‘The Twilight Zone’ Is Returning To CBS, But With An Interactive Twist

The Twilight Zone, the cult classic TV show from the 1960s that featured an evil talking doll who hated her owner’s father; a monster tearing apart an airplane that only a young, pre-Star Trek William Shatner could see; and a 6-year-old boy who could send people whose thoughts he doesn’t like into a cornfield, is returning to TV.

But this time, it’s with a twist: according to The Wrap, the new edition of The Twilight Zone will be interactive as CBS will be partnering with Interlude to create “a project marrying television with gaming.”

'The Twilight Zone' Rebooting at CBS as New Interactive Series: According to The Wrap, CBS has partnered with … https://t.co/nkeUuNEYAG

— Highway 98.9 (@Highway989) April 18, 2016

“The new ‘Twilight Zone’ will honor the original series’ approach but will add the twist of letting the viewer ‘change and adapt the story based on what he or she feels,’ the companies said. ‘As with all other Interlude videos, viewers can return repeatedly and have a different viewing experience each time.'”

To add to the intrigue, the pilot episode of the new, interactive Twilight Zone will be written and directed by Ken Levine, the well-known game developer who according to io9 was the co-founder of Irrational Games. Levine is known for creating System Shock 2, Bioshock, and Bioshock Infinite, “games known for their reality-twisting storytelling that subverted player expectation and perception.”

What's BioShock director Ken Levine's next stop? An interactive 'Twilight Zone' movie: https://t.co/GK3nOeYPiy pic.twitter.com/bMOEfEKmd2

— WIRED (@WIRED) April 18, 2016

“Playing my games, you can probably tell Twilight Zone is something I grew up with,” Levine told Wired, in anticipation of the new series. “They speak to a larger truth. They’re morality plays, fables, and often they’re about a character who is going through an experience that’s central to their life but also speaks to a larger part of the human condition.”

The Twilight Zone: A Show Ahead of Its Time

The Twilight Zone was created by Rod Serling (1924-1975). The show debuted on CBS on October 2, 1959. It ran for five seasons (156 episodes), and it featured stand-alone stories that usually had surprising, even horrifying plot twists that often offered commentaries on humanity and life.

After a brief introduction of the setting and characters, Serling appeared onscreen, delivering a monologue that set the stage for the story — with just enough to entice the viewer to keep watching, but also without giving too much away. Sterling’s voice would come on again at the end of the episode to offer some closing thoughts after the climax was revealed.

In one of the best-known Twilight Zone episodes, “The Eye of the Beholder” (warning: spoiler alert), CBS recounts how a woman is forced to undergo facial surgery because she is deemed too ugly to be a member of society. Throughout the episode, doctors and nurses spoke about their concerns for the lady; about how this major reconstructive surgery was her last hope to be a part of society and if it was unsuccessful, she will have to be banished.

But then came the plot twist: when the bandages were removed from her face, the woman appears to be a normal, fairly attractive blonde. But when she looks at herself in the mirror, she screams. The viewer then sees the faces of the doctors and nurses for the first time — all of whom have noses that resemble pig snouts. And so, the moral of this Twilight Zone episode is clear: as the title suggests, beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.

When the original series aired, The Twilight Zone featured then-unknown actors such as Shatner, Robert Redford, Burgess Meredith, and George Takei.

What do you think? Can the new, interactive Twilight Zone measure up to the original?

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