THE TWILIGHT ZONE: The Complete Definitive Collection is one great set of DVDs!Not only are all five seasons presented uncut but each show ends with host and creator Rod Serling introducing next week’s episode (never seen in syndication to my knowledge) and either a PSA or a promo for another concurrent CBS TV series.
Such promos have included “Wanted Dead or Alive”, “The Danny Thomas Show”, “The Ed Sullivan Show” (narrated by Ed Sullivan himself) and “Gunsmoke”, similarly narrated by series star James Arness.
Fittingly, the “Gunsmoke” promo followed the Season 3 TZ episode “The Grave”, a journey into the Wild-Western-Weird that starred, among others, Lee Marvin, Strother Martin, Lee Van Cleef, and Stafford Repp (…sans his “Chief O’Hara” Irish accent).
Less fittingly – somewhat jarring, actually – was the narration provided by Mr. Arness for this promo:“This is James Arness. You know, it’s only a short hop from THE TWILIGHT ZONE to Dodge City and GUNSMOKE… Saturday nights over most of these stations!”
HUH?!
I’ve watched a lot of TWILIGHT ZONE and a fair amount of GUNSMOKE over the years… and never once did I consider them separated by “only a short hop”!
Guess I must have missed the one where Marshall Dillon wishes the Bad Guy into the Cornfield!
“You’re a BAD MAN! You’re a VERY BAD MAN!” (POOF!)
Hmmm… Could that be what happened to Dennis Weaver’s “Deputy Chester Goode”?
2 comments:
Joe,
Now THAT's a stretch. I remember that when STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE first aired on TV (on CBS, I believe), the network did interstitial promos with various characters from other sources. One such promo featured... THE FLINTSTONES! Even granted that The Great Gazoo gave Fred and Barney, at least, a taste of futuristic space, you also need to consider that THE FLINTSTONES originally aired on ABC. I don't know whether reruns ever appeared on CBS, however.
Chris
Chris:
Perhaps the only way James Arness’ comment on the “short hop” could be in any way interpreted as valid is that TWILIGHT ZONE aired on Friday nights, and GUNSMOKE on Saturday nights.
That may have even been what WAS intended, but it sure came out as weird!
Even considering such wide degrees of interpretation, I cannot see what connection THE FLINTSTONES could have to STAR WARS!
Joe.
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