Rodman Edward Serling Essay, Research Paper

Rodman Edward Serling, in my opinion one of the most

brilliant men of our time, was born in Syracuse, New York,

on December 25, 1924, to a wholesale meat dealer, and

grew up in Binghamton. By his own account, he had no

early literary ambitions, though from an early age, he and

his older brother, Robert, immersed themselves in movies

and in shows like Astounding Stories and Weird Tales.

Rod was best known from the intro where he was seen

wearing a suit and most often dangling a cigarette, which

was unfortunately the cause of his untimely demise.

"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to

man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as

infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow,

between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit

of man’s fears, and the summit of his knowledge. This is the

dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call… THE

TWILIGHT ZONE," Serlings masterpiece would not come

until later in his writing career.

He began writing full-time in 1951, more than seventy of his

television scripts were produced, garnering both critical and

public acclaim. Full-scale success came early in 1955 with

the production of a script called "Patterns," deemed a

"creative triumph" by critics, and the winner of the first of

Serling’s six Emmy awards. Serling went to work on

screenplays for MGM and as a writer for Playhouse 90,

for which he crafted ninety-minute dramas. A critical and

financial success, Serling shocked many of his fans in 1957

when he left Playhouse 90 to create a science fiction series

he called The Twilight Zone. 156 episodes of Twilight

Zone, ninety-two written by Serling, aired on CBS over the

next five years. The show went on to be one of the most

widely recognized and beloved series in television history,

and achieved a permanent place in American pop culture

with its instantly recognizable opening, theme song and

charismatic host, Rod Serling. With appearances by

personalities such as Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds,

Dennis Hopper, and more, Twilight Zone became a

launching pad for some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The

show headed downhill in its fifth season chiefly due to the

fact that Serling lost most creative control of the show.

After production ended in January 1964, Serling continued

to write for film and television series and movies, and often

appeared in his own productions, such as Rod Serling’s

Night Gallery. He returned to Antioch College as a

professor and lectured at college campuses across the

country. Politically active, Serling spoke out against the

Vietnam War in the late Sixties and early Seventies.

I believe that this man is one of the most talented writers of

all time. Everything he did was a masterpiece; from Twilight

Zone to Night Gallery his work will go down in history and

definitely live on as a part of pop culture. Unfortunately his

life was cut short before mine was to begin, on June 28,

1975 in Rochester, New York; he passed away due to

complications arising from a coronary bypass operation.

He will be missed but still live on through his brilliant work.