Bad news for all the devoted Twilight Zone fans who look forward to the terrific marathons on SciFi (excuse me, SyFy) every Fourth of July and New Year's...

They're apparently not doing the marathon this 4th of July. They have a Greatest American Hero marathon listed on the schedule instead.

Fans have discussed it at the forum, and they've started Facebook groups in protest - some have also contacted the network to complain.

SyFy Forum - Thread about the missing marathon

Facebook Group - Make Sci-fi Have the Twilight Zone Fourth of July Marathon This Year!

Facebook Group - Keep Twilight Zone playing on July 4th!

You mean the old tv show "The Greatest American Hero?" I didn't think that was on long enough to have a marathon? There may be other cable channels that might have a marathon no? I'll keep an eye out.




TIS

Sorry to hear that, Gi. What a disappointment!

You have GOT to be kidding me!!

While I admit to watching the show when I was a kid, I would hardly call it any type of "classic", even after 30 years! I did plan to rent a disc or two on Netflix to relive it a bit, but, to supersede TZ is appalling!

I dont know why Sci-Fi Channel or SyFy or whatever stupid bullshit title that corporation uses now......I don't know why they made this decision.

Was it because of the patriotic 4th of July theme that "Hero" got selected? I mean last I remembered, it was a TV show about a moron in charge of a supersuit, shenanigans ensue...not exactly flag-waving jingoistic fun.

Then again, this was the same network which cancelled MST3K and greenlighted FLASH GORDON. Same dicks who were too cheap to renew the American syndication rights to DOCTOR WHO, because WWE wrestling is much more important.

Same assholes who give Asylum money to pop out those crappy Z-movies (B-movies without the charm) every week on saturday. I mean yeah Roger Corman made truckloads of stupid junk back in the day, but for every 10 exploitation clunkers, he would give a shit and put the effort into something cool and worth watching as director/producer like FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER or LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS or DEATH RACE 2000 and so forth. Asylum just didn't give a damn.

Yeah I know old black & white reruns of a 50s/60s anthology cult TV show doesn't exactly fit into the network's precious "demographics outreach" for metrosexial horny kids too busy worrying about TWILIGHT. But you know what SyFy? Fuck you.

I'm 25, I grew up with ZONE. I caught it at that precious time in youth when I also found STAR TREK and (original) DOCTOR WHO and read all those classic sci-fi short stories/novels from the likes of Bradbury and Asimov and so on. ZONE really caught my attention with those stories, souped up morality plays, and with that loose gimmick you could basically tell any sort of story at any time/place/setting/whatever. Not like TREK where you have to shoe-horn the Enterprise and crew and make sure they survive unscratched for the next episode.

Now in retrospect, it was Rod Serling the liberal preaching about particular themes and issues really resonate in the 1960s. Though most (if not all?) still sadly apply today. Also most of those stories were damn good.

Like remember that one with Robert Redford as Death?

I just can't believe they'd change a tradition like TZ. I don't keep up with stats on viewership and such, but it seems like they'd get a large audience that tunes in twice a year for their marathons - especially because, as far as I know, I don't think any other station shows TZ. Have they shown "Greatest American Hero" at all yet, to get the idea that it's worth a marathon? And even if it is, why on 4th of July? Why take away something that they've done for so long, that has become a popular event for fans? Besides being upset about it as a lover of TZ, it also just doesn't make sense.

C'mon now... you're 25 and "grew up" with this stuff?? I'm quit a bit older, and all those things I consider BEFORE my time, altho I often watched them in RERUNS and enjoyed them. Most of these shows are older than I am, but you "grew up with them"? Maybe. but that's like me saying I grew up with The Honeymooners (great show, I watched in COLLEGE, but can't say I "grew up" with!) lol

Hey Geoff, eat a dick will ya?

If something was around, regardless if it was contemporary or a relic from a previous generation, then one grew up with it around the household.

How many generations went through Loony Toons or Three Stooges or Batman?

Really, I didn't mind The Greatest American Hero but I agree it's not anywhere near comparable to the TZ. IF they were going to change the show why not stick with that era and choose Outer Limits or One Step Beyond (I think that's the title). Or what about Serling's Night Gallery?


TIS

Well put, Junior.

Sorry, Geoffy, but the kid's right. It's like us saying that we grew up with "Abbott and Costello" because they were on WPIX on Sunday mornings when we were kids. Sure, the movies were 20 or 30 years old at the time, but they were new to us. So I did "grow up" with them because they were always on Sunday mornings when my family came home from Church.

Gina,


I am watching a "mini" TZ marathon now on Syfy. One, that IF I saw, I can't remember it.

It's titled: "Once Upon A Time" and stars Buster Keaton as a guy who time travels from 1890 to 1962. Maybe it's one of the few they don't air that often. Anyway, it's interesting.


At first I thought Buster Keaton an old time Tarzan but after watching this episode I'm reminded he was a Chaplin type silent star but I think Tarzan was Buster Crabb no?


TIS

TIS, I do remember that one - wasn't there a lot of slapstick comedy in the episode? I seem to remember finding the show quite funny!

Yes, I thought Keaton was a star of silent film, and I found some interesting things on his Wikipedia page about how he performed vaudeville with his parents...
He was called "The Great Stone Face," I suppose in part because he could keep a straight face as his father threw him around the stage!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buster_keaton

The things you learn from TZ, right?