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Whether driving or flying across the country, tragedy can strike at any moment, especially in the Twilight Zone.  This month we take a look at two episodes that capitalize on this true, yet unsettling reality. Season 1 of the Zone gave us "The Hitch-Hiker," a story of Nan Adams who is driving her way from New York to Los Angeles.  Unfortunately for Nan, much like Malcolm Crowe in "The Sixth Sense," she doesn't realize that her fate for quite some time.  As a result, we're treated with a story with lots of drama and a great twist ending. In season 5, tragedy struck again with "Ring-a-Ding Girl" starring Maggie McNamara.  Maggie plays Bunny Blake who simultaneously seems to be on a cross-country flight, and visiting her family and friends living in her small childhood hometown.  Drawn by visions she sees in a piece of jewelry, she somehow comes to the aid of her townsfolk, saving them from being victims of the wreckage that took her own life.  It's another twist ending, and one that leaves the viewer scratching their head as something that only makes sense within the bounds of the Twilight Zone. Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

Throughout the 1950's and 60's Rod Serling wrote several stories aimed at shedding light on racial issues with blacks in America. His stories were often watered down or changed to other racial groups by network executives or sponsors, leaving Rod in a state of frustration. When JFK was gunned down in Dallas on the afternoon of November 22, 1963, Rod was inspired to write "I am the Night - Color Me Black," an episode which not only addresses racism and bigotry head on, but it also addressed hate all over the world. "I am the Night" released in March of 1964, and it can be challenging for today's audience to appreciate its impact or tone. To help us better understand life in the 1960's for black Americans, and give us a perspective on how things are today, we're joined this month by Rodney Barnes. Rodney is a thirty year veteran of Hollywood, working on projects like "Everybody Hates Chris," "Major Payne," "The Green Mile, and "Wu-Tang: An American Saga." Most recently, Rodney is the executive producer and co-writer of the HBO Max Docu—Dramedy called “Winning Time.” He is also a critically acclaimed Graphic Novelist with his killidelphia Series. We had a very enlightening and enjoyable conversation with Rodney, and it's our honor to bring you this discussion for this month's episode of Entering the Fifth Dimension. Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278  

Beloved as Catwoman from the 1960's Batman series, Julie Newmar first appeared as Miss Devlin on the season 4 Twilight Zone episode, "Of Late I think of Cliffordville." Pat Hingle, who played the role of Commissioner Gordon in the 1980's and 90's Batman films, made his Twilight Zone appearance in the season 4 episode, "The Incredible World of Horace Ford." Besides featuring actors who would later appear in the Batman universe, these two episodes features plots involving men who can't let go of their past. While "Cliffordville" tells the tale of a business tycoon who finds his life empty after reaching the top of the mountain, "Horace Ford" features a story of a man who evidently hasn't matured into adulthood. One of these episodes, while far from perfect, still does a fairly good job of landing its intended message. However, the other episode fails to land coherently for either Darrell or Robert and even caused them to wonder if it might be the worst Twilight Zone episode of them all. Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278  

If there's one thing The Twilight Zone loves, it's exploring humanity through the lens of space travel. This month we take a look at two episodes where the lead characters find themselves stranded in space, albeit for entirely different reasons. In season 1 episode 7 entitled, "The Lonely," we encounter the story of a man named Corry who has been sentenced to solitary confinement on an asteroid millions of miles from earth. He's given a human-looking robot to ease his loneliness, but what happens if he's eventually forced to choose between the robot and returning to earth? Next we take a look at season 3 episode 28, "The Little People." Here we encounter two astronauts who land on an unknown planet so they can make repairs to their spaceship. While there, they discover a colony of ant-sized intelligent beings. One of the men, Craig, decides to prop himself up as their god and maniacally torments them to receive their praise. His superior, Fletcher, leaves him behind on the planet against his better judgement, but Craigs reign as god will not be long-lived. These two episodes give us a chance to explore what it means to be human, the importance of kindness, compassion, and empathy, and lessons we've learned in our lives when we let our egos get the best of us. Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278  

While the weather may be a bit unseasonably warm for us right now, we find ourselves in a much cooler situation than those in the season 3 Twilight Zone episode, "The Midnight Sun."  For much of the episode we are lead to believe they are on a collision course with the sun...or are they?  This is a podcast episode with a snow theme after all.  Then we take a look at season three's final episode, "The Changing of the Guard."  The content of this episode draws us back to our own childhood and the teachers that impacted us indelibly. This episode is both a reminder to thank those who have positively impacted our lives and that we are quite blind to the impact our lives have on others.  2022 SyFy Twilight Zone Marathon Schedule Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278  

Burgess Meredith's impact on the Twilight Zone is arguably deeper than any other thespian to enter the fifth dimension.  While most know him immediately for his work on the beloved episode, "Time Enough at Last," many have never seen his appearance in the season four episode, "Printer's Devil." This month we not only take a look at "Printer's Devil," but we also take a look at his season 2 appearance as the meek pushover "Mr. Dingle, the Strong."  Dingle is much more commonly recognizable due to the zany two-headed Martians and antenna-clad Venusians who look like children but sound like grown men.   These two episodes offer a contrast in the characters portrayed by Meredith that show off his versatile acting chops, while giving us a glimmer of what was to come in his iconic role as The Penguin in the 1960's TV series, Batman.   Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

Is dealing with the devil ever a good idea? Would you even recognize the devil if you met him face to face? Would there be peace on earth if you could somehow capture Satan himself and confine him to a prison cell? October is the month of ghosts, goblins, witches, and devils, so it seems like the perfect time to look back at two episodes of The Twilight Zone that feature the devil as a main piece of the story. In season 1 Rod Serling gave us "Escape Clause" where hypochondriac Walter Bedeker makes a deal with the devil which grants him immortality. However, he soon finds out there can be unexpected consequences of living forever, and may need to take advantage of the escape clause in his contract with the devil. Season 2 gave us "The Howling Man." David Ellington stumbles across a remote monastery where Brother Jerome and his followers claim they have captured Satan and have him locked in a prison cell. The prisoner seems harmless to Ellington, and he's faced with the dilemma to leave the situation alone, or act on behalf of the prisoner and rescue him from captivity. His decision has consequences that may impact all of humanity. Support the Rod Serling Monument Kickstarter campaign! Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

Mirrors give us glimpses into a parallel world and allow us to see the hearts of men.  Well, at least they do in The Twilight Zone.  This month we look at "Mirror Image" and wonder if the ticket agent and washroom attendant are all part of the plan to make Millicent believe she's crazy.  We also review "The Mirror" and share our theories on whether or not the mirror actually had special powers, or if it was merely the power of suggestion amplified by paranoia that brought about the demise of these revolutionaries. Westmoore High School Marching Band performance of "You Unlock This Door.." Pride of Piedmont Marching Band performance of "Door 13" Edmond North Husky Marching Band performance of "Wheels of Joy"   Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

I’ll go out on a limb here and state unequivocally that James Best is in the best two scary Twilight Zone episodes of the entire show. Darrell may or may not agree with me, but we discuss the noire feel of "The Grave" and the playful, yet thought-provoking take on "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank" too. Both episodes were written and directed by the great Montgomery Pittman. Both episodes feature incredible cast members with fun names of the characters to boot. It was great seeing Best play a character to type but also one with vulnerability. Join in and let us know your thoughts. Was Connie killed by dumb luck or by Pinto’s ghost? Only the Zone knows!   Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

When you look at the beginning and the ending efforts of arguably the best genre tv show in history, you need to expect there might be low’s and high’s to discuss. Furthermore, you‘d expect the first episode to have more lows than the last, simply because it is still finding its footing. But that isn’t the way we saw it. Episode one‘s story misdirection, although not suggestive of entering the Zone “Canon” enough to be formulated in the very next episode, did establish a great twist ending which is a hallmark of Serling’s best material. The last episode, judge for yourself, shows a great show fell apart on its last effort. Listen in and as always give us a shout because we would love to hear from you. Even if your accent isn’t truly Southern. Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

We have a double dose of Twist Endings Part Two for you this time as we look at "I Shot an Arrow into the Air" and "The Invaders." Two episodes, somewhat vastly different except we see they both involve space travel, misunderstandings, and violent deaths. Actually, both stories capitalize on the hubris of mankind to reach out into the stars with a blind eye to the consequences of interacting with a new environment and interacting with its inhabitants and even ourselves. Although both use space as their settings, what is truly magical about the Twilight Zone is once again the stories that Serling crests from there are so far away yet are able to look at mankind’s faults so closely. Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

Joined by one of our listeners, Rick, this month we look at one of the most highly regarded Twilight Zone episodes of all time: "Eye of the Beholder."   Darrell has a lot of books and DVD’s about the show. Robert reads everything he can find on the Net that is related to the show. Rick, my friends has Rick—which means an encyclopedic mind that can rattle off a list of episodes that didn‘t originally air plus he knows nearly everything else there is to know about the cast member’s previous and latter work. IMDB, Rick is calling and needs you to cite him for everything you know.  Seriously though, what a pleasure it was talking to Rick! Please listen in and send us your feedback or join us down the road for a podcast episode. Just be ready because Rick will already know everything you‘ve ever said on the subject and that’s fine by us.  All three of us agreed this is  one of the best episodes there is. As the show points out it isn’t right to separate others for being different, but you can‘t help place this one high on the shelf of meaningful stories. Enjoy!  Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

These 3 pairs of boots were made for walking the walk and the distance to a weird stroll down your hometown’s memory lane. Feedback caller extraordinaire, Bradley, sits in on his favorite classic episode. Robert Mr. Magoo‘d his observations again as he missed details, and Darrell and Bradley easily noticed every small intricately placed mirror angle and shading. Bradley dazzled us with theories about alternate realities and Robert just plain got dizzy keeping pace and settled for the view the episode is just a simple fun tale. Listen in and let us know how you felt about it. We‘d love to hear/read your thoughts. Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

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! Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

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. Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

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! Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

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.   Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

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. Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

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. Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278

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. Connect with Entering the Fifth Dimension: Facebook community Follow us on Twitter Voice feedback: (304) 837-2278