The Twilight Zone Encyclopedia

February 1, 2018

Between 1959 and 1964, TV writer Rod Serling and company made history by turning the lowly sf/fantasy genre into a timeless art form called The Twilight Zone. Rubin (The Complete James Bond Movie Encyclopedia), a pop culture historian with a long PR career in the film and television industry, has assembled an A-Z compendium of Twilight Zone history and minutia: plot summaries (plot twists withheld), behind-the-scenes details and stories, biographical information for principal cast and production staff (including, when available, fees paid to actors and writers), and content from interviews he and others conducted with the show's actors, writers, and producers. He also briefly explores some of the thematic elements of the series, such as time travel, fear, and gadgets and gizmos. Surprisingly, for a trivia tome, there is no entry for the program's most recognizable catchphrase, "submitted for your approval"--which Serling actually used in only three (out of 156) episode introductions. Though the work is full of facts, biographies, and trivia, the alphabetical organization doesn't provide a sense of how the series evolved over its five-season run. Marc Zicree's indispensable The Twilight Zone Companion offers a chronological approach with insightful critical commentary. VERDICT There's little new here for die-hard Zone fans, but libraries lacking material on this legendary (and still-in-syndication) program may find this volume a handy reference.--Cynthia Lee Knight, Hunterdon Cty. Historical Soc., Flemington, NJ

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2018
Rubin presents an encyclopedia chock-full of facts about the seminal black-and-white Twilight Zone, which aired on CBS from 1959 to '64. Each episode gets its own entry and includes the text of creator Rod Serling's opening narration; the setup of the episode (but not the whole plot, which is frustrating unless you are trying to avoid spoilers); behind-the-scenes tidbits, such as an interview with a cast member; and a list of the cast and crew. There is an entry for each actor who played a major role (such as Burgess Meredith and William Shatner, who each starred in several episodes), including their salary; writers, directors, and producers are similarly covered. Other entries on concepts such as aliens, children, powers, and time travel round out the single volume. Everything is presented alphabetically, including a chronological list of episodes (under EpisodesChronological Order ) and an interview with Serling ( Serling's Last Interview ). This, plus a lack of an index, can make some information hard to find, but fans of the original series will lose a few hours flipping through this thorough, lovingly created book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)