The Twilight Zone Scripts of Earl Hamner

by Earl Hamner Jr., Tony Albarella

The Twilight Zone has evolved from a groundbreaking speculative television series into a cultural phenomenon. The recently revived series on FOX averaged 4.6 million viewers on its first episode. Indeed, the title itself conjures up thoughts of fantastic stories that bridge several forms of fiction to create a unique genre of morality tales with a touch of irony, unlimited by the boundaries of conventional fiction. Broadcast from 1959 to 1964, the show has run ever since in syndication, making it one of the longest running television shows of all time, creating a new genre of shows similar to the X-Files and Twin Peaks. Five writers created the core of the show, and together these men fashioned the bulk of the 156 original episodes: Rod Serling, Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, George Clayton Johnson, and Earl Hamner. All went on to other projects in film, television, theater, and print, but their involvement in the Twilight Zone is well known to fans of the series. The Twilight Zone Scripts of Earl Hamner contains reprints of the eight episodes written by Hamner, along with Albarella's commentary on each story: The Hunt, " "A Piano in the House, " "Jess-Belle, " "Ring-a-Ding Girl, " "You Drive, " "Black Leather Jackets, " "Stopover in a Quiet Town, " and "The Bewitchin' Pool." Also included is a "lost" Twilight Zone short story by Mr. Hamner and an interview with Albarella that covers the background details of how Hamner became involved in the series."

Genres: Fiction, Tv

292 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Earl Henry Hamner Jr. (born July 10, 1923 in Schuyler, Virginia), was an American television writer and producer (sometimes credited as Earl Hamner), best known for his work in the 1970s and 1980s on the long-running CBS series The Waltons and Falcon Crest. As a novelist, he was best known for Spencer’s Mountain, which was inspired by his own childhood and formed the basis for both the film of the same name and the television series The Waltons, for which he provided voiceover narration.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read with a lot of behind the scene stuff. A great interview with Earl Hamner and some wonderful on-site from the co author on each episode. Highly recommended. Especially for fans of the Twilight Zone.

[Bret Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this for myself for my birthday. I put off reading it for a while, and I have no idea why. 300 pages consumed in a lazy afternoon. It was a joy to read through it.

Over the summer, I fell in love with Hamner's works and re-watched all his Twilight Zone episodes. While there was much to love, there were also some huge stinkers in there. Yet, getting to read the script and Hamner's reflections on The Swimmin' Hole almost redeemed it for me. At the very least, I saw what he was trying to do.

In other episodes, I found his self-criticism to be a little harsh. They weren't that bad.

I appreciated the look inside some of the classics.

[Louis Yank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hamner’s scripts are good, but it’s the insight between them that makes this essential to any TZ fan’s collection.

[Isis Molina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this! The Twilight Zone is an amazing show that I continue to watch. Reading these episodes in their original script was super fun. I hope to be a TV writer someday, so this is a nice venture for me.

[Patrick Nichol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to believe the creator of The Waltons wrote these wonderful scripts. I loved it.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really good and some really average.

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for Twilight Zone fans. It was good reading the scripts to the classic episodes written by Earl Hamner. If you want to learn how to write a good script, this is the book for you!