There we are in Binghamton last weekend! (That’s me on the far right, next to RSMF President Nick Parisi; Anne Serling has a hand on her dad’s statue.)

September 22, 1969: "The New People," an ABC show about plane-crash survivors on an island, debuts. Rod Serling wrote the first episode for producer Aaron Spelling as "John Phillips." It lasted only one season. Sample this painfully dated episode here: youtube.com/watch?v=4it0...

September 22, 1971: One of Night Gallery's best episodes features E.G. Marshall as a strange undertaker ("A Death in the Family"), and Vincent Price as a teacher at a bizarre school ("Class of '99"). Both scripted by Serling. On DVD and Blu-ray: tinyurl.com/3vxmafsu

September 22, 1959: 10 days before The Twilight Zone debuts, Mike Wallace interviews Rod Serling about writing for TV: youtu.be/ZpKkHCVbSyw?... Don't miss the part where Wallace asks Serling if being busy with TZ means he's given up writing anything "important" for television! 😲

September 22, 1961: Twilight Zone's "The Arrival" airs. An air-traffic investigator tries to figure out how a large passenger plane could have landed perfectly with no one aboard — including pilots. Written by Rod Serling. Stars Harold J. Stone, Fredd Wayne, and Noah Keen.

Serling describing The Twilight Zone: "The things you see, you know may not happen. But at the time you see them, you’ll believe that they DO happen."

60 years ago—September 18, 1965—Serling's first post-Twilight Zone series, "The Loner," debuts. Lloyd Bridges plays the title character, an ex-Union officer on the run in the Old West. I'll be presenting at a screening of "The Loner" at SerlingFest tomorrow. Hope to see you!

🎶 It’s the Final Countdown! 🎶 There’s still time to get your tickets for SerlingFest 2025: In His Own Words! It’s happening THIS WEEKEND (September 19-21) at the Forum Theatre in Binghamton, NY! Details and tickets available at rodserling.com/serlingfest-... See you there!!

RIP, Robert Redford. Love your films, but Twilight Zone fans will always toast your sweet turn as Mr. Death. May you be welcomed just as warmly. "I don't prefer to look back at my earliest efforts, but I have to admit I'm proud of that one." — Redford on "Nothing in the Dark"

September 15, 1961: Twilight Zone's third season opens with "Two." Two soldiers from opposing armies (Charles Bronson and Elizabeth Montgomery) must learn to get along in a post-nuclear-war world.

In six days, SerlingFest begins! But in the meantime, we have another online raffle drawing, and this one is for a *highly* coveted item: a check signed by the man himself. Click the link below to make sure you've got a chance to win. The drawing is tomorrow!

"A case of mistaken identity, or a nightmare turned inside out? A simple loss of memory, or the end of the world? David Gurney may never find the answer, but you can be sure he's looking for it ... in the Twilight Zone." #S3E27 "Person or Persons Unknown" stars Richard Long.

SerlingFest is only two weeks away! Got your tickets yet? rodserling.com/serlingfest-... Lots of great guest stars will be there, from X-Files producer Frank Spotnitz to Rod's daughter Anne. I'll be there too, celebrating the 60th anniversary of Serling's "The Loner." Hope to see you!

Okay, this week's Serling raffle drawing is today! Buy a ticket at the link below and you'll be eligible for this poster, signed by Rod's daughters, Jodi and Anne. And if you don't win it, no problem — you'll be eligible for next week's prize: a check signed by Rod himself!

"Each man's fear is his alone. It's your private domain. It relates only to you and you to it." — from Rod Serling's introduction to "Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves," a 1963 paperback anthology he edited

"I'm a mechanical man built by your late uncle, Simon Polk. Your opening the door has activated all of my operating relays. Be patient with me, because according to plan ... it will be several days before I can function at maximum capacity." #S5E8 Twilight Zone’s “Uncle Simon"

Remember that autographed pic of Earl Holliman I shared last week? The drawing for it will be held today! Imagine owning it, and for just the price of a raffle ticket. Click the link below to get one now—and cross your fingers! 🤞

"He shouldn't have thought those bad thoughts! That's why I made him go on fire." #S3E8 Twilight Zone's "It's a Good Life" by Rod Serling stars Billy Mumy.

Imagine owning this autographed picture of Earl Holliman … or a check signed by Rod Serling. These and other prizes can be yours—for the price of a raffle ticket! Click the link below for your chance. Weekly drawings start today!

"It obviously is a dream. It's very unlikely that the woman you saw could have come out of the morgue." #S2E17 Twilight Zone's "Twenty-Two" stars Barbara Nichols and Jonathan Harris.

"We've got to leave here tonight." "Why tonight?" "Because this world as we know it won't exist much longer. It's about to blow itself up, and that may happen by morning." "Well, in the morning, where will we be?" "We'll be out in space." Twilight Zone's "Third From The Sun" #S1E14

"Have a good sleep?" "Yes, but an idiotic dream. Ever hear of a town called Willoughby?" #S1E30 Twilight Zone's "A Stop at Willoughby" stars James Daly and Jason Wingreen.

Btw, you *can* buy passes for just Friday or just Saturday. We’d love to have you for the whole event, but it’s not an all-or-nothing deal. :)

This year's SerlingFest is almost here! Got your tickets yet? We have some fantastic guests in store, from X-Files producer Frank Spotnitz to Rod's daughter Anne. You'll learn things about Serling you've never heard before. Get your discounted pass now: rodserling.com/serlingfest-...

Binghamton, New York…host city of SerlingFest! September 19-21! You should come! rodserling.com/serlingfest-...

"They walk these buildings and the square outside. You did not bury them deep enough." #S3E9 Twilight Zone's "Deaths-Head Revisited"

"My grandma used to tell me about evil spirits roaming the world, trying to find a body to take over." #S3E23 Twilight Zone's “The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank” stars James Best.

"I keep telling myself I'm irrational. A doll can't be evil." #NGS1E5 Night Gallery's "The Doll" stars John Williams and Shani Wallis. It was adapted by Rod Serling: thenightgallery.wordpress.com/2021/10/22/s... It's on DVD and Blu-ray: amzn.to/3QXyL7A

"Are you one of us?" "One of you, Mr. Vollmer? You might say I AM you." #S4E4 Twilight Zone's "He's Alive" stars Dennis Hopper.

Happy #BookLoversDay, Twilight Zone fans! #NationalBookLoversDay

"Here we have another soul in torment: Jack the Ripper. Who was he? Why did he feel driven to kill?" #S4E13 Twilight Zone’s “The New Exhibit” stars Martin Balsam.

"I had seen him before, in all parts of the world, in all forms and guises. Wherever there was sin, wherever there was strife, wherever there was corruption, persecution—there he was also." #S2E5 Twilight Zone's "The Howling Man" stars Robin Hughes.

So, will you be getting one of these beauties, edited by yours truly? Hope so! If not, go to rodserling.com and get that fixed ASAP. :)

"You'll be in a glass-enclosed living room and bedroom. Your every movement will be recorded." #S2E25 Twilight Zone's "The Silence" by Rod Serling stars Franchot Tone, Liam Sullivan, and Jonathan Harris.

"How do you intend to kill me?" "Let's have a drink first, then I'll tell you." #S5E29 "The Jeopardy Room" by Rod Serling stars Martin Landau and John van Dreelen.

#NationalDayOfTheCowboy (Serling style) -- pics from Twilight Zone's "Mr. Denton on Doomsday," "The Grave," "Showdown with Rance McGrew," and Serling's first post-TZ series, "The Loner"

"We know that a dream can be real, but who ever thought that reality could be a dream?" #S2E26 Twilight Zone's "Shadow Play" by Charles Beaumont stars Dennis Weaver.

"You believed in magic. What happened, Ben? What changed you? Was it time that did it? Or was it something else?" #S321 Twilight Zone's "Kick the Can" by George Clayton Johnson stars Ernest Truex.

“If I’m still terribly ugly, is there any other alternative? Could I please be put away?” #S2E6 Twilight Zone's "Eye of the Beholder" by Rod Serling

"I've seen him in crowds. I've watched for him. Every time someone I knew died, he was there." #S3E16 Twilight Zone’s "Nothing in the Dark" stars Gladys Cooper and Robert Redford.

"I explained to you a long time ago why I did what I did. Why I retired from the world, and why I built these people." #S2E8 Twilight Zone's "The Lateness of the Hour" stars Inger Stevens and John Hoyt.

You'd like water, Number 23575? Is that what you'd like? You'd like water? But why should you care? It's only been five days since you've been fed. Five little days! #S3E9 Twilight Zone's "Deaths-Head Revisited" by Rod Serling stars Oscar Beregi and Joseph Schildkraut.

"What was that thing I ran into out there?" "Oh, you mean in the car. Sorry about that, but we had to stop you. It was an energy field. A wall of loosely-packed atoms. Purely an emergency device." #S4E3 Twilight Zone's "Valley of the Shadow" stars Ed Nelson and David Opatoshu.

"I'll tell you why I came, Mr. Wordsworth. To prove to you that the State has no fears, none at all." #S2E29 Twilight Zone's "The Obsolete Man" by Rod Serling stars Burgess Meredith and Fritz Weaver.

"As we learned to reshape the features, remold the body, we also learned to eliminate most of the causes of illness—and thus to prolong life." #S5E17 Richard Long in Twilight Zone's "Number 12 Looks Just Like You"

"Whenever I'd get a call for a Twilight Zone, my agent would say, 'Well, I'll get a script and send it to you,' and I'd say, 'I don't need it. If it's the Twilight Zone, I want to do it!'" — Lamont Johnson, director of eight TZs, including "The Shelter" and "Nothing in the Dark"

Glad to see Netflix adding more pre-1980 films. So many classics are missing! Check them out — and maybe they’ll add more.

July 1, 1960: Twilight Zone's “A World of His Own" airs. A writer claims he can make his characters come alive by describing them on his tape recorder. His wife says he's crazy. Is he? This Richard Matheson-penned episode marked Rod Serling's first on-screen appearance on TZ.

50 years ago—on June 28, 1975—Rod Serling dies. "I just want them to remember me 100 years from now. I don’t care that they’re not able to quote a single line that I’ve written. But just that they can say, 'Oh, he was a writer.' That’s sufficiently an honored position for me.”

"There was a scientist on the radio this morning. He said that it'll get a lot hotter, more each day, now that we're moving so close to the sun." #S3E10 Twilight Zone's "The Midnight Sun" by Rod Serling stars Lois Nettleton and Betty Garde.