Talk:Rod Serling/Archive 1

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Archive 1

Full name

Is there a definitive source to Rod's full name? Some sites such as Encyclopedia Brittanica have it listed as "Edwin Rodman Serling" (where Rodman is his middle name). Most common have it listed as here but there seems to be considerable confusion about the odering and whether it is "Edward" or "Edwin". --Claygate 14:08, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

You're right. Much confusion. Many different versions. From Edwin Rodman to Rodman Edwin & Edward.... . Perhaps we can at least start here: His gravestone reads 'Rodman E. Serling'. Most of the other sources list him as 'Rodman Edward Serling'. Sound good to me. Check it out: Rod Serling's Gravestone Michael David 15:11, 4 February 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for the reference - that's a pretty good confirmation source that we at least have the first name and middle initial correct. --Claygate 23:04, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Rod Serling

A film not mentioned in the article on Rod Serling was made around 1966. It was titled "The Doomsday Flight" and starred Edmund O'Brian as a hijacker who plants a bomb aboard a plane. Van Johnson played the pilot. I read somewhere a long time ago that Serling regretted the film, (which I believe he also wrote} because of subsequent airline hijackings.JKMHeim 04:09, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

The Rod Serling Page Is Missing Rod Serling's Radio Show "Zero Hour" It Started 1973-09-03 And Was At least 130 Episodes.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.172.224.39 (talk) 00:44, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Lawsuits for plagiarism

"A possible motive for Serling relinquishing the rights for a quick profit could be tied to incessant entanglement in lawsuits for plagiarism regarding his story ideas for episodes."

  • I'm not necessarily debating the accuracy of this statement, but anyone know the source of this statement? --Bjcampbell 08:17, 4 March 2007 (UTC)
I think it is worth challenging, especially the "incessant" part. I've read that he may have had a few lawsuits, but probably not "incessant". I'll tag it as needing a reference. There are some mentions of this in blogs, e.g. [2], but also refuting these claims, e.g. [3], so it's difficult to establish the actual fact. Perhaps someone can check in one of his biographies? --Claygate 14:14, 4 March 2007 (UTC)
  • I think "incessant" is too strong as well. The somewhat unflattering biography by Joel Engel (forget the title) mentions maybe two or three lawsuits (and, honestly, iirc, at least two of them concerned stories Serling wrote for "The Night Gallery," not TZ), and quotes a letter from Charles Beaumont castigating Serling for one of his TZ stories which he (Beaumont) felt was ripped off from him. Serling immediately wrote a letter of apology to Beaumont and the matter was settled as far as both were concerned. Sir Rhosis 21:18, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Cayuga ancestry

I can't find a valid source to prove this, but I added it anyway, the reason being that he named his studio Cayuga Productions. --199.111.245.58 16:41, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

It's most likely named after Cayuga Lake, which is located near Ithaca, where he went to school, and also not far from where he grew up. 74.225.125.240 09:53, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

If it's still of interest, I can confirm that the name Cayuga Productions was taken from the lake in upstate New York where Serling vacationed each year. That's where Rod did much of the thinking and writing that went into his broadcast work. The source for this is an interview with his wife Carol recorded in the mid-1980s. A small correction: Rod did not go to school in Ithaca; rather he taught there in later years, at Ithaca College. Ithaca is located about 50 miles from Binghamton, where Rod grew up and went to school. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jabal bob (talkcontribs) 09:41, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, it's already that way in the article, can you please add the reference? --claygate (talk) 13:31, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

WikiProject Biography Assessment It's a shaky B, but it's a B. As of this date, the article meets the technical criteria for a B, but it needs tightening and revision to improve further. More inline citations, better organization of his filmography and accomplishments, and if possible, a better main picture. The article may be improved by following the WikiProject Biography 11 easy steps to producing at least a B article. -- Yamara 03:24, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

SOMEBODY REMOVE EVERY SINGLE SEMICOLON FROM THIS ARTICLE. I MEAN WOW. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.26.136.14 (talk) 19:33, 28 December 2011 (UTC)

Honestly I agreed with your opinion about some of those semi-colons. I didn't touch the ones regarding references, and I'll defer that to someone who is more skilled at doing references and cites. In the process of rephrasing some of these sections, I noticed there is a lot of awkward phrasing throughout the article. I think the article is very informative as it is, and I can't put my finger on anything to simply remove. But there is work to be done on structure as stated above. I'll see what can be done. Also, on the subject of the main picture. Would it be possible to use a screenshot of Serling in his role on The Twilight Zone? Perhaps as in the picture here... : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Serling.jpg I noticed there are several screenshots from the original show on Wikipedia Commons, but few of him in his ubiquious role as the "narrator" of the show. I think that would be the best kind of picture to use as the main one. It is easily the most recognizable. Most of those screenshots are marked as being not copyright enforceable (and are in fact used on the TTZ article), so if someone can procure a better pic of Serling on that show, I would nominate that one to be the main pic. I would love to see this reach GA status. It's got everything there, just needs a little work... and no more semi-colons! -- Alt lys er svunnet hen (talk) 03:55, 28 December 2014 (UTC)
Wow, so 2 weeks ago I replaced most of the semi-colons in the body with en dashes. Now it seems the articles is flooded with ellipses and hyphens! Let me correct myself, needs more than a little work. Alt lys er svunnet hen (talk) 03:23, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Legacy

So it's ok to have a legacy in television section but as soon as I add a legacy in music section it's "not notable". I think you should get rid of the television section if you have to get rid of the music section because I view your non notable comment as biast. It has equal notablility as the television section. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.202.144.223 (talk) 04:09, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

You can add it. We just ask that you provide a source for your additions, which you have not done.. twice. --   GameShowKidtalkevidence   04:20, 28 July 2009 (UTC)
We can't include vast swaths of copyrighted narration and lyrics, for obvious legal reasons. It's also absurd to pretend that Serling's legacy in music was of any significance compared to his legacy in the television medium. --Orange Mike | Talk 14:42, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

then if it's not a legacy in music to you, make it a fun fact or something. gees. It's on the album sleeve/booklet. surely you can re word it then. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.202.144.223 (talk) 03:20, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

Fun facts and original research are generally not allowed on Wikipedia. --   GameShowKidtalkevidence   03:37, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

Who is Anon?

From the article: "Serling would often frequent a restaurant on Cayuga Lake, owned by Anon's grandfather." Who is Anon? There is a complete lack of explanation here nor anywhere else in the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.83.26.56 (talk) 19:54, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

It's unsourced, and trivial, and I've removed it. --| Uncle Milty | talk | 21:02, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

Hey RMS

Hey RMS, your edits, for the most part here, are nonWiki.

  • you don't repeat links in the article
  • why do you have to add the age at death? We can do the math.

Beanbatch 08:56, 8 September 2005 (UTC)

It is strange to die so young. However let us remember he was, unfortunately, a smoker :-( 89.224.147.179 (talk) 07:52, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Marriage ended at his death

The date of his marriage is stated as "(1948-)". I am adding "1975" and "(his death)", assuming I am doing it properly. If not, please correct. Mal7798 (talk) 00:43, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

Bias?

This WIKI entry does provide information on Serling. However, it also contains obsessive anti-smoking propaganda and an obsessive 'he would regret such and such' tone. Do we need this in a WIKI article? oldcitycat 00:18, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

There is one instance of the smoking mentioned, but it was well known that he was a heavy smoker. Perhaps that part could be made more neutral. --Claygate 17:26, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

Where is "Zero Hour"?

I'm not up for the task of writing the addition, but this is a good source for zero hour information: http://members.aol.com/radiodrama/zerohour.html In spite of the "members.aol" URL, the author of this page cites a number of sources.

I have the Old Time Radio (OTR) series on tape with episodes dated November 01, 1973 through July 26, 1974. The stories were a hit, but because each story aired in 5 daily installments of about 30 minutes each, if you missed a day - you missed a chunk of the story. In late April 1974, the format changed to a full story in a single 30 minute installment.

1973 Nov 15 Promo Show
1973 Dec 17,18,19,20,21 Wife of the Red Haired Man
1973 Dec 24,25,26,27,28 Desperate Witness
1973 Dec 31, 1974 Jan 01,02,03,04 If Two of Them Are Dead
1974 Jan 07,08,09,10,11 Fourth of Forever
1974 Jan 14,15,16,17,18 But I Wouldn't Want to Die There
1974 Jan 28,29,30,31, Feb 01 Heir Hunters
1974 Feb 04,05,06,07,08 A Die in the Country
1974 Feb 11,12,13,14,15 Someone's Death
1974 Feb 18,19,20,21,22 Face of the Foe
1974 Feb 25,26,27,28, Mar 01 Blessing Way
1974 Mar 04,05,06,07,08 Princess Stakes Murder Case
1974 Mar 11,12,13,14,15 Queen in Danger
1974 Apr 29 Bye-Bye Narco
1974 Apr 30 Terror in the Night
1974 May 01 Scream of the Hawk
1974 May 02 The Extortionist
1974 May 03 Price of Admission
1974 May 06 A Shortage of Story
1974 May 07 Escape to Nowhere
1974 May 08 Fair's Fair, You Know
1974 May 09 The Housecall
1974 May 13 An Arm's Length
1974 May 15 The Reward
1974 May 16 Villainous Verdict
1974 May 17 The Stranger
1974 May 20 White Flame Burning Bright
1974 May 21 Mind of the Beholder
1974 May 22 Driving Aunt Sally Insane
1974 May 23 There is a Man in 211
1974 May 24 Death is a Perfect Cure
1974 May 27 Dr. Rivington Presumably
1974 May 28 Wanted: A Willing Companion
1974 May 29 Pigs Could Put You in the Pen
1974 May 30 Sky Lab Are You There?
1974 May 31 A Favor You Can't Refuse
1974 Jun 03 Death at Half a Length
1974 Jun 04 Floating Down the River
1974 Jun 05 Once a Thief
1974 Jun 06 Murder Shrieks Out
1974 Jun 07 Rehabilitation of Citizen Fimple
1974 Jun 10 Bonnie and Clyde are Alive and Well
1974 Jun 11 Sisters of Satan
1974 Jun 12 Mannequin
1974 Jun 13 Double Date to Destiny
1974 Jun 14 Clay Pigeons
1974 Jun 17 ast is Always Present
1974 Jun 18 Woman in Black
1974 Jun 19 Come Light My Fire
1974 Jun 20 Riders Wanted: Share Expenses
1974 Jun 21 Death on Canvas
1974 Jun 24 House That Clement Built
1974 Jun 25 Joint Account
1974 Jun 26 Tiger Cages
1974 Jun 27 Violence Takes a Curtain Call
1974 Jun 28 Children Are Dying
1974 Jul 01 Bend Spindle and Mutilate
1974 Jul 02 Murder is a Work of Art
1974 Jul 03 Edwards Tug and Salvage
1974 Jul 04 Larceny on the Lake
1974 Jul 05 On the Lam
1974 Jul 08 Corpse Takes a Sleigh Ride
1974 Jul 09 Marionettes
1974 Jul 10 Ghost of Black Plague
1974 Jul 11 Trunkful of Trouble
1974 Jul 12 The Grand Prize
1974 Jul 15 Welcome Home Denny Shackleford
1974 Jul 16 Death of a Genius
1974 Jul 17 Remember Me
1974 Jul 18 Lost in Time
1974 Jul 19 Once Upon a Truck
1974 Jul 22 Corpse Takes a Stand
1974 Jul 23 Carnival of Menace
1974 Jul 24 Chicago John & The Glitter People
1974 Jul 25 Smoke Screen
1974 Jul 26 The Holdout

Thanks, I'll add a reference, but the individual episodes should not go in the main article. Perhaps in a page about Zero Hour, though. --Claygate 16:50, 20 April 2007 (UTC)
Okay, here's The Zero Hour. Pepso2 (talk) 17:52, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Coffin nails

Any information about a relationship between cigarettes and his heart problem?Lestrade 20:52, 15 November 2007 (UTC)Lestrade

Perhaps out of deference to Serling and his life work it was decided not to restate the obvious and to use his biography as yet another antismoking sounding board. And if this were done with Serling's biography it would be unfair to not so edit all biographies of deceased cigarette smokers, and also to leave unedited those whose subject's deaths were obviously not related to this. Should we edit biographies of people whose deaths we now know to have been caused by poor eating habits, sedentary lifestyles, and anything else we learn in the future to be comparable health hazards, and say that "we now know that so-and-so contributed to this person's death"? Using Serling posthumously as a poster child would be disrespectful.

Mal7798 (talk) 00:39, 14 March 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 151.202.98.83 (talk) 15:03, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:Scary Door Time Enough.jpg

The image Image:Scary Door Time Enough.jpg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check

  • That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
  • That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. --04:08, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

Non-relevant section "Way Out"

Not having contributed to this article, I'd rather not make this edit myself without throwing it out to the users who have worked on it.

The section:

See also Way Out, another anthology series with some similarities has no place in an article on Serling. It has no relevance as an inspiration to Serling, nor is it a significant work that was inspired by Serling. Kid Bugs (talk) 06:49, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

Agreed. --claygate (talk) 13:45, 1 March 2009 (UTC)
Removed Way Out and portal link to US Army Kid Bugs (talk) 16:03, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

oh well i guess it wont be in there. well i'm sure it will be added to the Michael Jackson page then! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.202.144.223 (talk) 22:24, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

Opening paragraph

Why does the opening paragraph have to mention that he was an atheist? Why would that even need to be mentioned in the article at all? I neither know nor care whether he believed in God, or whether he believed the moon was made of cheese. Perhaps the article should note it, but hardly in the first paragraph. 90.210.185.204 (talk) 06:13, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

Images

The images in this article need some attention, too. The one we have is grainy, low quality. There are others out there, but I don't know how to get them into Wikipedia correctly. Also, are stamps considered Public Domain? There was a stamp released in 2009 with his image. I've grabbed a jpg off the web, but I'm not sure what to do with it.Sabiona (talk) 18:10, 21 January 2010 (UTC)

Come play in my sandbox...

I have started a major clean-up of this article here, feel free to offer any advice or comments. I also created an archive for all the Serling:talk items that have already been taken care of so it's easier to see what still needs to be worked on. My goals are to reorganize to mirror the layout of FA biographies, find sources for all facts, then I will go back and fix the links and other pieces. It's a work in progress, where I intend to break things before I make them better, so it's in a sandbox rather than jumping into the article itself. Thanks, Sabiona (talk) 20:28, 22 January 2010 (UTC)

   Actually, the draft in question is at User talk:Sabiona/Sandbox2, which may help explain the lack of edits to it since 17 February 2010‎.
--Jerzyt 07:09, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

Jump right in

Does anybody have more detail on the 'chute tests? I have a problem with calling an ejection seat trial a "jump", which is usually associated with paratroops leaving the aircraft in flight, & I presume these were done in a test rig on the ground. So, was it the AAF calling them "jumps"? Or Sander? TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura 21:21, 12 March 2010 (UTC)

I think that was me. I had to return the Sander book to the library, so I can't check, but I think I was the one who assumed they were 'jumps'. If there are any other sources - or if anyone has access to Sander - I'd appreciate any more specific wording. I'm not a military history person. I just like working on biographies, so my terminology may be slightly off. Sabiona (talk) 21:30, 12 March 2010 (UTC)

"The Monsters are Due..." quote sound clip

I have a sound clip of Rod Serling speaking these words:

"The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosives and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices, to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill, and suspicion can destroy. And a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own." - The Twilight Zone: "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" (1960)

I could send a sound copy via email to anyone who would like one. And, do you think adding this sound clip (if it's technically possible) to his Article would enrich it? -- Michael David (talk) 15:03, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Nope. It's a copyright violation. --Orange Mike | Talk 21:13, 30 April 2010 (UTC)
Ok, thanks for letting me know Orangemike. It was just a thought. -- Michael David (talk) 21:52, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

My apologies for messing up the article

Everyone,

I'm sorry that I messed up the Article. I was trying to undo an edit that was vandalism and, some how, chopped a large part off. I tried to fix it, but didn't get it right. I hope someone can come along and set it right. My apologies to all (including Mr. Serling) -- Michael David (talk) 18:22, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

It's fixed! Thank you Dstumme, Orangemike and anyone else who helped fix it. I am taking the pledge! I will not go near another "undo" button. -- Michael David (talk) 22:50, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Help! This article has been attacked by vandals and needs to be corrected!

Somebody really needs to check that Rod Serling article. Much of the basic factual info is not accurate at all. The man was not Lithuanian, did not speak Spanish, was not born in Albany, New Mexico, and his parents were not both named Reggie. This article has obviously been vandalized and needs to be corrected! 70.79.75.159 (talk) 23:35, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

OK I'm trying to look but how do you know this info. Can you point to some sources? Nevermind I reverted to about a month ago. I think that this has fixed all the vandalism. Theresa Knott | Sort that Knee! 23:45, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with File:Drchristianad.jpg

The image File:Drchristianad.jpg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check

  • That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
  • That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. --06:00, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

What happened to this article?

A lot of important and interesting information that used to be in this article is missing. When I first read this article, I read about how important milestones of Serling's career, such as Requiem for a Heavyweight, factored into the evolution of Serling's career, and now it receives only a parenthetical reference. No mention at all anymore of The Man in the Funny Suit, which may seem like a mere footnote but reflects on Serling's growing celebrity. And Serling's many movie scripts are taken completely out of the chronological and contextual discussions, and mentioned only in a filmography indexed at the end of the article. Anyone who responds by referencing the "be bold" Wikipedia guideline to encourage me to re-add this information is missing the point: All of this information already was included, and at some point has been removed completely! What's the point of that? Minaker (talk) 21:17, 18 April 2011 (UTC)

Anti-war activism

The 3 examples given - there is no mention of what media, except for "The Rack" were made. "The Rack", was it a made-for-TV movie, a Twilight Zone episode? Jtyroler (talk) 16:49, 23 June 2011 (UTC)

Why no mention anywhere of "A Storm In Summer"?

It won Emmys both times it was produced (1970 and 2000). I was 11 when the Peter Ustinov version first aired; it was probably the first master-level drama I saw. Stone classic, should be in here somewhere...the 2000 version with Peter Falk was also Robert Wise's last project. Aileron Spades (talk) 16:55, 28 August 2011 (UTC)

War is the issue, anti-war (and pro-war) is a stance

{{Request edit}} Please change "anti-war politics" in the lead to "war" or, less preferably, "war politics". Anti-war is not an issue, but one side of an issue. Serling was also anti-censorship and anti-racism, but the article currently (and properly) lists those as issues. I would make the change myself, but this page is too large for my low-memory PS3 browser, which crashes when I try. Thank you. InedibleHulk (talk) 23:15, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

 Done. Rivertorch (talk) 06:33, 5 June 2012 (UTC)

Programming wheel?

I've never heard this term (used in the Night Gallery section) and presume many other readers haven't either. Googling gives more crap than I care to sift through. Could someone with the knowledge explain the concept better in the article, or explain it here to allow for accurate rephrasing? Thanks. InedibleHulk (talk) 22:29, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

Antioch College radio station not yet created

The article refers several times to Serling's work for an Antioch College radio station. Something's mixed up here, as Antioch did not have a radio station until 1957, seven years after he graduated. Later in the article there's mention of the "Antioch Broadcasting System" and an affiliation with a Springfield, Ohio radio station. I don't know anything about those items but perhaps that's a clue to the program Rod may have been involved with when he was an Antioch student.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Andyyso (talkcontribs) 17:23, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

Rating

I believe that this article meets the requirements for a B rating instead of its current C. I don't want to make such a change without consensus. Andrew327 18:58, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

Confusing timeline

The post war section starts with °His knee continued to give him trouble, and his wife became used to the sound of him falling down the stairs when it buckled under his weight″ but mentions getting married a few paragraphs later. This could be better phrased to indicate the knee problem was a long-term injury and not that he quickly recovered from it or say future wife. --22yearswothanks (talk) 05:42, 23 April 2013 (UTC)

Yes. Feel free to make it clearer. InedibleHulk (talk) 08:47, 23 April 2013 (UTC)

Planet of the Apes

Why no mention of this film in the entire article? It's a huge film and Sterling co-wrote it. I think that the film deserves it's own SECTION in the article, but at least a mention would be nice. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.215.153.107 (talk) 07:22, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Actually there should be a whole section on Serling's film work, like there is for radio and TV. As it is we only have the filmography to go on. It's been noted, at least in the peer review, that it is already a long article. I think if we round out the article that way, we'd have to cut out some of the more unnecessary content. It's gonna be tricky. Alt lys er svunnet hen (talk) 03:41, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

Misanthropy

There are far more citations to Sander's book than to the the work of the much more notable S. T. Joshi. I fail to see the undue emphasis. --Orange Mike | Talk 17:30, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

Sander's book is a journalistic biography — a collection of researched facts. Joshi's book is, presumably, of scholarly essays, and the quoted portion is clearly personal opinion. Facts are facts, but opinions can vary, and only providing one opinion on a controversial subject is giving that opinion undue weight. --Tenebrae (talk) 22:10, 16 September 2013 (UTC)
There are serious questions as to whether Sander's work is "factual". Viriditas (talk) 09:58, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

Infobox

According to Template:Infobox writer, "If the person has an official website enter it here. Do not enter unofficial, blogs or fan websites." The Rod Serling Memorial Foundation may be a properly setup nonprofit group, and Carole Serling may be an "advisor," but it's still an outside, third-party fan site. There doesn't appear to be an official Rod Serling site. --Tenebrae (talk) 22:21, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

Could we find more accessible sources?

Given the number of books on Serling and The Twilight Zone, as well as scholarly and popular-press articles alike, surely we can find more accessible sources than a private database for Contemporary Authors Online. As the site puts it: "Remote access to Cengage Learning databases is permitted to patrons of subscribing institutions who access from remote locations.... Remote access from a non-subscribing institution is not permitted if done for cost reduction or avoidance at that institution. ... Please see your librarian, teacher, or system administrator for your username and password." From the sound of it, I'm not sure anyone outside a university student or faculty member is allowed to access this. Wikipedia sources don't necessarily have to be convenient to access, but I'm not sure they're supposed to be impossible for the vast majority of people who aren't university members to access. --Tenebrae (talk) 22:32, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

The Stops Along the Way

I know IMDb is not considered a reliable source, and I understand why. That being said, is there a way to find out if there is any truth to the online rumor that J. J. Abrams is developing a previously unproduced Rod Serling script called "The Stops Along the Way"? The Wikipedia page on Abrams lists this as fact, but it's unsourced. Just curious. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.83.191.181 (talk) 13:41, 14 December 2013 (UTC)

Smoking habit

The article says nothing about Serling's obviously heavy smoking habit. There's hardly an episode of the "The Twilight Zone" where he didn't appear with a cigarette between his fingers, and even many of the photos included in the article show him smoking, as if he was a chain smoker. Without a doubt, it contributed to his fatal heart attack at an early age. Surely, some information about this aspect of his personal life must exist somewhere. — QuicksilverT @ 01:15, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

The Rod Serling Memorial Foundation remembers the smoking helped kill him. ScreenJunkies describes him as chain-smoking genius rather than a genius. Googling "rod serling" and "smoking" together finds almost as many sources as he had cigarettes. You don't even have to specify "death" to find it in most. InedibleHulk (talk) 01:26, 19 February 2015 (UTC)
Not a conclusion of "modern medicine", either. Here's his brother at least heavily implying cigarettes killed him, from November 1976. InedibleHulk (talk) 01:38, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

"HEART ATTACK" It was reported in 1975 that surgeons had found that his chain smoking had created a heart with such thin walls,it collapsed when they did surgery. Like paper. To die at 50 and thin and trim is not normal. -S — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:642:4101:4167:40AE:1F73:64E6:AD1 (talk) 22:40, 18 December 2016 (UTC)

On Improving the Filmography

There's a 90% chance I'll be starting the UFOS: It Has Begun UFOs: Past, Present, and Future article within the week, one of the red links in Serling's filmography. I was wondering if there should be more consistency in the filmography, for example there are several episode titles of Playhouse 90 in there like Velvet Alley and Requiem for a Heavyweight. Yet Twilight Zone is just Twilight Zone. I'm okay with including films, tv series and plays in the selected filmography, but should we really have episode titles in there? Seems P90 was big enough deal it should get it's own link. Just some thoughts. And thanks to everyone involved with this project. Alt lys er svunnet hen (talk) 18:31, 5 March 2015 (UTC)

Though the term didn't exist at the time, the form of Playhouse 90's anthology teleplays were those of TV-movies under an umbrella title, rather than episodes of a half-hour or hour TV series. We might want to clarify that in the filmography, saying, for example, Playhouse 90: Requiem for a Heavyweight and Kraft Television Theatre: Patterns. Another advantage to this is that we could add the 1962 film version of Requiem for a Heavyweight, also scripted by Serling, to the filmography without confusion.--Tenebrae (talk) 18:40, 5 March 2015 (UTC)
That makes sense, thank you. And good ideas about clarifying the Filmography, I'll try straightening it up. See, I was eyeing the fancy Filmography and Television sections in articles like John Candy and Patrick Stewart, but the TV teleplay aspect complicates things, so I'll forget that. I've been trying to find non-IMDB/blog sources to try and fill out this section with more red links, so articles can be made for his more obscure work. I did find this tidbit today[1] ... this man opened a Serling exhibit with his huge collection of scripts, books, films, posters and props. <> Alt lys er svunnet hen (talk) 00:40, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ [1]

Last words?

I've reverted an anon IP's edit cited to a book of famous people's purported last words. First, only part of the claimed quote appears in that book. Second, that's not a book of original reporting and it doesn't cite a source for that possibly apocryphal quote. Exceptional claims require exceptional sourcing, and given the plethora of downmarket books repeating Hollywood apocrypha as fact, any claim of something to be be Rod Serling's very last written words needs good journalistic / academic sourcing. If this claim is true, then the same source that the author used should be readily available. If it's not, that's a red flag.--Tenebrae (talk) 00:01, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

Assessment comment

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Rod Serling/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

== Biography assessment rating comment ==

WikiProject Biography Assessment It's a shaky B, but it's a B. As of this date, the article meets the technical criteria for a B, but it needs tightening and revision to improve further. More inline citations, better organization of his filmography and accomplishments, and if possible, a better main picture. The article may be improved by following the WikiProject Biography 11 easy steps to producing at least a B article. -- Yamara 03:28, 9 May 2007 (UTC)


I believe the article is definitely a B at this point. Andrew327 18:55, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

Last edited at 18:55, 3 January 2013 (UTC). Substituted at 04:46, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

One source

While the article is copiously footnoted, a full 21 footnotes are to a pay-only site, Contemporary Authors Online. Given the large number of Serling biographies in books, articles and elsewhere, I'm certain each of these footnotes can be cited to a freely available source. When we have no other choice, that's one thing. But with all the information available about Serling, there's no reason we should force readers to pay to verify so much footnoted information. --Tenebrae (talk) 00:19, 1 November 2016 (UTC)

CAO is freely available to anyone with a public library card, and is freely accessible via WP:REX. It's an excellent source, reliable. A lot of free content is not so reliable. I don't see that the article needs to be tagged because of this. -- GreenC 15:01, 20 November 2017 (UTC)

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 7 external links on Rod Serling. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 18 January 2022).

  • If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
  • If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 21:04, 28 April 2017 (UTC)

Serling's wife date of death

Serling's wife date of death says in one place January 13, 2020 and another on January 14, 2020. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.18.96.246 (talk) 04:27, 23 June 2020 (UTC)

Category:Anti-Zionist Jews

On 2020-08-03 User:StrexcorpEmployee added Category:Anti-Zionist Jews. Is this supported by any ref? -- ToE 15:58, 23 October 2020 (UTC)

Place of death

Which is it, Rochester or Binghamton? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:283:8300:45D0:D01C:4E66:86B4:3288 (talk) 02:38, 12 December 2020 (UTC)

Album

I see no information on this page relating to the album that was released on August 1, 2008, under Rod Serling's name, featuring an image of him on the album cover, and that the tracks are part of a speech (or a series of speeches perhaps) that Serling gave at some point. The album is listed on streaming platforms as Speaks by Rod Serling. I have attempted to gather information on the album but I cannot determine what speech(s) it pulls its tracks from. Here is a list of sources that I have found information/the album on.

I hope someone who is more knowledgeable than I, will help me gather data on this album or dispute its existence.

--Krylon Technicolor Type A (talk) 23:50, 3 February 2022 (UTC)