“THE TWILIGHT ZONE: Tower of Terror”
I know, I know, a plug for a theme park thrill ride right after a plug for a slot machine, yay for tourism. Yes, it’s a Disney theme park ride. Scoff if you want, but a single attraction has done more to expose THE TWILIGHT ZONE to a new generation than countless marathons or merchandise tie-ins ever could. It helps that the ride itself is one of the most innovative ever conceived, plunging (literally) the guest into the universe of THE TWILIGHT ZONE in the most immersive way possible.
The Imagineers at Disney truly outdid themselves with this one. Opened in 1994 at the Disney MGM Studios (now the Hollywood Studios) in Disney World, Florida, the ride was so popular that it was built anew in 2004 for the struggling California Adventure in Anaheim, although its size was reduced out of a necessity to conserve space. The journey begins with guests ushered into the imposing Hollywood Tower hotel, a decrepit old structure that immediately pulls visitors into the world of Hollywood circa the 1930s. Guests learn the history of the tower by way of a creepy opening video, narrated by no less than Rod Serling himself, quite a technical feat considering Serling had passed away years before the video was shot. Upon exiting the library, which is filled with various knick-knacks from ZONE episodes of the past, guests are led into a waiting freight elevator.
At this point, all hell breaks loose. What seems like a normal up and down thrill ride evolves into something spectacular as the elevator moves forward into the phantasmagoric world that Rod Serling created. With ghosts beckoning, clocks ticking, windows shattering, and a giant eyeball watching, everyone aboard is kept off- balance until the incredible finale, when the ride vehicle hurtles up and down the shaft, finally depositing guests at the exit, where a gift shop peddles an assortment of TZ merchandise.
If you haven’t been, find a way to get yourself there. Florida is the ideal choice; it’s lengthier, loads faster, and the California version lacks the ability to move forward.
“Time Enough At Last”
This is one of the biggies, folks. Coming early on in the first season, “Time Enough at Last” cemented TZ’s reputation as the best science fiction program on television and set a bar which subsequent episodes would be forced to compete with, if not outright match.
The premise is simple enough. A man is obsessed with books, to the point where it’s become a detriment to his job and his marriage. With a pair of Coke bottle glasses perched on his nose, Henry Bemis (Burgess Meredith) devours literature at any chance he can get.
Then,
wouldn’t you know it, the apocalypse comes in the form of an H-Bomb and Henry is the sole survivor. He hustles to the local library and gets all set to idle away the rest of his days reading books, but in a tragic twist, his glasses break, leaving him absolutely blind.
This is not only one of the most iconic twists in ZONE history, but all of pop culture history. It set a standard for storytelling that we now take for granted, the idea that a piece of entertainment could be perfectly crafted so as to lead up to one integral moment that would wallop the viewer over the head. The twist is audacious yet fits in perfectly with the world and the theme developed. The course was set, but TZ had a lot more tricks up its sleeve.
Bonus pop culture parody: In an episode of THE DREW CAREY SHOW, Drew finds himself the lone survivor of an apocalyptic event, and surrounds himself with scads of porno magazines, only to have his glasses break. His screams of agony at knowing he won’t be able to ogle the naked women rival the the pain felt by Bemis.
So that’s it for now. Five of what I consider to be the
most memorable moments of TWILIGHT ZONE history. If you guys disagree, or would like to add your own important milestones, then by all means share them with us in the comments section. And for those of you expecting a mention of the early 2000s television series, shame on you. Just like the main character in “The Silence,” we don’t speak of that.
8 THE GRAVEYARD EXAMINER • DEC 6 - DEC 12, 2011
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