It's been over 15 years since the last attempt at a direct
Twilight Zone remake. The latest
incarnation recently debuted on CBS All Access.
They released one episode "The Comedian" as a preview. The hour story format doesn't work and that
episode was so predictable right from the start, so haven't bothered with the
rest of the series.
But there's plenty of other great TZ-like anthology series
out there. Here's what I consider the best Twilight Zone remakes or similar series. Any series available on YouTube is subject to being pulled (but they usually pop back up again eventually)...
Twilight
Zone (1985)
The first & second seasons were by far the best. While it was an hour show, there was either
two or three stories per hour (the 3rd season went to a half-hour / one story
format and wasn't as good). Between
those first two seasons though, there's too many great stories for me to even
pick a favorite. I tried listing some
but it practically turned into an episode guide lol.
And then there's the theme song - while there
was a hint of the original TZ theme in there, it was mostly a new take on it
from Grateful Dead and it perfectly fit the show. All 3 seasons are available on DVD.
Night Visions (2001)
It only lasted 13 episodes, but this is consistently one of
the absolute best Twilight Zone-ish anthology series. Every hour episode featured two half hour
stories. The earlier episodes are slightly
better with "A View Through the Window" being my favorite (a great
concept from a short story turned into a perfect half hour of tv).
Singer Henry Rollins gets slammed online as
the host but I think he did a good job, despite the creators of the show not
wanting a host. 12 of the episodes are
on YouTube (episode 6 isn't but can be watched on Dailymotion).
Black Mirror (2011)
This is the type of stories I'd
imagine Rod Serling would be writing for Twilight Zone if he was still
around. Everything revolves around
technology now and almost every one of these stories is easily possibly - even
that first crazy one with the politician ("The National
Anthem").
I'm not a fan of the
interactive film "Bandersnatch" but the rest of the series is a must
watch for anyone who loves Twilight Zone. The stories are all mostly hour length and in
this one case, that actually works (Charlie Brooker is a great writer). All episodes are streaming on Netflix and the
new 5th season just began!
Tales
From The Darkside (1983)
Cheesy, cheap production, tacky music and absolutely
80's - all of this goes perfect together and makes it a must watch! The episodes are very hit or miss and the
stories are all over the place (sometimes horror, comedy, paranormal or all of
them). Overall though, it's always been
a favorite of mine. All 4 seasons
(including 2 bonus episodes of Tales From The Darkside spinoffs that never
happened) are available on DVD. You can
also stream the series on Shudder.
Night Gallery (1969)
Rod Serling hosted it but didn't have the same creative
control that he did over Twilight Zone.
So some episodes are great and others are pretty bad. Most of the series was hour long episodes
split into 2 or 3 stories and you can absolutely tell it's from the 70's. All 3 seasons are available on DVD.
Ray Bradbury Theater (1985)
This always felt like an even cheaper version of
Tales From The Darkside to me (even though it was originally made for HBO and
probably was a lot more expensive to produce).
One big thing this show had going for it was every single episode was
written by Ray Bradbury, an amazing writer & storyteller. All 6 seasons are available on DVD or can be
streamed on Amazon Prime.
Twilight
Zone (2002)
The second revival of the series (not counting the Lost Classics
movie from 1994) was nowhere near as good as the 80's revival. But still worthy of rewatching. It only lasted one season and every hour long
episode featured two half hour stories.
It's on DVD or you can stream it on YouTube.
Amazing Stories (1985)
This always seemed like a family friendly version of Twilight Zone. Good stories, great production, but missing the bite of TZ. A new version will be coming soon to Apple TV+. The show lasted 2 seasons of mostly half hour episodes. One of my favorites was the animated "Family Dog" which ended up spinning off into its own series for 10 episodes (six years after the original episode aired). For now, all episodes are streaming on NBC.com (season 1 is also available on DVD).
Monsters (1988)
This series began right after Tales From The Darkside ended. It's basically the same show but every episode featured a monster. Unfortunately, that's what made it boring at times because you always knew the twist was going to be a monster. All 3 seasons of half-hour episodes are available on DVD.
This episode here is the ultimate zombie love story. I don't even like zombie things but this is absolutely insane, crazily written & yet brilliant. If this doesn't make you instantly buy the full series DVD, then nothing will...
Dimension 404 (2017)
It wants to be the Twilight Zone but the stories are too dragged out and predictable. Each episode is about 40 minutes which is 15 minutes too long. Still a good attempt though. So far there's only been one season of 6 episodes and it can be streamed on Hulu.
There's plenty of other great anthology shows out
there. I didn't include some just
because I've either never seen them or haven't seen most of the episodes. Those are Outer Limits (1963 & 1995),
Darkroom (1981), Nightmares & Dreamscapes (2006), Tales From The Crypt
(1989), The Hitchhiker (1983) & Freddy's Nightmares (1988).
Here's three series that deserve a mention despite not
being stand alone stories. All feature
TZ-like stories but with a regular cast...
Eerie, Indiana (1991)
A kiddie version of the Twilight
Zone with recurring characters and mostly excellent stories. The show changed about 2/3 of the way through
its only season and became even stranger.
There was also a spin-off series with a new cast in 1998 called Eerie,
Indiana: The Other Dimension, but I never saw that one. The original Eerie, Indiana is on DVD and can
be seen on Amazon Prime.
Nightmare Cafe (1992)
Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger)
plays one of the three main characters in this show about a cafe that shows up
in random spots to let in the newly dead.
Originally the show was to be a lot more like the Twilight Zone, but in
the end it focused more on the main characters than the individual episode
stories. That worked for 5 of the 6 episodes
(I wasn't a fan of the second one - Dying Well is the Best Revenge). All 6 episodes can be seen on YouTube.
Friday The 13th: The Series (1987)
This has absolutely
nothing to do with the movies, but it has Robey! And the stories are suspenseful, strange
& really well done. Every episode
focuses on a cursed object the group has to find and return to the antique
store they run. There's a bunch of
twists and it's a got a little TZ feel to it sometimes. It's a solid three seasons of episodes. All are available on DVD.
If you think there's anything I missed, let me know in the comments...
