Reading Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Magazine, Part 27

In which we take a closer look at each issue. For a history of the magazine, go here.

Volume 3, Number 5 

(November/December, 1983)

Cover Art: Film image from Iceman (1984)

TZ Publications, Inc.

Chairman: S. Edward Orenstein
President: Milton J. Cuevas
Treasurer: Sidney Z. Gellman
Executive Vice President: Leon Garry
Executive Publisher: S. Edward Orenstein
Publisher: Eric Protter
Assoc. Publisher & Consulting Editor: Carol Serling
Executive Editor: John Bensink
Editor-in-Chief: T.E.D. Klein
Managing Editor: Jane Bayer
Associate Editor: Robert Sabat
Books Editor: Thomas M. Disch
Contributing Editors: Gahan Wilson, James Verniere, Ron Goulart
Design Director: Michael Monte
Art Director: Pat E. McQueen
Art Production: Sophia Laskaris, Florence Neal
Typesetting: Irma Landazuri
Production Director: Stephen J. Fallon
Vice President-Finance, Controller: Thomas Schiff
Assistant Controller: Chris Grossman
Ass’t to the Publisher: Judy Linden
Public Relations Manager: Jeff Nickora
Accounting Ass’t: Annmarie Pistilli
Office Ass’t: Teresa Rivera
Circulation Mgr.: Carole A. Harley
Circulation Ass’t: Jill Obernier
Eastern Circ. Mgr.: Hank Rosen
Advertising Director: Rachel Britapaja
Adv. Sales Rep.: Katherine Lys
Adv. Production Manager: Marina Despotakis
Adv. Ass’t.: Karen Martorano

Contents:

--In the Twilight Zone: “Calling All Hallows” by T.E.D. Klein
--Other Dimensions: Books by Karl Edward Wagner
--Other Dimensions: Screen by Gahan Wilson
--Other Dimensions: Nostalgia by Ron Goulart
--Other Dimensions: The Children’s Hour Quiz by A.R. Morlan
--Other Dimensions: Etc.
--“Imagine” by Fredric Brown
--“Ursa Minor” by John Sladek
--“Centaur” by Francois Camoin
--“Lares & Penates” by Chet Williamson
--TZ Screen Preview: Iceman by James Verniere
--TZ Screen Preview: Dead Zone
--On the Set of Dead Zone by James Verniere
--TZ Interview: A Talk with David Cronenberg by James Verniere
--“Prairie Path” by Michael Beres
--“Confessions of a Freelance Fantasist” by Isidore Haiblum
--“Just Waiting” by Ramsey Campbell
--“Music Box” by Thomas M. Disch
--“She Sells Sea Shells” by Paul Darcy Boles
--In and Out of The Outer Limits by David J. Schow
--TZ Classic Teleplay: “It’s a Good Life” by Rod Serling
--Looking Ahead: In Our Next Issue . . . 

--In the Twilight Zone: “Calling All Hallows” by T.E.D. Klein 

-Klein’s editorial calls attention to the amount of fiction in the issue (after the previous issue’s reduced fiction offerings due to coverage of Twilight Zone: The Movie) and briefly profiles the issue’s contributors, including return contributors Ramsey Campbell, John Sladek, Thomas M. Disch, and Chet Williamson, who provide stories in the issue, and Karl Edward Wagner, Ron Goulart, Gahan Wilson, Isidore Haiblum, and David J. Schow, who provide articles in the issue. Klein also profiles the new contributors in the issue, Paul Darcy Boles, Francois Camoin, and Michael Beres, who have stories in the issue, and A.R. Morlan, who created the themed quiz for the issue. Finally, Klein highlights the work of two artists, Jill Karla Schwarz, who created an impressive illustration for a reprint of Fredric Brown’s “Imagine,” and D.W. Miller, whose sketchbook provided an illustration for Francois Camoin’s “Centaur.” 

--Other Dimensions: Books by Karl Edward Wagner 

-Wagner steps in for regular books reviewer Thomas M. Disch, who is represented instead with a story and illustration later in the issue. Wagner previously contributed to the magazine’s “Fantasy Five-Foot Bookshelf” recommended reading feature which ran in the May/June and July/August issues.

 -Wagner begins with a look at The Gruesome Book, edited by Ramsey Campbell with illustrations by Ivan Lapper (an example of which is pictured). Wagner commends the book for being a genuinely scary book for younger readers and provides examples of the disappointingly mild “horror” offerings for younger readers currently on the market, with particular focus on the tepid Dark Forces series from Bantam Books.

 -Wagner next offers praise for the novel Phantom by Thomas Tessier, providing brief summaries of Tessier’s novels to that point as well as a summary and long critique of Phantom, “Tessier’s most ambitious effort to date.” Wagner also laments the fact that the novelization of Halloween III, pseudonymously written by Dennis Etchison from a script by Nigel Kneale, was not resultant of a better film. Wagner concludes with a look at The Kill by Alan Ryan, stating that “Ryan has already established his name in the front ranks of today’s horror writers through his short fiction, and he brings the same caring craftsmanship to The Kill.”

--Other Dimensions: Screen by Gahan Wilson 

-Wilson looks at a trio of movie sequels as well as Twilight Zone: The Movie and WarGames.  

 -Wilson begins with a long critique of Return of the Jedi (pictured), which Wilson found disappointing in nearly every aspect. Wilson lays the blame for the movie’s shortcomings on the script and, especially, the director, Richard Marquand, stating that Marquand “seems to have a knack which almost amounts to genius for stepping on Big Moments and squishing them.” Although Wilson felt that Superman III was the best film in the series, he also states: “I loathe the underlying tone of this series because – and it is a jolly piece of irony – the producers of Superman clearly detest their own hero.”

 -Wilson found Twilight Zone: The Movie to be a mixed bag, disliking the segments directed by John Landis and (especially) Steven Spielberg, but encouraging viewers to make it through to the segments directed by Joe Dante and George Miller, which Wilson found creative and satisfying. Wilson, in a long critique, labels WarGames “another perfect Disney movie made by others.” Wilson reserved the most praise for Psycho II, however, in which Anthony Perkins reprised the role of Norman Bates in a sequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s film. Noting that the filmmakers knew better than to try and top Hitchcock, Wilson writes that “Psycho II has the brains and sense of humor to understand and fully exploit its inferior position.”

--Other Dimensions: Nostalgia by Ron Goulart 

-This month, Goulart looks back fondly on the movie serials of the thirties and forties, featuring such characters as Flash Gordon, Captain Marvel, The Lone Ranger, Dick Tracy, Captain America, Batman, The Shadow, and dozens more.

 -Goulart begins with a brief profile of actor Buster Crabbe, who famously played Flash Gordon in a serial but also played Buck Rogers and Tarzan. Goulart proceeds to list a number of science fiction and fantasy serials while focusing on one of his favorites, The Adventures of Captain Marvel. Goulart also describes The Mysterious Doctor Satan (pictured) as well as Spy Smasher and the unsuccessful attempts to bring Captain America and Batman to the screen. Goulart closes with a look at a non-sf serial, Daredevils of the Red Circle, and directs readers to his novel, Skyrocket Steele, which deals with the making of a 1941 movie serial. Running out of space in his column, Goulart writes: “Perhaps, if I can get free of these ropes before the time bomb planted in my typewriter goes off, I can cover these topics in a later chapter.”

--Other Dimensions: The Children’s Hour Quiz by A.R. Morlan

-The quiz this issue was created by writer A.R. Morlan, and challenges readers to match quotes from works of science fiction and fantasy concerning children with the titles of the works, awarding a bonus point for also knowing the author. “A score of ten is respectable, twenty is good, and thirty is excellent.” I’ve included the quiz and the answers below.

--Other Dimensions: Etc. 

-The miscellany column this month begins with the world premiere of Twilight Zone: The Movie held in Rod Serling’s hometown of Binghamton, New York on June 11, 1983. Included is a photograph of actor Kevin McCarthy attending the event, as well as images of the bandstand and merry-go-round (pictured) in Binghamton’s Recreation Park, both of which featured in Serling’s memorable Twilight Zone episode “Walking Distance.” The merry-go-round (carousel) was recently restored and adorned with panels painted by Cortlandt Hull depicting memorable scenes from The Twilight Zone. Sticking with Twilight Zone: The Movie, the column also features a photograph of the magazine’s staff handing out free copies of the July/August issue at the Sutton theater in New York, with information on other theaters that handed out free copies of the magazine to coincide with the release of the film.

 -Also included is a reader’s response to Robert M. Price’s previous column concerning characters in stories who continuing writing the narrative despite a looming threat of death. The reader wrote in to include Robert Bloch’s story “The Eyes of the Mummy.” Cartoons by Tom Mason and Peter Kuper are included (shared at the end of this post), as is a call for readers to send in their picks for the top five Twilight Zone episodes. Rounding out the column is a look at the origins of The Twilight Zone television marathons, a selection from the publication The Reader, based in San Diego, in which a young woman recalls Twilight Zone episodes that never were, and a preview of David Lynch’s film version of Dune.  

--“Imagine” by Fredric Brown 

Illustrated by Jill Karla Schwarz

-This poetic vignette on the nature of imagination and the human ability to imagine was first published in the May, 1955 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, included in the fifth annual best of volume from that magazine, and collected in Honeymoon in Hell (1958).

--“Ursa Minor” by John Sladek 

Illustrated by Stephen W. Andrus

“Forget Goldilocks, Faulkner, and Winnie-the-Pooh – and get set for the ultimate bear story!”

 -A father neglects to buy a present for his son’s birthday until it is too late. Waking up the next morning, he is surprised to learn that a stuffed bear appeared in the house, assumed by his wife to be a present from him to their son. The young boy takes to the bear immediately and strange things begin to happen around the bear, subtly at first and then more insistently. The boy becomes very attached to the bear, to the point that the father attempts to show the boy what a real bear is like using an old bearskin rug. Consulting a university professor, the father learns of the long and convoluted history of the bear as a symbol of magic and power. He also learns that the stuffed bear in his possession may be the aged relic of a cult of the bear, and a portent of the coming of a more terrible beast. Taking the stuffed bear home again, the father is determined to destroy it once and for all. Tearing it open, he finds it filled with golden hair and then hears something scratching at the door.

 -“Ursa Minor” was memorably adapted in 1985 for the second season of Tales from the Darkside, a series that mined much material from the pages of the magazine.

--“Centaur” by Francois Camoin 

Illustrated by D.W. Miller

“In which we learn that identity crises – and crises of the heart – are by no means limited to humans.”

 -Set in a society in which humans and centaurs live separately but together within a settlement, this moving story tells of the struggles of a female centaur, Meara, who is pulled between her preference for living alongside the humans who hate her kind, and joining the exodus of other centaurs, to whom she does not relate. Meara shares a close relationship with a human, Roth, but when he is senselessly murdered by a group of villagers, Meara realizes that she must leave the settlement with the other centaurs and voyage into an unknown future.

--“Lares & Penates” by Chet Williamson 

Illustrated by Steve Byram

“They were old, poor, and frightened. But maybe they had God – or the Gods – on their side.”

 -An elderly couple struggling to make ends meet receives some unexpected offerings of money on the doorstep of their home. The old man, a retired teacher, believes it to be the work of lares and penates, deities from the ancient Roman religion who serve as protectors of the household. The couple is visited by a detective, who reveals that the increasingly large amounts of money appearing on their doorstep can be traced to money stolen in local robberies. The thieves who stole the money are all found murdered in an unusual manner. The old couple is afraid they will have to return the money and descend again into poverty when a film producer arrives and pays them a large amount of money to make a movie based on their experience.

--TZ Screen Preview: Iceman by James Verniere 

“Timothy Hutton confronts a lonely caveman in an upcoming movie from the frozen north.”

 -Verniere reports on the filming of Universal Studio’s Iceman, describing location shooting in Canada ranging from Churchill, Manitoba to ice fields near Summit Lake, Bitter Creek, and on the Salmon, Chickanin, and Bear glaciers. Verniere describes the origins of the idea for the film in reports of an 1898 finding of a frozen Mastodon in Siberia. Verniere profiles the film’s screenwriters, John Drimmer and Chip Proser, as well as its director, the Australian Fred Schepisi, giving brief descriptions of the director’s previous works. Verniere relates the film to the “savage child” theme, as well as to the caveman theme seen in such then-recent films as Quest for Fire, and describes the ways in which the filmmakers believe Iceman to transcend the limits of the traditional science fiction film.

 -Verniere describes the process of the makeup effects required for the film in order to create the caveman character. He also profiles the film’s principal actors, John Lone and Timothy Hutton (pictured), who respectively portray the frozen caveman revived by a drilling team and the anthropologist who attempts to understand him. Verniere concludes: “Iceman should be more than an action film with a science fiction premise. It promises to be an exploration of the nature of being human and a portrait in contrasts: the contrasts between modern and primitive, between science and mysticism, between the civilized and the savage.” Black-and-white and color photographs accompany the article.

--TZ Screen Preview: Zeroing in on the Dead Zone 

“A reluctant psychic turns amateur assassin in David Cronenberg’s film of the Stephen King thriller.”

 -The color feature this issue is a photographic album of images, including behind-the-scenes images, from director David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Stephen King’s 1979 novel The Dead Zone, starring Christopher Walken (pictured) as a man who awakens from a coma with a psychic ability that leads him to save a young girl from a house fire, capture a serial killer, and attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate who will start a nuclear war.

--On the Set of Dead Zone by James Verniere

“TZ’s James Verniere takes in some night shooting in (appropriately) King’s County, Ontario, and talks with Dead Zone’s controversial director.”

 -Another film report from Canada, this time on the set of Canadian director David Cronenberg’s film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dead Zone. Verniere profiles Cronenberg through the lens of the director’s previous films, and contrasts the director’s style with that of Stephen King. Verniere provides a plot summary of Dead Zone and provides a personal profile of David Cronenberg, with snippets of the director’s education and career to that point. Verniere also describes the production of a rain storm effect for the film.

--TZ Interview: A Talk with David Cronenberg by James Verniere 

-Topics discussed in this interview with Cronenberg include: Cronenberg’s familiarity with the works of Stephen King, the difficulty in successfully adapting King’s works for the screen, how Cronenberg acquired the job as director of Dead Zone, the commercial failure of Cronenberg’s previous film Videodrome, Cronenberg’s challenges in plotting a film script, Cronenberg’s relationship with Dead Zone’s producer Dino DeLaurentiis, Cronenberg’s views on whether films create violent behavior in viewers, Cronenberg’s knack for memorable visual effects, such as the exploding head in Scanners, the role of pathology in Cronenberg’s films, and Cronenberg’s thoughts on director Tod Browning’s controversial pre-code film Freaks.

--“Prairie Path” by Michael Beres 

Illustrated by Steven Stankiewicz

“The path might lead anywhere – back to your home, or into the hands of the snatchers.”

 -A young man on a solitary walk along a railway line in a secluded area near his home encounters another solitary traveler, an older man with a limp who seems oddly familiar. The older man indicates that he lives in the same house as the younger man, and warns the younger man to beware the “snatchers” who roam the area after dark. When the older man has gone away, the younger man grows suddenly afraid and takes off running, injuring his ankle in a leap over a puddle. The man limps home to discover he has, in some uncanny way, become the older man encountered on his walk.

--“Confessions of a Freelance Fantasist” by Isidore Haiblum 

Illustrated by Peter Kuper

“Part three: a few final words about the critics, foreign agents, and other strange species.”

 -Haiblum returns to the pages of the magazine with the third and final installment in his memoir of the writing life.

 -In this installment, Haiblum details the writing of his novel The Wilk Are Among Us, offering two reviews of the novel in opposing tones to illustrate his directive to “take both good and bad reviews with a grain of salt.” Haiblum also details the writing of his next book, Interworld, as well as the disastrous treatment of the sequel, Outerworld, at the hands of an editor. Haiblum details his successful efforts at self-promotion in foreign markets, and describes his efforts at writing a mainstream novel. Finally, Haiblum muses on the joys of being a writer, of being able to daydream and write anything you wish, in any style you desire. Haiblum concludes: “A writer is tied to his desk five days a week. He may stray far afield in his off-hours, but while on duty, the only place he can rummage is in his own mind. He had better like it there, and dote on the mere act of writing, because that is how he is going to spend the lion’s share of his time. If he does, then his time will be well spent. And writing will, in fact, become its own reward.”

--“Just Waiting” by Ramsey Campbell 

Illustrated by Lisa Mansolillo

“What terrible thing had he wished for, that day in the forest? And what terrible thing had granted it?”

 -A man returns to a wishing well deep in the forest with his pockets laden with gold. He offers the gold to the well and whatever dwells there, in order to understand a traumatic event from his childhood. It was in this forest, long ago, that he may have made a terrible wish he can no longer recall. In his memory of the surreal final moments spent with his bickering parents, the man recalls their meal in a picnic area deep in the forest where strange waiters emerged from the trees to wait upon them. The man remembers passing through the foliage away from the picnic area to emerge in a different place, among different people, never to see his parents again.

--“Music Box” by Thomas M. Disch 

Illustrated by the author

 -This story, designed like a Matryoshka doll, concerns a man and his wife sitting in their living room. The man examines a music box held in his hands. The music box is shaped like a house, in which the roof may be opened and the interior examined. Within the music box, a man sits with his wife in their living room. The man closes the music box and realizes that he cannot move from his chair. His wife helps him to remember the reason why. A man closes a music box into which he has been peering. The box does not work properly, so the man takes it to a repair shop. In the shop, the man finds himself nervously looking up at the ceiling. The repairman laughs and says: “Yeah, you wonder who’s watching. Sometimes it even gets to me, and I’m in the business.”

--“She Sells Sea Shells” by Paul Darcy Boles 

Illustration by Lowell Herrero

“No man is an island, though Malifee came close – until he met the woman who swam with the whales.”

 -A solitary man named Malifee, who lives in a small Maine coastal community, encounters a strange and beautiful woman who claims to swim with the whales at impossible depths. She lives in a coastal cave and collects beautiful sea shells from the ocean floor. She sends these shells to Boston for money which she then sends to conservation groups. The man falls in love with the strange woman and she moves in to his small house with him. An aggressive group of whale hunters in the town drives the woman away with their efforts. She returns to the sea, never to be seen again by Malifee. Later, however, the woman leaves their three-month old child on the doorstep of Malifee’s home along with some beautiful sea shells.

--In and Out of The Outer Limits: Part One by David J. Schow 

“Like The Twilight Zone, it had a moral vision. But it also had plenty of aliens and monsters!”

 -With the completion of Marc Scott Zicree’s episode guide to The Twilight Zone in the previous issue arrives this essential history and guide to The Outer Limits by the leading authority on the series.

 -This first installment of Schow’s retrospective on The Outer Limits begins with some common errors and misconceptions about the series printed in genre guides of the time. Schow also highlights some of the notably positive responses to the series, including Stephen King’s laudatory remarks in Danse Macabre. Schow then compares and contrasts The Outer Limits with The Twilight Zone, and explores in detail the genesis of the series through the careers of series creator Leslie Stevens, series writer Joseph Stefano, actor Vic Perrin (the Control Voice for the series), and series director Byron Haskin. Schow concludes this first installment with details of the creation of a number of early episodes of the series.

 -Schow is the leading authority on The Outer Limits, and his research into the series is shared in several books, articles, podcasts, and commentary tracks. His books on the series, such as The Outer Limits: The Official Companion (with Jeffrey Scott Frentzen), The Outer Limits Companion, and The Outer Limits at 50, are unfortunately out of print and commanding high prices on the secondhand market. The Outer Limits at 60, Schow’s latest book on the series, however, is still in print.

--TZ Classic Teleplay: “It’s a Good Life” by Rod Serling 

-The teleplay this issue is Rod Serling’s masterful adaptation of Jerome Bixby’s science fiction horror story “It’s a Good Life.” The episode originally appeared during the third season of the series on November 3, 1961. The episode starred Bill Mumy as Anthony Fremont, a child with terrifying God-like powers of control over the people around him. John Larch and Cloris Leachman portrayed Anthony’s parents. You can read our review of this classic episode here.

--A Gathering of Cartoons

 

Tom Mason

Peter Kuper

Jeff Stenberg

Whittington

--Looking Ahead: “In Our Next Issue . . .” 

-Next issue includes an interview with and story by Nobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer, an unabridged reprint of Jerome K. Jerome’s spooky and humorous Christmas classic, Told After Supper, plus coverage of the film of Stephen King’s Christine, complete with an interview with King and a story by the film’s director John Carpenter, the 1984 Twilight Zone Calendar, the second installment of David J. Schow’s retrospective on The Outer Limits, Rod Serling’s teleplay for “Mirror Image,” and the usual columns from Thomas M. Disch, Gahan Wilson, Ron Goulart, and James Verniere. Look for coverage of this issue in October.

 Next in the Vortex: A return to our episode guide with a look at Rod Serling’s “Uncle Simon,” featuring Cedric Hardwicke, Constance Ford, and Robby the Robot. Thanks for reading!

 -JP