New version of The Twilight Zone to be on CBS All Access

So was 2009's "V". At least they used different characters, but still relied on the title. Which is arguably the biggest spoiler, coconut creme flavor, to hit audiences with.

And, yes, the 2004 BSG miniseries pilot was dismal. I was surprised it got picked up. The mini was so off-putting I didn't bother to subscribe to cable. I eventually would give it a chance. The show went on a couple seasons too many, but 1 and 2 were a LOT better than the pilot. And the goal of a pilot is to win over audiences by setting up the premise. Scenes where they're stupidly taking out too many bombs or the dingaling whining about dying of cancer when mushroom clouds were seen in the background wiping out zillions... there are no better ways to show characters we're supposed to... like or at least be even ambivalent for?

 

Washington Post has a good article on what made the classis TZ so good:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/hist...years-after-its-debut/?utm_term=.b801a94b86eb

 

"The Comedian" was pretty good but I thought it could've been shorter. It did have a nice classic Twilight Zone ending though. You can see "The Comedian" for free on the CBS All Access youtube channel..

The I liked the second episode "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" more. Interesting remake because

Spoiler

there was no monster on the wing. The guy was freaked out due to something else

 

The entirety of "The Comedian" is available for free on YouTube:



I haven't watched either episode yet. Probably will sometime this evening.

 

An hour? Seriously? I know TZ did a year of hour-long episodes but it really works best in 30 min.

 

Just watched it. It's overlong and, really, you can guess the ending after 10 minutes.

 

I think it's because an hour is the typical length of "serious shows" today. The only shows that are 30 minutes long are sitcoms and animated shows. But I agree that TZ should probably do 30 minutes instead. The format works better in 30 minutes because TZ is essentially a short story. You want to set up the premise, create some suspense and then deliver the surprise punch pretty quickly. If you drag it on too long, you lose the element of surprise. An hour is too long because then you have to fill all that time with something, so it is no longer a short story but instead becomes a full length story with multiple plots and multiple twists.

 

I would just add that classic TZ worked so well in 30 minutes because the episodes were short morality tales. The idea was not tell a complicated story but rather to tell a simple story with a single, powerful moral or philosophical lesson. The episode wanted to make its point as effectively as possible.

 

I have one question...

Spoiler

I don't suppose it would have worked if Samir had started telling jokes about J.C. Wheeler? He's the one who got Samir into that mess in the first place. Wheeler's "advice" is what got Samir to start 'putting himself out there' and making people disappear. If Wheeler never existed, then the whole problem goes away...

Unless Wheeler is, like, the devil or something.

Okay, make that two questions:

Spoiler

That fat loudmouth other comedian, whose name escapes me, is the one who got drunk and plowed into the bus station, killing two people. So why the hell does that guy still have a job? He KILLED TWO PEOPLE. WHILE DRUNK. Why isn't he in prison?

 

The second episode is only 37 minutes long which is a much better run time.

 

Spoiler: Club onwer

I believe that the club owner simply didn't care...

 

^ But surely the police would? DUI's which result in DEATHS would not simply be shrugged off.

 

Just watched "The Comedian". It had a good classic TZ premise. I appreciate that the episode structure was very classic TZ with a Rod Sterling type intro, a mysterious stranger who offers a "deal" to the protagonist, an ironic twist and a Rod Sterling style conclusion narration. The only downside is that it was too long. Around the 30 mn mark, I found myself checking out a bit. Interesting that the second ep is 37 mn. Maybe the first episode was 1 hour long because it was the pilot episode? After all, a lot of shows will do longer pilots.

 

In that episode's world, nobody cares. I was searching around for a sympathetic character and couldn't find any other than maybe the girlfriend. My problem with most modern "grimdark" entertainment.

 

Finished "Nightmare at 30,000 ft". Really good! Suspense and a great ending. This new TZ is looking to be really good so far.

 

Gah, both episodes are rated TV-MA. Sadly, I don't watch any TV-MA rated television programs. I suspected that the new Twilight Zone would be rated TV-MA since almost everything is these days, but hoped otherwise. Oh well, c'est la vie.

 

Watched The Comedian. Okay, but I figured out where the story was going in no time. Still, although the start was slow, it picked up about halfway through.

Didn't they say his lawyer got him off on a technicality?

I can only speak about The Comedian, but that only seems to be rated MA because of the use of profanity. Otherwise, it's pretty PG material.

 

I don't think it deserved a MA rating at all. There was no gore, violence, sex or nudity. It was only rated MA for language. I think it really illustrates how silly the rating system is. How can an episode of Discovery that features Klingon decapitations and nudity and a TZ episode where a character uses the f word both be rated MA? Makes no sense to me.

 

I enjoyed both episodes, though "The Comedian" was the stronger of the two.

So far this is the first Twilight Zone revival that actually feels like The Twilight Zone.

I can't wait to see where they take it from here.

 

I thought both were really entertaining. They did a nice job making it feel like the old school original TZ. Really captured that unique feel. I'll be tuning in each week now. Good stuff.