06. The Hitch-Hiker

The series was produced by Cayuga Productions, Inc., a production company owned and named by Serling. It reflects his background in Central New York State and is named after Cayuga Lake, on which he owned a home, and where Cornell University and Ithaca College are located.Aside from Serling, who wrote or adapted nearly two-thirds of the series' total episodes, writers for The Twilight Zone included leading authors such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Beaumont" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Charles Beaumont</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Bradbury" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ray Bradbury</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twilight_Zone#cite_note-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">[6]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Hamner,_Jr." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earl Hamner, Jr.</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clayton_Johnson" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">George Clayton Johnson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Matheson" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Richard Matheson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Rose" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reginald Rose</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Sohl" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jerry Sohl</a>. Many episodes also featured new adaptations of classic stories by such writers as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose_Bierce" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ambrose Bierce</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Bixby" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jerome Bixby</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Knight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Damon Knight</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Collier_(fiction_writer)" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Collier</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Padgett" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lewis Padgett</a>. Twilight Zone's writers frequently used science fiction as a vehicle for social comment, as networks and sponsors who censored controversial material from live dramas were less concerned with seemingly innocuous fantasy and sci-fi stories. Frequent themes on The Twilight Zone included <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_warfare" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nuclear war</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">McCarthyism</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_hysteria" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mass hysteria</a>, subjects that were avoided on less serious primetime television. Episodes such as "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monsters_Are_Due_on_Maple_Street" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street</a>" and "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_the_Night%E2%80%94Color_Me_Black" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">I Am the Night—Color Me Black</a>" offered specific commentary on current events and social issues. Other stories, such as "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Masks_(The_Twilight_Zone)" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Masks</a>", "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Dream_of_Genie" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">I Dream of Genie</a>", or "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Denton_on_Doomsday" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mr. Denton on Doomsday</a>" were <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegories" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">allegories</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parables" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">parables</a>, or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fables" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fables</a> that reflected the moral and philosophical choices of the characters.

TV & Film

History

Film History

The series was produced by Cayuga Productions, Inc., a production company owned and named by Serling. It reflects his background in Central New York State and is named after Cayuga Lake, on which he owned a home, and where Cornell University and Ithaca College are located.Aside from Serling, who wrote or adapted nearly two-thirds of the series' total episodes, writers for The Twilight Zone included leading authors such as Charles Beaumont, Ray Bradbury,[6] Earl Hamner, Jr., George Clayton Johnson, Richard Matheson, Reginald Rose, and Jerry Sohl. Many episodes also featured new adaptations of classic stories by such writers as Ambrose Bierce, Jerome Bixby, Damon Knight, John Collier, and Lewis Padgett.Twilight Zone's writers frequently used science fiction as a vehicle for social comment, as networks and sponsors who censored controversial material from live dramas were less concerned with seemingly innocuous fantasy and sci-fi stories. Frequent themes on The Twilight Zone included nuclear war, McCarthyism, and mass hysteria, subjects that were avoided on less serious primetime television. Episodes such as "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" and "I Am the Night—Color Me Black" offered specific commentary on current events and social issues. Other stories, such as "The Masks", "I Dream of Genie", or "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" were allegories, parables, or fables that reflected the moral and philosophical choices of the characters.

The series was produced by Cayuga Productions, Inc., a production company owned and named by Serling. It reflects his background in Central New York State and is named after Cayuga Lake, on which he owned a home, and where Cornell University and Ithaca College are located.Aside from Serling, who wrote or adapted nearly two-thirds of the series' total episodes, writers for&nbsp;The Twilight Zone&nbsp;included leading authors such as&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Beaumont" rel="noopener noreferrer">Charles Beaumont</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Bradbury" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ray Bradbury</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twilight_Zone#cite_note-6" rel="noopener noreferrer">[6]</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Hamner,_Jr." rel="noopener noreferrer">Earl Hamner, Jr.</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clayton_Johnson" rel="noopener noreferrer">George Clayton Johnson</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Matheson" rel="noopener noreferrer">Richard Matheson</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Rose" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reginald Rose</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Sohl" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jerry Sohl</a>. Many episodes also featured new adaptations of classic stories by such writers as&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose_Bierce" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ambrose Bierce</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Bixby" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jerome Bixby</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Knight" rel="noopener noreferrer">Damon Knight</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Collier_(fiction_writer)" rel="noopener noreferrer">John Collier</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Padgett" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lewis Padgett</a>. Twilight Zone's&nbsp;writers frequently used science fiction as a vehicle for social comment, as networks and sponsors who censored controversial material from live dramas were less concerned with seemingly innocuous fantasy and sci-fi stories. Frequent themes on&nbsp;The Twilight Zone&nbsp;included&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_warfare" rel="noopener noreferrer">nuclear war</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism" rel="noopener noreferrer">McCarthyism</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_hysteria" rel="noopener noreferrer">mass hysteria</a>, subjects that were avoided on less serious primetime television. Episodes such as "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monsters_Are_Due_on_Maple_Street" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street</a>" and "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_the_Night%E2%80%94Color_Me_Black" rel="noopener noreferrer">I Am the Night—Color Me Black</a>" offered specific commentary on current events and social issues. Other stories, such as "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Masks_(The_Twilight_Zone)" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Masks</a>", "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Dream_of_Genie" rel="noopener noreferrer">I Dream of Genie</a>", or "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Denton_on_Doomsday" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mr. Denton on Doomsday</a>" were&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegories" rel="noopener noreferrer">allegories</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parables" rel="noopener noreferrer">parables</a>, or&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fables" rel="noopener noreferrer">fables</a>&nbsp;that reflected the moral and philosophical choices of the characters.

Share 06. The Hitch-Hiker

Sign up to save your podcasts

06. The Hitch-Hiker

06. The Hitch-Hiker