The original version of “The Twilight Zone,” frequently aired on SYFY, was a pioneering force for creative storytelling during its five-season stint from 1959 to 1964. From unconventional camera angles to chattering slot machines, it consistently pushed the boundaries in the early days of television.
Rod Serling and his innovative team consistently challenged boundaries, both in terms of storytelling and visual effects, despite facing financial constraints and limitations in filmmaking technology that was yet to fully evolve into what we know as CGI today. Decades before such digital techniques were widely used, The Twilight Zone went above and beyond by employing every practical technique available to bring the impossible tales we continue to admire to life.
In my opinion, one captivating illustration is the Season 1 episode titled “Elegy,” where three astronauts – Captain James Webber (Kevin Hagen), Kurt Meyers (Jeff Morrow), and Peter Kirby (Don Dubbins) – venture to distant asteroid, a whopping 655 million miles from Earth. Upon leaving their spacecraft, they stumble upon an uncanny replica of their home planet, transported back in time by about 200 years, before the 1985 nuclear war. To make matters even more intriguing: every individual they encounter is perfectly preserved, partaking in a chilling, museum-esque display.
For More The Twilight Zone
In this rephrased version, let me propose: The Twilight Zone Achieved a Memorable Conclusion in a Hurry for One Episode or simply, An Epic Ending in The Twilight Zone Was Quickly Executed in This Classic Episode. Both versions convey the idea that an iconic ending was achieved swiftly within one episode of The Twilight Zone.
Are we experiencing some sort of illusion or has time stopped altogether? Not quite! As explained by the friendly android caretaker, Jeremy Wickwire (Cecil Kellaway), the astronauts find themselves in Happy Glades, a unique cemetery where the wealthy can fulfill their deepest desires even after death. Consequently, the scenic displays of beauty contests and victory celebrations are not realities, but rather representations of their post-mortem fantasies. Essentially, it’s like a Westworld for embalmed corpses, and interestingly enough, this fictional mortuary began operation in 1973, the same year Michael Crichton’s movie was released.
Instead of using inanimate dummies, Director Douglas Heyes opted to use actual people for the crowd scenes in the episode, adding a sense of genuine reality to the production, as he had done with his iconic works like “The After Hours,” “The Howling Man,” “Eye of the Beholder,” and “The Invaders.
How The Twilight Zone pulled off crowds of frozen people long before CGI
As a devoted admirer, I must say, Heyes ingeniously employed a cunning camera technique to camouflage the slightest movements of his motionless actors during long takes, as even the most steadfast among us can’t truly stand stock-still for extended periods.
In “Elegy,” as pointed out by Heyes in Marc Scott Zicree’s book The Twilight Zone Companion, the camera is often in motion when it captures those characters. It moves back and forth, pans, and performs various movements.
As a devoted fan, I found it intriguing that Heyes was involved with every scene in Charles Beaumont’s teleplay, except for one – an automobile race. The director clarified, “To me, those static scenes didn’t feel like they were frozen in motion; they felt like parked cars.” Interestingly, Beaumont never appreciated any changes I made to his stories, yet he remained my friend, seemingly accepting that we could differ creatively. Rod, on the other hand, would approve of the alterations I made to his tales, while Charles would express, “I don’t believe you did my story any justice at all.
Eventually, Wickwire – whose main purpose is ensuring eternal tranquility for the deceased – uses embalming fluid to kill the three astronauts, making them part of the ongoing landscape in Happy Glades. Just before his final breath, Meyers asks why the robot would commit such an act when it posed no threat to him. Old Jeremy delivers one of the most chilling lines in Twilight Zone history: “Because you are here and you are men. As long as there are men, there can be no peace.
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2025-06-11 18:31