Rod Serling

Question: You wrote recently about An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, but wasn’t it an episode of The Twilight Zone, not a movie?

Answer:
La Rivière du Hibou/An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge was entered into both the short-film competition at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the award for best live-action short subject, and to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, whose members gave it an Oscar in 1963. It was picked up for a one-time airing as Episode 142 of The Twilight Zone on Feb. 28, 1964, shortened by about 10 minutes and given English-language credits. In his introduction, host Rod Serling explained the episode's provenance and its unique place in the anthology show’s history. The Twilight Zone version of Occurrence is available on DVD on the disc Treasures of the Twilight Zone (Image Entertainment), al read more

Question: One of my favorite shows from around the late '60s to early '70s took place on a deserted island, where a bunch of college-age students were marooned after their airplane crash-landed. Since they were stranded, they decided they were going to build a new civilization and not make any of the same mistakes the "establishment" made back home. I think it was called The New People or something along those lines. I'd love to know more about the series and who starred in it. Thanks a lot!

Answer: It was indeed called The New People and, though the legendary Rod Serling (The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery) was credited as the creator, it was an Aaron Spelling affair. It enjoyed a very brief run on ABC, from September 1969 to the following January.

In what was apparently supposed to be an e read more