Twilight Zone Musings, Part 3.5E9
SyFy ran a mini-marathon of hour-long TW episodes a couple days ago. The few episodes I haven't seen yet seem to be hour-long episodes, so this may mean my goal is finally achieved. In fact, after a quick scan, it looks like there are two fifth-season episodes I may or may not have seen, so I'm pretty much done.
One thing I've noticed before and was reminded of during recent viewings is a peculiar use of the word "millennium". Occasionally, they seem to use it not to mean "one thousand years" but "some unobtainable ultimate goal of happiness or peace." For example, in "On Thursday We Leave for Home", Serling in his narration says that the space colonists "went looking for a millennium". In "The Chaser", the indefinite article is dropped: a character says "it's like MILLENNIUM!" I've heard the latter usage in a couple other episodes, too. Now, I figure that usage evolved from the religious usage, but it's still very bizarre; I've never heard "millennium" used in quite that way, to my recollection. I'm wondering if it was common in the late '50s/early '60s, or just a Serling-ism.
Another observation: I wish tragerstreit were able to watch the episode "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" and confirm something for me. Anytime I read a Peacock story, I imagine him behaving and even looking a little bit like the title character.
One thing I've noticed before and was reminded of during recent viewings is a peculiar use of the word "millennium". Occasionally, they seem to use it not to mean "one thousand years" but "some unobtainable ultimate goal of happiness or peace." For example, in "On Thursday We Leave for Home", Serling in his narration says that the space colonists "went looking for a millennium". In "The Chaser", the indefinite article is dropped: a character says "it's like MILLENNIUM!" I've heard the latter usage in a couple other episodes, too. Now, I figure that usage evolved from the religious usage, but it's still very bizarre; I've never heard "millennium" used in quite that way, to my recollection. I'm wondering if it was common in the late '50s/early '60s, or just a Serling-ism.
Another observation: I wish tragerstreit were able to watch the episode "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" and confirm something for me. Anytime I read a Peacock story, I imagine him behaving and even looking a little bit like the title character.