CD "volumes" comprising 10 episodes each were introduced with the release of six additional episodes, ending the year with 14 episodes for 30 in total, which were reorganized and shuffled between these first 3 volumes.

In 2006, volumes 4 through 9 were released (60 episodes), then volumes 10 through 12 appeared in 2007 (30 episodes), and volume 13 in 2008 (10 episodes) would be the last volume made available on CD. Beginning in 2007, the shows were made available for individual MP3 download at $1.95 each, with most of volumes 14 through 17 released in 2009 and 2010 (38 episodes), and the last 8 episodes were produced between 2011 and 2012; leaving volume 18 incomplete with only 6 episodes. The final episode is titled "Another Place in Time" with no plans for further production.

By mid 2015, the website moved to hollywood360radio.net[5] and in 2016 the website went completely offline, and with the domain redirecting to www.classicradiostore.com.[6]

CDs and digital downloads of the shows can be purchased on Amazon and Audible from a variety of sources, with no real consistency in show or volume or collection composition and several differing from the CD version. These two excerpts from "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" (volume 3 episode 3) are an example.

"A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" CD version
"A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" download version

DVD and Blu-ray

[edit]

Some episodes of the radio drama were included on the DVD and Blu-ray releases of the TV series as special features alongside the original episodes. Although 155 out of 156 episodes of the TV series were remade as radio dramas (the exception being "Come Wander with Me"), only 30 are included on the DVD releases[7][8][9][10][11] and 81 on the Blu-rays.[12][13][14][15][16]

The radio episodes included on the Blu-rays are listed below in TV series order.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Sherwin, Adam (21 February 2016). "The Twilight Zone: Cult sci-fi show to return for BBC Radio 4 Extra series". The Independent. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  2. ^ Eddy, Cheryl (22 February 2016). "The BBC Is Bringing Back The Twilight Zone As a Radio Drama". io9. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. ^ Green, Paul (2016). Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns: Supernatural and Science Fiction Elements in Novels, Pulps, Comics, Films, Television and Games, 2d ed. McFarland p. 256. ISBN 978-1-4766-2402-0.
  4. ^ "www.twilightzoneradio.com". Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  5. ^ "www.twilightzoneradio.com". Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  6. ^ "www.twilightzoneradio.com". Classic Radio Store. Archived from the original on 18 April 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Twilight Zone (The): Season 1 (TV) (1959–1960)", Rewind, retrieved 21 June 2019
  8. ^ "Twilight Zone (The): Season 2 (TV) (1960–1961)", Rewind, retrieved 21 June 2019
  9. ^ "Twilight Zone (The): Season 3 (TV) (1961–1962)", Rewind, retrieved 21 June 2019
  10. ^ "Twilight Zone (The): Season 4 (TV) (1963)", Rewind, retrieved 21 June 2019
  11. ^ "Twilight Zone (The): Season 5 (TV) (1963–1964)", Rewind, retrieved 21 June 2019
  12. ^ "Twilight Zone (The): Season 1 (TV) (Blu-ray) (1959–1960)", Rewind, retrieved 21 June 2019
  13. ^ "Twilight Zone (The): Season 2 (TV) (Blu-ray) (1960–1961)", Rewind, retrieved 21 June 2019
  14. ^ "Twilight Zone (The): Season 3 (TV) (Blu-ray) (1961–1962)", Rewind, retrieved 21 June 2019
  15. ^ "Twilight Zone (The): Season 4 (TV) (Blu-ray) (1963)", Rewind, retrieved 21 June 2019
  16. ^ Broadwater, Casey (8 September 2011), "The Twilight Zone: Season 5 Blu-ray Review", Blu-ray.com, retrieved 21 June 2019
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