You don't hear about this one much. The original is a classic of its era and sets a high standard. Apparently, the 80s version was good enough to last 3 seasons. Then we have a 2002 version hosted by Forest Whitaker. This only lasted 1 season, 22 episodes, 2 segments (20ish minutes each) per episode. They canceled it.
Honestly, this was such a pleasant surprise, though. Most anthology shows have plenty of dud episodes, but I really enjoyed most all of these episodes. And so many guest stars, too!
Scroll down that page to view a list of guest stars:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twilight_Zone_(2002_TV_series)
A few noteworthy episodes:
Katherine Heigl goes back in time to kill Hitler as a baby! She poses as a nanny, working for Hitler's father (James Remar), and he hates the dirty Jews!
A woman is stalked by a bus! Well, some bus nobody ever knows about keeps stopping where she's at, waiting for her to get on. She keeps telling it to fuck off, but it keeps coming back. Will she get on?
Jeremy Piven gets struck by lightning! From that point on, he can hear people's thoughts. A full episode in length, but interesting enough to justify it.
Frank Whaley, the guy who says "what" one too many times in front of Sam Jackson, lives a mundane and tedious suburban life. He gets an offer to trade his life for someone else's. He's got a lot of questions, but then he wonders who he can trade lives with. Maybe a rich person with a perfect life and a hot wife? It's some food for thought on how much is too much and what has real value.
A sequel to "It's a Good Life", the original episode of the boy who could think anything to happen. He has a daughter now. This ep has Stephen King vibes.
Eriq La Salle has 6 months to live! Then he gets hit by a car! When he wakes, he's in the year 1968. Stephen King definitely ripped off this episode for 11.22.63 (written in 2011).
A hypochondriac with an over-active imagination manifests a fictional disease... and that neurotic character is played by Jeffrey Combs! That should be enough to sell it.
Shawn Hatosy is a magician trying to learn the best trick ever from a retired magician (Xander Berkeley). I got really sucked into this one. How is the trick really done, though?
Jessica Simpson is stalked by dolls! A more horror-oriented episode about a babysitter and a sad little girl who has a collection of dolls that she has an anxiety and trust issues with. A tad creepy at times, even.
Jeremy Sisto is on death row! He pleads to the end that he's innocent, but what do you know? The execution machine is botched and they have to try again later. Stay tuned to find out what happens next! Great fuckin' episode. I'll call it my favorite of the lot.
Some archeologists dig up an Aztec chest with a gauntlet of blood in it. They accidentally spill the blood, and just like that... the sun is gone. Huh. It doesn't take long for the earth to start freezing, so they hide in their cave and consider if it was their doing, and if so... how do they fix it? A great disturbing ending.
So yeah, I had a lot of fun with this series. If it went on for more seasons, it probably would have turned shitty, so 1 season was good. Recommended to anthology fanatics.
#Review