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Sci-Fi Movies Television Entertainment

CBS To Reboot 'The Twilight Zone' (hollywoodreporter.com) 125

phalse phace writes: During CBS's Thursday evenings conference call for their 3rd quarter earnings, CEO Leslie Moonves revealed that CBS was planning to reboot the classic fantasy science-fiction television series "The Twilight Zone." According to the Hollywood Reporter, "the show hails from Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw banner, with Marco Ramirez set to pen the script and serve as showrunner." This wouldn't be the first time CBS has brought the show back. "The network revived the series in the 1980s that ran for three seasons and again in 2002 for a season on UPN with host Forest Whitaker. The franchise has also been licensed to a new stage play set to premiere in December at the Almeida Theatre in London and run through January. The original series won three Emmys during its 156-episode run and explored topics including humanity's hopes, despairs, prides and prejudices."
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CBS To Reboot 'The Twilight Zone'

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  • Storylines (Score:5, Funny)

    by _Sharp'r_ ( 649297 ) <sharper AT booksunderreview DOT com> on Saturday November 04, 2017 @02:02AM (#55487937) Homepage Journal

    In the first episode, an outspoken Billionaire reality TV star wins the Presidency against the bitter wife of a former President who believes it's her turn next...

    • by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Saturday November 04, 2017 @05:05AM (#55488183)

      So it is a prequel to the episode where the guy lost his glasses.

    • In the first episode, an outspoken Billionaire reality TV star wins the Presidency against the bitter wife of a former President who believes it's her turn next...

      Actually, that would make a classic traditional Twilight Zone episode!

      She rabidly rants about all those folks who cost her the election during the entire show.

      But at the end, it is revealed to her that she, herself, was responsible for losing the election.

      Hey, Hillary! Most people don't like you . . . have you got that yet . . . ?

      I mean, losing an election to someone like John McCain would have been honorable . . . but to lose to the joke that is Donald Trump . . . you must really suck!

    • That's more along the lines of the (excellent) Black Mirror series.
    • by jwhyche ( 6192 )

      I don't know. I think that plot would seem to far out there. But yet is some how seems familiar.....

  • Cool... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by RyanFenton ( 230700 ) on Saturday November 04, 2017 @02:12AM (#55487961)

    The hard part is the philosophy. Acting/special effects/costumes/lighting/etc. are certainly important - but the key to it actually being a good Twilight Zone is that it's exploring a twist in philosophy.

    It's not supposed to be horror, grimdark, author-insert, perspective writing, or anything like that - it's a show about exploring philosophy and implications You can certainly use tropes from other genres to get TO your philosophy, but if you're not exploring and really playing with the concepts, you're not really doing a proper twilight zone.

    Jordan Peele is actually farily appropriate in my odd mind - he's got a nice twist to his comedy that might work well. Perhaps not just like Rod Serling or anything - but worth exploring. The Orville ended up being a good exploration of Star Trek concepts, also from a comedy director - so I'll give this a chance!

    Ryan Fenton

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward

      It's a bit deeper than that, and it's the reason why the subsequent versions were ultimately forgotten.
      "The Twilight Zone" was a _Writer's_ Show. Of the 156 episodes, 92 were written or rewritten by Serling, he Executive Produced, and he hosted. He had a roster of really good Writers, including Matheson, and every show was self-contained; every Cast different, no goddam Story Arcs.
      That is what an Anthology Show was back then. There were variations; Hitchcock Produced, but didn't write, or except for one occ

      • You had me right to the end, up to where you wrote that the host has to smoke.

        Why exactly does the host have to smoke?

        Because Serling smoked? No. If we can make concessions to the modern world, one of them can be not smoking.

        • Why exactly does the host have to smoke?

          Dude, you can't get high without smoking.

          Well, maybe you could brew some tea or bake some brownies, but it takes a very long time until they kick in.

          Rod Serling did it right, and entertained us while he was going off to the "Magic Kingdom" . . .

          . . . now, where did he put his sweater . . . ?

        • Why exactly does the host have to smoke?

          For the same reason master criminals have to stroke cats.

        • Because Serling smoked? No. If we can make concessions to the modern world, one of them can be not smoking.

          Maybe he could have a nice bowl of quinoa while committing micro-aggressions against the audience by wearing dreadlocks or displaying a native American symbol on his shirt. O The Horror!

          • Because Serling smoked? No. If we can make concessions to the modern world, one of them can be not smoking.

            Maybe he could have a nice bowl of quinoa while committing micro-aggressions against the audience by wearing dreadlocks or displaying a native American symbol on his shirt. O The Horror!

            That sounds more like something that Alfred Hitchcock would do.

        • Rod Serling had to smoke on camera as product placement because the Twilight Zone -- like many other popular TV shows -- was sponsored by the Chesterfeld cigarette company.
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
          "Liggett & Myers [who produced Chesterfeld cigarettes] sponsored Dragnet, both on radio and on TV, during the 1950s. The 1954 theatrical version of Dragnet also had Chesterfield product placements, such as advertisements in scenes taking place at drug stores and news counters, or cigarette vending mac

        • Why exactly does the host have to smoke?

          The host doesn't need to be smoking, but I do think it provides an important visual clue for the viewer.

          It's typical for people to equate smoking to being relaxed, having time to tell a good story, that the day is done or at least one has enough time to think of something beyond the task at hand. Maybe the host should poor a drink. It doesn't have to be alcoholic but the implication that it likely is might be important. Think of people sitting down after the evening meal for a glass of wine, or having a

      • in all likelihood there will be a Weekly Cast, perhaps a Paranormal investigator and his perky Daughter, and it will turn into an "X-Files" clone, hosted by some dude who just shows up five minutes a week to recite a couple of opening lines, and a snarky/reflective/philosophical line at the end.

        This remark brings me back to that Community episode where Pierce sits in on a focus group for an American remake of a British series, and pretty much singlehandedly ruins the new series with his "insightful" remarks. I hope that isn't what you just did...

        But in all seriousness, that's probably what we'll get. With a generous helping of morality thrown in, I suspect. I loved the old Twilight Zone though... gotta find those DVDs I have lying around somewhere.

      • The image projected by different types of smoking methods if very different.

        Cigar: stinky, offensive, brusque
        Pipe: thoughtful but stodgy
        Hookah: drugged
        Cigarette with holder: effeminate, shallow
        Cigarette without holder, in hand: trying to make a stylish impression
        Cigarette without holder, in mouth: lout, fool.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I am re-watching the series right now.

      You have it fairly well nailed on what the original show was. It was a fairly low budget show. If you watch them there is near to 0 special effects. Most of it is set pieces on existing sets or driving out to the desert. Someone needs to disappear? Pan away have actor react. Sometimes they would stop the camera then resume it for the pop removal. If they could not pull the effect off on set they did not do it.

      What most people miss is how cheaply made the shows we

    • by mikael ( 484 )

      There was always that twist. " A small talent for war" where the UN on Earth is advised that they must change their ways or face annihilation by aliens. But it was that Earth had to become more warlike rather than peaceful. Other times, all they needed to do is add one new device like a live-saving cocoon suit that would prevent a person from dying - the catch was that it didn't guarantee good health afterwards. Or the classic episode where someone is given a button to press with no explanation for what i

    • by hey! ( 33014 )

      It boils down to writing. Shows like The Twilight Zone are the drama equivalent of a short story, but we're in an age of epic, sprawling story arcs in TV. I welcome the idea of a counterbalance to that, but I'm a bit concerned that network suits might be thinking more in terms of a brand or a property.

  • "I like the pinball machine too", the geek says while looking at this Twilight Zone pinball in his livingroom.

    • "I like the pinball machine too", the geek says while looking at this Twilight Zone pinball in his livingroom.

      I take it you're a pal of Jonathan Dietz?

      Meanwhile, I have to settle for the Pinball Arcade version :-(

    • Welcome to the club! One of my all time favorites, got one myself too. Great game design, if you can forgive the suicidal clock opto board.
  • that modern media is going to screw up.
  • The CBS Family (Score:3, Insightful)

    by tonique ( 1176513 ) on Saturday November 04, 2017 @03:13AM (#55488065)

    Remember, kids, that The Twilight Zone is part of the CBS Family, which sounds a little like the Manson Family [wikipedia.org]. As reported a few days ago, CBS sues man for copyright over screenshots of 59-year-old TV show [arstechnica.com]:

    A CBS spokesperson wouldn't identify the exact nature of Tannen's alleged infringement. The company offered only this statement via e-mail: "Matt, Doc, Chester and Miss Kitty are part of the CBS family. Anybody who tries to do them dirt will end up on boot hill."

    • by mikael ( 484 )

      The Twilight Zone part would be the show was filmed live 59-years into the future.

    • They're also the "family" that brought you the Star Trek fan film restrictions [startrek.com]. How did these restrictions come about? For decades these restrictions did not exist and yet Star Trek made lots of money; fans made and distributed derivative works of Star Trek and all of this co-existed with the Star Trek shows and movies. Fans even collected money and donations used for making more fan fiction for all to see and share. But when Prelude to Axanar [wikipedia.org] came along and piqued CBS/Paramount's interest, and CBS/Paramoun

  • I think that the SyFy channel have got there first with Dimension 404 which seems very Outer limits / Twilight Zone.
    That said, if the show made it over here on Netflix I'd watch it

  • by jddj ( 1085169 ) on Saturday November 04, 2017 @05:31AM (#55488233) Journal

    It's called "Black Mirror". CBS will have a very hard time indeed outdoing it.

    • Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Saturday November 04, 2017 @09:12AM (#55488747)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • As yayoubetcha said above, Black Mirror consists of stories that hold a mirror to our modern society posing questions about where we're going with our technology.

      The Twilight Zone is stories about almost anything, it could be magic, aliens, other dimensions, gods and demons, etc.

      I see them as being similar but in two distinct categories, like fantasy vs science-fiction even though most services likes to lump them together in the same idiotic category.

      • Agree, they're really not the same. It's mainly that there hasn't been a lot of good anthology TV since TZ.

        What bugs me: Rod Serling's been dead lo these many years, but people started nibbling at his corpse. My first strong memory is the well-intentioned fiction anthology mag "Twilight Zone" from maybe the late 70s/early 80s. Even with Serling's wife involved, it was GOOD, but it was not TZ.

        Black Mirror's best innovation might be staking out its own quadrant (personal tech/socmed/dystopia), setting its own

    • Black Mirror is trash. It's as shallow, tired, and hamfisted as a 15 year old's poetry.

  • by darthsilun ( 3993753 ) on Saturday November 04, 2017 @05:32AM (#55488237)
    What would it take to get ABC to reboot that. But it needs to be done well.
  • It's basically just producing more episodes.

  • by Hognoxious ( 631665 ) on Saturday November 04, 2017 @08:07AM (#55488553) Homepage Journal

    In Soviet Russia, horizontal and vertical control YOU!

    Rats' cocks, that's other one isn't it?

  • Don't let him anywhere near it.

  • Oh jesus, they'll fuck this up too. Just wait and see.

  • Just thought I'd mention it.

  • by jwhyche ( 6192 ) on Saturday November 04, 2017 @11:46AM (#55489337) Homepage

    For the love of god please go find some original ideals.

  • Because, the "reboot" will be NOTHING like the original. It will all be politically correct, "social justice warrior" anti American, pro socialist views and on and on and on. NOPE, pass!
  • One problem is, (Score:4, Insightful)

    by fredrated ( 639554 ) on Saturday November 04, 2017 @12:46PM (#55489611) Journal

    Twilight Zone was a thinking person's show, and it seems people don't want to do that anymore.

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