La treizième dimension

Network: UPN; Genre: Science Fiction; Content Rating: TV-PG (for sci-fi violence and mild sexuality); Available: on DVD; Classification: Contemporary (Star range: 1 - 4);

Season Reviewed: Complete Series (1 season)

It's no stretch of the imagination to say that Rod Serling's 1959 sci-fi drama 'The Twilight Zone' is a classic series that ranks up there with the best shows of all time. In fact, it's so obvious, it's almost a statement of fact cowardly disguised as an opinion. It's like people who say they are against war or don't like death. Really? Wow, that's bold.

So, Serling's creation is a classic. I can sit and bask in all its black-and-white glory, low budget effects and post-nuclear to-the-camera moralizing during New Year's Day marathons on the Sci-Fi Channel for hours on end. This is not 'the real' Twilight Zone' but UPN's debunked experiment to remake the series and update it for a new generation (hosted by a wildly miscast Forest Whitaker). However, I approach this show not as a cockeyed purist or one of the many pseudo-intellectuals who insists that entertainment was better back in the day. 'The Twilight Zone', and it's unforgettable formula, is exactly the type of series that can be resurrected and re-invented for future generations in response to the needs and fears of the current political and social climate of that generation. As it has already been tried once before in 1985 with lukewarm results.

This show doesn't even come close to rising to the challenge or exploring the entirely free universe that the premise provides its writers. This is a sell-out, bargain basement 'Twilight Zone'-lite. Aside from great writing, creepy premises and patented ending twists, the biggest asset Serling brought to 'Twilight' was incalculable passion. It was his baby. All of which this show lacks in spades. It's unclear if the writers are lazily coasting on the show's namesake or working under Serling's shadow constantly in fear of doing anything bold and screwing up. The ironic thing is that, like the original, this remake could have probably gotten by with phony special effects and campy acting if it had something to say. But the stories are tedious. Pure sci-fi movie-of-the-week trash. When they couldn't make original episodes work, they resorted to guest stars and glamorous babes to titillate the audience with cheap soft-core stories (such as fictitious sex-pot women created via writing or holograms who soon start acting human) . When that didn't work, the show resorted to simply re-creating classic 'Zone' episodes.

Something this series does have to it's name is an eye-catching roster of talented guest stars. See Amber Tamblyn before her breakout series and Dylan Walsh before hi. See veteran actors like Jason Alexander, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christopher McDonald, Cloris Leachman. More appealing is the chance to see character actors that have caught my eye over the years and I so can't get enough of I'd even watch this show to see what they can bring to it. That list includes such criminally ignored versatility as Linda Cardellini ('Freaks and Geeks'), Christopher Titus ('Titus'), Jeremy Piven ('Cupid'), Jason Bateman & Portia De Rossi (pre-'Arrested Development'), Vivica A. Fox ('Getting Personal'), Patrick Warburton & Wayne Night ('Seinfeld'), Xander Berkley ('24'), Robin Tunney, Alicia Witt ('Cybill'), Paul Rodriguez and even Jessica Simpson. But in the end, the guest star on the title draws us in like a fly to the bug zapper. That's what makes this all the tougher to watch. To see these people working with material so far below their means is almost sad.

'The Twilight Zone' could have been so much more then just letting us see what 'The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street' would look like with a new cast and the social climate it was pertinent in now 40 years in the past. I'm harsh on this show because I do not believe that there are no new ideas or that this hackery is a fraction of what the creative minds of this generation can come up with. You're better off with the 'Futurama' homage 'The Scary Door' over this.

*

Okay, I bought the DVD at Wal-Mart and then read the reviews on IMDb, I agree with everyone that this is nothing like Rod Serling's Twilight Zone. However, after watching 3 episodes, I decided to watch the shows not as the Twilight Zone, but as an anthology series (there have been several, Outer Limits, Hitch Hiker, Night Gallery to name a few) and the more that I watched, the more I enjoyed it. Yes, it can never be adequately compared to the original, nor should it be. But if you decide to give the series a try, watch it as a fun anthology series. I was even thrilled to see a couple of "tongue-in-cheek" episodes. It will definitely be worth watching that way.

If all of the stories are similar to the first two then this will be a good show. It has a great host and good actors(so far). This show has a cool beginning. I like the tagline, "Leave Reality At The Door" or something like that. Jason Alexander was cool as "Death" in the second episode.

I am a huge fan of the original, but certainly don't hold that against the new show. As with any remake in the entertainment industry (movies, music, television) I try not to compare the remake with the original and let them each stand on their own. I do the same here.

The casting of the show is fine. It's pretty cool to see popular actors and actresses (albeit most of them B-list) making guest appearances. The problem with the show is its predictability. Even the Hitler episode that everyone is raving about I saw coming from about halfway through the story. Maybe I've seen too many plot twists in other shows and movies that nothing is unexpected for me anymore. But if I can predict the ending 5 minutes into the episode, that's just bad writing. I think they've also lost the concept of what the "twilight zone" is. It's another dimension, of sight, of sound, blah blah blah. Yet the producers just seem to think if the story has even the slightest semblance of a twist, it'll work on this show. Come on, the guitar (wonder if its name was "Christine"?) episode has to be one of the worst pieces of garbage EVER on a TZ "product". Although the chick that got choked by the guitar strap WAS pretty hot...

I hope the show sticks around, because if it's done right, it could be a great Wednesday night sit-down. Maybe the writers should start watching 24 to see what a plot twist really IS, though. Better yet, just watch some original TZ eps. Even remake some of those. Now THERE'S an original concept...

I get that the Twilight Zone series as a concept is very reactionary; taking the concerns of the shows time periods and presenting them in alternate forms, but the original run, along with the 80-90's version seemed to have a much more deft hand in writing. to compare: look at the original version of "The Monsters are due on Maple Street" when compared to the 2002 remake. they're both running along similar lines, but the remake is much less subtle, and much deeper rooted in reactionary paranoia.

it's interesting to see the twilight zone updated for the times, but the writing needs to be savvier, and take more care to lay out it's story's morals. I do hope they do another run of the series in the next ten years or so. Over all 7/10, needed work to give it longevity, but does well capturing that sense of the world at the start of the millennium.