Series synopsis
The Twilight Zone is an American sci-fi & fantasy mystery drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 27, 1985. It ended on April 15, 1989. It was created by Rod Serling. It stars Charles Aidman, Robin Ward, Joe Penny and Antony Hamilton.
This 1980s revival of the classic sci-fi series features a similar style to the original anthology series. Each episode tells a tale (sometimes two or three) rooted in horror or suspense, often with a surprising twist at the end. Episodes usually feature elements of drama and comedy.
Premise
This 1980s revival of the classic sci-fi series features a similar style to the original anthology series. Each episode tells a tale (sometimes two or three) rooted in horror or suspense, often with a surprising twist at the end. Episodes usually feature elements of drama and comedy.
Premise: What dimension are you even in?
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Charles Aidman as Narrator (voice)
- Robin Ward as Narrator (voice)
- Joe Penny
- Antony Hamilton as Simon Locke (segment "Nightsong")
- George Wendt as (segment "The World Next Door")
- Cedric Smith
- Lorna Luft as (segment "Children's Zoo")
- William Schallert as (segment "Shadow Play")
Supporting cast
- Robert Duncan McNeill as (segment "A Message From Charity")
- Bruce Willis as Peter Novins (segment "Shatterday")
- Sherman Hemsley as Sam (segment "I of Newton")
- Al Leong as (segment "The Misfortune Cookie")
- Ted Shackelford as Fr. Mark Cassidy
- Jeff Yagher as (segment "The Once and Future King")
- Charles Martin Smith as Dr Dennis Barrows (segment "The Beacon")
- Barbara Stock as Mary McNeal
- Dee Wallace as (segment "Wish Bank")
- Henry Gibson as (segment "Welcome to Winfield")
- Frances Conroy as (segment "The Library")
- David Faustino as Micah Frost (segment "The Storyteller")
Guest cast
- Robin Ward as Narrator (voice)
- Joe Penny
- Antony Hamilton as Simon Locke (segment "Nightsong")
- George Wendt as (segment "The World Next Door")
- Cedric Smith
- Lorna Luft as (segment "Children's Zoo")
- William Schallert as (segment "Shadow Play")
- Robert Duncan McNeill as (segment "A Message From Charity")
- Bruce Willis as Peter Novins (segment "Shatterday")
- Sherman Hemsley as Sam (segment "I of Newton")
- Al Leong as (segment "The Misfortune Cookie")
- Ted Shackelford as Fr. Mark Cassidy
Episodes
This series spans 6 seasons with 125 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 6 | February 15, 2014 | |
| Season 1 | 24 | September 27, 1985 | April 11, 1986 |
| Season 2 | 11 | September 27, 1986 | July 17, 1987 |
| Season 3 | 30 | September 24, 1988 | April 15, 1989 |
| Season 4 | 18 | January 3, 1963 | May 23, 1963 |
| Season 5 | 36 | September 27, 1963 | June 19, 1964 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Conversation With Wes Craven Wes Craven discusses how he had become part of The 80's Twilight Zone revival. |
November 24, 1958 |
| 2 |
Harlan Ellison Commentary on "Shatterday" A truncated (cut) version of the first episode, "Shatterday", with commentary by the original stories author, Harlan Ellison. |
November 29, 1995 |
| 3 |
The New Twilight Zone Bumpers Special features from the DVD box set, Twilight Zone Bumpers with the iconic theme song. |
May 19, 1994 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Shatterday / A Little Peace and Quiet A man named Peter Jay Novins accidentally dials his home phone number, and it's answered by Peter Jay Novins. A harried housewife finds a medallion that gives her the power to freeze time. |
September 27, 1985 |
| 2 |
Wordplay / Dreams for Sale / Chameleon Salesman Bill Lowery wakes up one morning and discovers, to his horror, that people around him are slowly degenerating their talk into gibberish that he cannot understand. His ability to communicate is needed more than ever when his son becomes sick. Lowery manages to get his son the treatment he needs and discovers he must relearn everything from scratch. On an idyllic outdoor picnic with her husband and their twins a nameless woman becomes confused and disoriented when events begin to repeat themselves. A space shuttle returns from a mission and NASA discovers that something unusual has been picked up. They discover that they have a shape-changing alien in their holding tank that poses a danger to all. |
October 4, 1985 |
| 3 |
Healer / Children's Zoo / Kentucky Rye Cat burglar Jackie Thompson breaks into a museum to steal ancient artifacts and takes a rare gem that has strange healing powers - he is shot but the gem heals him. Taking on the name of Brother John, Jackie becomes a faith healer but soon becomes too greedy. Meanwhile an old Indian man, Duende, shows up and tells Jackie the relic must go back to where it belongs. Jackie starts to have second thoughts but his partner Harry leaves with the cash and his old bullet wound opens up and he begins dying again. A little girl's parents are always fighting and screaming at each other. She takes them to the Children's Zoo with a special invitation and she gets something very special, something her parents could not even imagine. Bob Spindler, a drunk driver, arrives at the "Kentucky Rye" bar where the customers are all victims of drunk drivers. |
October 11, 1985 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Once and Future King / A Saucer of Loneliness An Elvis impersonator is transported to the 1950s where he meets the real Elvis who thinks that the impersonator is his long dead brother. A quiet waitress sees a glowing UFO, which gives her a message that everyone wants to know. She refuses to reveal exactly what the message is. |
September 27, 1986 |
| 2 |
What Are Friends For? / Aqua Vita Alex Mattingly wonders whether his son Jeff's new friend Mike is real or imaginary. This episode is a cruel "fountain of youth" spin-off. A fortyish reporter is at risk of losing her anchor position on a network evening news broadcast to a younger reporter. She hears about a special type of bottled water from a friend of hers. She orders some at a relatively low cost. It works. Yet she finds she must drink it every day in order to retain her youth. When she orders another 5-gallon container. The price jumps up to $200. She talks to the water deliveryman. He refers he to her as "girlie". She remarks "girlie" is an old term and asks for his actual age. He says something along the lines of "I don't think you'd want to know". She is halfway done with the second bottle and is tearing apart her place looking for items to pawn when her husband shows up. They have no kids. She explains what has happened and decides to end her dilemma by balancing their situations. |
October 4, 1986 |
| 3 |
The Storyteller / Nightsong In the early 20th century a young woman takes a job as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse. One of her students, Mica, secretly takes extra books home to read. When the teacher confronts him, she finds that the boy is reading the books to his ailing grandfather - who claims to be more than a hundred and forty years old! A young DJ working the graveyard shift at a radio station rediscovers a record album by her boyfriend who disappeared five years ago. When he suddenly appears again, she is surprised and upset. |
October 11, 1986 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Curious Case of Edgar Witherspoon A woman tries to get her Uncle Edgar committed, believing that he is senile. The investigating doctor finds Edgar living in an apartment containing all kinds of junk. Edgar claims that a mysterious Voice tells him what junk to collect, and to assemble it into a device that constantly keeps the world in balance. The doctor has him committed, only to realize when a small Pacific island is destroyed as Edgar predicted that the "insane" man is anything but. The doctor has Edgar released, only to discover that he has been chosen to replace Edgar as the new "balancer" of the world. |
September 24, 1988 |
| 2 |
Extra Innings Ex-baseball player Ed Hamner, lame from an injury and forced to retire early, is given a 1909 baseball card of a player that looks exactly like him, Monte Hanks. The card is magical in that he becomes drawn into it and lives out the life of the player in the past. Hamner must choose between being healthy and playing his favorite sport in the past, or live in the present with his despairing wife who fears he'll never grow up. |
October 1, 1988 |
| 3 |
The Crossing A stressed-out priest repeatedly encounters a station wagon containing a young girl. The car keeps crashing and bursting into flames. |
October 8, 1988 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
In His Image A scientist tries to correct his imperfections by building a mechanical likeness of himself, which includes of all the finer qualities he is lacking. |
January 3, 1963 |
| 2 |
The Thirty-Fathom Grave A US naval destroyer investigates a mysterious tapping sound coming from a sunken submarine. |
January 10, 1963 |
| 3 |
Valley of the Shadow A reporter finds himself trapped in a small town where people can reverse time and do many other amazing things. |
January 17, 1963 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
In Praise of Pip Max Phillips is an alcoholic bookie that regrets that he wasn't a better father to his son, Pip, critically wounded in South Vietnam. A visit to an amusement park gives them both a second chance. |
September 27, 1963 |
| 2 |
Steel A small-time promoter desperately in need of money takes the place of his broken-down robot in a prize fight where humans are barred from participating. |
October 4, 1963 |
| 3 |
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet A man, newly recovered from a nervous breakdown, becomes convinced that a monster only he sees is damaging the plane he's flying in. |
October 11, 1963 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | CBS |
|---|---|
| First aired | September 27, 1985 |
| Last aired | April 15, 1989 |
| Runtime | 30 minutes |
| Status | ended |