Cool News
X-MEN’s Singer Wants To Bring TWILIGHT ZONE Back To CBS!!
Director Bryan Singer (“Apt Pupil,” “X-Men,” “Superman Returns,” “Valkyrie,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past”) has just closed a deal with CBS TV Studios to bring a new “Twilight Zone” series back to television, according to Deadline Hollywood.
If the new series goes forward it’s likely to air on CBS or The CW and be the fourth version of the series, which originally ran on CBS 1959-1964. A second, color incarnation ran three seasons 1985-1989 on CBS and a 2002-2003 UPN version lasted 22 episodes.
There’s also a “Twilight Zone” movie in development, reportedly about an aircraft pilot flung forward in time.
Singer, who directed Fox’s “House” pilot and NBC’s “Mockingbird Lane” pilot, may do the same for the new “Twilight Zone” series
Find all of Deadline’s exclusive on the matter here.
Readers Talkback
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God, can there be a more bland director? He fucked up Fuller's awesome scripted Mockingbird Lane. He's such a boring ass dude. Stay the fuck away from this, please. No Serling = No Twilight -Namaste-
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Dec. 19, 2012, 5:37 p.m. CST
Today's writers are no where near smart enough to make as good stories as the original...
by TopHat
...all they'll be able to do is pay "homage" to things.
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I'm looking forward to this new iteration of The Twilight Zone! Go, Bryan Singer, go!
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Dec. 19, 2012, 6:26 p.m. CST
They should have a open script submission for unknown writers.
by Cedric Ford
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Dec. 19, 2012, 6:35 p.m. CST
Good idea I just hope it's better then The Munsters reboot
by Phategod2
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Dec. 19, 2012, 6:40 p.m. CST
The early 2000's version co-hosted by Forest Whitaker and his creepy lazy eye wasn't so bad
by thecomedian
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Who cares whos in it. Stories. I want to be in the story, and love/hate myself after watching it.
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One of the better shows UPN ever had, IMO.
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If it's on the CW, every episode might have teenage vampires like every other CW show.
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Dec. 19, 2012, 7:11 p.m. CST
David Chase NEEDS to write an episode. I know he won't but god damn The Soprano's later seasons(if you pay attention) was like one big homage to TZ
by ndally
Plus this needs to be on HBO AND IN BLACK AND WHITE. The original was groundbreaking and the only way this series will be groundbreaking is if it can be totally uncensored(that's not to say every story needs tits, drugs, violence etc). If this series runs on scripts that are freelance in nature this could attract some amazing writers who only want to write an episode or two. Kind of like how Tales of the crypt worked in the '90s(for HBO no less)
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Dec. 19, 2012, 7:28 p.m. CST
Hard to do without those wonderful 50's Science Fiction Writers.
by Smerdyakov
Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson. Harlen Ellison. Their kind of sci-fi has been replaced by Star Wars and Trek pastiches.
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and viewers wont watch this sort of tv. they get confused and dont understand why its a new story and new cast every week THATS RIGHT....AMERICA IS FILLED WITH FUCKING MORONS SO GLAD THE WORLD ENDS ON FRIDAY
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Dec. 19, 2012, 7:43 p.m. CST
I agree this would be MUCH better suited for cable than a regular network
by TheSeeker7
I am such a massive TZ fan, and with Singer being involved, it at least gives me some encouragement. oh and, I'm sorry but the 2002 reboot was fucking dreadful.
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Life is too stressful and we have SO MANY FUCKING ENTERTAINMENT OPTIONS. This is not a good idea for so many reasons. But TREK back on tv? Christ, yes.
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Dec. 19, 2012, 8:21 p.m. CST
if they put this on cbs and not the cw and go balls out it could be cool
by Matthew
maybe get neil gaimen , stephen moffat, stephen kind to write an episode and whoever are the brightest sci fi writers of our time, search! The 2002 version was the best show ever on UPN but still hit or miss, not ground breaking like the original. How about the 80s version episode that was kinda like the matrix?
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I wish they would stop trying. The Twilight Zone was special. It was amazing television with great stories of all kinds and frequently thought provoking. The rehashes have been embarassing failures that only work when they're ripping off the original series. Unless they plan on getting talented sci-fi writers with a knack for social commentary...fuck it. Just fuck it.
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best show ever on UPN is rather a low achievment, can't even think of another show they had.
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Kind of a dark refrain, but hey. I honestly think a new anthology series could find a place on a broadcast network (albeit probably on Fridays, I suspect), assuming it was consistently good--and that's the rub. OTOH, an updated 'Number Twelve Looks Just Like You' might be worth sitting through the chaff...if a bit too on the nose nowadays.
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The Twilight Zone has always meant to equal Writing, not 'ideas and imagination'. When someone is trapped in The Twilight Zone it means they're trapped within the confines of an unresolvable plot of a Writer.. something that can only exist on the page or the screen. That ability to write a story constitutes the 'dimension' that is not of sight and sound, but of mind.
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X-Men. Superman. Munsters. Jack the Giant Killer (or some stupid title like that). His stupid-assed idea to re-reboot Battlestar Galactica AFTER the last one got so much critical and fan praise. Now Twilight Zone.
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Dec. 19, 2012, 10:33 p.m. CST
Last decent Anthology show was The Outer Limits on Showtime
by Alientoast
The fact The Outer Limits on Showtime was pretty good gives me some hope that a good anthology series might still be possible.
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I think rebooting OL would work better. Its not as well known. And almost every scripted show uses a rough version of the twilight zones.outline. Hook b4 the first commercial, and the twist or revel ending. Heck m nigh shalmamamla made a career out of ripping it off... But then I think about a world where the reboot twilight zone is americas #1 show, so naturally all the networks rush to reboot anthologies . Reboot tales from the crypt, the hitchhiker, tales from the dark side, OL, and dark room , ect. No worse than network programs now ...
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Dec. 19, 2012, 11:06 p.m. CST
IVE BEEN WATCHING "BRYAN SINGER PRESENTS: THE TWILIGHT ZONE" FOR ABOUT A MONTH NOW
by PRESIDENT BALTAR
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Dec. 19, 2012, 11:10 p.m. CST
Billy Mumy begins preparing pitch for "It's A Good Life Part III"
by Margot Tenenbaum
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Dec. 19, 2012, 11:37 p.m. CST
Remember the glut of anthology shows in the 80's?
by Nasty In The Pasty
The new Twilight Zone, Amazing Stories, Tales From The Crypt, ect.? Only Crypt found a loyal audience and stayed on the air for several seasons, that that was mainly because it was on pay cable and could show all of the boobies and blood it wanted. Not that I neccesarilly think an anthology show needs those things, but it's always a tough sell without the one, important element a popular anthology show needs...a HOST. You think of TZ, you think of Rod Serling's dry introductions, you think of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, it's Hitch, you think of Crypt, you think of the Crypt-Keeper. No offense to Forest Whitaker, but he was no Serling, and that's why the UPN version of TZ didn't catch on, and why something like Spielberg's Amazing Stories didn't. Imagine Spielberg himself doing an intro to each episode? Without a regular, charismatic host, anthology shows live and die on how consistently good the stories are, and too many clunkers in a row can kill them right out of the gate. Even the original TZ had a number of lame episodes that are just generally forgotten in favor of the classics that have oozed into the general pop culture osmosis.
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Without Serling there is no Twilight Zone. The attempts at reviving it have been DOA. They don't have Serling. Forget it.
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I remember watching that show once. It was frickin' awful.
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Dec. 20, 2012, 12:57 a.m. CST
I just thought of the perfect host if they bring it back
by dukeroberts
Leonard Nimoy.
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Dec. 20, 2012, 6:25 a.m. CST
RE: They should have an open script submission for unknown writers.
by F-18
Rod Serling did that. An episode was made out of one of them. I can't remember which episode it is.
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Nowhere Man hands down, great show. They better get some great writers for this new Twilight Zone. The original series still holds up even today.
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...next to Serling, THE MOST important writing force on the original show followed of course by Matheson. Ellison, sadly only got one script through full production. If it isn't done with a true 'creative' collaborative spirit of the original (which is impossible) and with the balls to truly reflect the problems we face in our times, as those legendary writers did then...then there's really no point in the attempt. Just create your own sci-fi anthology series Singer, without biting off Serling's brand. I'm very skeptical of your ability to translate the greatest television series ever (my opinion) to these times...and with the writers of today. Lindelof is no George Clayton Johnson...hell, he ain't even 'Magic' Johnson.
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...don't think Ellison did even one. He contributed greatly to Outer Limits and Star Trek...but not so much on Zone.
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hollywood: the land of original ideas.
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Two marginal built-in audiences tune in every week for a stupendously ill-conceived anthology show set in the margins of the Star Trek universe. Maybe they do a show where Shatner is still playing that machine in the diner. You know, for sweeps week.
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Just please, have little to no remakes of actual original episodes. Feel free to remake ones from the 1980's iteration that actually had good concepts, but bargain basement production values.
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Make an anthology horror/suspense/sci-fi show. Just call it something else. If it's good it'll stand all by itself. Quit trading on a great name.
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You know it to be true.
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I'll watch. But you all know that by now.
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Dec. 20, 2012, 11:06 a.m. CST
The Outer Limits fucked with my mind as a kid. I think its what initially turned me onto sci-fi
by kidicarus
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but release it simultaneously in the UK/Europe unless you want me to pirate the fuck out of it.
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Maybe it's just the TZ geek in me that just wants a new series to WORK. As others have mentioned, just get some serious creative writers with something to say. The new blood needs to truly understand sci-fi and other genres to make this work to hopefully recreate the magic of the original series. Original stories all the way! Don't OD on the homages or sequel stories! We don't need to see William Shatner getting on a plane after being released from an institution and getting revenge on a man in a weird bear suit. Actually....maybe we do need to see that?
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Dec. 20, 2012, 12:51 p.m. CST
@ fat_rancor_keeper At the very least, Conan needs to do this the next time Shatner is on, would be epic!
by lox4444
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Sounds perfect as a skit.
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Dec. 20, 2012, 1:13 p.m. CST
It sounds counterintuitive, but the general, modern tv audience
by xavier masterson
...doesn't have the attention span to make an anthology show a ratings hit. Investing in new characters and new plots week isn't going to keep people coming back each episode, especially if they've become accustomed to the cliffhanger-lite sensibilities season long arcs. A modern Twilight Zone would probably have to adopt the American Horror Story model of spreading out one story over one season. Which would never work for the types of stories TZ was famous for telling. Besides, I'm still waiting for a proper Creepshow tv series. Tales from the Darkside was sort of almost it, but it needed The Creep and the animated fade-ins and outs. i don't care if it only lasts one season, I would be very grateful to just own 22 episodes of further plant men and crate monster fun.
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Dec. 20, 2012, 1:56 p.m. CST
There's going to be a lot of disappointed girl expecting vampires and werewolves dating boring girls
by Domi'sInnerChild
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I would love to be optimistic but it's almost certainly doomed to failure. To keep the biting edge and to allow for the frequent dark twist endings this just can't be allowed to be shown on the broadcast networks. I recall how after leaving Showtime how the new Outer Limits really dropped in quality.
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Dec. 20, 2012, 2:09 p.m. CST
There'd probably be some shitty twist like the Serling stand-in is SENDING people to ''the Zone'' for some overarching reason.
by spacehog
Goddamnit I just made myself angry, just typing that out. That's exactly what they'd do, isn't it. Someone is causing these bizarre things to happen and characters have dumb little cameos in following episodes and conspiracy theorists are tracking paranormal activity and SHIT, SHIT I HATE THIS.
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Anthologies would be better. People don't have to follow an overall season story arc. They watch it, a week later they can forget it and watch an entirely new show. Both of the TZ remakes had some good episodes, and you had J. Michael Straczynski and Harlan Ellison (Shatterday, Crazy as a Soup Sandwich) on the 80s one. And the 80s ran three seasons, even if CBS buried it off to Canadaian syndicated in the third year.
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He was a scriptwriter for the second iteration of TZ (1980's CBS) and wrote pieces like "Crazy as a Soup Sandwich" for the series. He was also the author of an unpublished script called "Nackles," which would have been part of the TZ's Christmas episode (which also included a remake of "Night of the Meek"), but CBS officials put the kibosh on Ellison's script, demanding changes. Yeah, YOU tell Harlan Ellison his script needs changes. Next thing you know, you'll be answering to Cordwainer Bird.
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Go fuck yourselves.
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I agree. I'd like to read one talkback without that stupid 'I've been watching xxxx for about a month now.' It wasn't funny the first 100 times.
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The Friedkin one about the psychic Vietnam vet, Shatterday, The Shadow Man, Night of the Meek. My biggest problem with the 80's version? It was on on Friday nights at 8pm!!! Whose is home watching TV on Friday nights when you're 18?
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...not the same. There's '59-'64...and then there's everything else. I consider 'Twilight Zone' the original 156 episode run period with Serling's blessings.
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Craig T. Nelson and Jobeth Williams in 'Little Girl Lost'? Kim Cattrall in The After Hours? Robert Englund in Perchance to dream? ...true TZ fans think about it...
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Maybe the greatest episode of the 80s run . Its scareed the hell out of kids back in the day TV is too pc for stuff like that. It needs to be on cable
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Dec. 20, 2012, 9:56 p.m. CST
DO IT IN BLACK & WHITE FOR FUCK SAKES AND ADAPT GREAT SHORT STORIES!!!FACT!!!
by creepythinmanrises
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...if they have to call it Twilight Zone.
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Dec. 21, 2012, 2:24 a.m. CST
I'm sure Singer can suck the magic out of this franchise too.
by Kenny8
His track record in that department is pretty good.
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Dec. 21, 2012, 7:13 a.m. CST
TOO BAD IT'S ON CBS, BUT I COULD SEE TY BURRELL AS THE HOST. HE HAS A SERLING-ESQUE THING GOING.
by Darth Busey
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But no remakes... Let's tap into that post-911 fear much like the writers in the 50's tapped into the post WWII/Commie/Atomic fears. TW is not just about writing scary, ironic stories, it's about the human condition being explored through the prism of sci-fi/fantasy/horror. Love to see a story about the stifling effects political correctness hath wrought on this current generation of wimps and pussies.
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Singer's Battlestar was in the works BEFORE the new one... it was actually kind of cool. Hatch was on board, an appearance by Jane Seymour as Serina.... a continuation, full on fantasy...than sci-fi. THEN 911 happened and put things on hold... then Moore took over and did a redo... And now there are rumorso f it still happening... so...
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Because no one remembers what made the original work, and that was its humanity, social commentary and the equality that the show demanded for those who didn't have it. The remakes mostly revolve around the twists, the monster effects And the stars. Not a single ounce of humanity
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Dec. 22, 2012, 4:01 a.m. CST
Instead of milking the name recognition, do something new/old.
by Bedknobs and Boomsticks
There are reams of classic skiffy and fantasy short stories from the grandmasters that have never been adapted. Just put something like that on pay cable or cable, with a budget, and guest directors. Buy the option to New Worlds magazine. Fuck, even if not classics, any ol' crap from older issues of the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction would suffice, be better than that which currents hacks would poop out.
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just what we needed. thanx Singer.
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was writers like Bradbury, MAtheson and Serling himself. you dotn get that calibre of writer on TV much, with the exception of Sorkin maybe.
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...don't forget Charles Beaumont. Ray Bradbury only had one produced story (I Sing the Body Electric), though it can be argued his inspiration is all over the series.
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