I've always wanted to go to the French Quarter in New Orleans on Mardi Gras. Just a reoccurring travel dream, so far. I imagine, with all of its strangeness, odd beauty, and down-right wildness on this of all days, it must be at least a little bit like walking into... the twilight zone.
Been watching some of my favorite The Twilight Zone episodes lately, and it got me thinking about Rod Serling and all of his genius. I found this interesting Mike Wallace interview with Serling on censorship, content, and commercial vs. quality. Throughout, you can really tell this is a man with dignity, a man with passion, and a man who believes in the use of entertainment to teach, question, and progress. Quite fascinating how Wallace questions Serling about superficial intentions as a television writer, where Serling keeps having to remind him it's about quality.
"I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want to have to battle sponsors and agencies, I don't want to have to push for something that I want and have to settle for second best. I don't want to have to compromise all the time. Which in essence is what the television writer does if he wants to put on controversial things... I stay in television because I think it's very possible to perform a function of providing adult, meaningful, exciting, challenging drama without dealing in controversy, necessarily."
Watching TheTwilight Zone classics was definitely a great way to spend New Year's Day. I didn't really remember that the marathon was on SyFy until last night, but I caught a few episodes before bed. It always fascinates me that there have been so many shows inspired by The Twilight Zone concept (every episode is a different scary story), but none hold up the way The Twilight Zone does. I suppose the show One Step Beyond does (it aired just before The Twilight Zone and is supposed to be based on true paranormal encounters), but many shows that came after just don't frighten us as much. I suspect that it is due to the fact that The Twilight Zone doesn't only rely on monsters, ghost, or aliens. Instead, it relies on the fear of them existing, the fear that there is more to what we think we know. It also contains lots of psychological themes, often having to do with people's memory, dreams, or uncertainty. When I watch episodes I have seen before, let alone ones that are new to me, I still find them entertaining and often pretty meaningful.
