The Twilight Zone (marketed as Twilight Zone for its final two seasons) is an American SF/Horror anthology television series created and presented by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. Predominantly science-fiction the show's paranormal and Kafkaesque events leaned the show towards fantasy and horror, with the e phrase "twilight zone," inspired by the series, used to describe surreal experiences[1], and both it and it's creator Rod Serling are referred to by both Mork and Mindy in regards to their experiences through the show.
About The Twilight Zone[]
Debuting in 1959 each episode presents a stand-alone story in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described as entering "the Twilight Zone," often with a surprise ending and a moral.[1] The series featured both established stars and younger actors who would become much better known later, and spawned a number of rival/competitor shows like The Outer Limits and One Step Beyond, as well as influencing a host of shows that followed it. The now instantly recognisable, guitar theme most associated with the show was written by the French avant-garde composer Marius Constant, is also frequently used to immediately refer to the show or associate a creepy situation,
Serling served as executive producer and head writer; he wrote or co-wrote 92 of the show's 156 episodes. He was also the show's host and narrator, delivering monologues at the beginning and end of each episode. Serling's opening and closing narrations usually summarize the episode's events encapsulating how and why the main character(s) had entered the Twilight Zone[1]. His clipped deliberate delivery made his voice highly recognizable and was often much mimicked.
The Twilight Zone is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time. In 2002, the series was ranked No. 26 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2004, it was ranked No. 8 on TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever, moving to #9 three years later. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the third best-written TV series ever and TV Guide ranked it as the fourth greatest drama, the second greatest sci-fi show and the fifth greatest show of all time. And in 2016, the series was ranked No. 7 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest shows of all time.[1]
The series has seen three revivals:
- The Twilight Zone 1985 - 1989 three season series on CBS which saw Pam Dawber star in the episode 'But Can She Type?' as a put upon secretary who finds herself, courtesy of a malfunctioning Xerox machine, sliding into an alternate world, where clerical workers receive the acclaim of movie stars for how they keep things moving.
- The Twilight Zone 2002 - 2003 single season on UPN with Forrest Whittaker as host.
- The Twilight Zone 2019 - 2020 two season series on CBS All Access with Jordan Peele as host.
In addition, in 2002, the BBC engaged producer Carl Amari to license the rights from the Rod Serling Estate to turn the TV series into a weekly radio drama series starring multiple well known names, and with Stacy Keach in Serling's role as narrator, for BBC Radio 4 Extra which in turn was purchased and distributed by CBS Enterprises in the US.
Mork's Multiple References[]
- It's a Wonderful Mork - After Mork returns from his it's A Wonderful Life experience and tries to tell Mindy a joke he told her in the alternate reality, she somehow knows the punchline, without knowing how, prompting Mork to be unnerved and sing a little of the Twilight Zone theme.
- A Morkville Horror - After Mork and Mindy's freakish encounter in her old home, back at the diner Jeanie discusses the spirit world with them both, Mork doing an impersonation of Rod Serling, the creator and host of The Twilight Zone
- Three the Hard Way - Immediately after discovering that she somehow has gotten Mork pregnant, a bewildered and freaked out Mindy notes that nothing in her life has prepared her for the fact that Mork's egg is their child, not even all The Twilight Zone's she's watched.
- Long Before We Met - Upon his return from time travelling to her prom and resolving his jealousy issues with Mindy about her old boyfriend, Mork presents her with a gift. When she discovers its her long lost Prom Queen crown she's stunned, a grinning Mork singing the Twilight Zone theme.
- Drive, She Said - When Mindy asks him to recount his nightmare for her, Mork settles down in the bed beside her and 'preps' himself to recall it by humming the Twilight Zone theme.