The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series)
A revival of Rod Serling's anthology of paranormal encounters.
The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series) is the first of three revivals of Rod Serling's original 1959–64 anthology series, airing from September 27, 1985, to April 15, 1989. Unlike the original, most episodes contained multiple self-contained stories rather than a single narrative, with story lengths ranging from eight to 40 minutes. The series ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Science fiction
- Horror
- Fantasy
- Thriller
- Runtime
- 45–48 minutes (seasons 1–2); 22–24 minutes (four episodes from season 2, and all of season 3)
- Creator
- Rod Serling
- Narrator
- Charles Aidman; Robin Ward
- Opening theme
- "The Twilight Zone '85 Main Title" performed by Grateful Dead
- Country
- United States; Canada
- Language
- English
- Network
- CBS
Facts from the source article.
Series history
After the original Twilight Zone ended in 1964, Rod Serling sold the rights to CBS, which stood to earn more by producing the revival in-house than by purchasing a new series from an outside company. The network was slow to consider a revival, rejecting offers from Serling and Buck Houghton and later from Francis Ford Coppola, due to concerns that the original had never been a breakaway hit. CBS program chief Harvey Shepard noted the success of the original in syndication and the popularity of Steven Spielberg films such as E.T. and Poltergeist, suggesting the public might be ready for the series again. Despite the lukewarm response to Twilight Zone: The Movie, CBS moved forward under Carla Singer, Vice President of Drama Development in 1984. Writers and filmmakers involved included Harlan Ellison, George R. R. Martin, Rockne S. O'Bannon, Jeremy Bertrand Finch, Paul Chitlik, and directors Wes Craven and William Friedkin. Casts featured Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Shelley Duvall, Morgan Freeman, Martin Landau, Piper Laurie, Janet Leigh, Tom Skerritt, Ralph Bellamy, Louise Fletcher, Martin Balsam, William Atherton, Richard Mulligan, Danny Kaye, Norman Lloyd, Jonathan Frakes, Frances McDormand, John Carradine, Victor Garber, Maury Chaykin, Donald Moffat, Melinda Dillon, Tess Harper, George Wendt, Charles Martin Smith, Adrienne Barbeau, and Fred Savage, among others. New theme music was composed and performed by Grateful Dead with Merl Saunders, incorporating elements of Marius Constant's classic theme.
Home media
Image Entertainment released the series on DVD in Region 1: Season 1 on December 28, 2004, and Seasons 2 and 3 together in a 7-disc set on June 28, 2005. Image re-released all three seasons with the remastered original series in a 41-disc box set on August 26, 2014. On February 7, 2017, CBS Home Entertainment (distributed by Paramount) released a 13-disc box set titled 'The Complete 80s Series'. In Region 2, Cinema Club UK released Season 1 on September 19, 2005 (6 DVDs), Season 2 on December 23, 2005 (4 DVDs), and Season 3 on May 12, 2006 (4 DVDs). In Region 4, Shock Entertainment released all three seasons on June 1, 2011, and a complete series box set on October 3, 2012. Writer-producer Alan Brennert noted that the picture quality of the DVD set was not a bad transfer, but that episodes were shot on 35 mm film and edited on video, with no original film negatives remaining; only one-inch master tapes exist, which have deteriorated over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes of The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series) are there?
The Twilight Zone has 65 episodes across 3 seasons.
When did The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series) end?
The Twilight Zone last aired on 17 July 1987.
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