The Twilight Zone
5 a.m. to 1 a.m. (July 4)
Sci-Fi Channel
It's a local LA-area broadcasting tradition, thankfully continued nationally by the Sci-Fi Channel: the annual Fourth of July weekend Twilight Zone marathon. 'Cause nothing quite says freedom like a creepy Golden Age TV show. This year's installment begins with one of Rod Serling's hourlong episodes, “Jess-Belle,” which stars Anne Francis as a young lady who strikes a bargain with a witch to win a young man's heart. The more classic episodes TZ is known begin airing in the evening: “To Serve Man” (5:05 p.m.); “The Eye of the Beholder” (5:39 p.m.); “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” (6:12 p.m.); and “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” (7:52 p.m.). It all kicks up again on the Fourth at 5 (a.m.), and some of those not to be missed on this holiday include “A Game of Pool” (6 a.m.); “A Nice Place to Visit,” (8:30 a.m.); “And When the Sky was Opened” (11 a.m.); “Showdown with Rance McGrew” (1:30 p.m.); “The Dummy” (5 p.m.); and “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” (6:02 p.m.) The marathon continues through 2 a.m. on July 5, and for the safety of you, your loved ones and your Fourth of July party guests, please make sure you are fully baked while watching these.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.