There’s a Reason These Six Episodes of The Twilight Zone Are So Different From the Rest

The Twilight Zone Videotape BackgroundThe Twilight Zone‘s second season aired from September 30, 1960 to June 2, 1961. As a whole, the series was never graced with jaw-dropping budgets. And even though, at 29 episodes, this season had fewer tales than the seasons that bookended it (36 in Season 1 and 37 in Season 3) it was the one that went over-budget to the extent that a major cost-cutting measure had to be implemented.

When the season was midway through production in November 1960, 16 total episodes had been filmed, five of which had already been broadcast. In other words, the season was just over halfway towards the production finish line, and with an allocated budget of about $65,000 per episode, it was already coming close to exceeding the budget for the entire season. To cut costs at that point a surprising decisio nwas made, six episodes would be shot on videotape instead of film.



Even though the videotape technology was new, it was cheaper than film, which at the time made them hope they could get the season in both on time and on budget. Unfortunately, there were problems with that method. Some of the issues constrained the stories that could be told while others were a bit more.

..cosmetic.

How Much Money Was Saved?All in all, when combining the savings across all six episodes, CBS only saved $30,000. This was not nearly enough of a savings to keep the experiment going, first and foremost because it actually made the productions far more difficult. Secondly, the episodes looked infinitely cheaper.

Were one to stream any of these episodes (or watch any of them on DVD) it’s blatantly obvious which ones were shot on tape as opposed to film. As was the criticism at the time, the episodes looked less like The Twilight Zone and more like a daytime soap opera.What about the experimental shooting method made it more difficult to actually get through the shoot? First, considering videotape was so young back in the ’60s, no techniques had been developed to edit it.

So, they did what was known as “camera-cut” it, a technique used in live television where multiple cameras (in this case four) were used. There’d be a camera focused on one character as they spoke, another camera on another character for their close-ups, and another for shots featuring both of them in the frame and so on.On top of the cost of keeping four cameras running, this also essentially eliminated the crew being able to shoot on location.

It’s not easy to get one camera exactly where you want it when you’re working on a terrain that isn’t flat and accommodating like a soundstage. To get four exactly where you want them, functioning in unison as they should throughout the duration of a scene, is practically impossible.[RELATED: These 10 The Twilight Zone Episodes Still Scare Me]Which Episodes Were Shot on Videotape?When it comes to the videotaped episodes, they’re a mixed bag at best.

Thankfully, even if they were to have been shot on film, none of the episodes would have been as high-quality as “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” “Time Enough at Last,” or “To Serve Man.” Had those episodes been videotaped, they still would have been lauded, but not to as great an extent (the videotaped method really does show its limitations, especially after the passing of a few decades).The first of the six to air was “The Lateness of the Hour” (Episode 8), which follows the daughter of a roboticist who has created androids to perform household tasks.

She ends up coming to the “life” shaking revelation that she’s less his daughter and more android herself.Episode 11, “The Night of the Meek,” follows Art Carney (The Honeymooners) as a department store Santa Claus who is fired from his job for arriving intoxicated. As he stumbles down an alley, a burlap bag full of empty cans falls in front of him.

However, after he trips over it, he sees it’s actually filled with wrapped gifts, and each gift is exactly what the eventual recipient wants most.Episode 14, “The Whole Truth,” is the story of a dishonest used cars salesman who buys a vehicle from an owner who claims it’s haunted. When it comes to the salesman, this means he now must be fully honest (it’s basically Liar Liar).

Episode 17 follows a woman who keeps having the same dream night after night. It always ends in the morgue, and she fears the next time she has that dream, she won’t wake up at all. While this episode hasn’t been confirmed as an inspiration for A Nightmare on Elm Street, some Freddy fans can’t help but see a throughline.

“Static” (Episode 20) is the weakest of the six. It follows a bitter, upper-middle-aged bachelor who discovers his radio only picks up shows that have long since been things of the past. The best of the bunch, “Long Distance Call” (Episode 22), was the last videotaped episode to air.

It follows Bill Mumy (who played the antagonistic child in the show’s iconic “It’s a Good Life”) as a little boy who swears his new toy telephone is allowing him to speak with his recently departed grandmother. Might he be right?You can stream The Twilight Zone on Pluto TV, and you’ll notice these five episodes for sure.The post There’s a Reason These Six Episodes of The Twilight Zone Are So Different From the Rest appeared first on ComicBook.

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