A Critical History of Television's The Twilight Zone, 1959-1964 - by Don Presnell & Marty McGee (Paperback)

About the Book

This comprehensive reference work first gives a complete history of the show, from its beginning in 1959 to its final 1964 season. The authors then provide critical commentaries and incisive analyses of all 156 episodes, along with the most complete listing of casts and credits ever published.

Book Synopsis

Rod Serling's anthology series The Twilight Zone is recognized as one of the greatest television shows of all time. Always intelligent and thought-provoking, the show used the conventions of several genres to explore such universal qualities as violence, fear, prejudice, love, death, and individual identity.

This comprehensive reference work gives a complete history of the show, from its beginning in 1959 to its final 1964 season, with critical commentaries, incisive analyses, and the most complete listing of casts and credits ever published. Biographical profiles of writers and contributors are included, followed by detailed appendices, bibliography and index.

Review Quotes

"well-researched...fascinating...thorough...recommended"-ARBA; "essential...marvelous...offers just about anything the serious fan of The Twilight Zone would want to read...as a source for research, Presnell and McGee could not have done a better job...addictive...highly recommended"-Midnight Marquee; "information on unfilmed and 'lost' episodes"-Classic Images; "a treasure of a book...definitive...endlessly usable"-Scarlet Street; "hurrah....These are my kind of writers...valuable info...fun reading"-Little Shoppe of Horrors; "a solidly researched, thorough history of the series, from its idea to its demise after five seasons...exceptionally well-documented"-The Villadom Times; "comprehensive reference...covers the celebrated show exhaustively"-Kettering-Oakwood Times; "very thorough, well-written...contains a massive amount of information...every Twilight Zone fan should have it"-John's Twilight Zone Page; "complete...[a] fine reference"-Midwest Book Review.

"well-researched...fascinating...thorough...recommended"--ARBA; "essential...marvelous...offers just about anything the serious fan of The Twilight Zone would want to read...as a source for research, Presnell and McGee could not have done a better job...addictive...highly recommended"--Midnight Marquee; "information on unfilmed and 'lost' episodes"--Classic Images; "a treasure of a book...definitive...endlessly usable"--Scarlet Street; "hurrah....These are my kind of writers...valuable info...fun reading"--Little Shoppe of Horrors; "a solidly researched, thorough history of the series, from its idea to its demise after five seasons...exceptionally well-documented"--The Villadom Times; "comprehensive reference...covers the celebrated show exhaustively"--Kettering-Oakwood Times; "very thorough, well-written...contains a massive amount of information...every Twilight Zone fan should have it"--John's Twilight Zone Page; "complete...[a] fine reference"--Midwest Book Review.

About the Author

Don Presnell is the director of the Common Reading Program at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. He has taught courses on "The Narrative Art of Comics"; "The Twilight Zone"; "Doctor Who"; "Dr. Seuss and Y(our) World"; "The Simple Complexity of Peanuts"; "The X-Files Science Fiction Search for Truth"; and "Rabbit Tales: Bugs Bunny & American Culture." Marty McGee has won over a dozen awards from the N.C. Press Association and lives in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.