The Twilight Zone Companion
by Marc Scott Zicree
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Book Summary Information
Author: Marc Scott ZicreeEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1992-12
ISBN: 1879505096
Number of pages: 465
Publisher: Silman-James Pr
Book Reviews of The Twilight Zone Companion
Book Review: "You unlock this door with the key to imagination...."
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought the 1st edition of The Twilight Zone Companion back in high school and was amazed at the amount of information included. I learned a lot about the show, what went on behind the scenes and aquired a greater appreciation for the genius of Rod Serling and touches on other projects he worked on, including Requium for a Heavyweight and Night Gallery. There is a brief biography about Serling and information about writers Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson and George Clayton Johnson. All of them contributed stories, though Twilight Zone was Serling's baby.
The only drawback was the fact the shows Zicree personally didn't like, he didn't spend too much time talking about (his opinions would be less biased on the Twilight Zone boxset commentaries). Everybody has their favorite and not-so-favorite episode (my list of favorites would include Nick of Time, The Hitchhiker, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, The Fugitive, Time Enough at Last, Back There, To Serve Man, A Passage for Trumpet, Night of the Meek, In Praise of Pip, Walking Distance, On Thursday We Leave for Home, Eye of the Beholder, It's a Good Life and Nightmare at 20,000 Feet). However, it's obvious that Zicree is a passioned fan, as he has obviously spent hours of research to each show. The opinions expressed and the lack of information on those episodes he didn't care for are a minor annoyance, but I wouldn't give the book 1 or 2 stars just because of that. The information given on most of the episodes was insightful, though if you haven't seen a particular episode, skip the plot synopsis until after you've seen it, lest the "twist" at the end will be spoiled for you.
The latest edition includes information about Twilight Zone- The Movie (I remember watching that with my sister and the It's a Good Life sequence scared the hell out of both of us!) and the Twilight Zone series from the 1980's (there were some good moments, but without the late great Rod Serling, it wasn't the same). In addition, the index includes the different actors in the index in the original series.
The original show includes a long resume of actors including Billy Mumy, Burgess Meredith (he'd become the narrator for the movie version), Agnes Moorehead (she sure looks different without all that black mascara!), Jack Klugman (Oscar Madison), Dick York, Elizabeth Montgomery (both from Bewitched but not featured in the same episode), Art Carney (Ed Norton), Jonathon Harris (Dr Smith), Sterling Holloway (the voice of Winnie the Pooh), Inger Stevens, Robert Duvall, Wally Cox (the voice of Underdog), Wanda Dunn (I believe she was in just as many episodes as Burgess Meredith or Jack Klugman), Stephen Talbot (Leave It to Beaver), Bill Bixby, Edgar Buchanan, Ann Jilian, Joan Blondell, William Demarest, Ron Howard (Andy Griffith and Happy Days), Jackie Cooper (fom the Our Gang/Little Rascals), Buster Keaton, William Shatner (Captain Kirk), Russell Johnson (the Professor from Gilligan's Island), Richard Deacon (both Dick Van Dyke Show and Leave It To Beaver), Charles Bronson (Death Wish) and many others.
I have read that there was a bit of information which was false. I have docked this book one star because of that. I will admit I liked the original book because of the information it seemed to gather.
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