December 23, 2024 • 40 mins
Morgan White Fills in on NightSide with Dan Rea:
What could James Bond and The Twilight Zone possibly have in common? Author Steven Jay Rubin! Listen in as Morgan and Rubin chat about these two iconic cinematic masterpieces!
Ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio and listen to NightSide with Dan Rea Weeknights From 8PM-12AM!
What could James Bond and The Twilight Zone possibly have in common? Author Steven Jay Rubin! Listen in as Morgan and Rubin chat about these two iconic cinematic masterpieces!
Ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio and listen to NightSide with Dan Rea Weeknights From 8PM-12AM!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's Night Side with Dan Way on WBS Boston's news video.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I'll thank you very much for that little promo. Not
only am I here tonight, I'm here through the rest
of the week, next Monday and next Tuesday, filling in
for Dan. Dan has a nice week and a half
long holiday given to him by the powers that be,
(00:27):
and he'll be back to begin the new year. But
I am here, and I've got a whole letherack of guests.
And this next gentleman the start off my week, is
a man you can talk to about the Twilight Zone
because he's written a book about the Twilight Zone. And
the man who's written several books are Bond. James Bond,
(00:51):
Bond's gadgets, the litany of all the movies he just
doesn't stop creating with his type.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
At the computer. Steven J. Rubin, good evening to you.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Good evening, Morgan. It's good to hear your voice.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Good to hear your voice too.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
And I am going to entertain phone traffic on both issues,
Bond and the Twilight Zone. I'm sure we should get
many a person calling in tonight that we want to
discuss both and what got you inter Let's do one
at a time. What got you interested in the Twilight Zone.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Well, it's a good question. I'm a working screenwriter in Hollywood.
There can be literally years between making sales, and rather
than sitting around waiting for Hollywood to come to their senses,
I decide I've got to get back to book writing.
And I had been a big fan of a book
by Mark Zakree called The Twilight Zone Companion, which had
(01:56):
been published in nineteen eighty two. But I have I'd
had success with a James Bond movie encyclopedia, and I
thought that The Zone would be perfect fodder for an
encyclopedia format, and that brought me to Chicago Review Press,
(02:16):
and they loved the idea of doing a Twilight Zone encyclopedia,
particularly because of all the people involved in the series,
particularly the actors. I would maintain that The Twilight Zone,
over its original first five years, had the best cast
ever in a TV series, clearly.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
And I'm going to give you something I noticed last weekend. Periodically,
I will watch The Wild Wild West on me TV
and they show that at ten o'clock in the morning
on Saturday, and it was the episode with Agnes Moorehead
and she was just so dulled up, and she she
(03:00):
looked fantastic. And a few days before that, I saw
the Twilight Zone when she was the no lines at all,
but she was the frightened little old lady in her shack,
and all of a sudden, UFO and UFO appeared and
(03:22):
we found out the hook at the end. Not to
be a spoiler, but if you don't know that episode,
blocky ears because it was a craft from Earth that
wound up frightening.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
Now, Twilight Zone played so interestingly with their subject matters.
You saw so many different types of shows you wouldn't
see anywhere else, and you know, here it is. Let's see,
the first episode went on the air in the fall
of fifty nine, so we're talking sixty five years ago.
(03:58):
Sixty five years ago, which is insane. And I maintain
you can watch those episodes today and they're still as
fresh as they were when they first were on, probably
because no one has matched the quality.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
And you know what I do watch.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
I watched them on Sci Fi Channel, I watched them
on MeTV, and no one has matched the quality. Even
they tried to reboot Twilight Zone on a couple of occasions,
and they fell short of their own mark. They fell
short well you know Indes.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Oh yeah, And more recently with Jordan Peele. Jordan Peele,
the film director, producer abroad off I know, it's funny
you show a black and white show to a younger
person today and there's a lot of resistance, like Dad,
why am I watching this show from sixty years ago?
(05:00):
And it's like an alien art form? But you put
the twilight zone in color and you lose something. And
I thought about this a lot while I was watching
the encyclopedia I was writing an encyclopedia, is that when
you're watching a black and white show, it's supposed to
(05:20):
be a little alien to you. It takes you out
of your sweet spot. Everything is magnified. It's because it's
not the color you're used to, so you're off balance.
And the other thing I noticed, after watching five years
of episodes, one hundred and fifty six episodes, is that
there was virtually no product placement in the show. Nothing familiar,
(05:43):
nothing like a Union seventy six station or a McDonald's
or the equivalent of nineteen sixties America. And that was
determined by Rod Sterling that he didn't want you to
become too familiar with your surroundings, so you question every thing,
and sometimes you were surprised at what you discovered.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
And the key is.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
There are black and white shows sprinkled along current television.
The Andrey Griffith Show their first five or six years,
the first season of Gilligan's Island, all of the Alfred Hitchcocks,
just to name a few. And it holds attention if
you let it, and you have to let it. And
(06:31):
if you're my age, I'm seventy one.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
And if you're.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Over fifty five or sixty years old and you watch
TV when you were in elementary school, you remember when
TV was all black and white except for Bonanza.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Oh I remember. I remember the logo for NBC the
following program is brought to you in living color.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
There you go, and the peak cock Feathers switched an
interchange until they locked in to the way.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
That image I just resented. I think.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
I think the first show I remember watching in color
was not Bonanza, but was the Wonderful World of Disney.
I think that on Sun's Nights, the Disney show was
in color, and that was pretty sweet.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
The world is a fabulous world of color anyway, don't
don't give me song cues because I can't resist them.
I've got to take a break. And when we come
back to them, break our first called me Nick and Charlestown.
Anyone else wants to join Nick on hold six one, seven, five,
(07:41):
four to ten thirty or eight eight, eight, nine to nine,
ten thirty. Rob Brooks is on the phones tonight per
usual here on Nightside. This is Nightside. Dan Ray is
off for the next nine days. I am here until
the thirty first of December. On the first of the year,
(08:04):
Dan will be back, I promise you.
Speaker 5 (08:08):
So.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
I've got Stephen J.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Rubin here and we're talking both about the Twilight Zone,
and we'll kick in a few words about James Bond
as well. Again, this is Nightside. The time here in
Nightside eight fifteen, temperature twenty five degrees.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 6 (08:39):
There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known
to man.
Speaker 7 (08:43):
It is a dimension as vast.
Speaker 6 (08:45):
As space and as timeless as infinity. It is the
middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition,
and it lies between the pit of man's fears and
the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination.
It is an area which we call the twilight zone.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
That is our subject tonight here on night Side, I'm
Morgan filling.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
It for Dan.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
And if you would like to call in six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty or eight eight, eight, nine to nine, ten thirty,
we welcome you. When I say we, I've got a
gentleman who's written a number of books, and we will
talk about James Bond shortly, but we're talking about the
(09:37):
twilight Zone. And before I take our next call, who's
been patiently holding uh Stephen? Why was there a change
periodically in the opening. I know the four famous notes
of do do do Do Do Do Do Do Do
Do do doo is the theme everybody remembers. But why
(09:57):
was there a change or do you know?
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Well, you had Bernard Herman doing the music. And Bernard
Herman was the wonderful composer. They were lucky to get him.
He did all the Hitchcock films, the Sinbad films. When
they introduced the Twilight Zone theme by Marius Constant, the
French composer, they decided to rejigger the opening words, and
(10:22):
every so often they would hone it, and I just
think it was like freshening up the series.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
A little bit.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Okay, I'm just curious about that. I've had Nick holding
for eleven minutes. So Nick, it's your turn to speak
with Stephen J.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
Rubin. Welcome to Night's Side.
Speaker 8 (10:42):
Good evening, gentlemen, Happy holidays, Happy holidays.
Speaker 9 (10:45):
See you.
Speaker 8 (10:47):
Yeah, Stephen, I wanted to mention two of my favorite episodes,
but before that, I'd like to ask you a question.
In your opinion, which episode do you think is the
most popular episode. I've got one of three. I'm thinking
either I of the Beholder to Serve Man or Nightmare
at twenty thousand Feet. Would you consider one of those
(11:10):
three the most popular episodes?
Speaker 4 (11:14):
Yes, you pick three of the best episodes and three
of the most popular. I would throw in the Burgess
Meredith episode which is called time Enough at Last, which
I think is also good.
Speaker 8 (11:29):
And maybe the Monster's ad on Maple Street too. Possibly.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
Yeah, you know, there are so many excellent episodes. You'll
have to forgive me, everybody, because I'm getting over a colt,
so I'm coughing a little bit here.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
We'll deal with it. Don't worry about that.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
But I did you know? Go ahead, I'm sorry.
Speaker 10 (11:49):
Oh, I'll go ahead.
Speaker 8 (11:50):
No, go ahead, go ahead.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
No, I'm I'm telling you ton't have anything to say,
but keep talking. I'm sorry.
Speaker 8 (11:58):
So I wanted to mention two of my favorite episodes.
One from the first season in When the Sky was Opened.
Speaker 7 (12:07):
Oh with Rod Taylor.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Yeah, that's a yes, that is a very cool episode.
You know, it's interesting the episodes that run.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
What happened, Oh, we're here?
Speaker 4 (12:22):
Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you got off the because
I'm in the car. The episodes that run well, the
ones they run in heavy rotation in the marathons always
seem to be the same episodes. So like When the
Sky Opens sometimes isn't run And that's a really terrific episode.
(12:44):
You know, some of the episodes literally have disappeared because
there was some controversy. Uh the encounter which starred George
Oh yeah, Neville Brand. Yeah, that's the one where the gardener,
the Japanese American gardener confronts the ex marine in his attic,
and that that featured some dialogue that wasn't accurate. They
(13:10):
you know, they say in the episode that the Japanese
had spies at Pearl Harbor who were Japanese Americans and
that was not true. So they got a lot of
flak from the Japanese American community. So that episode literally
never ran again. It's popped up since. But I think
with an explanation.
Speaker 8 (13:31):
Yeah that that is a great episode. Yeah, I've seen that.
And the other episode I wanted to mention real quick
is Richard Matthews Richard Matthewson episode Uh Diana Highland spur.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
Of the moment. Oh yeah, yeah, that's the one where
she keeps seeing that figure.
Speaker 8 (13:53):
Yes, yeah, yeah, her doppel ganger.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
Yeah, that's a creepy episod. So there's something for everybody
in the Twilight Zone, that's for sure.
Speaker 8 (14:06):
Well absolutely, okay, Johonna mean, thank you, Nick, thank you
for your call.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Than Happy holidays to you. All right, let's go too.
I think this young lady spoke with you the last
time I had you on Allison. You've got Stephen J.
Speaker 5 (14:24):
Rubin, Oh hello, Hi. Yeah, I'm big sanatic about old TV,
the same way Morgan is and you are. Mister Reuben.
I just thought he the one elements in one of
the episodes I want to talk about, but we talked
about I've talked about some of the famous ones and everything,
but he did mention it when and When the Sky
was Opened. I was gonna kind of mention tonight that
one and a couple of the other ones that that
(14:45):
I didn't when I was young. They didn't affect me
as much as they do now. And when the Sky
was Open, person a person's unknown and a world of
Difference with Howard Duff, where people are just really strange
things are happening, and their their lives are just falling
up from under them kind of and in a world
of in a world of a world of difference, I
should say. And and in that case, he's an actor
(15:06):
playing character, and he feels miserable in his own life.
He just wants to become the character essentially. And in
personal Person's an un Richard Long wakes up and and
nobody recognizes him or anything in his normal life. And
of course, and I think the most and and all
those are just very disquieting episodes. And I think and
then and when this Guy was Open is the most disturbing,
because it's not just the fact that that they're they're disappearing,
(15:29):
it's like it's the characters that they disappear one by one,
and it's a great ensemble cast. Uh what is it
Charles Aidman, Jim Hutton and Rod Taylor and uh and
but it's the fact that they never existed somehow, whatever
whatever the force is doing that, what is being done
to them alien or whatever it is after they went
up into space, it's making them as if they never
existed at all. And that is just so oh wow.
(15:51):
That just gets them under your skin. It really does.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the I
love the Christic Monster episodes and everything and all. They
were just full on scary ones, believe me. But there's
something about that that really those those that kind of
episode really lingers.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
I think one was a Mathewson Also, I want to
just want to jump in real quickly. Also, the fact
that the story is told in a half hour such
a compact and effective story type, and I think that's
another thing that The Twilight Zone perfected. In four of
the five seasons, they had half hour episodes and they
(16:25):
were always very tightly written.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
Mm hmm. Yeah, there was no Patty, although I like
some of the hour long ones too. Definitely, you do Morgan, right,
you love the one I was killing you more right,
So of.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Late, I think of Cliff is my favorite Twilight Zone episode.
Speaker 5 (16:43):
Wow, And I like a miniature a lot with Robert Yvall.
I like that one a lot that was almost Yeah.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Don't get Alice, don't get me wrong. I also liked
the Hours. In fact, James wentmore episode on Thursday We
Leave for Home is one of my favorites. That the
Hours have been disparaged over the years as being kind
of you know, they they didn't they weren't as tight
(17:11):
as the original half hours, and that they were a
bit bloated. But I didn't find that at all. There's
just some great one hour episodes. And the reason there
was one hour episodes is they canceled the series at
the end of the third season and then they made
the mistake of putting a different show and that did
no ratings whatsoever. So James Aubrey, who couldn't stand Serling
(17:35):
or the format of anthology, he had to come with
his hat in his hands and ask Serling to do
a mid season replacement, and that's when they came up
with the one hour episode, the eighteen one Hours, which
of course are are really opponents.
Speaker 5 (17:50):
Yeah, there were a lot of our long shows like
Thriller and Bod Carlos Thriller and and obviously the oter
limits of not Dations. So you know, there was such
good writing in those days. And don't get me start
James Aubery. He was one of those awful, awful people
that never should have gotten to where he was anyway. Yeah,
Dan Curtis made two Dark Shadows movies, and after you know,
when Dark Shadows was being towards the end of Dark Shadows,
(18:11):
and he made him cut the second one night Dark
Shadows by half an hour within just within a patter
of days, and it'll totally wreck the movie. And and
and he's just was awful.
Speaker 6 (18:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
He also he also sold the MGM lot to a developer,
was the one, Oh no, but which could have you
know that that is just a bunch of condominiums now,
but that could have outrivaled the Universal Lot as an attraction.
But yeah, it's pretty bad.
Speaker 5 (18:38):
I don't speak ill of the dead, but why not anyway.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
I gotta take a break.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Allison, Okay, good bye.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Thank you for your call, Allison. And if you have
a stopwatch and you time her call, she'll get more words.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
In one minute than anybody I know.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
She is just always on full wind up when we
allow her to come in. Anyway, I've got a news
hit to take and when we come back, maybe we'll
add a little James Bond into our conversation. Victor in Boston,
you will be next. I promise others. You want the
phone number, I'll give it to you. Six one, seven, two, five,
(19:18):
four ten thirty or eight eight, eight, nine, two, nine,
ten thirty. This is night Side without Dan tonight. I'm
Morgan Time and temperature eight thirty twenty five degrees.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Night Side God is Dan Ray on WBZY, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 6 (19:49):
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 or that of imagination. You're next stop,
the Twilight Zone.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
I'm Morgan.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Dan is off tonight. He's off for the rest of
the year. He'll be back on the first of January
twenty twenty five. Stephen Jay Rubin is my guest. He
and I are talking about Twilight Zone and James Bond,
which you really haven't delved into as much. And I'm
remembering in my mind a lot of people used to
(20:29):
mimic Rod Serling and the opening of Twilight Zone. But
the best mimicker I ever saw was Dan Aykroyd. I
don't know how you feel about.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
That, Steven, I'm not surprised. Dan was a huge fan
of the show, and of course he gets to play
a part in the Twilight Zone movie, which gets the
show office enthusiasm for the show.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
That was the theme that they were playing trivia game.
That's right there you are. Let me bring Victor into
our conversation. Victor, thank you for being patient holding. Welcome
to Night's Side.
Speaker 9 (21:17):
Hey Morgan, first time caller.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Welcome Victor. Thank you.
Speaker 9 (21:23):
I'm a seventies and eighties kid. I'm actually a sixty
one year old kid. I'm an action adventure guy. But
if there's one show on my top ten list, the
top five.
Speaker 7 (21:37):
Is The Twilight Zone. Okay, I will watch.
Speaker 9 (21:41):
I will watch that regardless of anything else. I don't
care what's coming on or what's so called hot or whatever.
I have a tie for my two favorite episodes, it's
scary to me. One was called the Howling Man and the
other one was with a Francis. He was a living
(22:04):
mannequin in the department store.
Speaker 4 (22:06):
Right after hours, after hours.
Speaker 7 (22:11):
After hours.
Speaker 9 (22:12):
Yeah, both of those episodes. I always watching them with
the lights on, will around other people.
Speaker 7 (22:17):
I don't watch them by myself.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
The Howling The Howling Man is a great episode and
it is filled with filled with the atmosphere for the
listeners who don't know the episode. A man comes to
a monastery to seek a refuge in the stormy night,
manned by these very quiet monks. Uh, they haven't taken
(22:42):
a vow of silence, but they're they're very old school,
and they've managed to capture the devil and he's being
held in a cell in the underground part of this monastery.
And every night, this guy who's sleeping there, here's a howling,
and that's the setup. It is very very creepy.
Speaker 9 (23:02):
Well, like I said, I watched that show every opportunity
I can get. Regardless, I don't really think there's some
things they're not really gonna be able to replicate.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
That's one of them.
Speaker 9 (23:18):
I've seen the film in eighty three, the first segment
of that with dan Aykroyd and the other act in
the car.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
That was scary. Yeah, that was kind of scary.
Speaker 9 (23:32):
But I don't really think they're gonna be able to
recreate a show like that, a redoer or reboot it,
I don't think so.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
It has been attempted on a number of occasions, and
in my opinion, it always falls short.
Speaker 9 (23:49):
Yeah, it's always shows what the original is. You really
won't be able to do anything with it.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
You're gonna leave it alone.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
Margaret, what I was thinking of when we were earlier
talking about why the color episodes don't work. The other
thing that happens when you see these episodes now, a
lot of people don't know who these actors are because
they've been dead for many years. Adds another dimension of weirdness.
Who are these strange people and how are they caught
(24:24):
up in this weird show? So as the show gets older,
it can get even more effective.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
They don't know who Frank Elletter is, they don't know
who Albert Salami is. They don't know They might know
Burgess Meredith from the Rocky films, but.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
Actors like Jack Klugman, John Anderson, you know, Robert Redford
obviously is well known today, although not as well known
as they used to be. I mean, Charles Bronson, you know,
the they're always in those twilight zones and always so
good and.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
The most attractive woman in the world at one time.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
She was called that.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
And Francis, and they did have an array of beautiful women.
I mean, Donna Douglass from the Beverly Hillbillies was a
very attractive young lady.
Speaker 4 (25:24):
And oh yeah yeah, and and Francis was one.
Speaker 9 (25:31):
Somebody who I really had in mind, though, was Hazel Court.
Speaker 4 (25:37):
Okay, oh sure, sure, yeah, yeah, I kind.
Speaker 7 (25:43):
Of she was a crush of mine while still.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Is, but you know, uh.
Speaker 9 (25:50):
And Francis, Yeah, I liked her. I liked her personality,
among other things.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
So I've got a I've got a collection of TV Guy.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Of magnets from TV and a couple of them are
from TV Guide, So I have the TV Guide on
which Anne Francis was on the cover. So I get
to see her every day still and she's still up there.
Compare her to anybody, she is still a knockout.
Speaker 4 (26:22):
Yes, thank you, lie, gentlemen. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Thank you so much, Victor, thank you, thank you for
your call.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Let's go to the Cape and speak to Phil Line
open by the way, Victor was on at six one, seven, two, five, fourteen,
thirty eight, eight, eight nine two nineteen thirty Open nine,
Go for It.
Speaker 7 (26:41):
Hello Phil, Hello Morgan, how are you?
Speaker 3 (26:45):
I'm finding you, sir good.
Speaker 11 (26:48):
And one of my favorite episodes on the Twilight Zone
was The Last Flight. Does anyone remember that one?
Speaker 4 (26:56):
Sure? Sure? That's the episode where a World War One
biplane pilot lands at a modern Air Force base, and
that is that is one heck of an episode. I
really liked.
Speaker 11 (27:09):
That one too, And what really makes that episode fun
for me was the pilot who landed that biplane was
a British actor named Kenneth Hag and he also plays
an uncredited role in my favorite scene in the Beatles
(27:30):
movie A Hard Day's Night. He's the guy who sat
there with George Harrison trying to convince George about this
new model who's going to be the latest thing, and
George thinks she's awful. That was my favorite scene in
Hard Day's Night, and that was the same actor.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
A Hard Day's Night was just shown in rotation on HBO.
I watched it literally one week ago. One week ago
I watched The Hard Day's Night and Phil.
Speaker 11 (27:59):
On Morgan, I heard you mentioned you loved the Cliffordville episode.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
One of my favorites, if not my favorite Twilight Zone.
Speaker 11 (28:11):
How can it not be? Julie Numark?
Speaker 4 (28:13):
Good lord, Phil, Phil, Phil? Are you Phil? Are you
a fan of Odyssey A flight thirty three?
Speaker 12 (28:22):
Oh?
Speaker 10 (28:22):
Sure?
Speaker 11 (28:23):
As they go over the UH that was like on
this right?
Speaker 4 (28:29):
No, no, no, that h John Anderson's the pilot. It's
about the airliner that goes into UH back in time
and right ends up over the over some dinosaurs where
Manhattan should be exactly.
Speaker 11 (28:45):
Yes, right, yeah, oh no, that's a great one too.
That's where we don't know if Yeah, that's.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
That's where Roth Sterling contacted his brother who was an
aviation right and got all the cockpit dialogue examined to
make sure it was accurate.
Speaker 11 (29:06):
And Phil, I'm gonna say that episode.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Go ahead, Morgan, I'm going to say this because you
brought up the name Julie Newmar. I have been in
contact with her agent for over a year and a
half and the only reason I haven't gotten her yet
she doesn't want to do any publicity until.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
Her book is released.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
It's still to be released in twenty twenty five. And
if you hear her book's been released, know that I'm
going to be getting Julie Newmar.
Speaker 11 (29:38):
For the radio and know that I'll be on the stone.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
Phil. Thank you very much for to call. Take care
bye bye very much.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
All right, I have another break to take and we
had one open line. I don't know if we accidentally
cut someone off. Just now as we cut off Pill,
I'll just say down the phone number six one, seven, two, five,
four ten thirty eight, eight eight, nine to nine, ten thirty.
(30:12):
This is night Side. I'm Morgan's filling in. I've got
author Stephen J. Rubin with me and we're taking your
phone calls here on BZ time and temperature eight forty
five and twenty five degrees.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
Life Sight Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 6 (30:40):
You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond
it is another dimension, a dimension of sound, a dimension
of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a
land of both shadow and substance of things and ideas.
You've just crossed over into the twilight zone.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
That's the third opening we have played tonight. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Rob Brooks in the control room, my guests Stephen J.
Rubin and Steven are you ready for another call?
Speaker 4 (31:15):
Absolutely? Morgan, let him, let me.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Let's go to Drake and Mass and speak to Ernie. Ernie.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
You're next here at night side, Ernie, Ernie, are you there?
Speaker 3 (31:33):
I hated when this happened. Where were you? I'm right here, yeah,
but where were you? The first three times I said
your name?
Speaker 10 (31:42):
I didn't go anywhere. Okay, I'm in a bad cell
zone in my house there.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
Okay, Well you get on now.
Speaker 10 (31:52):
Okay. I got a comment and a question for Steven.
Go ahead, Steven. I guess you could say my opinion,
the Twilight Zone and now for Hitchcock, but probably two
of the best anthology shows of all time, if not
one of two in the top five.
Speaker 4 (32:12):
You agree, I agree one hundred percent. You have two
masters of suspense.
Speaker 10 (32:19):
Yeah. And it was always a theme with Rod about
going back the home, going back home. You know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (32:29):
Yes, see, particularly in the two nostalgia episodes Walking Distance,
Yeah and a stop at Willoughby where he kind of
like you guys. They're both the lead characters in both
episodes are burnt out advertising executives who just can't take
it anymore. And yeah, I love those episodes. And Rod
(32:52):
always had a fondness for his hometown of Ingham to
be Ork.
Speaker 10 (32:57):
Absolutely, he would always go back when he had a chance.
Speaker 4 (33:02):
You know, I went back to Binghamton for a symposium
a few years ago. I think I told you the story, Morgan,
that I went to his house where he grew up,
and the lady came to the house. She couldn't have
been nicer, and she offered to take a picture of
my friend and I and so I handed her my
iPhone and she took a picture. And I looked at
(33:24):
the picture and it was in black and white?
Speaker 10 (33:28):
How appropriate? Right?
Speaker 3 (33:32):
All right, Ernie, you have a question.
Speaker 10 (33:35):
I got it, Yeah, Steven, I got a question. One
of my probably one of my favorite episodes was I
don't know the title of it. This salesman coming through
town on a haws and buggy selling you know, tonic
in a and he brings it. I guess the dog
was pretend he brings the dog back to life and
(33:59):
he's telling you this.
Speaker 4 (34:01):
I think that was the second or third episode ever
ever aired. And uh, yes, yes it was.
Speaker 10 (34:09):
Uh what was the name of that episode?
Speaker 3 (34:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (34:13):
I knew you were gonna ask me that, And that's
gonna be a tough one for me to get.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Right now.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
I'll probably remembered a half hour after the show ends.
Speaker 10 (34:22):
But it's all it. Did people come walking out of
the cemetery?
Speaker 3 (34:28):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (34:30):
Episode, No, that's a different episode. That's a that's a
that is a fifth season episode. This episode starred Dan Durier,
the wonderful character actor and early role for Martin Landau
who plays the black hat.
Speaker 8 (34:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (34:50):
I'm trying to remember the episode. I'll think of it.
But it's a great episode.
Speaker 10 (34:54):
But the episode i'm thinking of, I guess he comes
selling this tonic to the people to bring people back
a live, make them well with something.
Speaker 3 (35:02):
You know.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
I think that's one of the one hour episodes. And
it's uh, yeah, I think that's a one hour episode.
And uh and at the end.
Speaker 10 (35:12):
You see the people you know, supposedly did people like
walking out of the cemetery alive?
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Shootout with Lance lagrew? Does that ring a bell either
one of your Showdown with Lance McGrew.
Speaker 10 (35:25):
Oh, yeah, that's not the one I'm talking about.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
Okay, that's a good episode too.
Speaker 6 (35:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (35:32):
Yeah, he pulls up, He pulls up in his brand
new Thunderbird. All right, Hey, I am enjoying the show.
Merry Christmas and Happy New.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
Year, Happy New Year. To you too.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
One more on, one more call on before I have
to do news, and that would be Karen in Wisconsin.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Karen, happy holidays.
Speaker 12 (35:56):
Wait here, I'm sorry, I'm there. I'm very sorry, okay,
but sorry. Why Well, because all of a sudden I
was on and you know, I had a hand line
(36:19):
landline in my hand, and you were coming out of
the computer and I'm trying to turn everything off, okay,
and I thought you were hearing it all.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
But let's talk twilights.
Speaker 12 (36:30):
But yeah, I just want to say congratulations on getting
three hours.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Very much for that.
Speaker 12 (36:41):
Thanks, and now we can work on getting more phone
lines back for you in six hours.
Speaker 3 (36:49):
Well, one thing at a time, baby.
Speaker 12 (36:52):
Steps, Okay, I know.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
So what do you want to talk about? Twilight Show?
Speaker 12 (36:58):
The the one that I see. I didn't know these
all had all these episodes had names, but the one
that scares me to this day.
Speaker 8 (37:14):
I mean.
Speaker 12 (37:17):
The little girls that went under the bed and went
yeah and then went in the ball Yes? Oh no,
I yes, Rob Or you mean I used to my
you already uh talked about because I wasn't gonna get.
Speaker 4 (37:42):
That is an episode called Little Girl Lost. And when
they made the movie many years later Poultergeist. Uh they
stole that idea from Rod. I think that it was long.
It was long after you passed away though, but that
older guys. It's very much based on that same episode
(38:03):
Little Girl Loss.
Speaker 5 (38:07):
Wow.
Speaker 12 (38:07):
Well, this computer, it's like when I when I go
in the computer every time, like if like if Bradley say,
let's go to my travel page. I right, I'm so
scared that if I subscribe anything, I'm going to turn
into that little girl and go into the computer. Now
I know I'm not You're not sensation. So I don't
(38:33):
like computers because it reminds me of that all the time.
I just don't know who will pull me back out,
and then you.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
Know Bradley's going to be on Friday Night with me
on that side.
Speaker 12 (38:47):
Yes, I hope that I don't have a whole list.
Maybe somebody printed them out. I'm there, but uh no,
the all the people you're having on, are you going
to allow for I want somebody to call more than
(39:10):
once when you're on all I will.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
Give you special permission to call for Bradley Jay.
Speaker 12 (39:17):
On Friday, But Bradley doesn't want to hear from me.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
I doubt that's the case. But I'm giving you special
They're not allowed to call more than once a week.
But because I'm filling in, people are hoping there's a loophole.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
Karen. Well you, I'm giving the loophole.
Speaker 12 (39:40):
Okay, can you tell me about all the other people
in there so I can have loopholes for everything anyway. Anyway,
I will say that the bunnies out back are saying
hi to you, and they're dancing around. And I'm going
to end with this, both of you. Why do radio
and now Truth have little hands?
Speaker 3 (40:05):
I don't know. Tell us why.
Speaker 12 (40:07):
We pause the station identification?
Speaker 4 (40:11):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (40:11):
We pause? W ee paws. Thank you Karen, good night.
Speaker 4 (40:20):
And and what is the best way to find a
new dentist?
Speaker 3 (40:27):
I don't know, Stephen, what is the best way?
Speaker 4 (40:30):
Word of mouth?
Speaker 2 (40:33):
On that note, I'm going to take my news break
at the top of the hour. Stephen will be here
next hour as well. Maybe we can get some Bond
conversation going as well as twilight Zone.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
Don't stop the twilight Zone.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
I'm just going in addition to twilight Zone, James Bond
time and temperature eight fifty eight twenty five degrees
It's Night Side with Dan Way on WBS Boston's news video.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I'll thank you very much for that little promo. Not
only am I here tonight, I'm here through the rest
of the week, next Monday and next Tuesday, filling in
for Dan. Dan has a nice week and a half
long holiday given to him by the powers that be,
(00:27):
and he'll be back to begin the new year. But
I am here, and I've got a whole letherack of guests.
And this next gentleman the start off my week, is
a man you can talk to about the Twilight Zone
because he's written a book about the Twilight Zone. And
the man who's written several books are Bond. James Bond,
(00:51):
Bond's gadgets, the litany of all the movies he just
doesn't stop creating with his type.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
At the computer. Steven J. Rubin, good evening to you.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Good evening, Morgan. It's good to hear your voice.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Good to hear your voice too.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
And I am going to entertain phone traffic on both issues,
Bond and the Twilight Zone. I'm sure we should get
many a person calling in tonight that we want to
discuss both and what got you inter Let's do one
at a time. What got you interested in the Twilight Zone.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Well, it's a good question. I'm a working screenwriter in Hollywood.
There can be literally years between making sales, and rather
than sitting around waiting for Hollywood to come to their senses,
I decide I've got to get back to book writing.
And I had been a big fan of a book
by Mark Zakree called The Twilight Zone Companion, which had
(01:56):
been published in nineteen eighty two. But I have I'd
had success with a James Bond movie encyclopedia, and I
thought that The Zone would be perfect fodder for an
encyclopedia format, and that brought me to Chicago Review Press,
(02:16):
and they loved the idea of doing a Twilight Zone encyclopedia,
particularly because of all the people involved in the series,
particularly the actors. I would maintain that The Twilight Zone,
over its original first five years, had the best cast
ever in a TV series, clearly.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
And I'm going to give you something I noticed last weekend. Periodically,
I will watch The Wild Wild West on me TV
and they show that at ten o'clock in the morning
on Saturday, and it was the episode with Agnes Moorehead
and she was just so dulled up, and she she
(03:00):
looked fantastic. And a few days before that, I saw
the Twilight Zone when she was the no lines at all,
but she was the frightened little old lady in her shack,
and all of a sudden, UFO and UFO appeared and
(03:22):
we found out the hook at the end. Not to
be a spoiler, but if you don't know that episode,
blocky ears because it was a craft from Earth that
wound up frightening.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
Now, Twilight Zone played so interestingly with their subject matters.
You saw so many different types of shows you wouldn't
see anywhere else, and you know, here it is. Let's see,
the first episode went on the air in the fall
of fifty nine, so we're talking sixty five years ago.
(03:58):
Sixty five years ago, which is insane. And I maintain
you can watch those episodes today and they're still as
fresh as they were when they first were on, probably
because no one has matched the quality.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
And you know what I do watch.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
I watched them on Sci Fi Channel, I watched them
on MeTV, and no one has matched the quality. Even
they tried to reboot Twilight Zone on a couple of occasions,
and they fell short of their own mark. They fell
short well you know Indes.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Oh yeah, And more recently with Jordan Peele. Jordan Peele,
the film director, producer abroad off I know, it's funny
you show a black and white show to a younger
person today and there's a lot of resistance, like Dad,
why am I watching this show from sixty years ago?
(05:00):
And it's like an alien art form? But you put
the twilight zone in color and you lose something. And
I thought about this a lot while I was watching
the encyclopedia I was writing an encyclopedia, is that when
you're watching a black and white show, it's supposed to
(05:20):
be a little alien to you. It takes you out
of your sweet spot. Everything is magnified. It's because it's
not the color you're used to, so you're off balance.
And the other thing I noticed, after watching five years
of episodes, one hundred and fifty six episodes, is that
there was virtually no product placement in the show. Nothing familiar,
(05:43):
nothing like a Union seventy six station or a McDonald's
or the equivalent of nineteen sixties America. And that was
determined by Rod Sterling that he didn't want you to
become too familiar with your surroundings, so you question every thing,
and sometimes you were surprised at what you discovered.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
And the key is.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
There are black and white shows sprinkled along current television.
The Andrey Griffith Show their first five or six years,
the first season of Gilligan's Island, all of the Alfred Hitchcocks,
just to name a few. And it holds attention if
you let it, and you have to let it. And
(06:31):
if you're my age, I'm seventy one.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
And if you're.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Over fifty five or sixty years old and you watch
TV when you were in elementary school, you remember when
TV was all black and white except for Bonanza.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Oh I remember. I remember the logo for NBC the
following program is brought to you in living color.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
There you go, and the peak cock Feathers switched an
interchange until they locked in to the way.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
That image I just resented. I think.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
I think the first show I remember watching in color
was not Bonanza, but was the Wonderful World of Disney.
I think that on Sun's Nights, the Disney show was
in color, and that was pretty sweet.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
The world is a fabulous world of color anyway, don't
don't give me song cues because I can't resist them.
I've got to take a break. And when we come
back to them, break our first called me Nick and Charlestown.
Anyone else wants to join Nick on hold six one, seven, five,
(07:41):
four to ten thirty or eight eight, eight, nine to nine,
ten thirty. Rob Brooks is on the phones tonight per
usual here on Nightside. This is Nightside. Dan Ray is
off for the next nine days. I am here until
the thirty first of December. On the first of the year,
(08:04):
Dan will be back, I promise you.
Speaker 5 (08:08):
So.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
I've got Stephen J.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Rubin here and we're talking both about the Twilight Zone,
and we'll kick in a few words about James Bond
as well. Again, this is Nightside. The time here in
Nightside eight fifteen, temperature twenty five degrees.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 6 (08:39):
There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known
to man.
Speaker 7 (08:43):
It is a dimension as vast.
Speaker 6 (08:45):
As space and as timeless as infinity. It is the
middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition,
and it lies between the pit of man's fears and
the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination.
It is an area which we call the twilight zone.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
That is our subject tonight here on night Side, I'm
Morgan filling.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
It for Dan.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
And if you would like to call in six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty or eight eight, eight, nine to nine, ten thirty,
we welcome you. When I say we, I've got a
gentleman who's written a number of books, and we will
talk about James Bond shortly, but we're talking about the
(09:37):
twilight Zone. And before I take our next call, who's
been patiently holding uh Stephen? Why was there a change
periodically in the opening. I know the four famous notes
of do do do Do Do Do Do Do Do
Do do doo is the theme everybody remembers. But why
(09:57):
was there a change or do you know?
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Well, you had Bernard Herman doing the music. And Bernard
Herman was the wonderful composer. They were lucky to get him.
He did all the Hitchcock films, the Sinbad films. When
they introduced the Twilight Zone theme by Marius Constant, the
French composer, they decided to rejigger the opening words, and
(10:22):
every so often they would hone it, and I just
think it was like freshening up the series.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
A little bit.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Okay, I'm just curious about that. I've had Nick holding
for eleven minutes. So Nick, it's your turn to speak
with Stephen J.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
Rubin. Welcome to Night's Side.
Speaker 8 (10:42):
Good evening, gentlemen, Happy holidays, Happy holidays.
Speaker 9 (10:45):
See you.
Speaker 8 (10:47):
Yeah, Stephen, I wanted to mention two of my favorite episodes,
but before that, I'd like to ask you a question.
In your opinion, which episode do you think is the
most popular episode. I've got one of three. I'm thinking
either I of the Beholder to Serve Man or Nightmare
at twenty thousand Feet. Would you consider one of those
(11:10):
three the most popular episodes?
Speaker 4 (11:14):
Yes, you pick three of the best episodes and three
of the most popular. I would throw in the Burgess
Meredith episode which is called time Enough at Last, which
I think is also good.
Speaker 8 (11:29):
And maybe the Monster's ad on Maple Street too. Possibly.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
Yeah, you know, there are so many excellent episodes. You'll
have to forgive me, everybody, because I'm getting over a colt,
so I'm coughing a little bit here.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
We'll deal with it. Don't worry about that.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
But I did you know? Go ahead, I'm sorry.
Speaker 10 (11:49):
Oh, I'll go ahead.
Speaker 8 (11:50):
No, go ahead, go ahead.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
No, I'm I'm telling you ton't have anything to say,
but keep talking. I'm sorry.
Speaker 8 (11:58):
So I wanted to mention two of my favorite episodes.
One from the first season in When the Sky was Opened.
Speaker 7 (12:07):
Oh with Rod Taylor.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Yeah, that's a yes, that is a very cool episode.
You know, it's interesting the episodes that run.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
What happened, Oh, we're here?
Speaker 4 (12:22):
Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you got off the because
I'm in the car. The episodes that run well, the
ones they run in heavy rotation in the marathons always
seem to be the same episodes. So like When the
Sky Opens sometimes isn't run And that's a really terrific episode.
(12:44):
You know, some of the episodes literally have disappeared because
there was some controversy. Uh the encounter which starred George
Oh yeah, Neville Brand. Yeah, that's the one where the gardener,
the Japanese American gardener confronts the ex marine in his attic,
and that that featured some dialogue that wasn't accurate. They
(13:10):
you know, they say in the episode that the Japanese
had spies at Pearl Harbor who were Japanese Americans and
that was not true. So they got a lot of
flak from the Japanese American community. So that episode literally
never ran again. It's popped up since. But I think
with an explanation.
Speaker 8 (13:31):
Yeah that that is a great episode. Yeah, I've seen that.
And the other episode I wanted to mention real quick
is Richard Matthews Richard Matthewson episode Uh Diana Highland spur.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
Of the moment. Oh yeah, yeah, that's the one where
she keeps seeing that figure.
Speaker 8 (13:53):
Yes, yeah, yeah, her doppel ganger.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
Yeah, that's a creepy episod. So there's something for everybody
in the Twilight Zone, that's for sure.
Speaker 8 (14:06):
Well absolutely, okay, Johonna mean, thank you, Nick, thank you
for your call.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Than Happy holidays to you. All right, let's go too.
I think this young lady spoke with you the last
time I had you on Allison. You've got Stephen J.
Speaker 5 (14:24):
Rubin, Oh hello, Hi. Yeah, I'm big sanatic about old TV,
the same way Morgan is and you are. Mister Reuben.
I just thought he the one elements in one of
the episodes I want to talk about, but we talked
about I've talked about some of the famous ones and everything,
but he did mention it when and When the Sky
was Opened. I was gonna kind of mention tonight that
one and a couple of the other ones that that
(14:45):
I didn't when I was young. They didn't affect me
as much as they do now. And when the Sky
was Open, person a person's unknown and a world of
Difference with Howard Duff, where people are just really strange
things are happening, and their their lives are just falling
up from under them kind of and in a world
of in a world of a world of difference, I
should say. And and in that case, he's an actor
(15:06):
playing character, and he feels miserable in his own life.
He just wants to become the character essentially. And in
personal Person's an un Richard Long wakes up and and
nobody recognizes him or anything in his normal life. And
of course, and I think the most and and all
those are just very disquieting episodes. And I think and
then and when this Guy was Open is the most disturbing,
because it's not just the fact that that they're they're disappearing,
(15:29):
it's like it's the characters that they disappear one by one,
and it's a great ensemble cast. Uh what is it
Charles Aidman, Jim Hutton and Rod Taylor and uh and
but it's the fact that they never existed somehow, whatever
whatever the force is doing that, what is being done
to them alien or whatever it is after they went
up into space, it's making them as if they never
existed at all. And that is just so oh wow.
(15:51):
That just gets them under your skin. It really does.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the I
love the Christic Monster episodes and everything and all. They
were just full on scary ones, believe me. But there's
something about that that really those those that kind of
episode really lingers.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
I think one was a Mathewson Also, I want to
just want to jump in real quickly. Also, the fact
that the story is told in a half hour such
a compact and effective story type, and I think that's
another thing that The Twilight Zone perfected. In four of
the five seasons, they had half hour episodes and they
(16:25):
were always very tightly written.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
Mm hmm. Yeah, there was no Patty, although I like
some of the hour long ones too. Definitely, you do Morgan, right,
you love the one I was killing you more right,
So of.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Late, I think of Cliff is my favorite Twilight Zone episode.
Speaker 5 (16:43):
Wow, And I like a miniature a lot with Robert Yvall.
I like that one a lot that was almost Yeah.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Don't get Alice, don't get me wrong. I also liked
the Hours. In fact, James wentmore episode on Thursday We
Leave for Home is one of my favorites. That the
Hours have been disparaged over the years as being kind
of you know, they they didn't they weren't as tight
(17:11):
as the original half hours, and that they were a
bit bloated. But I didn't find that at all. There's
just some great one hour episodes. And the reason there
was one hour episodes is they canceled the series at
the end of the third season and then they made
the mistake of putting a different show and that did
no ratings whatsoever. So James Aubrey, who couldn't stand Serling
(17:35):
or the format of anthology, he had to come with
his hat in his hands and ask Serling to do
a mid season replacement, and that's when they came up
with the one hour episode, the eighteen one Hours, which
of course are are really opponents.
Speaker 5 (17:50):
Yeah, there were a lot of our long shows like
Thriller and Bod Carlos Thriller and and obviously the oter
limits of not Dations. So you know, there was such
good writing in those days. And don't get me start
James Aubery. He was one of those awful, awful people
that never should have gotten to where he was anyway. Yeah,
Dan Curtis made two Dark Shadows movies, and after you know,
when Dark Shadows was being towards the end of Dark Shadows,
(18:11):
and he made him cut the second one night Dark
Shadows by half an hour within just within a patter
of days, and it'll totally wreck the movie. And and
and he's just was awful.
Speaker 6 (18:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
He also he also sold the MGM lot to a developer,
was the one, Oh no, but which could have you
know that that is just a bunch of condominiums now,
but that could have outrivaled the Universal Lot as an attraction.
But yeah, it's pretty bad.
Speaker 5 (18:38):
I don't speak ill of the dead, but why not anyway.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
I gotta take a break.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Allison, Okay, good bye.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Thank you for your call, Allison. And if you have
a stopwatch and you time her call, she'll get more words.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
In one minute than anybody I know.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
She is just always on full wind up when we
allow her to come in. Anyway, I've got a news
hit to take and when we come back, maybe we'll
add a little James Bond into our conversation. Victor in Boston,
you will be next. I promise others. You want the
phone number, I'll give it to you. Six one, seven, two, five,
(19:18):
four ten thirty or eight eight, eight, nine, two, nine,
ten thirty. This is night Side without Dan tonight. I'm
Morgan Time and temperature eight thirty twenty five degrees.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Night Side God is Dan Ray on WBZY, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 6 (19:49):
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 or that of imagination. You're next stop,
the Twilight Zone.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
I'm Morgan.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Dan is off tonight. He's off for the rest of
the year. He'll be back on the first of January
twenty twenty five. Stephen Jay Rubin is my guest. He
and I are talking about Twilight Zone and James Bond,
which you really haven't delved into as much. And I'm
remembering in my mind a lot of people used to
(20:29):
mimic Rod Serling and the opening of Twilight Zone. But
the best mimicker I ever saw was Dan Aykroyd. I
don't know how you feel about.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
That, Steven, I'm not surprised. Dan was a huge fan
of the show, and of course he gets to play
a part in the Twilight Zone movie, which gets the
show office enthusiasm for the show.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
That was the theme that they were playing trivia game.
That's right there you are. Let me bring Victor into
our conversation. Victor, thank you for being patient holding. Welcome
to Night's Side.
Speaker 9 (21:17):
Hey Morgan, first time caller.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Welcome Victor. Thank you.
Speaker 9 (21:23):
I'm a seventies and eighties kid. I'm actually a sixty
one year old kid. I'm an action adventure guy. But
if there's one show on my top ten list, the
top five.
Speaker 7 (21:37):
Is The Twilight Zone. Okay, I will watch.
Speaker 9 (21:41):
I will watch that regardless of anything else. I don't
care what's coming on or what's so called hot or whatever.
I have a tie for my two favorite episodes, it's
scary to me. One was called the Howling Man and the
other one was with a Francis. He was a living
(22:04):
mannequin in the department store.
Speaker 4 (22:06):
Right after hours, after hours.
Speaker 7 (22:11):
After hours.
Speaker 9 (22:12):
Yeah, both of those episodes. I always watching them with
the lights on, will around other people.
Speaker 7 (22:17):
I don't watch them by myself.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
The Howling The Howling Man is a great episode and
it is filled with filled with the atmosphere for the
listeners who don't know the episode. A man comes to
a monastery to seek a refuge in the stormy night,
manned by these very quiet monks. Uh, they haven't taken
(22:42):
a vow of silence, but they're they're very old school,
and they've managed to capture the devil and he's being
held in a cell in the underground part of this monastery.
And every night, this guy who's sleeping there, here's a howling,
and that's the setup. It is very very creepy.
Speaker 9 (23:02):
Well, like I said, I watched that show every opportunity
I can get. Regardless, I don't really think there's some
things they're not really gonna be able to replicate.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
That's one of them.
Speaker 9 (23:18):
I've seen the film in eighty three, the first segment
of that with dan Aykroyd and the other act in
the car.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
That was scary. Yeah, that was kind of scary.
Speaker 9 (23:32):
But I don't really think they're gonna be able to
recreate a show like that, a redoer or reboot it,
I don't think so.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
It has been attempted on a number of occasions, and
in my opinion, it always falls short.
Speaker 9 (23:49):
Yeah, it's always shows what the original is. You really
won't be able to do anything with it.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
You're gonna leave it alone.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
Margaret, what I was thinking of when we were earlier
talking about why the color episodes don't work. The other
thing that happens when you see these episodes now, a
lot of people don't know who these actors are because
they've been dead for many years. Adds another dimension of weirdness.
Who are these strange people and how are they caught
(24:24):
up in this weird show? So as the show gets older,
it can get even more effective.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
They don't know who Frank Elletter is, they don't know
who Albert Salami is. They don't know They might know
Burgess Meredith from the Rocky films, but.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
Actors like Jack Klugman, John Anderson, you know, Robert Redford
obviously is well known today, although not as well known
as they used to be. I mean, Charles Bronson, you know,
the they're always in those twilight zones and always so
good and.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
The most attractive woman in the world at one time.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
She was called that.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
And Francis, and they did have an array of beautiful women.
I mean, Donna Douglass from the Beverly Hillbillies was a
very attractive young lady.
Speaker 4 (25:24):
And oh yeah yeah, and and Francis was one.
Speaker 9 (25:31):
Somebody who I really had in mind, though, was Hazel Court.
Speaker 4 (25:37):
Okay, oh sure, sure, yeah, yeah, I kind.
Speaker 7 (25:43):
Of she was a crush of mine while still.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Is, but you know, uh.
Speaker 9 (25:50):
And Francis, Yeah, I liked her. I liked her personality,
among other things.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
So I've got a I've got a collection of TV Guy.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Of magnets from TV and a couple of them are
from TV Guide, So I have the TV Guide on
which Anne Francis was on the cover. So I get
to see her every day still and she's still up there.
Compare her to anybody, she is still a knockout.
Speaker 4 (26:22):
Yes, thank you, lie, gentlemen. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Thank you so much, Victor, thank you, thank you for
your call.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Let's go to the Cape and speak to Phil Line
open by the way, Victor was on at six one, seven, two, five, fourteen,
thirty eight, eight, eight nine two nineteen thirty Open nine,
Go for It.
Speaker 7 (26:41):
Hello Phil, Hello Morgan, how are you?
Speaker 3 (26:45):
I'm finding you, sir good.
Speaker 11 (26:48):
And one of my favorite episodes on the Twilight Zone
was The Last Flight. Does anyone remember that one?
Speaker 4 (26:56):
Sure? Sure? That's the episode where a World War One
biplane pilot lands at a modern Air Force base, and
that is that is one heck of an episode. I
really liked.
Speaker 11 (27:09):
That one too, And what really makes that episode fun
for me was the pilot who landed that biplane was
a British actor named Kenneth Hag and he also plays
an uncredited role in my favorite scene in the Beatles
(27:30):
movie A Hard Day's Night. He's the guy who sat
there with George Harrison trying to convince George about this
new model who's going to be the latest thing, and
George thinks she's awful. That was my favorite scene in
Hard Day's Night, and that was the same actor.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
A Hard Day's Night was just shown in rotation on HBO.
I watched it literally one week ago. One week ago
I watched The Hard Day's Night and Phil.
Speaker 11 (27:59):
On Morgan, I heard you mentioned you loved the Cliffordville episode.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
One of my favorites, if not my favorite Twilight Zone.
Speaker 11 (28:11):
How can it not be? Julie Numark?
Speaker 4 (28:13):
Good lord, Phil, Phil, Phil? Are you Phil? Are you
a fan of Odyssey A flight thirty three?
Speaker 12 (28:22):
Oh?
Speaker 10 (28:22):
Sure?
Speaker 11 (28:23):
As they go over the UH that was like on
this right?
Speaker 4 (28:29):
No, no, no, that h John Anderson's the pilot. It's
about the airliner that goes into UH back in time
and right ends up over the over some dinosaurs where
Manhattan should be exactly.
Speaker 11 (28:45):
Yes, right, yeah, oh no, that's a great one too.
That's where we don't know if Yeah, that's.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
That's where Roth Sterling contacted his brother who was an
aviation right and got all the cockpit dialogue examined to
make sure it was accurate.
Speaker 11 (29:06):
And Phil, I'm gonna say that episode.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Go ahead, Morgan, I'm going to say this because you
brought up the name Julie Newmar. I have been in
contact with her agent for over a year and a
half and the only reason I haven't gotten her yet
she doesn't want to do any publicity until.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
Her book is released.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
It's still to be released in twenty twenty five. And
if you hear her book's been released, know that I'm
going to be getting Julie Newmar.
Speaker 11 (29:38):
For the radio and know that I'll be on the stone.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
Phil. Thank you very much for to call. Take care
bye bye very much.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
All right, I have another break to take and we
had one open line. I don't know if we accidentally
cut someone off. Just now as we cut off Pill,
I'll just say down the phone number six one, seven, two, five,
four ten thirty eight, eight eight, nine to nine, ten thirty.
(30:12):
This is night Side. I'm Morgan's filling in. I've got
author Stephen J. Rubin with me and we're taking your
phone calls here on BZ time and temperature eight forty
five and twenty five degrees.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World
Life Sight Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 6 (30:40):
You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond
it is another dimension, a dimension of sound, a dimension
of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a
land of both shadow and substance of things and ideas.
You've just crossed over into the twilight zone.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
That's the third opening we have played tonight. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Rob Brooks in the control room, my guests Stephen J.
Rubin and Steven are you ready for another call?
Speaker 4 (31:15):
Absolutely? Morgan, let him, let me.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Let's go to Drake and Mass and speak to Ernie. Ernie.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
You're next here at night side, Ernie, Ernie, are you there?
Speaker 3 (31:33):
I hated when this happened. Where were you? I'm right here, yeah,
but where were you? The first three times I said
your name?
Speaker 10 (31:42):
I didn't go anywhere. Okay, I'm in a bad cell
zone in my house there.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
Okay, Well you get on now.
Speaker 10 (31:52):
Okay. I got a comment and a question for Steven.
Go ahead, Steven. I guess you could say my opinion,
the Twilight Zone and now for Hitchcock, but probably two
of the best anthology shows of all time, if not
one of two in the top five.
Speaker 4 (32:12):
You agree, I agree one hundred percent. You have two
masters of suspense.
Speaker 10 (32:19):
Yeah. And it was always a theme with Rod about
going back the home, going back home. You know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (32:29):
Yes, see, particularly in the two nostalgia episodes Walking Distance,
Yeah and a stop at Willoughby where he kind of
like you guys. They're both the lead characters in both
episodes are burnt out advertising executives who just can't take
it anymore. And yeah, I love those episodes. And Rod
(32:52):
always had a fondness for his hometown of Ingham to
be Ork.
Speaker 10 (32:57):
Absolutely, he would always go back when he had a chance.
Speaker 4 (33:02):
You know, I went back to Binghamton for a symposium
a few years ago. I think I told you the story, Morgan,
that I went to his house where he grew up,
and the lady came to the house. She couldn't have
been nicer, and she offered to take a picture of
my friend and I and so I handed her my
iPhone and she took a picture. And I looked at
(33:24):
the picture and it was in black and white?
Speaker 10 (33:28):
How appropriate? Right?
Speaker 3 (33:32):
All right, Ernie, you have a question.
Speaker 10 (33:35):
I got it, Yeah, Steven, I got a question. One
of my probably one of my favorite episodes was I
don't know the title of it. This salesman coming through
town on a haws and buggy selling you know, tonic
in a and he brings it. I guess the dog
was pretend he brings the dog back to life and
(33:59):
he's telling you this.
Speaker 4 (34:01):
I think that was the second or third episode ever
ever aired. And uh, yes, yes it was.
Speaker 10 (34:09):
Uh what was the name of that episode?
Speaker 3 (34:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (34:13):
I knew you were gonna ask me that, And that's
gonna be a tough one for me to get.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Right now.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
I'll probably remembered a half hour after the show ends.
Speaker 10 (34:22):
But it's all it. Did people come walking out of
the cemetery?
Speaker 3 (34:28):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (34:30):
Episode, No, that's a different episode. That's a that's a
that is a fifth season episode. This episode starred Dan Durier,
the wonderful character actor and early role for Martin Landau
who plays the black hat.
Speaker 8 (34:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (34:50):
I'm trying to remember the episode. I'll think of it.
But it's a great episode.
Speaker 10 (34:54):
But the episode i'm thinking of, I guess he comes
selling this tonic to the people to bring people back
a live, make them well with something.
Speaker 3 (35:02):
You know.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
I think that's one of the one hour episodes. And
it's uh, yeah, I think that's a one hour episode.
And uh and at the end.
Speaker 10 (35:12):
You see the people you know, supposedly did people like
walking out of the cemetery alive?
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Shootout with Lance lagrew? Does that ring a bell either
one of your Showdown with Lance McGrew.
Speaker 10 (35:25):
Oh, yeah, that's not the one I'm talking about.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
Okay, that's a good episode too.
Speaker 6 (35:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (35:32):
Yeah, he pulls up, He pulls up in his brand
new Thunderbird. All right, Hey, I am enjoying the show.
Merry Christmas and Happy New.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
Year, Happy New Year. To you too.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
One more on, one more call on before I have
to do news, and that would be Karen in Wisconsin.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Karen, happy holidays.
Speaker 12 (35:56):
Wait here, I'm sorry, I'm there. I'm very sorry, okay,
but sorry. Why Well, because all of a sudden I
was on and you know, I had a hand line
(36:19):
landline in my hand, and you were coming out of
the computer and I'm trying to turn everything off, okay,
and I thought you were hearing it all.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
But let's talk twilights.
Speaker 12 (36:30):
But yeah, I just want to say congratulations on getting
three hours.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Very much for that.
Speaker 12 (36:41):
Thanks, and now we can work on getting more phone
lines back for you in six hours.
Speaker 3 (36:49):
Well, one thing at a time, baby.
Speaker 12 (36:52):
Steps, Okay, I know.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
So what do you want to talk about? Twilight Show?
Speaker 12 (36:58):
The the one that I see. I didn't know these
all had all these episodes had names, but the one
that scares me to this day.
Speaker 8 (37:14):
I mean.
Speaker 12 (37:17):
The little girls that went under the bed and went
yeah and then went in the ball Yes? Oh no,
I yes, Rob Or you mean I used to my
you already uh talked about because I wasn't gonna get.
Speaker 4 (37:42):
That is an episode called Little Girl Lost. And when
they made the movie many years later Poultergeist. Uh they
stole that idea from Rod. I think that it was long.
It was long after you passed away though, but that
older guys. It's very much based on that same episode
(38:03):
Little Girl Loss.
Speaker 5 (38:07):
Wow.
Speaker 12 (38:07):
Well, this computer, it's like when I when I go
in the computer every time, like if like if Bradley say,
let's go to my travel page. I right, I'm so
scared that if I subscribe anything, I'm going to turn
into that little girl and go into the computer. Now
I know I'm not You're not sensation. So I don't
(38:33):
like computers because it reminds me of that all the time.
I just don't know who will pull me back out,
and then you.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
Know Bradley's going to be on Friday Night with me
on that side.
Speaker 12 (38:47):
Yes, I hope that I don't have a whole list.
Maybe somebody printed them out. I'm there, but uh no,
the all the people you're having on, are you going
to allow for I want somebody to call more than
(39:10):
once when you're on all I will.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
Give you special permission to call for Bradley Jay.
Speaker 12 (39:17):
On Friday, But Bradley doesn't want to hear from me.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
I doubt that's the case. But I'm giving you special
They're not allowed to call more than once a week.
But because I'm filling in, people are hoping there's a loophole.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
Karen. Well you, I'm giving the loophole.
Speaker 12 (39:40):
Okay, can you tell me about all the other people
in there so I can have loopholes for everything anyway. Anyway,
I will say that the bunnies out back are saying
hi to you, and they're dancing around. And I'm going
to end with this, both of you. Why do radio
and now Truth have little hands?
Speaker 3 (40:05):
I don't know. Tell us why.
Speaker 12 (40:07):
We pause the station identification?
Speaker 4 (40:11):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (40:11):
We pause? W ee paws. Thank you Karen, good night.
Speaker 4 (40:20):
And and what is the best way to find a
new dentist?
Speaker 3 (40:27):
I don't know, Stephen, what is the best way?
Speaker 4 (40:30):
Word of mouth?
Speaker 2 (40:33):
On that note, I'm going to take my news break
at the top of the hour. Stephen will be here
next hour as well. Maybe we can get some Bond
conversation going as well as twilight Zone.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
Don't stop the twilight Zone.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
I'm just going in addition to twilight Zone, James Bond
time and temperature eight fifty eight twenty five degrees
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