The Contest: Imagine a new Twilight Zone episode, and write Rod Serling’s opening and closing narrations. Give it a title. Send us your entry!
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Foundation member and actor Stephen Dexter eagerly volunteered to perform the winning entries as Rod Serling. Stephen is proud to be a rabid Rod Serling/Twilight Zone fan and at work on his own Rod Serling project. You can see his passion in his performances. Thank you, sir!
WSKG-TV in Binghamton, New York, kindly donated their facilities to the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation, to stage and film the winning narrations. We are in awe of your studios, your people, and your hospitality!
The 2017 winners:
1st place: Split the Difference by Joseph Dougherty
2nd place: Mr. Calagan and the Road Home by Gus Holwerda
3rd place: The Small Stuff by Dale Elster
Read All the Entries
One of the hardest things to do on this project was write a rejection letter to the writers who didn’t win. I’ve received those myself. And so many of the entries were so good! They had originality, cleverness, and an obvious reverence for Rod Serling’s writing. Our judges marvelled at how difficult it was to pare down their favorites to a mere three, and delighted in reading all the entries. So many of them were episodes that we wanted to see.
So here is the second half of our Christmas present to you: dozens of new stories for you to imagine and watch on that little black-and-white screen in your head.
Hey Jordan Peele: Check out these story ideas that you could buy for your Twilight Zone reboot on the new CBS All Access video service!
The 4th Wall
Absolution
Alien for a Day
Buyer’s Remorse
Call Back Yesterday
A Certain Thanksgiving
Chapter 4 is Next
A Clean Escape
The Cosmic Brain Trust
The Cryogenic Salesman
The Deal
The Dictionary Writer
Digital Paradox
Do Unto Others
Downward Spiral
Final Entry
Fire and Inner Peace
Five Characters In Search Of An Exit
Frozen in Time
Game Room
The Gravestone Cutter’s Apprentice
The House in Lilac Woods
The Incredible Colossal Head
Key to the Past
Man of God
The Man of Nature
The Market Is Under New Ownership
The Masks
Mr. Calagan and the Road Home
The New Creation
On Loop
Out of the Frying Pan
Overtime
The Painter’s Mistake
The Perils of Mankind
The Pit
The Prison Cell
Reclamation Directive 5
Roger Thumperade
Sleepless Nights
Sleepy Time Sydney
A Small Price To Pay
The Small Stuff
Spare Change
Split the Difference
Stacked Deck
They’re Here
Tiger of the Mind
Tired of Winning
Tito’s Tortured Mind
The Toy Brigade
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
A Wish for One More Day