Maybe the Sci-Fi Channel has done it before, and I just didn't notice, but starting this morning and running until 5:00 PM tomorrow, they're having a marathon of the 1980s' version of The Twilight Zone. Back in the 1990s when 11 Alive from New York City ran the July4th and New Year's Twilight Zone marathons, there was a time or two when they threw in a block of episodes from the 80s revival. I can't quite recall if they ended with a bunch of the new ones late at night/ early in the morning, or if they ran a bunch in that time frame and then showed some more of the original shows.
There are a few remakes here like "The After Hours" and "The Night of the Meek." There were also episodes unique to this series. I haven't seen many of these in something like 23 years (Yes, I don't watch the revival over and over and over like I do with the original series), but I still remember them very well.
"The Shadow Man" is an example. "I'm somebody else's shadow man." "A Message From Charity" is another episode I remember. A 20th century boy exchanges messages with a girl from 17th century Salem. I did see part of a re-run of it sometime in the 90s, but I haven't really watched the entire two part episode since the mid-80s. At the time, I loved it, and it was one of my favorite episodes. It's what hooked me on watching the 80s series. I don't know how well it holds up today. If I get a chance, I'll watch it again, and see if I still like it. It depends on if I get out of work on time.
Also, while the concept seems really old now, and it's been done to death (or living death as the case may be), episodes like "Monsters!" introduced me to the idea of good vampires. "That's when the real monsters come out." I still like that story even if the current flood of "good" vampire stories makes me want to gag. (I'm not saying "Monsters!" is the first story about good vampires, it's just the first one I ever saw, and it seemed really new at the time.) "Red Snow" about vampires in Siberia was memorable too. Hmm . . . an arctic setting with long periods of dark . . Wonder if anyone will ever use that concept again? LOL.
Listings on the channel guide aren't always 100% accurate, but here's what the guide lists. I notice that sometimes there are two stories in one half hour episode. The Night Gallery did that a lot, but the original Twilight Zone didn't.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
8:00 AM "Night Crawlers"
8:30 AM "Wordplay" / "Personal Demons"
9:00 AM "Little Boy Lost"
9:30 AM "Teacher's Aide" / "Children's Zoo"
10:00 AM "A Little Peace and Quiet"
10:30 AM "Misfortune Cookie" / "A Small Talent for War"
11:00 AM "Shatterday"
11:30 AM "Act and Break" / "Lost and Found"
12:00 PM "Chameleon"
12:30 PM "Healer"
1:00 PM "The Burning Man" / "The Elevator"
1:30 PM "Gramma"
2:00 PM "Wong's Lost and Found Emporium"
2:30 PM "Her Pilgrim Soul" (2 part episode?)
3:00 PM "Her Pilgrim Soul" (2nd part?)
3:30 PM "Dealer's Choice"
4:00 PM "The Leprechaun Artist"
4:30 PM "A Message From Charity" (Part 1?)
5:00 PM "A Message From Charity" (Part 2?)
5:30 PM "Ye Gods"
6:00 PM "If She Dies"
6:30 PM "Dead Woman's Shoes"
7:00 PM "Opening Day"
7:30 PM "Paladin of the Lost Hour"
8:00 PM "The Shadow Man"
8:30 PM "Night of the Meek"
9:00 PM "One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty"
9:30 PM "The Beacon"
10:00 PM "Monsters!"
10:30 PM "The Little People" / "A Matter of Minutes"
11:00 PM "Quarantine"
11:30 PM "Tooth and Consequences" / "The Wish Bank"
Friday, July 3, 2009
12:00 AM "But Can She Type?" / "The Star"
12:30 AM "To See the Invisible Man"
1:00 AM "Welcome to Winfield"
1:30 AM "Cold Reading" / "Uncle Devil Show"
2:00 AM "Button, Button"
2:30 AM "Profile in Silver"
3:00 AM "Dead Run"
3:30 AM "Red Snow"
4:00 AM "Grace Note"
4:30 AM "Need to Know" / "The After Hours"
5:00 AM "Shadow Play"
5:30 AM "Take My Life, Please" / "I of Newton"
6:00-8:00 Infomercials
8:00 AM "The Last Defender of Camelot"
8:30 AM "The Once and Future King"
9:00 AM "Saucer of Loneliness"
9:30 AM "The World Next Door"
10:00 AM "Voices in the Earth"
10:30 AM "What Are Friends For?"
11:00 AM "The Storyteller"
11:30 AM "Aqua Vita"
12:00 PM "Time and Teresa Golowitz"
12:30 PM "Private Channel" / "Dreams for Sale"
1:00 PM "Song of the Younger World"
1:30 PM "Nightsong"
2:00 PM "The Convict's Piano"
2:30 PM "The Card"
3:00 PM "The Road Less Traveled"
3:30 PM "The Girl I Married"
4:00 PM "Shelter Skelter"
4:30 PM "Toys of Caliban"
THE END (The marathon of the original series begins at 5:00 right after "Toys of Caliban.")
2 comments:
I'm watching it and I love it. Plus, "A Message from Charity" is my favorite of the 1980s episodes.
Hi Bianca,
Thanks for the comment. Part I of "A Message from Charity" was the first episode of the 80s series I ever saw.
I was already familiar with the original series because my mother watched a lot of science fiction, fantasy, and horror stuff when I was a kid. I wasn't fanatical about the original series as I am now though. Plus I loved the movie from the 80s.
I don't know if I was channel surfing or if I just happened to have CBS on for background noise up in my room, but I started watching "A Message from Charity," and I just had to see Part II the next week. After that, I watched the 80s series every week while it was on CBS.
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