The Twilight Zone (2002 TV series)

The Twilight Zone
Genre	Science fiction Fantasy Horror Mystery
Created by	Rod Serling (a second revival of the 1959 TV series)
Presented by	Forest Whitaker
Composer(s)	Mark Snow
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	22 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	John Watson Mark Stern Ira Steven Behr Pen Densham
Location(s)	Vancouver, British Columbia
Running time	44 minutes
Production company(s)	New Line Television Spirit Dance Entertainment Trilogy Entertainment Group Joshmax Productions Services
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network	UPN
Audio format	5.1 Surround Sound
Original release	September 18, 2002 – May 21, 2003
Chronology
Preceded by	The Twilight Zone (1985 series)

The Twilight Zone is a 2002 revival of Rod Serling's 1950s television series. It aired for one season on the UPN network, with actor Forest Whitaker assuming Serling's role as narrator and on-screen host.^[1]

Series history

Broadcast in an hour format with two half-hour stories, it was canceled after one season. Reruns continue to air in syndication, and have aired on MyNetworkTV since summer 2008. The opening theme music was provided by Jonathan Davis (of the rock group Korn).

The series tended to address contemporary issues head-on; i.e. terrorism, racism, gender roles, sexuality, and stalking. Noteworthy episodes featured Jason Alexander as Death wanting to retire from harvesting souls, Lou Diamond Phillips as a swimming pool cleaner being shot repeatedly in his dreams, Susanna Thompson as a woman whose stated wish results in an "upgrading" of her family, Usher as a police officer being bothered by telephone calls from beyond the grave, Brian Austin Green as a businessman where items from his past somehow reappear before him, Jeffrey Combs as hypochondriac whose diseases become reality, and Katherine Heigl playing a woman who went back in time to do a suicide mission to kill the infant Adolf Hitler.

The series also includes remakes and updates of stories presented in the original Twilight Zone television series, including the famous "The Eye of the Beholder" starring Molly Sims. One of the updates, "The Monsters Are on Maple Street", is a modernized version of the classic episode similarly called "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street". The original show was about the paranoia surrounding a neighborhood-wide blackout. In the course of the episode, somebody suggests an alien invasion being the cause of the blackouts, and that one of the neighbors may be an alien. The anti-alien hysteria is an allegory for the anti-communist paranoia of the time, and the 2003 remake, starring Andrew McCarthy and Titus Welliver, replaces aliens with terrorists. The show also contains "It's Still a Good Life", a sequel to the events of "It's a Good Life", an episode of the original series produced 41 years earlier. Bill Mumy returned to play the adult version of Anthony, the demonic child he had played in the original story, with Mumy's daughter, Liliana, appearing as Anthony's daughter, a more benevolent but even more powerful child. Cloris Leachman also returned as Anthony's mother. Mumy went on to serve as screenwriter for other episodes in the revival.

Other guest stars include, but not are limited to: Penn Badgley, Scott Bairstow, Jason Bateman, Gil Bellows, Elizabeth Berkley, Xander Berkeley, Linda Cardellini, Keith Hamilton Cobb, Rory Culkin, Shannon Elizabeth, Ethan Embry, Sean Patrick Flanery, Lukas Haas, Wood Harris, Hill Harper, Jonathan Jackson, Moira Kelly, Erik King, Wayne Knight, Wallace Langham, Method Man, Samantha Mathis, Christopher McDonald, Tangi Miller, Pat O'Brien, Adrian Pasdar, Emily Perkins, Jeremy Piven, Jaime Pressly, James Remar, Portia de Rossi, Eriq La Salle, Michael Shanks, Jeremy Sisto, Jessica Simpson, Ione Skye, Amber Tamblyn, Christopher Titus, Robin Tunney, Vincent Vincestra, Dylan Walsh, Frank Whaley, Alicia Witt, and Gordon Michael Woolvett. McDonald, Langham, Xander Berkeley, and Lukas Haas had all previous guest starred in the 1980s revival.

The series did not enjoy the same level of critical or ratings success as the original series or the 1980s revival, and only lasted one season.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code
1 2	"Evergreen" "One Night at Mercy"	Allan Kroeker Peter O'Fallon	Jill Blotevogel Christopher Mack	September 18, 2002	106 103
The family of a rebellious teenager (Amber Tamblyn) moves to a gated community which has a unique and grisly way of dealing with troubled youth. A doctor named Dr. Jay Ferguson (Tyler Christopher) saves a strange patient (Jason Alexander) from suicide, only to learn that he is Death incarnate looking to take a break from his life's work.
3 4	"Shades of Guilt" "Dream Lover"	Perry Lang Peter O'Fallon	Ira Steven Behr Frederick Rappaport	September 25, 2002	107 105
After leaving a dark-skinned professor (Hill Harper) who was fleeing from racist thugs, Matt McGreevy (Vincent Ventresca) soon learns to regret his action as he slowly begins to resemble the man. A comic book graphic artist named Andrew Lomax (Adrian Pasdar) somehow makes his dream girl (Shannon Elizabeth) real to help him with his writer's block. However, who is real and who is fictional becomes unclear.
5 6	"Cradle of Darkness" "Night Route"	Jean de Segonzac	Kamran Pasha Jill Blotevogel	October 2, 2002	104 102
A woman (Katherine Heigl) working for a time travel organization is sent back in time to kill Adolf Hitler in infancy and prevent his reign of terror. After nearly being hit by a car, a female English professor named Melina Kroner (Ione Skye) is haunted by a strange bus appearing in her street.
7 8	"Time Lapse" "Dead Man's Eyes"	John T. Kretchmer Jerry Levine	James Crocker Frederick Rappaport	October 9, 2002	109 108
An orderly named Zack Walker (Ethan Embry), suffering from blackouts, learns that the gaps in time that he can't remember were the result of a cop—briefly switching bodies with him—trying to prevent the assassination of the President's daughter. After the husband of Lauren Janus (Portia de Rossi) is murdered, she is inconsolable. At the trial, she absentmindedly places his glasses on her face—and suddenly, she is able to see through his eyes. The glasses recorded the man's last moments, so his wife decides to try and solve the case—but she must face a very dangerous and familiar murderer.
9 10	"The Pool Guy" "Azoth the Avenger Is a Friend of Mine"	Paul Shapiro Brad Turner	Hans Beimler Brent V. Friedman	October 16, 2002	111 112
A pool cleaner named Richie Almares (Lou Diamond Phillips) is having a recurring nightmare of a deceased man (Mackenzie Gray) who keeps telling him to wake up before shooting him. A young boy named Craig Henson (Rory Culkin), beset by an abusive father and neighborhood bullies, wills his favorite superhero Azoth the Avenger (Patrick Warburton) to life who teaches him about vengeance and courage.
11	"The Lineman"	Jonathan Frakes	Pen Densham	October 23, 2002	101
In this one-hour episode, a lineman named Tyler Andrew Ward (Jeremy Piven) is struck by lightning and gains the ability to hear other people's thoughts. Using his newfound powers for his own personal and financial gain, he soon realizes that everything comes with a price.
12 13	"Harsh Mistress" "Upgrade"	Brad Turner Joe Chappelle	Bradley Thompson & David Weddle Robert Hewitt Wolfe	October 30, 2002	110 113
A struggling musician named Cory Williams (Lukas Haas) purchases an infamous guitar, which leads to him gaining vast international stardom and wealth, but both come with a surprising price tag. A housewife named Annie (Susanna Thompson), humiliated by her loutish husband and unruly children, wishes for a better life, only to find that reality wants to replace her as well.
14 15	"To Protect and Serve" "Chosen"	Joe Chappelle Winrich Kolbe	Kamran Pasha Ira Steven Behr	November 6, 2002	115 114
An idealistic police officer named Eric Boggs (Usher), determined to keep a prostitute (Samantha Becker) safe from her pimp, will stop at nothing in this world to protect her. A hopeless and destitute man named Vincent Hansen (Jake Busey) angrily rebuffs two persistent strangers who may well have the answer to all of his problems at the time when some people start to disappear.
16 17	"Sensuous Cindy" "Hunted"	John T. Kretchmer Patrick Norris	James Crocker Christopher Mack	November 13, 2002	116 117
Having sworn off all other women upon getting engaged, a senior photo editor named Benjamin Baker (Greg Germann) is put to the test by a virtual-reality beauty named Cindy (Jaime Pressly). In the near future, it's society is attacked by a vicious and mysterious murderer as a soldier named Lt. Jeffrey Freed (Scott Bairstow) of the Civil Security Guards leads the hunt for the murderer.
18 19	"Mr. Motivation" "Sanctuary"	Deran Sarafian Patrick Norris	Teleplay by: Brent V. Friedman Story by: Steven Aspis James Crocker	November 20, 2002	118 119
A sentient toy doll (voiced by Pat O'Brien) encourages a timid man named Charles Stickney (Wallace Langham) to stand up to his boss Rick (Christopher McDonald) and take control of his life. Stranded in a modern day Garden of Eden, a sports agent named Scott Turner (Rob Estes) and a real estate agent named Marisa Sanborn (Elizabeth Berkley) soon find their idyllic world crumbling thanks to an injured motorcyclist (Nicki Aycox) and her working cell phone.
20 21	"Future Trade" "Found and Lost"	Bob Balaban Vern Gillum	Clyde Hayes Teleplay by: Frederick Rappaport Story by: Bill Mumy	November 27, 2002	121 120
A man named Martin Donner (Frank Whaley) with a dead-end job at a big-box store and a dysfunctional family is lured into trading his future for that of a seemingly privileged man with a trophy wife (Sofia Milos). When items from his past suddenly resurface, a businessman named Sean Moore (Brian Austin Green) gets a chance to revisit the past and make another bid for Elizabeth Wicker (Moira Kelly) who was the woman that he loved.
22 23	"Gabe's Story" "Last Lap"	Allan Kroeker Brad Turner	Dusty Kay Rob Hedden	December 11, 2002	123 122
A deliveryman named Gabe O'Brien (Christopher Titus) suffering from consistent bad luck is given a surprising chance to change his destiny. A terminally ill young man named Andy Perez (Clifton Collins, Jr.) and his best friend Marco Flores (Greg Serano) take a final ride in their souped-up racer that results in unexpected consequences for both.
24 25	"The Path" "Fair Warning"	Jerry Levine John T. Kretchmer	James Crocker David Weddle & Bradley Thompson	January 8, 2003	125 124
A dissatisfied tabloid journalist named Ally Warner (Linda Cardellini) entrusts her fate in the hands of a fortune teller named Kamayo (Method Man) who gives her scoops in advance. A flower shop clerk named Tina Bishop (Taryn Manning) is viciously stalked by one of the multiple personalities of a troubled pet store employee named George Straitton (Devon Gummersall).
26 27	"Another Life" "Rewind"	Risa Bramon Garcia Kevin Bray	Amir Mann & Brent V. Friedman James Crocker	February 5, 2003	126 127
Famous rapper Marvin Gardens (Wood Harris) overcame a tough childhood in the projects to become a millionaire with a wife, son, and mansion. However, painful, confusing visions plague him to the point that the thin line between real and fantasy is crossed. A compulsive gambler named Jonah Beach (Eddie Kaye Thomas) mysteriously learns how to travel back in time upon gaining a rewinder, believes he has found a sure bet to win big at the casinos. He soon discovers, however, that everything is a gamble.
28 29	"Tagged" "Into the Light"	James Head Lou Diamond Phillips	Story by: Charles Largent Teleplay by: Michael Angeli Moira Kirland Dekker	February 12, 2003	129 128
A gang member and tagger named Marcus Fisher (Todd Williams) confesses to murder when a mural painted by the victim transforms itself into a version of the crime scene. A teacher (Samantha Mathis) gains the power to predict death upon seeing the lights on people's faces.
30 31	"It's Still a Good Life" "The Monsters Are on Maple Street"	Allan Kroeker Debbie Allen	Ira Steven Behr Based on Characters Created by: Jerome Bixby Teleplay by: Erin Maher & Kay Reindl Story by: Rod Serling	February 19, 2003	131 130
In this sequel to "It's a Good Life", Anthony Fremont (Bill Mumy), the young boy who once terrorized his town with his amazing mental powers, is now a grown man and the proud father of a little girl (Liliana Mumy) whose mental powers are stronger than his. In this update of "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," a neighborhood begins suspecting their new neighbors of terrorism after the power and water get cut off.
32 33	"Memphis" "How Much Do You Love Your Kid?"	Eriq La Salle Allison Liddi-Brown	Eriq La Salle Michael Angeli	February 26, 2003	133 132
A law clerk named Ray Ellison (Eriq La Salle) with only six months to live due to a brain tumor finds himself in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 on the day Martin Luther King, Jr. is going to be assassinated. A woman named Donna Saicheck (Bonnie Somerville) who is contemplating divorce from her husband Ted (Steve Bacic) learns that her son has been kidnapped. Donna then sees this as part of a twisted reality game show hosted by a man known as Nick Dark (Wayne Knight).
34 35	"The Placebo Effect" "Cold Fusion"	Jerry Levine Eli Richbourg	Teleplay by: Brent V. Friedman Story by: Rebecca Swanson Ashley Edward Miller & Zack Stentz	April 2, 2003	134 135
A disease described by hypochondriac Harry Raditch (Jeffrey Combs) has comes to life when those around him, including his physician Dr. Leslie Coburn (Sydney Tamiia Poitier), become infected. A brilliant physicist named Paul Thorson (Sean Patrick Flanery) is ordered by the military to a remote Arctic lab where the final start-up preparations for an infinite power source are taking place. He becomes involved in a deadly psychological struggle with the device's creator (Ian McShane).
36 37	"The Pharaoh's Curse" "The Collection"	Bob Balaban John T. Kretchmer	Stephen Beck Erin Maher & Kay Reindl	April 23, 2003	139 138
An aspiring magician named Mario Devlin (Shawn Hatosy) seeks to learn the secret behind a legendary trick by legendary magician Harry Kellogg (Xander Berkeley). A night of babysitting turns to cold terror when a young woman named Miranda Evans (Jessica Simpson) realizes that the eerily lifelike doll collection of her client Danielle Rander (Ashley Edner) may explain the mysterious disappearances of the previous babysitters.
38 39	"Eye of the Beholder" "Developing"	David R. Ellis Allison Liddi-Brown	Rod Serling Moira Kirland Dekker	April 30, 2003	140 141
In this remake of the 1960 Twilight Zone episode, a beautiful woman named Janet Tyler (Molly Sims) in a futuristic society where everyone is hideous undergoes her 11th attempt at surgically being like everyone else. A young photographer named Edie Durant (Robin Tunney) discovers photos of her dead fiancé that could never had been taken and remains convinced that it is her deceased lover calling her to be with him in death.
40 41	"The Executions of Grady Finch" "Homecoming"	John Peter Kousakis Risa Bramon Garcia	Teleplay by: Ira Steven Behr and Brent V. Friedman Story by: Frederick Rappaport Teleplay by: Michael Angeli Story by: Bradley Thompson & David Weddle	May 7, 2003	143 142
A death row inmate named Grady Finch (Jeremy Sisto) claims to his lawyer Liz (Alicia Witt) that he is innocent as an unknown force ends up interfering in his executions. An army officer named Rob Malone (Gil Bellows) comes home to try and make amends with his wayward son Trace (Penn Badgley) before the boy learns his terrible secret.
42 43	"Sunrise" "Burned"	Tim Matheson John T. Kretchmer	Teleplay by: Frederick Rappaport Story by: Katrina Cabrera Ortega Seth Weisburst & Daniel Wolowicz	May 21, 2003	137 136
Five college students named Marty (Jonathan Jackson), Amber (Sarah Carter), Noah (Michael Peña), Eve (Lauren Lee Smith), and Wesley (Tyler Labine) explore an Aztec site. They carelessly knock over a jug filled with blood and in an instant, the sun goes out. The Earth will die unless something is done. According to some carvings, the only way to reverse the curse is to sacrifice someone. An agoraphobic real-estate mogul named Scott Crane (Jason Bateman) is haunted by the ghosts of twin children killed in an arson he paid a man to commit.

DVD release

The complete series was released on DVD by New Line in a six disc box set on September 7, 2004. The episodes are presented in their production order, not their broadcast order.^[2]

See also

• The Twilight Zone (franchise)
• The Twilight Zone (1959)
• The Twilight Zone (1985)

References

1. "Shows A-Z – twilight zone, the on upn". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
2. Lacey, Gord (September 7, 2004). "The Twilight Zone – Complete Series Review". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved March 14, 2011.

External links

• The Twilight Zone at the Internet Movie Database
• The Twilight Zone at TV.com