In The Zone

New Year's Day has taken on a special meaning for me in the last decade or so. At least two channels, SyFy and H & I, run Twilight Zone marathons. I catch up on as much as I can.

I almost hate to talk about specifics, though. If you've seen the great episodes you already get them. But if you haven't, I'll won't spoil them for you. That just wouldn't be right. So I'll drop names and offer show titles, and you'll either shake your head knowingly or, maybe, look for that episode. I'll just keep things vague.

Billy Mumy could act as a kid, couldn't he? He was in three great episodes. He and Jack Klugman starred in In Praise of Pip. That one tugged at the heartstrings.

Donald Pleasance, something of a hero among ham actors, is solid in The Changing of the Guard. It has A Christmas Carol vibe working for it.

Charles Bronson and Elizabeth Montgomery absolutely nail their roles in Two.

You gotta see The Hunt. It's a lesser known episode, but man, it leaves a lump in your throat. Trust your dog, friends. They know.

I could go on and on, and I know I'm excluding a lot, but you get the point. New Years Day is Twilight Zone time anymore. That's what makes the day for me.

But I do hope that 2026 itself isn't a kind of Twilight Zone, though. 

New Year's Day 2016

I honestly enjoy the Christmas season. But New Year's Day has a certain charm of its own, and not the least of which is that it signals the end of the Christmas season.

It's a no commitment holiday for starters. All the pomp and, admit it, aggravation and pressure of Christmas are over and you're happy for it. On New Year's, you can just enjoy the day. In my case that involves eating a big meal with the immediate family, watching as many Twilight Zone episodes on Syfy as I am able, and paying scant attention to the too many college football games which have already become so many as to be meaningless. Hey, if everyone with a .500 record or better can go to a bowl game while the few playing for a supposed national championship are elected to play for it, I have to wonder if the whole process is flawed. Either way, there are too many bowl games for the majority of them to actually matter.

But I digress. New Year's also celebrates that we are about back to normalcy, and normalcy has a charm of its own. Think what you want to think, but routine has its advantages: no surprises, no overindulgence and, you'll forgive the overemphasis, less aggravation and pressure. By and large, with New Year's you are less concerned over everything being 'just right'. I think that's better than anything special which the holidays seem to demand of us; you can enjoy company simply to enjoy it.

I really don't mean to be a stick in the mud. I did enjoy the Christmas season. But I am more looking forward to 2016, and yes, hoping to cap it off well during Christmas 2016. But for today, Happy New Year to all. And let's hope we don't miss the Bill Shatner gremlin episode on Twilight Zone.