In the Zone: The Twilight World of Rod Serling

Rating:
Summary: For Zone addicts only and maybe not then
Review: Don't even bother to read this book unless you have seen all or most of the TV shows and/or have memorized Marc Scott Zicree's Twilight Zone Companion. The author presumes extensive knowledge on the part of the reader. I've been a fan of Rod for almost 40 years, and I found this book difficult. The author does make some interesting points and new insights, but they get drowned in his stream-of consciousness style that is constantly jump-cutting from show to show and point to point without continuity. The book struck me as disorganized, even though he has chapters with names. Another irritant is his criticism of production errors, when his own writing and editing is inexcusably sloppy. He constantly gets details wrong, especially characters' names. This is important because he seems to find meanings in each person's name that I'm not sure Serling even thought of. He expounds on the meaning of the name Christopher, when the character is actually named Christian. In an episode involving two brothers, he mixes up the names repeatedly in discussing the plot. A character named "Jeff" he often refers to as "Jess"; unfortunately there is another episode with a main character named Jess, in which the same actor starred. He nitpicks about background noises from microphones and bandaids on actors' fingers until it makes you crazy. I also disagree with some of his premises. I think Serling did want the show to be about the paranormal rather than everything being projected in the characters' own minds. I believe in the paranormal; I get off the train right where Willoughby is supposed to be. Part of the wonder of the show is that the paranormal exists side by side with a very normal setting--the point is the episode could happen to you, with a little imagination. The author seems to lack this quality.

Rating:
Summary: Troublesome
Review: I was disappointed in Mr. Wolfe's effort. His knowledge of Serling appeared to be limited. I will reserve the right to keep away from Wolfe's work in the future.