After many years, I just caught the episode "WIll the Real Martian Please Stand Up." The old timer at the counter is commenting on the likelihood of someone in the diner being an alien. He finds it peculiar that everyone is starting to place the blame on one another. He blurts out to the highway patrolman who is questioning everyone and adding to the nervousness of the moment, "...it's a real science fiction, it is! Hey, you're a regular Ray Bradbury. Think about it, 6 humans and a monster!"
Pretty clever comment! Knowing that the episode is nearly 40 yrs. old makes it even more indicative of Mr. Bradbury's omnipresent influences.

[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 01-30-2002).]

I went to the same college Rod Serling did. He's remembered there as a short, fiery-tempered, hard drinking paratrooper. He's also said to have drank more and played more cards than anything. I can guess where he got some of his inspiration from. There's a nature preserve bordering the college and it's been rumored for umpteen years to have something rather menacing lurking there at night. It has a reputation for chasing people out as soon as the sun goes down. Oh, I forgot, I'm sure you're wondering, the school is Antioch College in Yellow Springs, OH. If you're ever in that vicinity, stop by and talk to the school historian/archivist. He's got a thick file on Serling, and it's pretty cool to peruse.

For all interested in the Twilight Zone:

Twilight Zone World: Everything that is TZ (tzworld.com) just debuted today! GO and check it out! We are having an open house chat tonight! BE SURE TO SIGN THE REGISTRY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HOME PAGE!
http://www.tzworld.com

Eric Burke
TZW Staff

Does anyone remember the New TZ from the '80's? Ray had a story on there called "The Elevator", I think. Anyone recall that? If you do...was that based on a short story or just an original script?

I have been using Twilight Zone scripts to spark reading in my students who really don't want to even try. The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street is the one that I begin with. I was teaching in a small farming community outside of Phoenix, AZ so I would follow up the play w/the show. I was one of a small group of "gingas" at the school (not hispanic)so it was always fun to let the kids see what "middle class" was like in the 50's and 60's.
I am from Ray Bradbury's hometown - Waukegan - so I would share w/my munckins how different things were "in the old days!"

I was lucky enough to have a volunteer work w/me who had grown up w/Rod Serling. They went to seders and other religious celebrations. The interesting thing she told me was that the Serling family believed that children were not allowed to talk during dinner. She said the parents were very strict and the boys were very well behaved.
When we found out our volunteer knew Mr. Serling, the class had a million questions to ask her. She had been my volunteer for several years before she realized that I used his works.
I also enjoyed all the Twilight Zones from the 1980's.

Tim, I went through every available list of Bradbury's works forwards and backwards to compile the short story list for "Story Classifications." There isn't a short story of "The Elevator."

Thanks, Dandelion. It must have been an original script then.

Every New Year's Eve/Day, SyFy channel runs a Twilight Zone marathon. Ray's episode, "I Sing the Body Electric," was on this afternoon.

Obviously, things have changed in TZ fandom since this thread was created in 2001! The message board place to be is now at http://twilightzonewor.fr.yuku.com/