Let’s Take a Trip Into the Twilight Zone
BY THE NUMBERS
By The Numbers, a look at what’s in the news . . . by the numbers. These are just numbers, not suggestions that they mean more or less than what they are. We do not suggest that one number is connected to another. These are simply facts with no extraneous details, bias or slanted reporting. To borrow (and perhaps mangle a bit) a quote from legendary fictional detective Joe Friday, it’s just the numbers, ma’am!
Imagine if you will another dimension, another time. You’re traveling through another dimension – a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s a signpost up ahead: your next stop: the Twilight Zone! And believe it or not, today, May 11, is a day when we can wonder back into that old dimension. It’s a day where we can remember Rod Serling, standing in living black-and-white on our small screens in our living room every Friday night. Yes friends, today, is that day to remember, a day when we can wander into the Twilight Zone . . . by the number!
5-11
There appears to be a day for everything and May 11 is Twilight Zone Day. We’re not sure why, but we sure enjoy the trip into another time and dimension!
10-2-59
It was a Friday and CBS premiered a new show that featured a man with dark hair, dark eyebrows and a cigarette in his hand. Rod Serling introduced us all to the beginning of a five season run that ended in 1964.
39
Serling was 39-years-old when the show debuted. As a child, he loved to listen to radio, especially some of the old drama and thriller shows. He graduated from Binghampton Central High School in New York.
1943
The day after his high school graduation, Serling chose to enlist in the U.S. Army rather than go to college. He ended up serving in the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
64
Serling was only 54 inches tall – five foot four.
17
He may have been small, but he had 17 boxing bouts, competing as a flyweight.
156
The number of episodes of the Twilight Zone, running from Oct. 2, 1059 to June 19, 1964.
3
The Twilight Zone has had three remakes – taking place in 1985, 2002 and 2019.
25
Each episode was approximately 25 minutes in length. However, season four of five expanded to one hour.
92
Of the 156 episodes, Serling wrote more than half – 92 – of them.
