Link Tank: The Five Themes of The Twilight Zone Delves Into Classic Episodes

The Five Themes of The Twilight Zone, a new collection of essays by pop culture historian Arlen Schumer, celebrates a milestone anniversary of the classic sci-fi anthology series.

“October 2, 2024 is the 65th Anniversary of the debut of the greatest television show of all time: the science fiction, horror, and fantasy anthology series The Twilight Zone, created by one of the greatest American television writers (and broadcast voices) of the 20th Century, Rod Serling.

“October 2, 2024 is also the publication date of a brand-new book about The Twilight Zone that examines the legendary series in a brand-new way, The Five Themes of The Twilight Zone, a collection of incisive essays on the most classic episodes of the show, episodes crafted by Serling and many other great writers, directors, and actors of different sensibilities, but ultimately united under one—Serling’s—vision. With a Foreword by Serling’s daughter, author Anne Serling, The Five Themes of The Twilight Zone is organized into five themes that best represent the depth and breadth of The Twilight Zone.

“The equally expansive essays, written (and the book designed) by Twilight Zone scholar and pop culture historian Arlen Schumer (writer/designer, Visions from The Twilight Zone and The Silver Age of Comic Book Art), are as entertaining as they are enlightening, while the book’s handsome design beautifully mirrors the black and white television aesthetic of The Twilight Zone itself.”

Get your copy here

Hosts Hakeem and Tamara break down 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, particularly its central MacGuffin, in the latest episode of Does It Fly?

Having a show in the “to be watched” queue doesn’t count for viewership numbers, and streaming content is paying the price for our delayed viewing habits.

“It’s not just the rising subscription costs, the variable quality of output and the unexpected disappearing acts that are killing the dream. It’s the pressure, the rush, the whack-a-mole game of trying to watch something before it’s unceremoniously yanked, amid a deluge of never-ending ‘content’. With so many high-profile shows culled after a single season (KAOS, The Acolyte, Lockwood & Co., The Midnight Club, to name but a few) it feels clearer than ever: you need to be an instant mega-smash to avoid the axe.”

Read more at Empire

Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence has been stymied by contracts in his efforts to revive his beloved hospital comedy, but the idea is still in the works.

“’I think it’s getting really close to being figured out, and I think in a good way,’ Lawrence said. ‘Big chunks of the creative team behind the camera, and most of it from in front of the camera, are all super invested and excited, so very close.’ Lawrence envisions Scrubs 2.0 as a hybrid between a revival, revisiting original characters a decade and a half after the original series ended its run, and a reboot, revamping the concept with new characters.”

Read more at Deadline

The Beast isn’t for everyone, but it is undeniably a genre-bending sci-fi film that’s simultaneously perverse and visionary.

“If there is one 2024 release that decisively earns the title of the most audacious film of the year, it would unequivocally be The Beast. The film by French visionary Bertrand Bonello…is something you have to see to believe, as its elevator pitch is guaranteed to make one’s head spin. To best encapsulate The Beast: it is a perverse costume drama, psychological horror film, and dystopian time-traveling odyssey all rolled into one.”

Read more at Collider