Strange Side : Themes of Twilight Zone

[muman613]

Recently I have been watching a bunch of old Twilight Zone episodes from the 60s-70s and there are many very interesting ones. I recently shared one called 'The Obsolete Man' which explored a future (or present) where fascism renders men who are of no value to the state, obsolete. The theme of religion and the value of human life were examined.

Just watched this one on Sunday... In 'On Thursday we leave for Home' a colony of humans are stranded on a barren and forsaken planet on the other side of the galaxy. They have been living (if you call it living) on rations which cause much suffering among the inhabitants. These humans are held together by Captain Benteen, who acts as a modern day Moses in keeping the moral of the people up. The promise of a rescue ship from Earth keeps them all in spirits to survive the barren wasteland they live in.

Is this episode making a parody of religion? At first I felt that it may be... But then I realized that the moral of this episode is one learned from our Torah, the story of the Sin of the Spies. The spies did not want to leave the desert and go into the holy land, because it would mean that their 'elevated statue' would be diminished.

I would like to share with you "On Thursday We leave for Home"




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Thursday_We_Leave_for_Home

[angryChineseKahanist]

This can't be the twilight zone; they have shadows.

[muman613]

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.

For those who missed my original posting of 'The Obsolete Man' I have posted it again. This episode deals with humanity in the face of a nameless/faceless fascist world where the individual is of absolutely no value to the society...



PS: The actor Fritz Weaver appeared in several episodes, including one I watched the other day... He also appeared in several Science Fiction movies...

[Nachus]

                                                                                                                                      


 The Twilight Zone; absolute classic show, brilliantly done Muman613 and AngryChineseKahanist, never
 a dull moment with these episodes and are surely never outdated!

[angryChineseKahanist]

wait, the second one is obsolete.

[muman613]

wait, the second one is obsolete.

[muman613]

For those up late on 'New Year' night, an especially disturbing Twilight Zone...

You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension— a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.

[muman613]

Escape Clause

Narrator: You're about to meet a hypochondriac. Witness Mr. Walter Bedeker, age forty-four, afraid of the following: death, disease, other people, germs, draft, and everything else. He has one interest in life, and that's Walter Bedeker. One preoccupation: the life and well-being of Walter Bedeker. One abiding concern about society: that if Walter Bedeker should die, how will it survive without him?



Narrator: There's a saying, 'Every man is put on Earth condemned to die, time and method of execution unknown.' Perhaps this is as it should be. Case in point: Walter Bedeker, lately deceased, a little man with such a yen to live. Beaten by the Devil, by his own boredom, and by the scheme of things in this, the Twilight Zone.

[muman613]

[ItalianZionist]

Rod Serling...WWII hero who requested to fight in Europe but was sent to Japan.

[muman613]

Yes, Serling was a very brilliant and honorable man...

Narrator: You're looking at a tableau of reality, things of substance, of physical material: a desk, a window, a light. These things exist and have dimension. Now this is Arthur Curtis, age thirty-six, who also is real. He has flesh and blood, muscle and mind. But in just a moment we will see how thin a line separates that which we assume to be real with that manufactured inside of a mind.



Narrator: The modus operandi for the departure from life is usually a pine box of such and such dimensions, and this is the ultimate in reality. But there are other ways for a man to exit from life. Take the case of Arthur Curtis, age thirty-six. His departure was along a highway with an exit sign that reads 'This way to escape.' Arthur Curtis, en route to the Twilight Zone.

[muman613]

What you saw is not a man..it is the devil himself!

[ChabadKahanist]

These are good ones I also like the episode To Serve Man.

[muman613]

These are good ones I also like the episode To Serve Man.

Shalom ChabadKahanist,

Indeed 'To Serve Man' consistently ranks one of the top ten episodes of Twilight Zone...

The band 'Rush', which some of you who know me know is one of my favorite bands, recorded a song in tribute to the 'Twilight Zone'

[muman613]

One more classic episode...