[B5JMS] Attn. JMS - Why Do *You* Like The Twilight Zone (1959) ?

[b5jms at cs.columbia.edu]

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From: Aisling Willow Grey <aisling at fjordstone.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 20:47:42 +0000 (UTC)
Lines: 57

 >>Jms at B5 wrote:
>>Over on another group I already gave my answer (probably won't be up 'till
>>tomorrow AM).  Just wondered what *you* like about it.
> 
> 
> The ingenuity of the stories, especially for that time, the quality of the
> performances, and more than anything, the quality of the language, which was
> and is amazing to behold.
> 
>  jms
> 
> (jmsatb5 at aol.com)
> (all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd., 
> permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine 
> and don't send me story ideas)>>

Wow.  Joe, your comment about the quality of the performances and the 
quality of the language is pretty much exactly what a bunch of us were 
talking about in the hot tub the other night.

We were talking about the "stagey" way old television shows, 
particularly the original Twilight Zone, seem when we look at them 
today.  I was carping about why I feel the new Twilight Zone is a 
failure, and one of the reasons I cited was this loss of the 
theatricality of the original.  It seems to me that most current 
television shows are done in this hyper-realistic sort of style I 
associate with shows like ER or NYPD Blue, with all dialogue written so 
specifically conversational as to be almost blase/.  For a show like 
Twilight Zone, I don't believe it's well served for it to look and sound 
just like ER.  Everyone else argued that, while they loved the high 
drama of the original series, to do a show like that now would seem dated.

I said that I'd like to see someone tackle a new Twilight Zone series, 
with at least one story per week written by a "stunt writer" (i.e. 
someone whose name is known to the general public, or at least the 
general _reading_ public, like Harlan, or you, or Stephen King, or Poppy 
Z. Brite, etc. etc.), and done in the style of the original: pretty much 
written and filmed like a stage play, complete with larger-than-life 
performances by the actors.

TZ was always about stories that took us out of the mundane and into the 
world of imagination, and I think the format is uniquely suited to that 
old style of television drama we no longer see.

Of course, we'd have to get properly trained stage actors involved for 
this to work.

So I'm curious, if you're still reading this thread, and given your 
comments about what made the original TZ special, what you think of the 
new series.

Anyway, I'm with you: the quality of the performances and the quality of 
the language, together with the usually well-written and 
thought-provoking stories, made the original series a very special show.

Aisling


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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 13:39:41 +0000 (UTC)
Lines: 16

>So I'm curious, if you're still reading this thread, and given your 
>comments about what made the original TZ special, what you think of the 
>new series.

Haven't seen it.  

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2003 by synthetic worlds, ltd., 
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine 
and don't send me story ideas)