Thanks to Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone

Last updated on: January 24, 2017 at 6:30 pm by Allison Salerno

Thanks to Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone 2017-01-24T18:30:40-05:00 Allison Salerno

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Tonight, after a scrumptious Thanksgiving meal my husband and our 14-year-old son prepared, we popped in a DVD of Twilight Zone’s first season in 1959. For those of you too young to remember, Rod Serling hosted and narrated this Emmy-award winning TV show, which ran for five seasons. Both my husband and I were born too late to watch the original shows, but we fondly remember watching the Saturday night reruns on New York’s WPIX as teenagers, and are enjoying sharing these episodes with our sons.

We watched an episode called “Escape Clause” about a Walter Bedeker, an embittered hypochondriac who sells his soul to Cadwallader, a.k.a. the Devil, in exchange for immortality. Here is the scene where the man encounters the Devil.

Walter Bedeker: Who are you?

Cadwallader: Cadwallader’s my name.

At least the name I’m using this month.

It has a nice feeling on the tongue. “Cad-wall-ah-der.”

Walter Bedeker: [checks to see if the bedroom window is locked] How did you get in here?

Cadwallader: I’ve never been gone. I’ve been here for some time.

Serling wrote about half of the Twilight Zone episodes, including this one, and won more Emmys for dramatic writing than anyone in history. Nothing is religious about these black-and-white episodes, but they do convey strong moral messages without being heavy handed. I would recommend this series for children in middle school and older. (The 2002 revival of series is, in my opinion, not worth watching.)

Born Christmas Day in 1924, Serling grew up in Binghampton, New York, graduated from Antioch College and converted from Judaism to Unitarianism to marry his college sweetheart. Together they raised two daughters. A veteran of World War II who became deeply concerned with moral issues, Serling died in 1975.

Whole fan sites are devoted to analyzing the moral messages and twist endings of Serling’s Twilight Zone tales. One theme of all the episodes I have viewed is Serling’s view that human beings must connect with one another. And that all humans have equal value. According to his wife, Rod Serling often said that “the ultimate obscenity is not caring, not doing something about what you feel, not feeling! Just drawing back and drawing in; becoming narcissistic.”

This care for others certainly is a value we hope we are nurturing in our children. As Pope Benedict XVI says: “The unbreakable bond between love of God and love of neighbor is emphasized. One is so closely connected to the other that to say that we love God becomes a lie if we are closed to our neighbor or hate him altogether. Saint John’s words should rather be interpreted to mean that love of neighbor is a path that leads to the encounter with God, and that closing our eyes to our neighbor also blinds us to God.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b5aW08ivHU?fs=1

Uncategorized

Previous Post

November 24, 2010

"A Thanksgiving" (A Few Words for Wednesday)

Next Post

November 26, 2010 To Make My Christmas Shopping Reflect a Revolution of the Heart

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog News Conversion Story Culture Learning Living Nature Prayer Uncategorized Working

Select a Month June 2016 May 2016 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

James says that trials of many kinds test what, producing perseverance?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Your character Your patience Your love Your faith