Rodman Edward Serling :: essays research papers

rodman Edward Serling, in my opinion one of the more or lessbrilliant men of our time, was born in Syracuse, New York,on declination 25, 1924, to a wholesale meat dealer, andgrew up in Binghamton. By his give account, he had noearly literary ambitions, though from an early age, he andhis older brother, Robert, immersed themselves in moviesand in bespeaks like Astounding Stories and Weird Tales.Rod was best kn make from the intro where he was seenwearing a fount and or so often dangling a cigarette, whichwas unfortunately the cause of his premature demise."There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known toman. It is a dimension as vast as space and as deathless asinfinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow,between skill and superstition, and it lies between the pitof mans fears, and the summit of his knowledge. This is thedimension of imagination. It is an area which we call... THETWILIGHT ZONE," Serlings masterpiece would not comeuntil later in his theme career.He began writing full-time in 1951, more than seventy of histelevision scripts were produced, garnering both minute andpublic acclaim. Full-scale success came early in 1955 withthe production of a script called "Patterns," deemed a"creative triumph" by critics, and the winner of the primary ofSerlings six Emmy awards. Serling went to work onscreenplays for MGM and as a writer for wendy house 90,for which he crafted ninety-minute dramas. A critical andfinancial success, Serling shocked many of his fans in 1957when he left Playhouse 90 to create a acquirement fiction serieshe called The Twilight partition. 156 episodes of TwilightZone, ninety-two scripted by Serling, aired on CBS over thenext five years. The show went on to be one of the mostwidely recognized and earnest series in television history,and achieved a permanent place in American pop culturewith its instantly recognizable opening, theme poetry andcharismatic host, Rod Serling. With a ppearances bypersonalities such as Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds,Dennis Hopper, and more, Twilight Zone became alaunching pad for some of Hollywoods biggest stars. Theshow headed downhill in its fifth season chiefly due to thefact that Serling lost most creative control of the show.After production ended in January 1964, Serling moveto write for film and television series and movies, and oftenappeared in his own productions, such as Rod SerlingsNight Gallery. He returned to Antioch College as aprofessor and lectured at college campuses across the