All year long, I was healthy…until New Year’s Eve, of course.

That’s not to say that I had any major plans to ring in the new year, but still, it would’ve been nice to have had an option. In stead, I was bundled up in a blanket on my couch, alternating in between sleep and consciousness, and trying desperately to keep my eyes open until midnight. I made it…thanks to the SciFi Channel.

As if they knew I was to be homebound for the past 48 hours, they had the foresight to host a Twilight Zone marathon to help pass the time. Rod Serling was my doctor, and his stories were my medicine. Of course, I had already seen every episode ever aired, but nevertheless, my television remote remained untouched. I love the Twilight Zone, and gladly succumbed to that “journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination.”

Youngster that I am, I can’t help but laugh a little at the show’s pathetic attempt at special effects. Of course, the Twilight Zone was a bit ahead of its time, and besides, you don’t watch it for any reason other than the story itself. Therein lies my fascination with this staple in American pop culture.

As a (wannabe) writer, I can’t help but find myself envious of the minds that went into creating each and every episode. Their imaginations were just incredible, leading you on until the very end, when they have the courtesy to pull the rug out from under you. Each 30-minute spot was a close examination of humanity and its weaknesses, desires, fears, and aspirations, never neglecting to teach its viewers a lesson at the same time.

Dare I call it a spiritual experience?

I constantly find myself grasping at straws when it comes to creativity. There must be hundreds of stories circulating through my head, but for some reason, I can’t seem to give them life. Watching the Twilight Zone doesn’t help my ego much either. I liken it to that feeling a young girl gets in high school when confronted by the much cooler, much sexier, and much more popular cheerleading squad.

They’re better than you, and they always will be (well, at least for the next four years).

The first episode I ever saw was titled The Hitchhiker. It’s a terrifying tale about a young woman traveling cross country who keeps seeing the same man throughout her trip. Distance, speed, and time are no match for him, because wherever she goes, there he is standing on the side of the road with his thumb sticking out. I’m not one to spoil good endings for people, so I’ll stop myself here. Suffice it to say that the final three minutes of that episode made me scream out loud, “I wish I thought of that!”

But perhaps my favorite episode was titled The Obsolete Man. To set up the story, an old librarian finds himself at the mercy of a dictatorship called The State, which has taken over the entire world several years into the future. They’ve decided his fate, which is death due to the fact that he has been determined obsolete to society. From there on, the story unfolds as a crude examination of humanity, power, and how the spirit of man can overcome even the scariest of giants. Its message has always stood out to me, which is perhaps the reason why I can watch this episode over and over again without ever tiring of it.

I’ve included a link for your viewing pleasure. If you’ve got 26 minutes to kill, I highly recommend checking it out.

Not too long ago, I discovered a modern-day recreation of the Twilight Zone on UPN, Ion, or one of those channels people hardly watch. It’s in color, and yes, its special effects are much better. After giving it a try more than once, I couldn’t help but notice that this 21st-century version was nothing more than remakes or sequels building upon their black-and-white predecessors. I stopped tuning in.

It doesn’t get much better than the original.

“The Obsolete Man”

Tara

Skirtsetter

Writer