Entering the Fifth Dimension: A Twilight Zone Podcast

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Jack Klugman Episodes Mar 31, 2021

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We really picked two amazing Jack Klugman Twilight Zone episodes in which each had its own version of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. One episode was darker than the other, but Klugman's phenomenal acting was a bright, dichotomous dark star. In "A Passage For Trumpet" we explore the dark side of creativity and have a meta discussion of what is real when you perform inebriated versus when you perform sober. Clearly, Robert wished he would have had buckets of disinfecting alcohol to clean off double licked mouthpieces. And People, Please, Do Not Thump, or Tap a trumpet mouthpiece! But in "In Praise of Pip," Klugman's character gets his wish to die instead of his son. Problem is he is already dying, but Klugman's performance doesn't risk dying and so does that brilliant performance once again of child actor Billy Mummy. Simply put, Klugman is right up there with Shatner, Meredith, Hoffman, Brando, and Hackman as an actor's actor. Just a fantastically intense actor. As always, we invite you to contact us with your thoughts. Thanks, and Enjoy!

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Time Travel Feb 28, 2021

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Yes, we finally got to a couple classic episodes we aren't crazy about. That's ok, IMDB ratings seemed to like them more than us, but for us wasn't clear to why the TZ that is so famous for pointing out socio-historical injustice missed the mark in the time travel episode back to the battle of Little BigHorn. Only one line in the entire script that was positive about Native Americans. Nothing about their inhumane treatment up to either of the story's timelines. And in the other episode, it seemed too full of an incredibly accurate portrayal of a calm flight crew in a TZ sound barrier time loop, but no mention of "what if" the plane landed in the wrong time line—what then?

It was good SyFy science but without the conscience normally found embedded in a thought provoking tale. But once again, even when the TZ may not deliver everything we want, it starts the conversation and we fill in the blanks and that took us into a fun conversation about our own "what if's" and Robert revealing something he learned about his childhood that may have stunned Darrell for life. There you go. A ho-hum TZ Episode talk that alters your life. Just another night with ENTERING THE FIFTH DIMENSION.

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When Toys Attack Jan 29, 2021

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Are perceptions that toys (specifically human-looking dolls) are scary and sometimes evil a right of passage for childish thoughts? Are all of us born with those perceptions ingrained in our DNA? Do we perceive a toy to be threatening purely by the way it just sits on a shelf and looks at us with a blank, inanimate stare? Or, are toys merely a lifeless mirror we animate with our imaginative thoughts and amplify how we see the bad and evil around us and imbue them into a benign talisman in which we are to blame for it now being scary? Does a mean human deserve to be killed by an evil doll if he deserves to die?

The TWILIGHT ZONE surely addresses these concepts with two of its most recognizable episodes. Come listen in and check out how Darrell's insights move Robert from "ho-hum" to "I can't wait to watch these again" attitude.

As always, we'd love to hear your feedback, but just don't ask us to accept signing your Poltergeist clown memorabilia. That clown was nuts!

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Christmas in the Zone Dec 30, 2020

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In two classic, albeit thematically loosely connected episodes by a Salvation Army collector's Christmas bell, we see a story of one man's salvation is found because he yearns so painfully for his existence to impact those meek people who desperately need help, and we see another story of a group of "people" who question their very odd, trapped existence and we see there is no hope for them anywhere.

Darrell and Robert have a spirited discussion, no pun intended, in this our 30th podcast episode of Entering The Fifth Dimension. The amazing Art Carney makes us want Santa to be real and the purity of Christmas to be protected, while at the same time we despair for the inequalities of the human condition and are embarrassed at the commercialization of Christmas. And then the other episode with a Clown, a Soldier, a Ballerina, a Hobo and a Scottish piper has forced those characters to question why they are trapped and may very well be that way for the rest of their bizarre lives that needs nothing to stay alive other than an answer to what they really are.

What we end up seeing is the juxtaposition of an episode that delivers Christmas and all of its gifts and toys and then another episode that makes us feel like we may be cruel to those very toys and gifts when they are abandoned. Is Rod telling us (unintentionally because these stories were filmed nearly one year apart) we are all toys and we have no power in our lives, or is he telling us as adults we ignore our childish wonderment and it is therefore a type of cruelty?

We are going to leave that "thought present" (a new phrase by Robert) for you to ponder as you watch these episodes and listen to our comments. As always we'd love it if you would write or call in your thoughts. Happy holidays everyone...Merry Christmas!!

Check out the SyFy New Years Day Twilight Zone Marathon Schedule.

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Alien Invasions Nov 30, 2020

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Martians, three-eyed short order cooks from Venus, and a little sci-fi nerd named Tommy wreak havoc in this month's classic look back edition of the podcast. These episodes contain the one thing all great stories must contain to make them great—universal themes. These two episodes highlight the lowlight of the human condition that is the tendency to forgo reason in favor of attacking what we think we immediately see is the cause of a problem rather than seeking further the answers to that which scares us because we don't understand it. Human imagination can be a wonderful thing, but left untempered by grounded cause and effect reasoning our imaginations can run wild and dream up grave thoughts with mob-like reactions to those thoughts. Robert and Darrell examine the universal theme that mankind is flawed, but share their own stories of how mankind does, in fact excel beyond those universal limitations.

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Burgess Meredith I Oct 30, 2020

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Here we are. Two tales of one actor as two different bookworms. Darrell and Robert take on the great, classic Burgess Meredith episodes and answer once and for all if Robert is or isn't related to Lynn Venable, the original story writer of TIME ENOUGH AT LAST. That episode, adapted for the show by Rod Serling, is easily identified as one of the most recognizable stories not just for THE TWILIGHT ZONE, but it is arguably one of the most recognizable television episodes of any show of all time. The amazing thing though about this podcast episode is our guys just might have liked THE OBSOLETE MAN even more than TIME ENOUGH AT LAST. Listen in and share your thoughts if you'd like to join the conversation.

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Before Star Trek Sep 29, 2020

Show notes

Before we loved them as Spock, Scotty, and Sulu, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, and George Takei all found their way into The Twilight Zone. Leonard Nimoy appeared in the season 3 episode, "A Quality of Mercy," James Doohan appeared in the season 4 episode, "Valley of the Shadow," and George Takei appeared in the season 5 episode, "The Encounter." While Nimoy and Doohan played smaller roles in their respective episodes, Takei took one of two lead roles in his feature and brought a standout performance that still brings a powerful moral lesson for today. Two of these three episodes deal with the impact of WWII, a burden understood deeply by Rod Serling. We hope you enjoy this month's episode as we return to the classic series.

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You Might Also Like Aug 31, 2020

Show notes

"You Might Also Like" brings us to the end of the second season. 20 episodes total for two seasons for this modern version of the Twilight Twilight Zone to establish itself. So, we guess the question is then, "did it, in fact, establish itself?" The best answer we can give is we really hope there is a third season.

Let's take the 10th episode of season two. For Robert, this episode unintentionally mirrors season one's 10th episode. Season one's last episode went for broke and it was awesome. Season two went for broke in the first half of the episode but then went "meh" the rest of the way...at least that's the way we saw it. Let's still hope for a season three. The show is overall worth keeping establishing itself.

Thanks for joining us!! And keep checking in monthly as we cover the classic episodes. Oh, My!! Take care everyone!

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Try, Try Aug 23, 2020

Show notes

"Try, Try" comes in for us as one of the most thought provoking of Twilight Zone season 2. Do we really know anyone? Do we really trust anyone? Who is to say the people who are really good at something are good at it because they've been given the opportunity to give it another try, and another try , and so on until they perfect it. The Twilight Zone examines the concept of this in its second season's ninth episode. Join Robert and Darrell as Darrell continues his quest messing with Robert's identity in our intro section, and Robert plays TZ Mega-Fan once again— is there nothing this guy doesn't like any more? Fun discussion once again. Silly science fiction show stirred up deep thoughts. Thanks for joining us!! Try to enjoy it!!

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A Small Town Aug 16, 2020

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"A Small Town" got big ratings from Robert, sort of big ratings from Darrell, but nothing but small ratings from our viewer feedback section, Talky Tina. What was it about a pleasant, mostly one dimensional story about doing good in the world from a supernatural scale model of a small town in a church attic that didn't land well with everyone? Maybe that's just it, not a deep enough story for deep story loving Twilight Zone fans. Be that as it may, the machine and its machinations took Robert to a new theory that the episode actually represented a symbol for what the Twilight Zone is—it is our modern day Deus Ex Machina that opens the story doors to today's issues and sets up a non-confrontational debate stage for viewers to see their world through the different colored light filters of a tv playhouse. Darrell and Robert discuss that theory and other ones on this potentially flat episode that produced a roller coaster ride of up and down ratings.

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