Dimension-Shattering Behind-The-Scenes Stories From The Twilight Zone

"The Twilight Zone" may have only lasted for five seasons during its initial run from 1959 to 1964, but its legacy appears to be eternal. In addition to being revived multiple times over the decades as well as receiving the feature-length treatment from Steven Spielberg and John Landis, the original show is widely regarded as one of the greatest in television history. It's no secret that "The Twilight Zone" was the brainchild of Rod Serling, who wrote most of the episodes and doubled as its suave yet mysterious narrator. In that capacity, he delivered many classic stories that took audiences to strange and wondrous places, blending elements of sci-fi, horror, and fantasy.

However, while the immense imagination behind "The Twilight Zone" alone cements its position in the pantheon of classic TV shows, what really made it so special was its intelligence. On the series' surface, it rated as a piece of well-made escapism. But dig a little deeper, and you're treated to thoughtful parables about the human condition and our capacity for both good and evil. Serling and his writers mastered the art of seamlessly weaving universal themes into tales involving aliens, other-dimensional beings, and supernatural entities. Entertainment has rarely been as enlightening as "The Twilight Zone." And so, let's look at what went on behind the scenes of this beloved series.

"The Twilight Zone" never shied away from exploring themes of bigotry, intolerance, and our capacity for cruelty, so it's no wonder that one of the most heinous crimes in 20th-century America played a role in its conception. The crime in question: the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till on August 28, 1955. His murderers -– Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam -– viciously tortured and killed the young Black boy for supposedly making inappropriate advances towards Bryant's wife Carolyn days prior. The details of the men's treatment of Till are too graphic to print here, but his family's decision to have an open-casket funeral for their son came about to draw attention to the callousness that so many African-Americans endured at the time.

This tragic incident caught the attention of Rod Serling, prompting him to write a teleplay about it. Of course, taking into account how controversial the subject was (Till's murderers were acquitted, after all), networks expressed no interest in producing a show about it. Determined to create a program that confronted the injustices of the day yet hamstrung by studio mandates, Serling created a socially relevant vehicle that he could disguise as mere entertainment: "The Twilight Zone." The show's insightful commentary was no accident, as Serling himself once said that the writer "must have a position, a point of view. He must see the arts as a vehicle of social criticism and he must focus the issues of his time."

Rod Serling was the perfect man to introduce audiences to that "middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition." Mysterious yet approachable, intense yet charming, no better candidate existed to guide us in these weekly excursions into the unknown.

However, like so many of Serling's stories, there was a lot more to him than met the eye. Speaking to Inside Edition, his daughter Anne stated, "He was brilliantly funny, a practical joker, anything for a laugh... And my friends adored him. If they had any apprehension at first before meeting him, thinking he would be that black-and-white image, that quickly dissolved." This revelation may be a shock to many, but becomes less surprising when considering Serling's profound understanding of the duality of humans; it's not a stretch that someone who has a close relationship with the dark side of our existence could exude such a pleasant disposition. Serling experienced plenty of inhumanity during his time in the military, but dealing with the horrors of war probably increased his capacity to be a fun-loving goofball, such as putting a lampshade on his head at parties, as Anne lovingly recounted.

Still not happy with the results from various major film and TV composers, CBS music director Lud Gluskin hatched a scheme: Piece together several cues written by a composer from Europe, where American film industry union rules didn't apply, so that the studio could secure high-quality music for cheap. Gluskin was well-versed in this practice. The composer whose music was patched together into a weird sonic Frankenstein? Marius Constant, from Romania. He stated, "I received a phone call from a producer, and he said, 'We're doing this TV show and I'll give you $200 to write a theme by tomorrow. If your work is accepted, you'll make another $500.'" The struggling composer couldn't pass up the deal, so he submitted some musical cues and got paid months later... without being formally told where the music would be used.

The cobbled-together theme debuted at the start of Season 2, and TV history was made. Even upon the show's cancelation, the "Twilight Zone" theme lived on in various forms, including as a jazzy disco number by the Manhattan Transfer in 1979. Still, Constant never earned a credit, at least not until the release of the soundtrack to 1983's "Twilight Zone: The Movie."  A lawsuit ensued that resulted in Constant losing any money he may have been owed since his music was used, but with him gaining future rights. Better late than never, right?

Every "Twilight Zone" fan knows how inextricably linked its creator Rod Serling was to the series; in addition to conceiving the idea in the first place and writing most of its episodes, he also narrated it, serving as a stylishly cryptic one-man Greek chorus. For most fans, Serling and "The Twilight Zone" are one and the same. However, that wasn't always the case.

You see, with Serling known only as a writer, no one contemplated him narrating the show until another candidate – Cornelius Westbrook Van Voorhis — failed to work out. Nicknamed "The Voice of Doom," Van Voorhis' striking tones informed tens of millions of Americans of the world's happenings in newsreels throughout the 1940s. He seemed very much the ideal candidate to narrate "The Twilight Zone," but his near-perfect diction — initially heard in the pilot, "Where Is Everybody?" — was deemed excessively pretentious for the show's fantastical subject matter. Orson Welles was also considered for the gig but wanted too much money. Serling eventually volunteered himself, and the rest is history. Funny side story: During an early recording of the opening narration, Serling mentions the "sixth dimension," but this was changed when he and the producer couldn't even identify the fifth dimension.

The teleplay for "The Time Element" marked Rod Serling's first real foray into sci-fi. He sent the script to CBS as part of a pitch for "The Twilight Zone." They purchased it but weren't too keen on doing something so fantastical, so they shelved "The Time Element." However, it soon got produced, as Bert Granet, producer of "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse," purchased the teleplay and turned it into an episode of the series. "The Time Element" clicked with audiences, which prompted CBS to revive Serling's series and they engaged him to write a pilot.

The result was the script for "The Happy Place," which took place in a far-flung future where anyone 60 years and older is sentenced to death. While the show's producer William Self loved the script, he found it far too bleak as an introduction to the show and rejected it. For poor Serling, it meant heading back to the typewriter. However, the third time proved to be the charm, apparently, as the teleplay that Serling returned with –- "Where is Everybody?" -– was precisely what the doctor ordered and was produced as "The Twilight Zone" pilot. The episode actually lacks the more bizarre and otherworldly elements that would become "Twilight Zone" trademarks, but its perfect blend of intriguing plot and suspenseful mystery adequately established the series' tone.

Like so many "Twilight Zone" plots, the origin of the show's name itself is unsurprisingly enigmatic. In fact, it's such an enigma that even series creator Rod Serling couldn't fully recall he conceived of it. According to American Scientist, Serling said, "I thought I'd made it up, but I've heard since that there is an Air Force term relating to a moment when a plane is coming down on approach and it cannot see the horizon. It's called the 'twilight zone,' but it's an obscure term which I had not heard before." He served in the military before entering the television business, so this explanation does make sense. How it came to him when he was creating one of the most iconic television programs of all time, however, remains between Serling and his muse.

American Scientist outlines several other uses of the term "twilight zone" that predate the show, giving it an oddly fitting elusive quality. One instance in particular sounds very much like something that Serling himself would narrate in a "Twilight Zone" episode. The 1946 essay, "Science and Art: An Approach to a New Synthesis," include the following statement: "A philosopher with a deep insight into mathematics and the process of scientific and philosophic thinking, John Dewey, in his 'Art and Experience,' has beautifully clarified and illuminated that twilight zone of creativeness where both artists and scientists function."