When truth is not the truth, what dimension are you even in?
February 4, 2019 9:34 AM   Subscribe

"CBS is off the air" [YT trailer] -- a fake-out teaser for Twilight Zone reboot interrupted the Super Bowl [Ars Technica], with the new series' presenter, Jordan Peele, debuting in his role.

This will be the 3rd reboot of the original series (Wikipedia) that first aired in 1959 [original intros] and made Rod Serling a household name. If we skip Twilight Zone: The Movie [Wikipedia; trailer] that came out in 1983, the first reboot was in 1985 (intro; Wikipedia) with Charles Aidman as the new host. He was replaced by Robin Ward for the 1988-89 3rd season [WPIX (New) Twilight Zone promo, 1988]. The show was re-rebooted in 2002 [Wikipedia] for a 44 episode, single season run with Forest Whitaker hosting [2002 intro].

Which brings us to the Wikipedia entry for the newest reboot, which is pretty sparse ... for now. So here's a bit more ...

Peele is also an executive producer for the new show, a long-time fan who was hesitant to take on Rod Serling’s old role (per an interview with Rolling Stone), fearing it was “self-aggrandizing.” Peele describes Sterling as "an uncompromising visionary who not only shed light on social issues of his time, but prophesied issues of ours," [IGN], and the episode "Mirror Image," inspired his forthcoming film, Us [IMDb].

Everything We Know About Jordan Peele's The Twilight Zone Reboot (Amanda Bell for TV Guide, Jan. 30, 2019)

The Twilight Zone reboot: New Super Bowl promo spot, release date, cast and more (Tamara Palmer for CNet, Feb. 3, 2019), including how to watch the ten episode show (via CBS All Access [Wiki] )
posted by filthy light thief (42 comments total) 16 users marked this as a favorite
 
I didn't see the trailer live, so I don't know how much of a surprise it was to watch it on TV. From TV Guide's collection of Twitter responses, the fake-out worked.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:35 AM on February 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


First link leads to "Video unavailable."
posted by dobbs at 9:37 AM on February 4, 2019 [2 favorites]


I saw it live and it had me fooled for a few seconds, partially because we get our TV over-the-air and I was primed for reception difficulties: I'd set the TiVo to record the game but it failed to do so because it tried to use a rather remote broadcast station for some reason (I should fix that). Figured this out around the end of the 1st quarter and wound up watching it on a different channel.

Anyway I hope the Twilight Zone reboot lives up to expectations.
posted by exogenous at 9:47 AM on February 4, 2019 [2 favorites]


Oh, so they're just going to steal The Outer Limits' bit?
posted by ckape at 10:12 AM on February 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


ugh, streaming only. another $10 a month? Unlikely.
posted by GuyZero at 10:14 AM on February 4, 2019 [4 favorites]


First link leads to "Video unavailable."

iSpot.tv has its own copy of the ad, and because it looks to be a site/company that officially tracks TV ads, I don't think the link will die (and I don't think they'd region-lock an ad, but stranger things have happened.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:17 AM on February 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


You are about to enter, the scary door (embedded link doesn't work, but worth the click)
posted by askmehow at 10:21 AM on February 4, 2019 [12 favorites]


I was quite entertained by the ad. Count me in. I also was quite entertained by Drogon roasting that silly Bud Light "Dilly Dilly" King to a fucking crisp.
posted by Ber at 10:29 AM on February 4, 2019


ugh, streaming only. another $10 a month? Unlikely.

I wonder at the longevity of these new alternative platforms or add-on packages. Hulu dropped their monthly streaming service to $6 per month, down from $8 (but raised their live TV subscription rate) just after Netflix increased their most popular plan from $11 to $13 per month [TechCrunch x2].

Now there's CBS All Access, and soon Disney+ [Wikipedia]. Paying more to access HBO via Hulu makes sense, because HBO has always been a premium channel. CBS? That's free over the air as a "standard" TV channel.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:29 AM on February 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


Isn't Black Mirror the Twilight Zone for our generation?

(Also, having just installed a door for the first time, I have new appreciation for the Twilight Zone's free-standing door that actually opens and closes.)
posted by kaibutsu at 10:52 AM on February 4, 2019 [11 favorites]


That 80s version wasn't half bad.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:07 AM on February 4, 2019 [7 favorites]


Very nice teaser. I like the way it worked in some of the original's show's signature items. Also the doubles across the stadium.
posted by doctornemo at 11:10 AM on February 4, 2019


Is William Shatner dead?
posted by pracowity at 11:13 AM on February 4, 2019


Netflix is raising prices again? I think that's it for me. I'll resubscribe when The Crown comes back. I barely watch Netflix anymore otherwise.
posted by Automocar at 11:18 AM on February 4, 2019


CBS? That's free over the air as a "standard" TV channel.

Although it seems like CBS's strategy is to put all of their actual quality shows (Star Trek, Twilight Zone, the upcoming adaptation of The Stand) behind the streaming paywall, while their over-the-air channel continues to be an unwatchable morass of inhumane reality shows, snoozy procedurals, and dumb laughtrack sitcoms. I don't know how sustainable that is as a programming strategy, but I'll admit that every new original series they add pushes me closer to finally getting a subscription to their service. Twilight Zone won't be the thing that does it, but I know at some point I'll probably cave if they keep green-lighting stuff like it.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:22 AM on February 4, 2019 [4 favorites]


Isn't Black Mirror the Twilight Zone for our generation?

Black Mirror is mediocre dystopian fiction for people who don't read books. So, yeah perhaps you are right.
posted by sideshow at 11:23 AM on February 4, 2019 [6 favorites]


Black Mirror is mediocre dystopian fiction for people who don't read books. So, yeah perhaps you are right.

[checks calendar to make sure it's not 1978 (or maybe 1985 or even 2011) ....

...waitaminute....looks like books too. All media rots your brain, back to the first-person, oral tradition.]
posted by LooseFilter at 11:31 AM on February 4, 2019 [5 favorites]


I have no expectations, either good or bad, for this show, but I dug the teaser. Nice way to echo the original while still making it new.
posted by octobersurprise at 11:41 AM on February 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


I hope they shoot all the host segments exactly like Keegan-Michael Key’s bits on The Planet’s Funniest Animals.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:51 AM on February 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


Black Mirror is mediocre dystopian fiction for people who don't read books. So, yeah perhaps you are right.

In a parallel universe where everyone has bowling alleys instead of eyesockets, my eyes wouldn’t be rolling as much as they are now.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:56 AM on February 4, 2019 [46 favorites]


You are about to enter, the scary door

Ha! That was my first thought, too!

I really dug the music at the end of the teaser, with the sped-up 4-note motif.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:58 AM on February 4, 2019 [2 favorites]


Can anyone recommend some good dystopian fiction books?
posted by slogger at 11:59 AM on February 4, 2019


I keep meaning to read all my dystopian fiction but can never find the time. It's not fair.
posted by RobotHero at 12:16 PM on February 4, 2019 [15 favorites]


Black Mirror is mediocre dystopian fiction for people who don't read books.

What if, in a world where people read books, the books were reading them at the same time?
posted by octobersurprise at 12:26 PM on February 4, 2019 [3 favorites]


IT'S A COOKBOOK
posted by Sing Or Swim at 1:28 PM on February 4, 2019 [14 favorites]


slogger: Can anyone recommend some good dystopian fiction books?

From AskMe: posted by filthy light thief at 1:36 PM on February 4, 2019 [10 favorites]


What if pay-walled streaming services, but too much?
posted by straight at 1:42 PM on February 4, 2019 [2 favorites]


is there anything cbs won't ruin?
posted by Bwentman at 2:17 PM on February 4, 2019


I keep meaning to read all my dystopian fiction but can never find the time. It's not fair.

I understand how you feel. I usually read my dystopian fiction on the train, but lately I've been falling asleep and then accidentally getting off at Willoughby.
posted by betweenthebars at 2:32 PM on February 4, 2019 [4 favorites]


Black Mirror is mediocre dystopian fiction for people who don't read books. So, yeah perhaps you are right

Dystopian books are too long though. Unless you're talking about dystopian short stories, which I can get behind. For me, dystopias should be sketched out rapidly, dish out a few hair raising surprises, make me think about something or ponder on the subtexts a bit and then BAM, suprise twist ending. Done. You dont need 32 chapters of worldbuilding and a load of subplots. And so black mirror and the twilight zone are actually doing it right.
posted by memebake at 2:48 PM on February 4, 2019 [5 favorites]


Not one for shitty reboots. Can't think of a better man for the job. If we have to make America's answer to Black Mirror and then stupidly name it after the existing property that Black Mirror was aping instead of making something, like uh y'know, new and unbranded: having Peele host and or produce it is the only 93.3333 way to make it a good idea.

I'm anxious just thinking about this meta-textually. Spine-tingling! Might still not be a good idea!
posted by es_de_bah at 3:12 PM on February 4, 2019 [3 favorites]


Someday I'll be able to watch Jordan Peele speak without expecting a punchline. But today is not that day.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 3:25 PM on February 4, 2019 [4 favorites]


I'm not much for reboots at all, but I want this to be great, because I think the idea behind TZ is pretty timeless.

That being said, I was waiting for him to say "Fartrell Cluggins" after the slow push into Peele.
posted by Sphinx at 3:26 PM on February 4, 2019 [6 favorites]


That being said, I was waiting for him to say "Fartrell Cluggins" after the slow push into Peele.

A place not of sight or sound, but of mind.

You're entering... Ewokoniad Sigourneth JuniorStein
posted by GuyZero at 3:35 PM on February 4, 2019 [4 favorites]


I have some very fond memories of the 1980s Twilight Zone. Also, I love watching the first series from the 50s and 60s on Netflix. Here's hoping the new one will be even better!
posted by Triplanetary at 3:44 PM on February 4, 2019 [2 favorites]


I don't know how much of a surprise it was to watch it on TV.

Out in the woods on our island in Maine, the cable TV connection already had gone out four or five times by that point, so the fact that CBS had broken down too came as no surprise at all.
posted by LeLiLo at 4:46 PM on February 4, 2019


Is William Shatner dead?

This has been a matter of polite debate since the early eighties.
posted by CynicalKnight at 4:56 PM on February 4, 2019 [5 favorites]


What if, in a world where people read books, the books were reading them at the same time?

That's the signpost up ahead—your next stop, Soviet Russia!
posted by The Tensor at 5:27 PM on February 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


Black Mirror is mediocre dystopian fiction for people who don't read books. So, yeah perhaps you are right


Jonathan, is that you? Is that Jonathan Franzen?
posted by Ignorantsavage at 8:51 PM on February 4, 2019 [2 favorites]


The best of the 80s series (or that I saw anyway) was the one with the woman who could stop time by saying 'shut up'...but it made the world a little bit worse every time she did. So cold war. Very nuke.
posted by sexyrobot at 11:04 PM on February 4, 2019


That's "A Little Peace and Quiet" from the very first episode. I don't remember it as her stopping time actively makes things worse, it's just that she finds herself in quite a predicament at the end.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:11 AM on February 5, 2019


The official trailer released yesterday.
posted by fuse theorem at 5:45 AM on February 22, 2019


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