It'snostretchoftheimaginationtosaythatRodSerling's1959sci-fidrama'TheTwilightZone'isaclassicseriesthatranksuptherewiththebestshowsofalltime.Infact,it'ssoobvious,it'salmostastatementoffactcowardlydisguisedasanopinion.It'slikepeoplewhosaytheyareagainstwarordon'tlikedeath.Really?Wow,that'sbold.So,Serling'screationisaclassic.Icansitandbaskinallitsblack-and-whiteglory,lowbudgeteffectsandpost-nuclearto-the-cameramoralizingduringNewYear'sDaymarathonsontheSci-FiChannelforhoursonend.Thisisnot'thereal'TwilightZone'butUPN'sdebunkedexperimenttoremaketheseriesandupdateitforanewgeneration(hostedbyawildlymiscastForestWhitaker).However,Iapproachthisshownotasacockeyedpuristoroneofthemanypseudo-intellectualswhoinsiststhatentertainmentwasbetterbackintheday.'TheTwilightZone',andit'sunforgettableformula,isexactlythetypeofseriesthatcanberesurrectedandre-inventedforfuturegenerationsinresponsetotheneedsandfearsofthecurrentpoliticalandsocialclimateofthatgeneration.Asithasalreadybeentriedoncebeforein1985withlukewarmresults.Thisshowdoesn'tevencomeclosetorisingtothechallengeorexploringtheentirelyfreeuniversethatthepremiseprovidesitswriters.Thisisasell-out,bargainbasement'TwilightZone'-lite.Asidefromgreatwriting,creepypremisesandpatentedendingtwists,thebiggestassetSerlingbroughtto'Twilight'wasincalculablepassion.Itwashisbaby.Allofwhichthisshowlacksinspades.It'sunclearifthewritersarelazilycoastingontheshow'snamesakeorworkingunderSerling'sshadowconstantlyinfearofdoinganythingboldandscrewingup.Theironicthingisthat,liketheoriginal,thisremakecouldhaveprobablygottenbywithphonyspecialeffectsandcampyactingifithadsomethingtosay.Butthestoriesaretedious.Puresci-fimovie-of-the-weektrash.Whentheycouldn'tmakeoriginalepisodeswork,theyresortedtogueststarsandglamorousbabestotitillatetheaudiencewithcheapsoft-corestories(suchasfictitioussex-potwomencreatedviawritingorhologramswhosoonstartactinghuman).Whenthatdidn'twork,theshowresortedtosimplyre-creatingclassic'Zone'episodes.Somethingthisseriesdoeshavetoit'snameisaneye-catchingrosteroftalentedgueststars.SeeAmberTamblynbeforeherbreakoutseriesandDylanWalshbeforehi.SeeveteranactorslikeJasonAlexander,LouDiamondPhillips,ChristopherMcDonald,ClorisLeachman.MoreappealingisthechancetoseecharacteractorsthathavecaughtmyeyeovertheyearsandIsocan'tgetenoughofI'devenwatchthisshowtoseewhattheycanbringtoit.ThatlistincludessuchcriminallyignoredversatilityasLindaCardellini('FreaksandGeeks'),ChristopherTitus('Titus'),JeremyPiven('Cupid'),JasonBateman&PortiaDeRossi(pre-'ArrestedDevelopment'),VivicaA.Fox,PatrickWarburton&WayneNight('Seinfeld'),XanderBerkley('24'),RobinTunney,AliciaWitt('Cybill'),PaulRodriguezandevenJessicaSimpson.Butintheend,thegueststaronthetitledrawsusinlikeaflytothebugzapper.That'swhatmakesthisallthetoughertowatch.Toseethesepeopleworkingwithmaterialsofarbelowtheirmeansisalmostsad.'TheTwilightZone'couldhavebeensomuchmorethenjustlettingusseewhat'TheMonstersAreDueOnMapleStreet'wouldlooklikewithanewcastandthesocialclimateitwaspertinentinnow40yearsinthepast.I'mharshonthisshowbecauseIdonotbelievethattherearenonewideasorthatthishackeryisafractionofwhatthecreativemindsofthisgenerationcancomeupwith.You'rebetteroffwiththe'Futurama'homage'TheScaryDoor'overthis.