Can Anyone Tell Me Wich Twilight Zone Episodes Were Written By RB?

I believe the only one of Ray's scripts which was actually filmed for the TWILIGHT ZONE was his adaptation of his short story, "I Sing the Body Electric." However, his script was altered without his consent, and he was very unhappy about it.

See:
http://www.raybradbury.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000045.html

for more conversation, debate, and controversy over Ray's involvement with TZ

The jury is still out on some of that discussion.

quote:

Originally posted by Richard:
I believe the only one of Ray's scripts which was actually filmed for the TWILIGHT ZONE was his adaptation of his short story, "I Sing the Body Electric." ...

Resurrecting this ANCIENT thread to point out a brief discussion of two film versions of "I Sing..." here.

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:

quote:

Originally posted by Richard:
I believe the only one of Ray's scripts which was actually filmed for the TWILIGHT ZONE was his adaptation of his short story, "I Sing the Body Electric." ...

Resurrecting this ANCIENT thread to point out a brief discussion of two film versions of "I Sing..." here.

Bullet Trick will have the scripts Mr. B wrote for the TZ. His version of the aired one and the ones never produced.

The Fall, 2009 issue of DARK DISCOVERIES has an article on the dispute between Rod Serling and Ray and other writers who felt that Serling was using their stories as the basis for TWILIGHT ZONE episodes, without receiving proper credit or compensation. It also discusses how their mutual friend, writer Charles Beaumont, unsuccessfully tried to resolve the dispute. For a link to that magazine's website and this issue, click on the link below:

http://darkdiscoveries.1freeca...ovecraft-special.htm

quote:

Originally posted by Richard:
The Fall, 2009 issue of DARK DISCOVERIES has an article on the dispute between Rod Serling and Ray and other writers who felt that Serling was using their stories as the basis for TWILIGHT ZONE episodes, without receiving proper credit or compensation. It also discusses how their mutual friend, writer Charles Beaumont, unsuccessfully tried to resolve the dispute. For a link to that magazine's website and this issue, click on the link below:

http://darkdiscoveries.1freeca...ovecraft-special.htm

Good eye, I have my copy of magazine but have yet to open it.

Naturally I've heard the public and private versions of Ray's side of this very unfortunate situation, but recently I interviewed Richard Matheson and George Clayton Johnson and received their sideline accounts of this clash of the titans.

Richard's was the shortest and vaguest (but certainly the funniest, at least in the way he phrased it), while George's was the fullest, even though he points outs that much of it is speculative on his part (though is conclusions are certainly intelligent, well-reasoned and quite possibly right on the money).

Rod's own side has been well-documented over the years, particularly in my friend Martin Gram Jr.'s recent Rondo Award-winning book, THE TWILIGHT ZONE: UNLOCKING THE DOOR TO A TELEVISION CLASSIC.

Naturally I'll synthesize as much of this as I can in my own book.

Terry Pace
pillaroffire@bellsouth.net

"God, here and there, makes madness a calling." -- Ray Bradbury

quote:

Originally posted by William Lantry:
...while George's was the fullest...

Surely you jest!

Wow, thanks for all this! Anyone know how the unforgettably named Bonk Johnson's work is going?

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
...the unforgettably named Bonk Johnson...

Not so unforgettable, it appears: it's JohnsTon with a T!

I will email Bonk forthwith, and seek an update.

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:
Not so unforgettable, it appears: it's JohnsTon with a T!

I will email Bonk forthwith, and seek an update.

Surely she meant the "Bonk" part!

I will take this opportunity to exclaim forthwith to be a good word.

Thanks for the plugs for Dark Discoveries Richard and John! Our latest issue (#15) has part 2 of an article by Roger Anker on Serling, Bradbury and Beaumont (which talks about Chuck being caught between his two friends and whether or not Serling plagerized from SF writers - incl. Ray). Part 1 was in our TZ special this last summer. This will be part of a forthcoming biography on Charles Beaumont Anker is doing.

Ray also talked about his relationship with Rod in the interview my co-editor Jason Brock did with him not long ago (this one is in DD #13 - Spring, 2009). Bradbury normally doesn't talk much about Serling but was very forthright with Jason on this. He says quite a bit about it and makes it clear Rod let him down and broke his promise not to touch his stories.

My own feeling is that Ray was very well established by that time and having come off of writing Moby Dick for Huston, and didn't need the exposure - like Matheson, beaumont and Johnson did - so when it didn't go like he wanted with the episodes he said screw off. Ray said they changed his script and cut out the motivation for the grandmother in "I Sing The Body Electric" (which they did). Then Serling and Houghten suposedly claimed it would have been too expensive to shoot "Here There Be Tygers" (that's probably true with their small budget) and that the script for "Miracle of Rare Device" wasn't very good. (Just what I heard from a few other sources, but some of it rings true.)

Interesting though that Ray says Serling came to him after he got the series not sure exactly what to do. Rod was most definitely not a fantasy and sf guy at that point. According to Ray he told Rod to hire a few guys like Beaumont and Matheson, and hed write a few for Rod too and then he'd have a series. And Bill Nolan said Ray was more attached to the TZ to start out in the public eye until the rift. So even though Ray's involvement was minimal as far as scripts, he may well have been instrumental in helping get it off the ground. Certainly Rich Matheson and Beaumont were integral to the Twilight Zone having written 20 -25 episodes each (and some of the better ones for it too).

- James
www.darkdiscoveries.com

quote:

Originally posted by darkdiscoveries:
Thanks for the plugs for Dark Discoveries Richard and John!
- James
www.darkdiscoveries.com

Jason may have to bring more copies with him, in February.