The Twilight Zone being rebooted by Bryan Singer and CBS

[Dream]

Your next stop... The Twilight Zone?!

Despite having been revived twice since originally airing from 1959-1964, "The Twilight Zone" will get another shot at the small-screen, various sources report. Bryan Singer (X-MEN, THE USUAL SUSPECTS) will executive produce, develop and possibly direct the pilot of the rebooted series, which is set up at CBS TV Studios.

Perhaps the recent popularity of horror television, namely shows like "The Walking Dead" and "American Horror Story", is to thank (?) for this, but it's worth reminding that a program like "The Twilight Zone" is a completely different beast. Anthology series always prove to be difficult to pull off, and the challenge is doubled when you wear the name "Twilight Zone", which for my money is the best genre television show ever aired.

http://www.joblo.com/horror-movies/n...singer-and-cbs

I would be quite surprised if CBS puts this show on their schedule. Are they finally going branch out from the crime dramas and do Star Trek next?

[Mr. Adventure]

In this new anthology, each episode will represent an unsolved case with a different forensics team.

[BillJ]

How can you reboot an anthology series?

[Dream]

BillJ wrote:

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How can you reboot an anthology series?

Maybe they think the word reboot in the title will bring in more readers/viewers?

Anyway, the last Twilight Zone that was hosted by Forest Whitaker really sucked overall. I hope they would do a better job on this one.

[Klaus]

*sigh* ...will they never learn?

[JD]

I can't believe they're doing another one of these. Did anyone even like the other two revival series? I know I watched the last one, and thought it was ok.

[Nerys Myk]

BillJ wrote:

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How can you reboot an anthology series?

That was the first thing that popped into my head as well.

[Gaith]

Dream wrote:

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Anyway, the last Twilight Zone that was hosted by Forest Whitaker really sucked overall. I hope they would do a better job on this one.

Katherine Heigl trying to kill baby Adolph doesn't do it for ya? Tough crowd!

[Admiral2]

Despite having been revived twice since originally airing from 1959-1964, "The Twilight Zone" will get another shot at the small-screen, various sources report. Bryan Singer (X-MEN, THE USUAL SUSPECTS) will executive produce, develop and possibly direct the pilot of the rebooted series, which is set up at CBS TV Studios.

Perhaps the recent popularity of horror television, namely shows like "The Walking Dead" and "American Horror Story", is to thank (?) for this, but it's worth reminding that a program like "The Twilight Zone" is a completely different beast. Anthology series always prove to be difficult to pull off, and the challenge is doubled when you wear the name "Twilight Zone", which for my money is the best genre television show ever aired.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Every single time they've tried to update this show the results have been SHIT! Utter absolute SHIT! Not friggin' again.

Raise Rod Serling from the dead and have his zombified corpse executive produce, I might watch. Not if it's made by the guy who shat out Superman Returns.

[Christopher]

BillJ wrote:

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How can you reboot an anthology series?

Because "reboot" does not only mean "create a new version of an existing continuity." That's the usage that's become prevalent in fandom in recent years, largely under the influence of the Battlestar Galactica reboot, but it's not actually defined that narrowly in the industry. In industry terms, a reboot is any attempt to reinvent or revitalize a dormant franchise, to update it in a way that will make it relevant and engaging to a present-day audience and thereby make it profitable again. And it doesn't matter to them whether they do that by creating a new, separate continuity or just revamping the old one. It's not about continuity to them. What the studios and networks are trying to "reboot" is the revenue stream that the franchise can bring them.

After all, the term "reboot" originally comes from computing and means to restart a process that was shut down. Strictly speaking, it refers to restarting the same process, not replacing it with a different one, so the case could be made that what fandom perceives as the standard definition of "reboot" is actually a complete misuse of the word. Something like "recoding" or "upgrading" might be a better computing analogy for that.

So there's no point in being nitpicky about what constitutes a reboot and what doesn't. It's just a rough, figurative analogy in any case. Heck, even its "literal" computer usage is itself based on a fanciful slang metaphor (to pull oneself up by one's boostraps).

[FatherRob]

Meh... pass. I wasn't a huge TZ fan to begin with; much preferred "The Outer Limits". Was not a fan of it's second life either.

[Temis the Vorta]

If the writing is up to snuff, this could be worthwhile. It's not like there's a glut of anthology series out there.

Of course, that's a big if...

[A beaker full of death]

Christopher wrote:

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After all, the term "reboot" originally comes from computing and means to restart a process that was shut down. Strictly speaking, it refers to restarting the same process, not replacing it with a different one, so the case could be made that what fandom perceives as the standard definition of "reboot" is actually a complete misuse of the word.

This. I've always hated the use of this term, and, frankly, the entire concept. The 2009 Star Trek movie went through ridiculous convolutions to apologize for not being Shatner/Nimoy Trek, when all they had to do is unapologetically, brazenly recast the roles.
Was Olivier's Hamlet a "reboot" of Barrymore's?

Back on topic.... seems like they bring back TZ every decade. The Forest Whittaker incarnation had an interesting sequel to It's a Good Life.

[Morpheus 02]

i am up for seeing a new Twilight Zone...especially with today's technology...but it's really the writing & concepts that need to be up there.

For the host...i ike Forest Whitaker as an acto, but he just didn't seem like the right fit for it. Maybe somone with a bit of creepiness (but not too much)...like maybe Michael Emerson (Benjamin Linus of Lost/Person of Interest). And maybe that they blend in with the surroundings just before they speak (vs. Rod Seling's randomness)

i just hope they don't resort to sex & violence the way the Outer Limits did on occasion.

Despite Superman Returns, I remmeber & appreciate X-Men, and hoping for that quality.

The Twilight Zone showed us some great actors, often before they became famous...the BRAND NEW Twilight Zone might be a place to feature some known actors in a different light.

By the way --- i hope they re-sue the Grateful dead re-imagining of the theme...or at least get inspired by that along with the classic.

[stj]

Anthology series are always judged retrospectively by memories of their best, while current anthologies are judged by the last two or three (or so it seems, anyhow.) I think the Ira Steven Behr incarnation was pretty uniformly bad, though.

But I'll sure be happy to try it out, especially if it's not on a ten o'clock. I do wonder whether they'll rule out SF entirely or limit themselves exclusively to horror. And whether they'll do short story adaptations.