1/15 Twilight Zone & Great Stories
Date: 02-19-10
Host: George Noory
Guests: Marc Zicree, Open Lines
In the first half of the program, George
was joined by sci fi writer Marc Zicree
for a discussion on the 1960s
anthology series, The Twilight Zone.
According to Zicree, creator Rod
Serling originally wanted to call the
show “Odd Street.” Serling eventually
settled upon — and coined the term –
“Twilight Zone,” he added. Zicree said
Twilight Zone endures to this day
because it was done “superlatively
well” and presented “great truths”
over the course of its 156-episode
run.
Serling, who wrote ninety-two
episodes himself, often focused on the
nature of identity, Zicree continued.
Serling believed the greatest fear of all
was “fear of the unknown working on
you, which you cannot share with
others,” he explained. Zicree also
shared the story of finding un-filmed
Twilight Zone scripts in Serling’s attic,
as well as talked about his work
recording commentaries for the
upcoming Blu-ray release of the series.
Throughout the interview, George
played audio clips from various
episodes ( A Kind of a Stopwatch, The
After Hours, And When the Sky Was
Opened, and Eye of the Beholder) to
test Zicree’s knowledge of the series.
Zicree passed with flying colors.
—————————————
The latter half of the show was
devoted to Open Lines. George offered
a special hotline for callers to share the
greatest stories they’ve ever heard or
experienced. Star in California
recounted a creepy Ouija Board
experience. Star said she and her
friends made their own board from
instructions contained within a spell
book. Using a coin as their planchette,
which Star maintained “moved on its
own,” the board revealed letter-by-
letter the entity with whom they were
communicating: D-E-V-I-L. Star
admitted to playing the board by
herself with similar eerie results.
Mike in Livermore, California, recalled a
time from his “misspent youth” when
he jumped a Honda 175 motorcycle
off the steep incline leading up to a
railroad crossing. As he soared fifteen
feet into the air, Mike discovered a line
of traffic was stopped immediately on
the other side of the tracks, where he
needed to land. Mike said he narrowly
avoided crashing, maneuvered
around some cars, and came to a
sudden stop next to a sheriff’s car.
Astonished onlookers cheered his Evel
Knievel like stunt, Mike added, noting
that he quickly took off and got into
an accident just two blocks down the
road.
Brook from Newport, Rhode Island,
told George he used to live around the
corner from the house of the late Ozzie
Nelson, star of The Adventures of
Ozzie and Harriet and father of singer-
actor Ricky Nelson. “The whole area
seemed extremely haunted,” Brook
disclosed, pointing out some of the
weird goings-on that have occurred in
the neighborhood. According to
Brook, Ozzie Nelson’s ghost has been
seen in his old home by family
members. A mansion that once
housed legendary film actor Errol
Flynn and the notorious Charles
Manson Family, but which now lies in
ruin, reappears on some summer
nights, he said. In addition, Brook
claimed that on certain full moon
nights several hundred people would
be engaged in Satanic rites in the park.
Website(s):
zicree.com
Book(s):
The Twilight Zone Companion
Magic Time: Ghostlands
Magic Time: Angelfire
Magic Time
Duration : 0:9:36
[youtube 3iGcJSSwSrQ]