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The Twilight Zone Companion |
Author: Marc Scott Zicree
Published: 1992-12 |
List price: $15.95
Our price: $10.85
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As of: November 19th, 2008 08:39:56 AM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Great source of summary information
In response to our friend who posted the two-star review and complained that everything in the book is on the DVDs, I'll point out that this book was released years before the DVDs -- in fact, much of the background material on the DVDs came from Zicree's interviews and other research for the book. So the DVDs copied from the book, not the other way around! And not everyone owns the complete DVD set, or can instantly recall the synopsis of every episode.
Although I'm sure Zicree put a lot of effort into this book, I too am disappointed there isn't more background information on many of the episodes. Maybe for whatever reasons (even death) a lot of the people involved weren't available, but it still makes for an incomplete overview. And it seems like a lot of the episodes completely lacking any background are those that Zicree clearly doesn't personally like, as though he consciously made the decision to not spend any time researching them.
My biggest beef is with Zicree's commentaries. Some are bizarre, such as for season three's "Little Girl Lost" (where he criticizes the actors for their actions and behavior but praises the script and direction -- uh, doesn't the latter dictate the former?) and "The Passersby" (where he totally misses the point of the episode -- the "big reveal" that all the characters are deceased was not intended to be a twist ending). Bottom line is that Zicree's commentaries are not objective critical reviews, but merely his own personal opinions on whether he enjoyed each episode.
These criticisms aside, the book is a great reference source to all the episodes, including the casts and crew, opening and closing narrations, and episode synopsis. The book's index lists many of the actors so you can look them up and see in which episodes they appeared. It could have been even better, but it's still a worthy guide to one of the greatest television series ever.
 What a load of Bat Crap, Batman !
Guy last week was compalining about some new tax being enforced in the borough. I asked him, "Did you register to vote?" He said no. I told him "then don't complain to me about the problem. You had your chance to do something about it. Reading Zicree's Twilight Zone book is like asking for a reason to complain.
Since everyone has a different level of expectation, this book has been praised and criticized. Unless you are very knowledgeable about Twilight Zone, this book will fool you into thinking it's the greatest thing since Jay Ward created Bullwinkle J. Moose. Why does half of the people say it's loaded with errors and mistakes and the other half praise it? Because it's the only book for the past 28 years that has given fans "some" insight to the program. It was included in radio contests and commercial DVD releases, so the exposure has been tremendous. But it REALLY does lack detail level and just because a hundred people say it's good doesn't mean it is. Heck, there is a reason why people are selling their used copies for $5, isn't there? Allow me to offer an example. For the episode "Four O'Clock," Zicree gives the following:
"Four O'Clock" was Serling's adaptation of a story by Price Day that appears in ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS; 14 OF MY FAVORITES IN SUSPENSE (Random House, 1959). Although dealing with a subject Serling felt strongly about, the writing is not sharp, and the characters are oversimplified to the point of caricature. As Crangle, Bikel is fund to watch, but one feels he could have done a much better job had Serling given him a more substantial character to work with.
That's it. That's all you get. No trivia, no behind-the scenes insight. And the commentary is opinion -- not fact! While some episodes have more coverage (the episode listed after "Four O'Clock" has three paragraphs of commentary), it is simply not insightful.
I agree with other reviewers that if you truly want a book that gives you behind-the-scenes coverage, get THE TWILIGHT ZONE: UNLOCKING THE DOOR TO A TELEVISION CLASSIC by Martin Grams also available on Amazon.com. Why? The trivial behind-the-scenes coverage spans three pages for "Four O'Clock." How Serling acquired the book and short story, production details, who and how the parrot's voice was supplied, optional teaser trailer that was scrapped, Theodore Bikel (the lead star of the episode) offers a WONDERFUL story about Serling that makes you respect the author even more than you think, all the music scores featured in the episode, breakdown of production costs and much more.
Avoid this book unless you feel Twilight Zone deserves the minimal respect of $5 dollars. Go to the Grams book on Amazon right now and spend real money for a real book worth every penny.
 Doesn't Hit the Mark
Jason Collison's review on this site hits the mark. Zicree's book is good but isn't the final word on the matter. The book is littered with errors. The wrong airdate for "Long Distance Call" and William Froug's faulted memory regarding the cost factors in "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" has been reprinted in so many books people think the errors are facts. Just because it is in print doesn't mean it is the gospel. Zicree is missing narration for "Time Enough at Last," "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim," "Walking Distance" "I Shot an Arrow Into the Air" and others. More than half of the episodes contain no facts - just critical opinions.
So why does a lot of people rave about this book? Because for twenty years there was nothing else available. The past five years has brought us a large number of publications that reveal the correct facts (though DIMENSIONS BEHIND THE TWILIGHT ZONE reprinted some of the errors). True fans of the program have been criticizing this book for years and the general public is not aware of this. So which book now should you buy and avoid the same problem?
Thankfully, Amazon does offer relief. THE TWILIGHT ZONE: UNLOCKING THE DOOR TO A TELEVISION CLASSIC by Martin Grams (available for purchase on Amazon) contains "everything." Dates each episode was filmed, in-jokes and bloopers, behind-the-scenes stories, production costs, reuse of props and more. Buy Zicree's book if you want - you'll get what you pay for. Or you can buy the Grams book and forever appreciate the craftsmanship of the program that does Rod Serling justice.
Extremely disappointed
I do concede that this book is a must-have for any serious Twilight Zone fan and is probably the best available resource of its kind. However after reading all the glowing reviews here I suppose I was expecting more. Much more.
If you own all the episodes on DVD and watch them on a regular basis, don't expect to get a whole lot out of this book. It's definitely worth every penny of the modest price and the time to read it, but it's not the treasure trove of knowledge I had hoped to find.
First let me say that I'm not one for biographies and the whole history of how it was pitched to the network, so I skipped the first chapter. What I wanted was a book that I could open up immediately after watching an episode and read all sorts of interesting tidbits. How it was filmed, accounts of the arguments/discussions over direction and editing, bloopers, how the special effects were accomplished, really anything.
Certainly Zicree has his favorite episodes and put much effort into those. But for most episodes here is what you get:
- Rod Serling's opening and closing dialogs. Just watched it, thanks.
- A one paragraph plot outline. Again, great for reference I suppose, but just watched it. I know what the episode is about. And some of them contain factual errors. Not huge things, just annoyances.
- For some episodes, selected lines of dialog. I know what the actors said, thanks.
- Then what you are left with is one small paragraph in most cases.
That one remaining paragraph is usually filled with Zicree's opinionated rants or raves about the acting and direction. If you are lucky you get one tidbit of information about the behind the scenes. Worse yet, most of the time those one or two facts were already in the DVD extras so you've already read them if you have the DVDs.
Now don't get me wrong, there is some good information in this book. Just very little of it on a per-episode basis. And for a select few episodes he really does go all out. The section for the first season is decent, and it seems to go downhill from there. Almost as if he was tiring from the research.
I'll select a few of my favorite episodes at random so you know what you can expect. For each episode here is what's left after disregarding Serling's narration and the plot outline:
"The After Hours"
As this was a first season episode, Zicree does a fair job here. Almost one full page of information. How the manequins were constructed (this was on the DVD), how they got access to the set, and one paragraph of Zicree's opinions. Two factual pieces of information explained in good detail, and that's about as good as you can hope for in this book for most episodes.
"A Most Unusual Camera"
The ONLY thing he can say here is why did the waiter fall out of the window at the end. Seriously that's all there is.
"Living Doll"
He explains that the voice of Talky Tiny was done by June Foray (Rocky the flying squirrel). This was on the DVD. And then he takes a paragraph _explaining_ the plot to us. Yes, we know the doll only talks when nobody else is around. Thanks.
"A Stop at Willoughby"
One paragraph explaining the similarities to another episode. One paragraph of Zicree telling us that humans have a desire to escape from the pressures and demands of life. Absolutely zero real information.
"The Thirty Fathom Grave"
For being an hour long episode you'd think he'd have plenty to write about. Well he does: He complains that it was an hour long. And takes an entire paragraph to do so. A few lines of dialog. (Useless.) Then one paragraph explaining that Variety magazine didn't like the episode either. Again, zero information.
"The Old Man in the Cave"
One paragraph explaining to us mere mortals the deeper meaning of the plot. Other than that, all he can ask is how the computer got electricity for 10 years?? Come on.
The rest of the book is much like the above; I could go on and on.
Grab the book, but don't expect much.
"You unlock this door with the key to imagination...."
I bought the 1st edition of The Twilight Zone Companion back in high school and was amazed at the amount of information included. I learned a lot about the show, what went on behind the scenes and aquired a greater appreciation for the genius of Rod Serling and touches on other projects he worked on, including Requium for a Heavyweight and Night Gallery. There is a brief biography about Serling and information about writers Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson and George Clayton Johnson. All of them contributed stories, though Twilight Zone was Serling's baby.
The only drawback was the fact the shows Zicree personally didn't like, he didn't spend too much time talking about (his opinions would be less biased on the Twilight Zone boxset commentaries). Everybody has their favorite and not-so-favorite episode (my list of favorites would include Nick of Time, The Hitchhiker, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, The Fugitive, Time Enough at Last, Back There, To Serve Man, A Passage for Trumpet, Night of the Meek, In Praise of Pip, Walking Distance, On Thursday We Leave for Home, Eye of the Beholder, It's a Good Life and Nightmare at 20,000 Feet). However, it's obvious that Zicree is a passioned fan, as he has obviously spent hours of research to each show. The opinions expressed and the lack of information on those episodes he didn't care for are a minor annoyance, but I wouldn't give the book 1 or 2 stars just because of that. The information given on most of the episodes was insightful, though if you haven't seen a particular episode, skip the plot synopsis until after you've seen it, lest the "twist" at the end will be spoiled for you.
The latest edition includes information about Twilight Zone- The Movie (I remember watching that with my sister and the It's a Good Life sequence scared the hell out of both of us!) and the Twilight Zone series from the 1980's (there were some good moments, but without the late great Rod Serling, it wasn't the same). In addition, the index includes the different actors in the index in the original series.
The original show includes a long resume of actors including Billy Mumy, Burgess Meredith (he'd become the narrator for the movie version), Agnes Moorehead (she sure looks different without all that black mascara!), Jack Klugman (Oscar Madison), Dick York, Elizabeth Montgomery (both from Bewitched but not featured in the same episode), Art Carney (Ed Norton), Jonathon Harris (Dr Smith), Sterling Holloway (the voice of Winnie the Pooh), Inger Stevens, Robert Duvall, Wally Cox (the voice of Underdog), Wanda Dunn (I believe she was in just as many episodes as Burgess Meredith or Jack Klugman), Stephen Talbot (Leave It to Beaver), Bill Bixby, Edgar Buchanan, Ann Jilian, Joan Blondell, William Demarest, Ron Howard (Andy Griffith and Happy Days), Jackie Cooper (fom the Our Gang/Little Rascals), Buster Keaton, William Shatner (Captain Kirk), Russell Johnson (the Professor from Gilligan's Island), Richard Deacon (both Dick Van Dyke Show and Leave It To Beaver), Charles Bronson (Death Wish) and many others.
I have read that there was a bit of information which was false. I have docked this book one star because of that. I will admit I liked the original book because of the information it seemed to gather.
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