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Dimensions Behind the Twilight Zone: A Backstage Tribute to Television's Groundbreaking Series | 
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| Author: Stewart T. Stanyard
Creator: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: Ecw Press
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
Buy New: $13.19
You Save: $8.76 (40%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 86053
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 300
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.9 x 7.9 x 0.8
ISBN: 1550227440
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.4572
EAN: 9781550227444
ASIN: 1550227440
Publication Date: April 1, 2007
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Product Description
In this tribute to Rod Serling’s quintessential television show The Twilight Zone, more than 300 original behind-the-scenes production photographs shot during the filming of the show are accompanied by insightful captions, rare documents, and exclusive interviews with producers, directors, writers, and actors who worked on the series. Featuring candid interviews with Serling’s widow, Carol, his brother and cowriter, Robert, and his influential teacher, Helen Foley, this special glimpse into a historic realm of imagination and brilliance presents Hollywood appreciation and insightful analysis that will appeal to both longtime fans and those discovering the show for the first time.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
BEYOND ANOTHER DIMENSION! August 6, 2008
I highly recommend this rarity of a book! My favorite part was the 8 page interview with Bill Mumy who played in three episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE "Long Distance Call," "It's a Good Life" and "In Praise of Pip." - Three of my favorites. I really enjoyed the never before scene pictures of him as well. Also, another perk for me was the pic of Terry Burnham who starred in the episode "Nightmare as a Child" which would have to be one of the scariest episodes as well. I got a kick out of Bill and Terry both being in THE TWILIGHT ZONE since they both starred in one of my favorite childhood movies FOR THE LOVE OF WILLADEAN. All and all, this book is a must to THE TWILIGHT ZONE fan! It's chocked full of everything you could ever want to know about the episodes, behind the scenes and more! I just love this book and found out information on so many of my other favorite episodes. This was one of the best shows ever created for television and this book does it justice. Rod Serling would be proud of it, indeed! It's beyond another dimension!
Great Read and memories May 8, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great book of the behind the scenes with many photos and insights from those around Rod Serling during the creation of the series and effects on the world because of it.
 Interviews and More April 22, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Any book about The Twilight Zone has big shoes to fill. Marc Scott Zicree's The Twilight Zone Companion is the bible of The Twilight Zone and, moreover, one of the great books about a television show--any television show. Still, give Mr. Stanyard his due, this is a pretty good book.
Wisely, Mr. Stanyard has followed a different path that Zicree. After a few early chapters on history and analysis of the show, the bulk of the book is taken up by interviews. Over 150 pages of interviews with nearly 40 people involved in the show on various levels, from relatives like Carol and Robert Serling, to writers (Matheson, Hamner, etc.), actors, producers and directors. The last pages are a series of "appreciation essays" written by various people who feel their lives have been impacted by the show as well as speculations by people who knew him of what Rod Serling might have achieved had he lived longer.
Mr. Stanyard has also included a number of interesting photos and a few documents like letters and contracts. Most of the photos are backstage photos from the author's own (inherited) collection. This actually poses a bit of problem. Since the photos Stanyard received cover only a fraction of the episodes, there is a lot of repetition from certain episodes and a whole slew of some very great episodes that have no pictures.
In fact, if I were going to nail down one weakness in the book, it's repetition. Besides the pictures, the interviews also end up being somewhat repetitive as many of the people interviewed have very similar words of praise and descriptions of the show. We're all fans of the show but, with rare exception, the interviews are variations on a theme with not as much enlightenment as I was hoping for.
Still, for a fan of The Twilight Zone this is a difficult book to pass by. There are enough pleasures here to make spending time with this volume worthwhile. For newcomers to the series, I would suggest Zicree's book first.
Great book on a timeless classic April 7, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was a program I had grew up on and I say thanks for the behind the scene cover stories and pictures.
A real Treasure Trove March 29, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Back in 1983 I received a type-written catalogue in the mail that advertised sets of proof sheets from the Viacom archives...namely the "Twilight Zone"! - Hundreds of rare, behind-the-scenes photos from the 1st three seasons of the show were being offered for sale! Unfortunately, I was "between jobs" at the time and was unable to purchase any of the photos. Some of the sets from the more popular episodes were already marked "SOLD" in the catalogue, and I have always assumed that the remaining ones were snatched up quickly by collectors.
WRONG! Most of them are IN THIS AMAZING BOOK! Author Stewart Stanyard's
introduction explains how he happened to acquire this fabulous collection,
and even though Stanyard's writing is merely passable(he's not a professional author), the PHOTOS are INCREDIBLE! And there are LOTS of them, too!
I have always been fascinated by behind-the-scenes stuff, and as I paged through this book, I could not believe my eyes. I have now spent hours staring at full-page, elevated shots with cast, crew and sets from episodes such as "Death's-head Revisited", "The Purple Testament", "Static", etc....and an unbelievable shot of the dual break-away set of "A World of Difference"; great stuff!
And even though the quality of the writing is only so-so, the author at least arranges and presents his material in an intersting format. But in
the chapter entitled "Themes of the Zone", he goes a bit too far trying to
shoe-horn TZ's plots into neat and tidy categories. For instance, I was
baffled by Stanyard's assertion that bookworm Henry Bemis (of "Time Enough at Last") is a "social misfit" who gets what he deserves when he breaks his glasses, since he spent most of his life shunning the company
of his wife, co-workers, etc. Astounding! That's just NOT RIGHT!
Henry Bemis is the quintessential "Everyman", the little-guy who is hounded and misunderstood by the world, who finds comfort and solitude in reading because the real world is a harsh and uncaring place. Doesn't he try to interest his customer in the opening scene in "David Copperfield?" Doesn't he attempt to share his love of poetry with his thug-like wife, who cruelly feigns interest only to shatter her hapless spouse when he discovers that she has defaced his beloved volume of poems?
NO---Bemis' story is an example of the most cosmic sort of tragedy--- the
little guy who is crushed by the most cruel and ironic hand of fate.
Anyway, Mr. Stanyard also mixes up the two actors who play the 2-headed
Martian in "Mr Dingle the Strong"; Douglas Spencer is the guy on the RIGHT (remember him as "Scotty" in the 1951 "Thing from Another World?...the guy who says "Keep Watching the Skies" at the end?)
Also...I realize comedy is a very subjective thing.....but the author
praises "Mr Dingle", "Mind and the Matter" and the ridiculously over-padded "The Bard" as stand-out comedies, while dismissing the truly
funny "ShowDown with Rance McGrew" as merely silly. I think "McGrew" is a comic gem, with marvelously controlled performances by Blyden, Cornthwaite and Johnson in roles that could have easily veered into
total caricature. And Jesse James' arrival at the end as McGrew's agent and the subsequent change in the script cracks me up every time.
BUT WHO CARES ABOUT THE TEXT?!! It's the Photos that allow us to step back in time and peek in on the production of the legendary "Twilight Zone"! SEE Joseph Schildkraut reading his off-camera lines for "Death's Head".....SEE Brian Aherne and Pippa Scott rehearsing their night club encounter in "The Trouble with Templeton"....SEE numerous shots of Fritz Weaver being assualted in the final scene of "Obsolete Man"....SEE Ivan Dixon as boxer Bolie Jackson being photographed from UNDERNEATH the
boxing ring in "The Big, Tall Wish".....the list goes on!
GET THE BOOK!
PS. There is also a nice selection of interviews with actors, writers and technicians who worked on the series, plus a very cool reminiscence by Charles Beaumont's son Christopher.
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