The Twilight Zone (Twilight Zone, The (1985))

Member Name: sharktrager

Product:	Twilight Zone, The (1985)
Date:	26/07/01 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some excellent stars and directors

Disadvantages: Some very silly episodes

This new version of the classic 1960s TV show THE TWILIGHT ZONE never lived up to the quality of the original series, although some episodes were excellent. This is something of a shame, since in the 1990s THE OUTER LIMITS, another 1960s science fiction anthology show, was updated and scored a great success.

Basically, the premise of THE TWILIGHT ZONE is an opportunity for short stories to be told on the screen, as opposed to the episodic format so loved by American TV.

The series attracted a number of star names - both in front of and behind the scenes. My favourite episode is the first one, entitled 'Shatterday'. This starred Bruce Willis as a guy who gets split into two halves and the 'good' side eventually beats out the bad. This is an old idea (STAR TREK made it famous with the episode 'The Enemy Within' for example), but is carried off excellently. The episode was based on a short story by the famed science fiction author Harlan Ellison, and directed by famed horror movie director Wes Craven - some quality names indeed.

Other episodes, though were a little silly, such as 'The Once And Future King', which features an Elvis impersonator who get sent back in time and ends up 'being' Elvis. Mind you, the original series was not exactly
bereft of its silly episodes either.

So, what do I think of the show overall? Well worth watching, but don't always expect a 'quality' episode!

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