Rodman Edward Serling :: essays research papers

Rodman Edward Serling, in my opinion one of the mostbrilliant men of our time, was born in Syracuse, New York,on December 25, 1924, to a wholesale meat dealer, andgrew up in Binghamton. By his own account, he had noearly literary ambitions, though from an early age, he andhis older brother, Robert, immersed themselves in moviesand in shows like Astounding Stories and Weird Tales.Rod was best known from the intro where he was seenwearing a suit and most often dangling a cigarette, whichwas unfortunately the cause of his untimely demise."There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known toman. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless asinfinity. It is the middle ground in the midst of light and shadow,between science and superstition, and it lies between the pitof mans fears, and the summit of his knowledge. This is thedimension of imagination. It is an area which we call... THETWILIGHT ZONE," Serlings masterpiece would not comeuntil later in his writing career .He began writing full-time in 1951, more than seventy of histelevision scripts were produced, garnering both critical andpublic acclaim. Full-scale success came early in 1955 withthe production of a script called "Patterns," deemed a" fictive triumph" by critics, and the winner of the first ofSerlings six Emmy awards. Serling went to work onscreenplays for MGM and as a writer for Playhouse 90,for which he crafted ninety-minute dramas. A critical and financial success, Serling shocked many of his fans in 1957when he left Playhouse 90 to create a science fiction serieshe called The capitulation Zone. 156 episodes of TwilightZone, ninety-two written by Serling, aired on CBS over thenext five years. The show went on to be one of the mostwidely accept and beloved series in television history,and achieved a permanent place in American pop culturewith its instantly recognizable opening, theme yell andcharismatic host, Rod Serling. With appearances bypersonalities such a s Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds,Dennis Hopper, and more, Twilight Zone became alaunching pad for some of Hollywoods biggest stars. Theshow headed downhill in its fifth season chiefly due to thefact that Serling lost most creative control of the show.After production ended in January 1964, Serling continuedto write for accept and television series and movies, and oftenappeared in his own productions, such as Rod SerlingsNight Gallery. He returned to Antioch College as aprofessor and lectured at college campuses across the